cim 20070701 jul_2007

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Nothing is more treasured in field termination than exceptional optical performance. The secret to UniCam® Pretium™-Performance Connectors is inside – a laser-cleaved, factory-polished fiber stub that ensures outstanding connectivity ina no-epoxy/no-polish (NENP) connector. UniCam Pretium-Performance Multimode Connectors offer 0.1 dB insertion loss.And UniCam Pretium-Performance Single-Mode Connectors enable 0.2 dB insertion loss. That’s exceptional optical performance in less than a minute per fiber, from the most widely deployed NENP connector on the market. Naturally ...Customer-focused innovation is second nature at Corning.www.corning.com/cablesystems/cimls

Exceptional optical performance comes naturally.

© 2007 Corning Cable Systems LLC / LS-02413

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M SaGEFC7Installation MaintenanceC7



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www.cable-install.com

departments

Cabling Installation & Maintenance July 2007 3

features

JULY 2007 VOL. 15, NO. 7

ABOUT THE COVER

Using vendor-neutral testing, Anixter’s

Infrastructure Solutions Lab is demonstrating real-

world IP convergence of security and networking

infrastructure products so that customers can know

what will work best for their installation before investing.

TO LEARN MORE, SEE PAGE 49.

COVE

R IM

AGES

SUP

PLIE

D BY

AN

IXTE

R.

15 The myths and realities of shielded, screened cablingPotential users must separate fact from fi ction concerning noise immunity, grounding, and the antenna effect. VALERIE RYBINSKI

25 Abandoned cable removala dogged challenge for allUnfortunately, for everyone, ignoring the issue won’t make it go away. PATRICK McLAUGHLIN

29 Twisted pair options for 10-Gigabit EthernetConducting appropriate tests will help ensure your medium of choice is ready for high-frequency, high-speed transmission. HUGO DRAYE

37 Products and technologies meeting myriad challenges Latest innovations aim to alleviate problems associated with cable management, power consumption, security and, oh-by-the-way, signal transmission. PATRICK McLAUGHLIN & STEVE SMITH

40 WLAN goes fat to thin and back againWhen the industry moved to centralized wireless solutions with switch-based controllers, many thought the war between “fat” and “thin” was over. But now it appears the battle is still on. BETSY ZIOBRON

49 INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Anixter lab integrates networking, security

Big Blue digging deep for data center purge

Cat 6A solution undergoes 10-GbE traffi c test

Flexible racks meet military media center specs

Wireless Gigabit Ethernet on-the-fl y

6 EditorialYour network’s health is everything

9 Ask Donna‘Abandoned’ headaches begin early

54 New Products

56 Product Focus: FIBER-OPTIC POLISHING EQUIPMENT

CABLING INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE (ISSN 1073-3108), a trademark, is published 12 times a year, monthly, by PennWell Corporation, 1421 South Sheridan Road, Tulsa, OK 74112; telephone (918) 835-3161; fax (918) 831-9497; Web address www.pennwell.com. Editorial offi ces: 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062-5737; telephone (603) 891-0123. © 2007 CABLING INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE. All rights reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specifi c clients, is granted by CABLING INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE (ISSN 1073-3108), provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA; (978) 750-8400. Prior to photocopying items for educational classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA; (978) 750-8400. For further information, check CCC Online at the following address: http://www.copyright.com/. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted. Bulk reprints can be ordered from Diane Troyer, telephone (603) 891-9135. Corporate offi cers: Frank T. Lauinger, Chairman; Robert F. Biolchini, President and CEO.

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PATRICK MPATRICK MccLAUGHLINLAUGHLINChief EditorChief Editor

[email protected]@pennwell.com

6 July 2007 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cable-install.com

Recently, I had occasion to spend time in a special-care unit at a hospital—not as a

patient, but visiting for many hours with a loved one who was a patient in the unit. Because all medical matterswere resolved positively and this member of my family came home healthy, I was able to refl ect on my time in that hospital with some practicality rather than completely

emotionally.And one or two

of my observations made me think about networking and cabling.

But fi rst things fi rst. While a visi-tor at the hospital, I was the benefi ciary

of many comforts and accommoda-tions, one of which was the opportu-nity to spend time at my loved one’s bedside any time of the day or night. As such, I witnessed more inner workings of that environment than I ever imagined I would. Th at means I saw patients in various stagesof distress, and observed the quick (and I don’t mind saying heroic)actions of doctors and nurses who literally saved at least one life in front of my eyes.

