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    Data Center Fabric Reliability Study

Data center fabric reliability study

Quantifying the benefits of superior network availability

Server cabinet on gradient background

Vital breakthrough in data center downtime

Today’s data centers are mission-critical hubs, handling intensive, AI-driven workloads requiring instantaneous processing and real-time insights. Network reliability is no longer optional, it's a business imperative and a differentiator.

Nokia meets this need with our 'Human Error Zero' strategy. This helps you to eliminate network-level mistakes caused by vendor software bugs, user misconfigurations and operations errors. It's a fundamentally better way to build reliable, modern data center infrastructure, based on resilient architectures, high-quality software and predictable operations.

Analysis from Nokia Bell Labs Consulting and Futurum quantifies this enhanced reliability by comparing legacy and modern switching solutions. Their study reveals how modernization can lead to massive gains in network uptime and availability as well as significant financial savings. 

Ready to cut annual downtime to just 4 minutes?

Read on to discover how the Nokia Data Center Fabric solution, built on Nokia data center switches, SR Linux and Event-Driven Automation (EDA), can cut annual downtime from 96 minutes to just four, and what this means for your business. 

Flip the switch on downtime: A snapshot of the future

The comparison tool below lets you see the reliability differences between legacy PMO environments and the Nokia FMO.

Toggle between PMO and FMO to see how a reliability-first approach transforms network operations.

Data center teams need clarity and certainty. Now it’s arrived.

Most data center networks are stable when nobody touches them. The symptoms of a broken model are everywhere: change freezes, manual processes and the fear that automation will break something. That’s where the new research comes in.

Bell Labs Consulting and Futurum used a rigorous reliability analysis model to evaluate how hardware, software, configuration and operational factors within a data center leaf–spine architecture will all impact network reliability.

The study compares the Present Mode of Operation (PMO) against a Future Modern of Operation (FMO), based on the Nokia Data Center Fabric Solution.  

The FMO was based on our Human Error Zero strategy. It was built with Nokia data center switches, Nokia SR Linux, an open and extensible network operating system, and the Nokia EDA management and operations platform.  

Reliability was measured across four phases of the network operations lifecycle:  

  • Design and deployment
  • Configuration and provisioning
  • Operations and monitoring
  • Maintenance

The analysis identifies overall availability gains and which operational phases experience the greatest improvements. 

Two men in hardhats and hi-viz vests in data center

Less downtime for the data center fabric lifecycle

95%

for configuration and provisioning

99%

for operations and monitoring

99%

for maintenance

Greater availability, lower costs, measurable savings

Real-world savings for a midsize company

The research is good news for data center teams, the wider business and customers, with outstanding benefits delivered by the Nokia FMO. Migrating from a legacy PMO to Nokia SR Linux and EDA is estimated to deliver approximately:  

  • $94m in savings on penalty and compliance costs.
  • $66m in reduced revenue loss from outages.
  • $207m in protected brand value. 
Up to 60%

reduction related to penalty costs and operational costs

Up to 53%

reduction related to revenue loss during downtime and impacted customer churn

Up to 44%

reduction related to brand value degradation and churn due to brand perception 

The study translates these cost reductions into real-world financial impact using a case study based on a midsize financial institution
($9.4 billion market cap, $4.18 billion annual revenue).

Beyond uptime: Reducing complexity and unlocking innovation

The reliability gains represent a fundamentally different working experience for data center operations teams. Nokia SR Linux and EDA deliver:

Lower Mean Time to Innocence

Network operations teams can quickly demonstrate that the network is not the source of an outage, accelerating root cause resolution.

Reduced alert fatigue

Automated detection and remediation dramatically reduces “alert noise” for engineers, so they can focus better on what matters.

A lower barrier to automation

Network operations become more reliable and  predictable, boosting confidence as leaders consider greater automation.  

Take a closer look at the Nokia Data Center Fabric solution

Nokia Data Center Fabric solution is built on Data center switches, SR Linux and Event-Driven Automation (EDA). This next-generation combination is designed from the ground up for reliable, modern leaf-spine architectures, turning high availability from an aspiration into a measurable, operational reality.

Data center switches

Our next-generation data center switching platforms deliver the reliability, simplicity and flexibility you need to build high-performance, lossless AI infrastructures that can adapt to evolving business needs. The data center switching portfolio includes the 7215 IXS , 7220 IXR series and 7250 IXR series products.

SR Linux

Our modern network operating system delivers openness, reliability and extensibility. It follows a quality-first software design with a 1:1 developer-to-test ratio (versus the industry benchmark of 2.5 to 3.5:1). You can also rely on proven interoperability with field-hardened IP protocol stacks as well as leadership in standards bodies.

Event-Driven Automation

Our platform makes operations predictable, orderly and controlled. You can also reduce work effort by 55% with the EDA Digital Twin. It’s straightforward to customize and adapt operations on your terms with an agile ecosystem of tools and clouds. You can simplify operational complexity with an easy abstract user experience (App store consumption model, SaaS deployment model and AIOps). 

Discover the Nokia Data Center Fabric solution

Find out more