Cycles of change that once took place over a number of years are now occurring with increasing frequency. This reality means that across the data center, the products and services underpinning today’s critical operations must come with flexibility built-in from the start if facilities are to stay ahead of the upward curve in demand.

As density, power requirements, and data volumes continue to rise exponentially, the central challenge for connectivity becomes delivering this flexibility quickly, reliably, and at scale on a global stage.

At the heart of this conversation, and pushing fiber front and center of future-ready connectivity, is Leviton Network Solutions. The company designs and manufactures high-performance copper and fiber network solutions tailored to the rapidly changing demands of hyperscale, cloud, multi-tenant, and enterprise data center customers.

Brad McDowell, vice president of global accounts and European markets at Leviton, explores what it takes to deliver AI-ready networks, and how the company is enabling its customers to connect, scale, and perform with confidence via its portfolio of flexible, modular, globally standardized solutions, backed up by end-to-end customer service.

The star of the show: Fiber first

“Cabling really is the foundation of the data center,” states McDowell. “There are, of course, a range of important components that make up modern operations, but it’s all too easy to overlook cabling. The reality is, the speed, reliability, and overall performance of the network are only as strong as the cables it's built upon.”

Within increasingly mission critical, high-performance environments that characterize today’s data centers, fiber cabling is enabling massive levels of data transfer between servers, storage, and GPUs. Getting these critical connections right up front is central for not only ensuring day one performance, but to support future upgrades and consistently reliable service ability.

“Today, downtime is a cost that operators simply cannot afford,” adds McDowell. “And fiber cabling is one of the few elements inside facilities that's designed to last multiple hardware generations. The right products, approaches, and network architectures give operators the flexibility they need to migrate from 100 gigabits per second to 400, 800, and beyond, without compromising performance.”

Failure to prioritize quality cabling and a strategic network setup can leave operators locked into a costly bottleneck, unable to support today’s demands efficiently, or to scale up and adapt when required.

The scene stealer: AI’s impact

Launching fiber into the spotlight is the dramatic shift in the nature of AI networks. “They’re a completely different beast,” says McDowell. “And we’re all still learning the best ways to manage them.”

Traditional data centers were designed for the flow of north-south traffic, where data moves in and out of the facility along a predictable path. By contrast, AI environments are dominated by east-west traffic, where huge volumes of data are constantly on the move back and forth.

“The nature of these workloads is driving higher densities, more fiber connections per rack, and much greater bandwidth requirements,” explains McDowell. “And this shift is challenging cooling capabilities at the physical layer since clusters packed full of GPUs run hot. Aligning key elements such as cooling with cabling setups is now mission critical – and it requires a lot more forethought.”

The changes brought about by AI workloads are so intensive that the line between the white and the gray space is becoming blurred. What were once two separate entities are now firmly intertwined, and must therefore be viewed holistically as one interconnected unit.

“Cabling designed for AI-ready operations has now become what we view as a strategic enabler of performance, and not just a supporting component, as it was often viewed as in data centers of the past,” says McDowell.

A tough act to follow: The might of modular

In the face of complex AI-driven challenges, the show must go on. Putting the best act together starts at the product level. Next-gen networking demands high fiber density, streamlined scalability, and low loss.

Central to delivering these must-haves, and at the forefront of Leviton’s product strategy, is a modular design approach. Modularization minimizes installation times, reduces error, and makes scaling straightforward.

“We’re also seeing significant demand for accessibility,” says McDowell. “As densities increase, you still need to be able to add or replace individual fibers and cables without disrupting live connections in a production environment.

“That’s why future-proof solutions are so critical, and low loss, flexible designs built on modular foundations are key differentiators. Each and every one of our systems are engineered to handle these requirements, ensuring networks built for today's needs can handle tomorrow's performance, without a complete architectural overhaul.”

Joining Leviton's well-established cast of data center solutions is the Strata family, a full suite of fiber optic cabling products specifically designed for the ultra-high densities that AI networks increasingly require.

“The Strata family is focused on pre-terminated fiber assemblies, very small form factor connectors – whether it’s multi-fiber mating connectors (MMC), multi-fiber push ons (MPO) or a splicing option – and high fiber count trunk cabling, modularized to provide in-built flexibility and speed up time to market,” explains McDowell.

The supporting roles of customization and global standardization

Today, more than ever, no two data centers are the same. Architectures, layouts, capacity, and performance priorities all vary significantly, driving the necessity for customization and standardization to share the stage.

At the product level, this looks like customizing everything from fiber links and cabling schemes to set configurations and permanent termination types on connectors in order to meet the demands of individual projects. Beyond this, comprehensive, end-to-end customer support must emerge from the wings.

“We tailor our service to each customer and work closely with them to design the solutions that meet their precise requirements,” explains McDowell. “Having a menu of customizable products ready to go is one thing, but being proactive in the design, deployment, and ongoing management of these solutions is what really matters.”

The scope for bespoke networking solutions is virtually limitless. Hyperscale customers are likely to require highly repeatable, scaled assemblies to deploy across multiple regions around the world, while an enterprise or multi-tenant operator might face retrofit challenges such as navigating an existing area with specific space and air flow constraints.

“Delivering this level of customization across varied markets and at scale is the subsequent challenge,” says McDowell. “We have to take into account local and regional nuances, and our global manufacturing and engineering is the cornerstone that helps us do that time and time again.”

Leviton’s vertically integrated global footprint is a distinct advantage that enables customers to deploy with confidence. Its large primary manufacturing facilities across the US, UK, and other key regions offer supply chain resilience that helps support shorter lead times and local product availability. The company has built the capacity, agility, and resources to deliver high-performance cabling systems across the globe, on demand.

“Our customers know that they're going to get the same materials, performance testing, protocols, and service delivery in every region where they're deploying data centers. And being vertically integrated enables us to maintain that standard while also remaining agile to market change,” says McDowell.

Support and collaboration must extend beyond innovative product portfolios and into long-lasting relationships. Today’s complex challenges cannot be navigated alone, making selecting the right network design partner a key tenet of success.

Act two

For cabling capabilities, it’s just the beginning. Looking ahead, fiber is expected to continue to evolve for higher bandwidth, lower loss, and even smaller form factors. This evolution is sure to come thick and fast. McDowell shares his view of the future:

“The next generation of optics – from around 1.6 terabytes and beyond – is going to continue to push the limits on big things like density, all the way down to connector precision. We expect materials and designs to become lighter, more efficient, and easier to recycle.

“Scaling sustainably is at the core of how we work at Leviton. Modular systems help to reduce waste, and the industry as a whole is waking up to the fact that maximizing efficiency starts with prioritizing sustainability.”

Tomorrow’s solutions will be smarter, more adaptable, and even more integral to power efficiency strategies and decarbonization efforts.

Learn more about designing AI data center infrastructure here.