So, here are these health-care pro-viders working around the clock to maintain the health of the patients in their care, or to restore their patients’ health. Th ey don’t need, and won’t tolerate, something like a network interruption getting in their way. But they almost did while I was watching. While I’m sure there’s much more to the story than I saw and heard, I’llretell it from my vantage point.

A doctor had ordered radiologi-cal tests on a patient and required the results “stat.” Now, I have seen enough episodes of ER (I’ll neveradmit to watching Grey’s Anatomy) to know that “stat” means right away. Two hours later, the doctor could fi nd no results in the hospital’s data network. So, she called the radiologydepartment desk, demanding to know why so much time had elapsed with no answers. Th e individual who answered the phone in the radiologydepartment put the doctor on hold—and kept her there. Frustrated, the doctor called the desk again and made the same demand. Unbeliev-ably, the same thing happened: on hold forever.

So, the situation got escalated to the top-ranking member of the radiology department. At that time, the doctor learned the results were, in fact, avail-able; the head of radiology read theresults to the doctor over the phone, and the doctor went about caring for her patient based on the information she had just received. In an environ-ment of such immediacy, the doctor quickly moved on to the next order of business. She did not have the lux-ury of stopping to either ponder or complain about the communication breakdown that had just taken place.

I eavesdropped on this event with interest because, aft er all, my loved one could have been the next one for whom radiological test results were needed stat. One thing that occurred to me was the information that was supposed to be in the hospital’s da-ta network and available to the doc-tor, was not. A network problem? Could be. Cabling-related? I’ll never know, but hopefully the hospital’s IT

department will.But even more striking was the

doctor’s exasperation at being put on infi nite hold twice, not by some automated answering system, but by a real person. Th en it dawned on me that the doctor, along with all her colleagues, relies fi rst and foremost on the data network for the infor-mation she needs. And there’s good reason for this doctor to look for in-formation in a database long before looking for it from an individual.

We live in a fully connected world whose human element is almostalways disconnected. We’ve had cell phones forever and through Black-berries have been able to get oure-mail from just about anywhere.But how many phone messages gounreturned? How many e-mailsunanswered? Th e digital signals do their jobs by getting informationfrom one point to another; it’s thepeople who have become the black hole. I have been a frustrated mes-sage-sender at times. I have also been a guilty non-returner of correspon-dence. So, if I’m going to point a fi nger anywhere, it will point to me fi rst.

Th e experience made me realize that many of the information sys-tems you build and use today have become more relied-upon thanpeople. Scary. But not nearly as scary as sitting by a loved one’s hospital bed for a few days.

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DONNA BALLAST DONNA BALLAST is BICSI’s standards is BICSI’s standards representative, and a BICSI registered representative, and a BICSI registered communications distribution designer (RCDD). communications distribution designer (RCDD). Send your questions to Donna via e-mail: Send your questions to Donna via e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

www.cable-install.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance July 2007 9

Q: I have a quick question. Could I get the exact wording of what the National Electrical Code 2002 states concerning abandoned cables in the plenum?

Brent ClementsRice University

Houston, TX

A: Th e question may be quick, but the answer certainly is not. Let’s begin with the defi nitions of aban-doned cable. In NEC 2002, there are seven defi nitions for abandonedcable. Ironically, none are in Article 100, the section on defi nitions (yet).

Article 640 Audio Signal Pro-cessing, Amplifi cation, and Repro-duction Equipment, Section 640.2 defi nes “Abandoned Audio Distri-bution Cable” as “installed audio distribution cable that is not termi-nated at equipment and not identi-fi ed for future use with a tag.”

Article 725 Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 Remote-Control, Signaling,

and Power-Limited Circuits, Sec-tion 725.2 defi nes “Abandoned Class 2, Class 3, and PLTC Cable” as “in-stalled Class 2, Class 3, and PLTC cable that is not terminated at equip-ment and not identifi ed for future use with a tag.”

Article 760 Fire Alarm Systems, Section 760.2 defi nes “Abandoned Fire Alarm Cable” as “Installed fi re alarm cable that is not terminated at equipment other than a connec-tor and not identifi ed for future use with a tag.”

Article 770 Optical Fiber Cables and Raceways, Section 770.2 defi nes

“Abandoned Optical Fiber Cable” as “Installed optical fi ber cable that is not terminated at equipment other than a connector and not identifi ed for future use with a tag.”

Article 800 Communications Cir-cuits, Section 800.2 defi nes “Aban-doned Communications Cable” as

“Installed communications cable that is not terminated at both ends at a connector or other equipment and not identifi ed for future use witha tag.”

Article 820 Community Anten-na Television and Radio Distribu-

tion Systems, Section 820.2 defi nes “Abandoned Coaxial Cable” as“Installed coaxial cable that is not ter-minated at equipment other than a coaxial connector and not identifi ed for future use with a tag.”

