PON for data center out-of-band management

In the era of the AI supercycle, always-on operation for data centers has never been more critical. High availability is vital for maintaining reputation and competitiveness. Out-of-band management has long been a reliable foundation of data center operations. As data centers scale to support AI workloads and higher density environments, it is an opportunity to rethink OOBM architecture to make it more efficient, scalable, and sustainable.

By leveraging the efficiency of Passive Optical Network (PON) technology, data center providers can enable simpler, more energy-efficient, and highly resilient remote management that scales seamlessly with the data center.

50%

less power consumption

90%

fewer active devices

80%

lower operational effort

100%

true separation

What is PON-based OOBM?

PON-based OOBM is a way to manage data center devices using a dedicated fiber network and Passive Optical Network (PON), a proven technology deployed in mission critical networks, data centers, enterprises and broadband networks worldwide.

PON in nutshell:

Point-to-multipoint architecture: one central switch connects thousands of devices.
Passive networks with no active equipment between the rack and NOC.
Stateless optical modems installed in rack or Top of Rack provide interfaces to management ports.
Ultra-low power footprint as there are fewer devices to power and cool.
Highly reliable due to fewer failure points.
Designed for simplicity and scalability.

White paper

Nokia PON for Data Center Management

Aurelis for Data Centers OOBM

Leveraging the industry’s leading PON technology, Nokia Aurelis for Data Centers is a purpose-built solution that makes OOBM more efficient.

The Aurelis MF Optical Switch (OLT) is the core of the OOBM architecture, aggregating all management traffic in a highly available, centralized platform.

The Aurelis Optical Modems (ONT) for data centers are deployed close to managed devices (in rack or ToR), with Ethernet and RS-232 interfaces.