Top Strategies for Optimizing Gaming Data Center Networks

With the rise of cloud gaming services, the dependence of gaming experiences on network performance is increasing. Players expect a lag-free, high-definition, and smooth gaming experience, which places higher demands on data center networks. To meet user needs, it is crucial to upgrade and optimize the performance of game data center networks. FS solutions provide streamlined network design, unified management, cutting-edge equipment, and full lifecycle support to achieve optimal results.

Challenges Faced When Upgrading Game Data Center Networks

Imagine that as a game development company, the rapid expansion of online content and user base has exceeded the capacity of the existing 10G network, resulting in interruptions to normal operations and degradation of the gaming experience. In this case, how to effectively solve this dilemma has become an urgent problem to be solved. Upgrading the game data center network from 10G to 100G is a solution worth considering, but this process will bring several key challenges:

Cost Control

The cost and budget pressure of network upgrades cannot be ignored. Transitioning to a 100G network requires higher-performance switches and other hardware, which, while significantly boosting network speed and performance, also substantially increases costs. In a budget-constrained environment, finding a balance between performance enhancement and cost control will be a major challenge.

Diverse Systems Integration

As game data centers expand and upgrade from 10G to 100G networks, they integrate systems and products from various brands. The lack of unified command lines and inconsistent device protocols can easily lead to operational errors and delays in resolving network issues, thus affecting business operations and data security.

Complex Network Topology

With the surge in device connections, the entire network topology has become increasingly complex. In case of network anomalies, if the network structure cannot be promptly understood, troubleshooting becomes challenging, thereby reducing the efficiency of handling multiple device upgrades or faults. Especially during network peak periods, unstable or interrupted transmissions are frequently encountered.

Single Point of Failure

Traditional data center network architectures are designed with a centralized approach, directing all network traffic through core devices. Consequently, if a core switch or router fails, the entire data center network can experience a complete outage.

Additionally, to cut costs, this architecture often lacks sufficient redundancy and backup mechanisms, which means it cannot quickly switch to backup links or devices. This severely impacts the stability and availability of gaming services. Moreover, as businesses grow, it becomes challenging to meet the increasing demands for bandwidth and connectivity through simple expansion.

Data Security Risks

The game data center network needs to store and process a large amount of sensitive data such as player information and transaction data. Protecting the security of this data is crucial for maintaining user privacy and ensuring business operations. An unstable network increases the risk of data theft or tampering during transmission, leading to potential breaches of sensitive data and system attacks.

Furthermore, network devices lacking security hardening configurations are more susceptible to hacker attacks such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and malware infections.

Hardware Compatibility

The compatibility between many hardware devices is crucial to the overall operating efficiency. If network hardware such as switches and routers are incompatible with other devices, it will seriously drag down network efficiency and increase the risk of delay and packet loss. At the same time, it will also bring huge challenges to operation and maintenance personnel. It takes a lot of manpower and material resources to carry out compatibility testing, customized configuration and other tasks, which greatly increases maintenance costs.

In short, upgrading the gaming data center network from 10G to 100G is an effective way to deal with the current predicament, but in the implementation process, it is necessary to fully consider the challenges of cost, compatibility, topology complexity and security. Through careful planning and efficient execution, it is possible to maximize network performance while meeting user needs.

How FS Is Working to Overcome Challenges

In response to the above problems, FS has enhanced gaming data center networks with comprehensive upgrade solutions. Deploying a three-layer architecture, the access layer speed reaches 40G to achieve faster data exchange, while the core layer uses 100G switches with redundant uplinks to enhance reliability. Unified management through AmpCon™ eases compatibility and integration, providing speedy, stable, high-performance networking to satisfy gaming demands and smooth user experience.

In general, after choosing FS gaming data center network solutions, gaming companies can gain multiple advantages in 7 key dimensions:

Unified PicOS® for Unrivaled Stability

Deploying FS switches powered by PicOS® operating system is the beginning of achieving peak network performance in gaming data centers. PicOS® has a unified command line interface designed to reduce learning difficulty and improve user-friendliness, ensuring easy management and operation.

It supports multiple standard protocols such as BGP-EVPN, VXLAN, MLAG, QoS, VRRP, BFD, etc. This ensures compatibility and consistency between different devices, thereby reducing the risk of failure and improving the fault tolerance of the network.

AmpCon™ for Simple Management

The AmpCon™ management platform is a key element of FS gaming data center network solutions, providing an efficient method for deploying and configuring data center switches. With Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), it simplifies configuration management and backup tasks, significantly cutting the time and resources needed for manual device setup.

The platform facilitates effortless, one-click deployment and configuration for thousands of remote data center switches. Additionally, thorough pre-deployment testing is essential. When integrated with PicOS-V, the network managers can perform extensive evaluations before going live and verify the configuration of switches without any risk.

Redundant Design for Reliability

To support larger-scale game data transmission and processing, FS adopts Spine-Leaf architectures to smoothly upgrade network bandwidth from 10G to 100G, making the network simpler and more direct.

Each leaf switch connects to multiple spine switches through the shortest path, achieving low latency and high throughput. The aggregation layer uses 100G N8560-32C and N8550-32C switches and modules to provide sufficient bandwidth for peak business processing, ensuring no packet loss and improved network performance. The Spine-Leaf architecture provides a scalable network, while MLAG ensures reliable operation and prevents interruptions to game services.

In the solution, the switches support the MLAG with dual uplink connections from the access layer to the core, avoiding single points of failure. Using unified Broadcom chips, these switches also enhance device compatibility and simplify management. Experience rapid data transfer, near-zero latency, and high throughput for peak data center performance.

Comprehensive Data Protection

FS reaffirms its commitment to a secure networking environment by equipping its products with robust security protocols. The switches support ACL, AAA, DAI, and other security measures to protect sensitive data and deny unauthorized access. And network packet brokers (NPB) continuously detect abnormal traffic. Once anomalies are detected, the system will trigger alerts and take measures such as blocking connections or isolating devices to protect the network from attacks like DDoS.

Additionally, the QOS strategy ensures that core traffic is forwarded first, enhancing both security and scalability without compromising performance. This approach helps maintain a stable and efficient network environment, essential for handling high-demand applications and services.

Seamless Compatibility

To ensure a stable gaming data center network, we rigorously test and quality-control the products in this solution. All modules are compatible with mainstream equipment brands, and we provide FS Box recording equipment. Customers can recode the original modules and other accessories online through Airmodule Cloud to meet real-time compatibility needs. It also upgrades the transceiver firmware to ensure compatibility with existing switches

Customized R&D Services

FS stands out with its custom development capabilities, crafting standardized products and solutions to meet evolving market demands. To verify the reliability of products and solutions, FS also provides comprehensive testing services including software, hardware, performance and Proof of Concept (POC) testing.

Same Day Shipping

FS offers a one-stop global supply chain service that delivers highly compatible and stable product solutions, significantly reducing the risk of product incompatibility. Committed to on-time delivery, FS has extensive Australian stock for same-day shipping and quick deployment.

Conclusion

By deploying PicOS® switches and AmpCon™ management platform, game companies can achieve seamless upgrades of data center networks and provide players with high-quality gaming experiences. As a trusted ICT network product and solution provider, FS is committed to promoting the development of data center network infrastructure towards higher performance, higher efficiency, and more intelligence. For game companies and cloud game service providers, choosing FS products and solutions will significantly improve the operating efficiency and service quality of their data centers.

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