Article 830 Network-Powered Broadband Communications Sys-tems, Section 830.2 defi nes “Aban-doned Network-Powered Broadband Communications Cable” as “Installed network-powered broadband com-munications cable that is not termi-nated at equip-ment other than a connector and not identifi ed for futureuse with a tag.”

So, what is this telling us? No-tice the common thread, “and not identifi ed for future use with a tag.” Any cable addressed in these specifi carticles that is “tagged for future use” is not abandoned cable.

In some cases, having a connec-tor terminated at one end (audio dis-tribution cable; Class 2, Class 3, and PLTC Cable) or both ends (commu-nications cable) of the cable means that it is not abandoned cable.

While in other cases, having the cable connected to equipment that is not a connector (fi re alarm ca-ble; optical fi ber cable; coaxial ca-ble; network-powered broadband communications cable) means that it is not an abandoned cable. In NEC speak, a “connector” is “equipment,” and that is why the “equipment other than a connector” verbiage is used.

Most Sections [640.3(A);

‘Abandoned’ headaches begin early

DONNA BALLAST DONNA BALLAST s BICSI’s standards s BICSI’s standards representative, and a BICSI registered representative, and a BICSI registered communications distribution designer communications distribution designer (RCDD). Send your question to Donna at: (RCDD). Send your question to Donna at: [email protected]@swbell.net

Editor’s note: Th is month, we bring you a slice of “Best of Ask Donna” from years past. Th is column originally ran all the way back in February 2003, so why did we take it out of mothballs now? Th e fi rst question-and-answervolley provides complementary information to another article running inthis issue (see pages 25 and 26). When reading, please note that the portions of the NEC discussed herein look essentially the same in the 2005 edition as they do in the 2002 edition.

Th en Donna fi nishes up with a question about the potential danger of lay-ing unshielded twisted-pair cables too neatly. It struck me as an eerie fore-shadowing of what the industry has been dealing with for the past couple years. I hope you enjoy this month’s “Best of Ask Donna” and, even moreimportantly, fi nd it useful.—Ed.










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725.3(B); 760.3(A); 770.3(A); 800.52(B); 820.3; 830(A)] only address the “acces-sible portion” of an abandoned cable as “not be permitted to remain.” Arti-cle 100 defi nes “Accessible (as applied to wiring methods)” as “Capable of beingremoved or exposed without damag-ing the building structure or fi nish or not permanently closed in by the struc-ture or fi nish of the building.” … So, this is not a surgical removal in a fi n-ished space. But if the entire area of the building is undergoing demolition forremodeling, then all of the cable shouldbe accessible and removed.

And then there is Article 645—the one that did not bother to uniquelydefine “abandoned cable,” which isonly concerned with abandoned cable that is not contained in metal raceway. So, metal raceways full of dead cableunder raised fl oors in data centers are not a concern?

You asked specifically about ple-num spaces, but the same text applies to plenum, riser, and hollow spaces in the building. If it is “abandoned” and

“accessible,” take it out.Seven defi nitions for almost the same

term is a lot, even for the NFPA. So, for NEC 2005 the International Brother-hood of Electrical Workers Codes and Standards Committee is proposing to delete the current seven to add a new defi nition to Article 100, which would read: “Abandoned Cable. Installedcable that is not terminated at both ends at equipment and not identifi ed forfuture use with a tag.” But so far theother “stakeholders,” who carefullycraft ed the various defi nitions in their respective Articles, are not supportiveof this “one-size-fi ts-all” approach.

It is going to be an interesting couple of years.

Q: I was reviewing the discussion on the BICSI Public Forum about laying cables parallel to each other in a fi xed physical relationship. I noticed that one comment said that the European norm addresses it to some degree. Do you know if any of the U.S. standards have intentions to address it? I have a client in New Jersey, with a large data center, that is asking me for input. At present they are laying large bundles of cables into cable trays and they want the cables combed as they are installed. I told them I would check and let them know.

Bobby Ashton, Jr., RCDD/LAN Specialist

South Windsor, CT

A: Intentions, yes. At the TIA TR-42.1 February 2002 meeting, a presentation (TR 42.1-2002-013) was made, which ref-erenced a list of contributions, previously submitted to either the TR-42.7 Tele-





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Chances are you don’t know. Some fiber manufacturersdon’t specify bandwidth in the critical center region of the fiber. But when you select OFS’ LaserWave® OM3fiber, you get outstanding performance right down to the core. LaserWave fiber delivers DMD specified in the 0 – 5 micron range and up to twice the bandwidth forlasers that launch power in the fiber’s center. Enjoy fast,reliable transmission and easier connectivity. To learn more,ask your cabler about OFS or visit ofsoptics.com/fiber.

