Dr Dawie de Wet | Group CEO | Q-Kon | Chief Engineer | Twoobii | mail me |
Private cloud, public cloud, it doesn’t matter effectively cloud computing combines computing with a broad grid of data communications. Mostly, the grid is supplied by the global internet, provided you have a reliable connection to the internet.
And that is the catch, you need reliable data links from all business locations to the core in the cloud. While the default connectivity option would be Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) we highlight why the latest satellite networks are rapidly presenting attractive alternatives.
Why change?
If the default connectivity option is MPLS, and it works, why change? Network architects are looking for an alternative for two main reasons; the cost of the MPLS services, and connectivity availability.
As the implementation of cloud services grow, so does the need to connect all business operations, at all locations and at all times and MPLS is expensive and not available everywhere.
Satellite is slow, expensive and has a latency problem – or at least this is the common perception – and yes, this was mostly true about 10 years ago. Since then, a lot of things have changed.
The satellite industry has gone through massive innovation and developments, new constellations were developed including the new Starlink services from SpaceX, new high throughput satellites from Intelsat as well as the innovative mPower solutions from SES.
These have all contributed to a massive shift in the performance-price metrics of satellite services.
| The latest developments in satellite constellations and data processing have truly busted the old myths that satellite is slow, expensive and has a latency problem. |
Today satellite service offers a host of new features with even 1Gpbs over satellite links demonstrated and the average connectivity now +10Mbps. Equipment costs have decreased, and communication protocols been further developed. All of these upgrades now unlock various network architect options including access services for cloud computing.
The three myths that satellite is slow, expensive and has a latency problem is truly busted by advanced and new technologies.
So why use satellite?
Satellite access circuits is not a competing technology, it is an alternative solution. Meaning that if you can get fibre or microwave links, then rather use it, satellite services are when you need to design beyond the limitations of fixed infrastructure or can’t work with variable GB billing.
Cloud services is about connecting the edge to the core and there is really no better option than satellite to connect edge business premises to the core. Satellite does that effectively, with a simple single hop and is not exposed to any terrestrial power or infrastructure damage or theft risks.
Satellite offers the following attractive features for a cloud access network:
- Reliability – At typical network core uptime of 99,95%, this is by far the most attractive option to leverage satellite in a network design.
- Core Back-up – Leveraging the high reliability and combining it with different cost models, you can implement pay-per-use back-up links for fibre circuits. For example, we operated on the Intelsat Flex global platform, can readily provide links up to 20Mbps from low-cost, small 1.2m equipment terminals.
- Anywhere Always-on – Platforms that operate on HTS satellites, provide the service anywhere in Africa to connect. From the remote IoT deployment to the roaming business operation or the remote industrial campus. Services are always on and operate independent of any wider environmental issues such as load shedding or telco infrastructure damage.
- Cost – Yes… unexpectedly cost is actually a reason to use satellite. With price points of R50/GB which is similar to LTE services, and costing models that benefit from multicast deployments, etc. the current generation satellite networks can actually improve business models and enable deployments previously not possible.
Even Microsoft has adopted Satellite
According to a DataCentre Knowledge article published in 2019, Microsoft has integrated Azure ExpressRoute with satellite connections from Intelsat, SES, and Viasat with a range of orbital locations to cover different geographies (and different price points) using medium and geostationary earth orbits (MEO and GEO) at multiple latitudes.
Planned low earth orbit satellites will improve signal strength and bring latency down to 10ms, the company predicted.
| Even latency of GEO services is not a deterrent for non-real-time cloud applications. |
Latency, even today for the GEO constellations, tends to be satellite technology’s Achilles heel due to the large but constant single-hop delay of a quarter of a second.
Auspiciously, the majority of applications offered via SaaS are not real-time but rather capabilities that rely upon servers and databases. Since most of the latency is due to processing and database look-up, satellite delay can be rendered secondary to the overall user experience.
In conclusion
The latest developments in new satellite constellations, linked to the native advantages of satellite technology, offers an attractive and compelling case for cloud access. Network architects now have a powerful option to develop high-reliability access networks that can reach all business operations whilst minimising costs and improving performance.
