Data center interconnect

A datacenter interconnect (DCI) is a connection between data centers and between the components within them.^[1][2] The goal of a data center interconnect is to provide high bandwidth in order to maximize the utility of the data center.^[2] Inter data center interconnects must also be able to transmit over long distances.^[2][3] By using specialized infrastructure such as optical communication and direct connection between datacenters, DCI is able to provide much higher bandwidths than typical networks.^[2] This is valuable to large cloud computing companies.^[4] In 2017, IEEE standards were created to support 400 GbE per wavelength optical communications.^[2][5] For short range connections within a data center, optical DCI can provide the advantage over traditional DCI of not needing cables.^[6][7]