What’s at the core of your fiber?

communications Copper Cabling Sub-committee or the Cable Working Group, dating from 1997 through 2002. Each of these contributions had addressed some negative eff ect on the transmission per-formance of category UTP cabling caused by bundling or other similarcabling installation practices.

TR-42.1-2002-013 suggested that, based on these contributions, a Study Group be formed to develop informa-tion on the expected variance in trans-mission performance of cables that are installed in close proximity.

TR-42.1-2002-013 further proposed that once the work was completed and validated, it would be draft ed as a matrix, and published as an informative Annex to TIA/EIA-568B.1. Th e matrix would include alien NEXT and FEXT for Cat-egory 5e and Category 6 cables that are tie-wrapped at specifi ed intervals, cables installed in a tray with 50% fi ll, cables installed in a conduit with 40% fi ll, andcables suspended on J-hooks.

Meanwhile, we will have to contin-ue to scare our clients suff ering from

“overneatness tendencies” using threats of the dreaded “alien crosstalk.” You are welcome to use the following. It has worked for me in the past.

Cabling systems and network hard-ware are designed to handle predict-able noise, like NEXT and FEXT, which comes from within the same cable. Th is is why when you remove the sheath from a twisted-pair cable, each of the pairs is twisted at a diff erent rate.

But when UTP cables of the same con-struction are neatly dressed and packed, you are inviting trouble. You are creating a quasi fi eld-manufactured hybrid cable, because the twists are the same in each of the neighboring cables. Th is creates un-predictable noise between neighboring cables; the noise is called alien crosstalk. And the neater the cables are laid, and the closer you pack them together, the more likely you are to experience the problem.

If the UTP cables are randomly laid

and the pathway is not overfi lled, then “alien crosstalk” should be one less net-work anomaly you have to address.

And what about testing? While your network can certainly suff er from the eff ects, measuring alien crosstalk is not something you want to attempt in the fi eld. Most measurement models that I

have seen use seven cables—six disturb-ers and one victim cable. Th at would mean seven sets of fi eld test instruments in use at the same time to test one cable link. And there are currently no pass/fail limits proposed or set.

My advice: loosen up and avoid the problem.






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Source: Siemon

LAN noise sources

VgEquipment Interconnect Work area outlet End-user device

Vd

Ve

l

H

E

h



design

A global standard since the 1980s, screened and shielded twisted-pair cop-per cabling varieties are still a mainstay in some markets. While many other mar-kets have migrated largely to unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cables, the recent ratifi cation of the 10GBase-T standard for 10-Gbit/sec Ethernet over copper hasre-established the commercial viability of screened and shielded systems, and has fueled greater adoption of these systems in markets that previously were UTP-centric.

In this competitive landscape, many confusing and oft en con-tradictory messages are fi nding their way to the marketplace. Th is article addresses common questions, issues, and miscon-ceptions regarding screened and shielded cabling.

From Token Ring to EthernetWhen LAN cabling emerged in the 1980s to support the fi rst computer networks in commer-cial building space, the networks typically deployed IBM Token Ring transmission, which was standardized as IEEE 802.5 in 1985. Cabling for Token Ring networks was IBM Type 1 cable—consisting of two loosely twist-ed, foil-shielded, 150-Ω pairs surrounded by an overall braid—mated to unique hermaphroditic connectors.

Th is cabling was an optimum choice for support of fi rst-generation LAN topologies. Its design took advantage ofthe twisted-pair transmission protocol’s ability tomaximize distance (Token Ring served distances up to 100 meters) and data rates using cost-eff ective transceivers. Th e foils and braid improved crosstalk and electromagnet-ic compatibility (EMC) performance to levels that could

not yet be realized by early-generation twisted-pair design and manufacturing capability. It is not surprising that thisrobust cabling type still supports some buildings today.

By 1990, however, LAN industry experts began to recog-nize Ethernet’s performance and reliability advantages over

Token Ring. Concurrently, twisted-pair design and man-ufacturing capabilities had progressed to the point where individual foils were no longer required to provide inter-nal crosstalk isolation, and overall shields were not neces-sary to provide immunity against outside noise sources in the 10Base-T and 100Base-T bands of operation.

Publication of the 10Base-T application in 1990, and the fi rst edition TIA/EIA-568 cabling standard the fol-lowing year, in conjunction with the lower cost as-

The myths and realitiesof shielded, screened cabling

Potential users must separate fact from fiction concerning noise immunity, grounding, and the antenna effect.

