Siemon, UK's Networks Centre launch 'one-stop shop' for data center cable assemblies
Global data center infrastructure specialist Siemon and Networks Centre, a UK distributor of end-to-end network infrastructure solutions, announced that the companies have collaborated to launch a new online platform where customers can purchase Siemon’s range of high speed cable assemblies, suitable for a range of high speed, low latency applications across today’s data center environments.
Dubbed HSI Centre (https://hsicentre.com), the new site is a one-stop online shop offering Siemon’s complete portfolio of direct attach copper cables (DACs) and active optical cables (AOCs) for top of rack (ToR) switch-to-server deployments.
The easy-to-navigate site allows customers to filter Siemon's comprehensive DAC and AOC catalog by product compatibility with different switch vendors, by transmission speed (ranging from 10, 25, 40, 100, to 4x10 or 4x25 Gigabit Ethernet) or by connector type such as SFP, SFP+, QSFP and QSFP+.
Once selected, customers can then choose between different cable lengths for optimum manageability and airflow, as well as color options depending on their individual needs. The list of networking brands for product interoperability includes Arista, Brocade, Cisco, Dell, Extreme, HP, Intel, Juniper and Mellanox. But the partners note that Siemon’s solutions are all MSA (multi-source agreement)-compliant and can be easily configured to suit customers’ active equipment needs.
“Data center designs are constantly evolving to match changing business needs. At the same time, server transmission speeds are swiftly moving towards 25 and 50 Gb/s in enterprise and 100Gb/s in cloud data centers," commented Ryan Harris, high speed cable assemblies market specialist at Siemon.
Harris continued, “In light of these developments, high speed cable assemblies are gaining popularity in top of rack deployments. This new HSI Centre offers the go-to place for anyone tasked with data center upgrades or extensions who is looking for high-quality, easy to install and cost-effective solutions for server-to-switch connections.”
The new HSI Centre site also offers a selection of educational tools that seek to explain how high speed cable assemblies can be of strategic benefit to the data center in terms of power consumption, material costs, scalability, and compatibility. This includes free access to white papers, blogs and webinars.
“We have been seeing rising demand for DAC and AOC cables for use in switch-to-server links,” asserted Keith Stewart, product marketing manager at Networks Centre. “Just like standard copper and fibre patch cables, large quantities of these are often required but there are more variants to suit different network speeds and connector formats. Our new HSI Centre makes it much easier for users to search and select the right product.”
Free sample products can be ordered, and the new site is backed by qualified services and technical experts on hand to help understand individual requirements and advise on the right product to select.
“In the long term, we plan to expand the offering on the site and add other complimentary products such as fibre trunks and harness cables, and we believe that the HSI Centre will become a valued reference point for those responsible for the future performance of data centres,” concluded Stewart.