VALERIE RYBINSKVALERIE RYBINSKI is global sales engineer with Siemon (www.siemon.com).I is global sales engineer with Siemon (www.siemon.com).

This setup shows the three sources of noise for LAN cabling sys-tems. Differential noise (Vd) is induced from an adjacent twisted-pair or balanced cable; environmental noise (Ve) is induced by an external electromagnetic fi eld; and ground loop noise (Vg) is induced by a difference in potential between conductor ends.







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sociated with UTP cabling, fi rmly established UTP as the medium of choice for new LAN networks.

Balancing actTh e benefi t of specifying balanced twisted-pair cabling for data transmission is clearly demonstrated by examining the types of signals present in building environments. Electrical signals can propagate in either common mode or diff erential (i.e., “balanced”) mode.

Common mode describes a signal scheme between two con-ductors in which the voltage propagates in phase and is ref-erenced to ground. Examples of common mode transmission include DC circuits, building power, cable TV, heating/venti-lation/air-conditioning (HVAC) circuits, and security devices.Electromagnetic noise induced from disturbers, such asmotors, transformers, fl uorescent lights, and radio-frequency(RF) sources, also propagates in common mode. Virtually every signal and disturber type in the building environment propagates in common mode, with one notable exception— twisted-pair cabling, which is optimized for balanced, or dif-ferential mode, transmission.

Diff erential mode transmission refers to two signals that have equal magnitudes, but are 180° out of phase, and that propa-gate over two conductors of a twisted pair. In a balanced cir-cuit, two signals are referenced to each other rather than one signal being referenced to ground. Th ere is no ground con-nection in a balanced circuit and, as a result, these types of circuits are inherently immune to interference from most com-mon mode noise disturbers.

In theory, common mode noise couples equally onto each conductor of a perfectly balanced twisted-pair. Diff eren-tial mode transceivers detect the diff erence in peak-to-peak magnitude between the two signals on a twisted pair by per-forming a subtraction operation. In a perfectly balancedcabling system, the induced common mode signal wouldappear as two equal voltages that are simply subtracted out bythe transceiver, thereby resulting in perfect noise immunity.

In the real world, however, twisted-pair cables are not per-fectly balanced, and their limitations must be understood by application developers and system specifi ers.

TIA and ISO/IEC committees take extreme care in speci-fying balance parameters, such as transverse conversion loss (TCL), transverse converse transfer loss (TCTL), and equal-level transverse converse transfer loss (ELTCTL) in their standards for higher-grade (Category 6 and above) struc-tured cabling. By examining the performance limits for theseparameters and noting when they start to approach the noise isolation tolerance required by various Ethernet applica-tions, it becomes clear that the practical operating bandwidth(defi ned by acceptable levels of common mode noise immu-nity due to balance) is approximately 30 MHz.

While this bandwidth provides more than suffi cient noise immunity for such applications as 100Base-T and 1000Base-T, Shannon Capacity modeling demonstrates that this level pro-vides no headroom to the minimum 10GBase-T noise immu-nity requirements. The use of shielding, however, signifi cantly improves noise immunity, doubles the available Shannon Capacity, and substantially increases practical oper-ating bandwidths for future applications.

Noise and immunityModal conversion is an eff ect of degraded twisted-pair signal bal-ance above 30 MHz, which occurs when diff erential mode signals convert to common mode signals, and vice versa. Th e conversion can adversely impact noise immunity from the environment as well as contribute to crosstalk between pairs and balancedcables, and must be minimized whenever possible. Shieldingcan decrease the potential for modal conversion by limitingnoise coupled onto the twisted-pair from the environment.

All applications require positive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margins to transmit within allocated bit error rate (BER)levels. Th is means that the data signal being transmitted must be of greater magnitude than all of the combined noise dis-turbers coupled onto the transmission line—i.e., the struc-tured cabling.

Noise can be coupled onto twisted-pair cabling in any or all of three ways.

• Diff erential noise: Noise induced from an adjacent twist-ed-pair or balanced cable;

• Environmental noise: Noise induced by an external elec-tromagnetic fi eld;

• Ground loop noise: Noise induced by a diff erence in poten-tial between conductor ends.

Diff erent applications have varying sensitivity to interfer-ence from these three noise sources, depending upon their capabilities. For example, the 10GBase-T application is com-monly recognized to be extremely sensitive to alien crosstalk (diff erential mode cable-to-cable coupling) because its digi-tal signal processing (DSP) capability electronically cancels internal pair-to-pair crosstalk within each channel. Unlike pair-to-pair crosstalk, alien crosstalk cannot be cancelled by DSP. Conversely, because the magnitude of alien crosstalk is very small compared to pair-to-pair crosstalk, the presence of alien crosstalk minimally impacts the performance of other applications, such as 100Base-T and 1000Base-T, that employ partial or no crosstalk-cancelling algorithms.

EMC describes both a system’s susceptibility to interfer-ence from, and potential to disturb, outside sources. It is animportant indicator of a system’s ability to co-exist with other electronic/electrical devices. Noise immunity and emissions per-formance is reciprocal, meaning that the cabling system’s abil-ity to maintain immunity to interference is proportional










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to the system’s potential to radiate. Interestingly, whileunnecessary emphasis is placed on immunity considerations, it is understood that structured cabling systems do not radi-ate or interfere with other equipment or systems in the tele-communications environment.

Here’s a more detailed look at the various noise disturbers:Diff erential noise disturbers. Alien crosstalk and internal

pair-to-pair crosstalk are examples, and must be minimized through proper cabling-system design. Susceptibility to inter-ference from diff erential mode sources is dependent upon sys-tem balance and can be improved by isolating or separating conductors that are interfering with each other. Cabling with improved balance—Category 6 and above—exhibits betterinternal crosstalk and alien crosstalk performance. Because no cable is perfectly balanced, strategies such as using dielectric material to separate conductors or using metal foil to isolate conductors are employed to further improve crosstalk perfor-mance. For example, Category 6A F/UTP cabling is proven to have substantially superior alien crosstalk performance than Category 6A UTP cabling because its overall foil construction reduces alien crosstalk to virtually zero. Category 7 S/FTP is proven to have substantially superior pair-to-pair and alien crosstalk performance than any Category 6A cabling design because its individual foiled twisted-pair construction reduc-es pair-to-pair and alien crosstalk coupling to virtually zero. Th ese superior crosstalk levels could not be achieved solely through compliant balance performance.

Environmental noise disturbers. Environmental noise is electromagnetic noise made up of magnetic fi elds gener-ated by inductive coupling, and electric fi elds generated by capacitive coupling. Magnetic fi eld coupling occurs at low frequencies, such as 50 or 60 Hz, where the balance of thecabling system is more than suffi cient to ensure immunity. Itsimpact can be ignored for all types of balanced cabling. Elec-tric fi elds, however, can produce common mode voltages on balanced cables depending on their frequency. Th e magni-tude of the voltage induced can be modeled, assuming that thecabling system is susceptible to interference in the samemanner as a loop antenna.

Mathematical formulas demonstrate that a 60-Hz signalresults in an electric fi eld disturbance that can only be mea-sured in the thousands-of-mV (millivolt) range, while sources operating in the MHz range can generate a fairly large electric fi eld disturbance. For reference, 3 Volts/meter (V/m) is consid-ered to be a reasonable approximation of the average electric fi eld present in a light industrial/commercial environment, and 10 V/m is considered to be a reasonable approximation of the average electric fi eld present in an industrial environment.

Th e loop area is the one variable that impacts the magnitude of the voltage coupled by the electric fi eld. Common mode cur-rents generated by an electric fi eld induce unwanted signals on

the outermost conductive element of the cabling—the conduc-tors themselves in a UTP environment, and the overall screen/shield in a screened/fully shielded environment.

Again, through the means of calculations, what becomes readily apparent is that the common mode impedance is not very well controlled in UTP environments. Th is impedance depends on factors such as distance from metallic raceways, metallic structures surrounding the pairs, use of non-metallic raceways, and termination location. Conversely, this common mode impedance is well defi ned and controlled in screened/shielded cabling environments.

Importantly, the overall susceptibility of twisted-paircables to electric fi eld disturbance depends on both the bal-ance performance of the cabling and the presence of a screen or shield. Well-balanced cables (Category 6 and above) should be immune to electromagnetic interference up to 30 MHz. Th e presence of a shield or screen is necessary to avoid electromag-netic interference at higher frequencies, which is an especially critical consideration for next-generation applications.

For example, it is reasonable to model that an emergingapplication using DSP techniques will require a minimum SNR of 20 dB at 100 MHz. Because the minimum isolation yielded by balance alone is also 20 dB at 100 MHz, the addition of a screen or shield is necessary to ensure this application has suffi cient noise immunity headroom for operation.

Ground loops. Th ese develop when there is more than one ground connection, and the diff erence in common mode volt-age potential at these ground connections induces noise on the cabling. It is a misconception that common mode noise from ground loops can only appear on screens and shields; this noise regularly appears on the twisted pairs as well. A key point about the voltage generated by ground loops is that its waveform isdirectly related to the profi le of the building’s alternating current (AC) power. In the United States, the primary noise frequency is 60 Hz and its related harmonic, which is oft enreferred to as AC “hum.” In other regions of the world, the pri-mary noise frequency is 50 Hz and its related harmonic.

Because each twisted pair is connected to a balun transformerand common mode noise rejection circuitry at both ends of the circuit—the network interface card (NIC) and the network equipment—diff erences in the turn ratios and common mode ground impedances can result in common mode noise. Th e magnitude of the induced noise on the twisted pairs can bereduced, but not eliminated, through the use of common mode terminations, chokes, and fi lters within the equipment.

Ground loops induced on the screen/shield typicallyoccur because of a diff erence in potential between the ground connection at the telecommunications grounding busbar (TGB) and the building ground connection provided through the network equipment chassis at the work-area end of thecabling. Note that it is not mandatory for equipment










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Ground loops

Telcomroom

Signalsource

Work area equipmentChassis/Cabinet/Rack

Work area

Group loop current

Shielding

Ground potential difference -ground loop source

Source: Siemon

Vs

Vg


manufacturers to provide a low-impedance build-ing ground path from the shielded 8-pin modu-lar (RJ-45) jack through the equipment chassis. Sometimes, the chassis is isolated from the build-ing ground with a protective RC circuit and, in other cases, the shielded RJ-45 jack is completelyisolated from the chassis ground.

Excessive ground loop thresholdsTIA and ISO standards identify the threshold when an excessive ground loop develops as when the dif-ference in potential between the voltage measured at the shield at the work-area end of the cabling, and the voltage measured at the ground wire of the elec-trical outlet used to supply power to the workstation,exceeds 1.0 Vrms (Volts, root mean square). Th is dif-ference in potential should be measured and correct-ed in the fi eld to ensure proper network equipment operation, but values in excess of 1.0 Vrms are very rarely found in coun-tries that have carefully designed and specifi ed building and grounding systems. Furthermore, because the common mode voltage induced by ground loops is low frequency (50 or 60 Hz and their respective harmonics), the balance performance of

the cabling plant itself is suffi cient to ensure immunity regard-less of the actual voltage magnitude.

It is commonly believed that ground loops only appear on screened and shielded cabling systems, but that’s a myth. Th e fear is that ground loops resulting from a diff erence in voltage potential between a screened/shielded cabling system’s ground connections cause excessive common mode currents that canadversely aff ect data transmission. In fact, screens and shields, and the balanced twisted pairs in a UTP cable, are aff ected by diff erences in voltage potential at the end of the channel.

Th e diff erence in the transformer common mode termina-tion impedance at the NIC and the network equipment natu-rally results in common mode noise current being induced on each twisted pair. Grounding of the screened/shielded system in multiple locations can result in common mode noise current be-ing induced on the screen/shield; however, these common mode noise currents do not aff ect data transmission because, regardless of their voltage magnitude, their waveform is always associated with the 50- or 60-Hz profi le of the building AC power.

Th anks to the balance of the cabling at low frequencies, common mode currents induced onto the twisted pair, either directly from equipment-impedance diff erentials or coupled from a screen/shield, are simply subtracted out by the trans-ceiver as part of the diff erential transmission algorithm.

Grounding and cabling systemsTh e ANSI-J-STD-607-A-2002 standard defi nes the building telecommunications grounding and bonding infrastructure that originates at the service equipment (power) ground and extends throughout the building. It is important to recognize that the infrastructure applies to both UTP and screened/shielded cabling systems.

Th e standard includes many mandates, including:1. Th e telecommunications main grounding busbar (TMGB) is

A difference in ground potential between the work area and the telecommunications room is the source of a ground loop. Typically, the difference in potential is between the ground connection at the telecommunications grounding busbar and the building ground connection provided through the network equipment chassis at the work area.





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bonded to the main building service ground. Actual meth-ods, materials, and appropriate specifi cations for each of the components in the telecommunications grounding and bonding system vary according to system and network size, capacity, and local codes.

2. If used, TGBs are bonded to the TMGB via the telecommu-nications bonding backbone.

3. All racks and metallic pathways are connected to the TMGB or TGB.

4. Th e cabling plant and telecommunications equipment are grounded to equipment racks or adjacent metallicpathways.TIA and ISO standards provide one additional step for the

grounding of screened and shielded cabling systems. Specifi -cally, clause 4.6 of ANSI/TIA-568-B.1 and clause 11.3 of ISO/IEC 11801:2002 state that the cable shield shall be bonded to the TGB in the telecommunications room, and that ground-ing at the work area may be accomplished through the equip-ment power connection.

Th is procedure is intended to support the optimum confi gu-ration of one ground connection to minimize the appearance of ground loops, but recognizes that multiple ground connec-tions may be present along the cabling.

When the grounding and bonding recommendations spec-ifi ed in ANSI-J-STD-607-A-2002 were developed, consid-eration was given to the possibility that grounding at the work area through the equipment cord may occur; therefore, there is no need to specifi cally avoid grounding the screened/shielded system at the user’s PC or device. Th e diff erence be-tween a ground connection and a screen/shield connection is notable and important. A ground connection bonds the screened/shielded cabling system to the TGB or TMGB, while a screen/shield connection maintains electrical continuation of the cable screen/shield through the screened/shielded telecom-munications connectors along the full length of cabling.

Part of the function of the screen or shield is to provide a low-impedance ground path for noise currents that are induced on the shielded material. Compliance to the TIA and ISO spec-ifi cations for the parameters of cable and connection hard-ware transfer impedance and coupling attenuation ensures the maintenance of a low-impedance path through all screened/shielded connection points in the cabling system.

For optimum alien crosstalk and noise immunity perfor-mance, shield continuity should be maintained throughout the end-to-end cabling system. UTP patch cords in screened/shielded cabling systems should be avoided.

Building end users should perform a validation toensure that screened and shielded cabling systems are prop-erly grounded to the TGB or TMGB. Here’s a recommended inspection plan:• Visually inspect to verify that all equipment racks/cab-





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Antenna susceptibility:UTP vs. grounded F/UTP

-120

-80

-100

-60

-40

-20

0

100

40 db gain

101

Frequency (MHz)

* Data provided courtesy of NEXANS/Berk-Tek


inets/metallic pathways are bonded to the TGB or TGMB using a 6-AWG conductor.

• Visually inspect to verify that all screened/shielded patch panels are bonded to the TGB or TMGB using a 6-AWG conductor.

• Perform a DC resistance test to ensure that each panel and rack/cabinet grounding connection exhibits a DC resistance measurement of <1 Ω between the bonding point of thepanel/rack and the TGB or TMGB. (Note: Some local/regional standards specify a maximum DC resistance of <5 Ω at this location).

• Document the visual inspection, DC test results, and allother applicable copper/fi ber test results.TIA and ISO standards identify the threshold when an

excessive ground loop develops as when the diff erence inpotential between the voltage measured at the shield at the work-area end of the cabling, and the voltage measured at the ground wire of the electrical outlet used to supply power to the workstation, exceeds 1.0 Vrms. While this diff erence in poten-tial should be measured and corrected in the fi eld to ensureproper network equipment operation, values in excess of1.0 Vrms are very rarely found in countries that have care-fully designed and specifi ed building and grounding systems. Furthermore, because the common mode voltage induced by ground loops is low frequency, the balance performance of the cabling plant is suffi cient to ensure immunity regardless ofthe actual voltage magnitude.

Shield design and the antenna mythShielding off ers the benefi ts of signifi cantly improved pair-to-pair crosstalk performance, alien crosstalk performance, and noise immunity that cannot be matched by any othercabling design strategy. Category 6A and lower-rated F/UTPcables are constructed with an overall foil surrounding the fourtwisted pairs. Category 7 and higher-rated S/FTP cables are con-structed with an overall braid surrounding four individually foil-shielded pairs. Optional drain wires are sometimes provided.

Shielding materials are selected for their ability to maxi-mize immunity to electric fi eld disturbance, capability torefl ect the incoming wave, absorption properties, and ability to provide a low-impedance signal path. As a rule, more con-ductive shielding materials yield greater amounts of incom-ing signal refl ection.

Solid aluminum foil is the preferred shielding media for tele-communications cabling because it provides 100% coverage against high frequency (greater than 100 MHz) leakage, as well as low electrical resistance when properly connected to ground. Th e thickness of the foil shield is infl uenced by the skin eff ect of the interfering noise currents. Skin eff ect is the phenomenon in which the noise current’s depth of penetra-tion decreases as frequency increases.

Typical foil thicknesses are 1.5 mils (0.038 mm) to 2.0 mils (0.051 mm) to match the maximum penetration depth of a30-MHz signal. Th is design approach ensures that higher fre-quency signals will not interfere with the twisted pairs as aresult of their good balance performance. Braids and drain wires add strength to cable assemblies and further decrease

the end-to-end electrical resistance of the shield when thecabling system is properly connected to ground.

A common myth says that screens and shields can behave as antennas because they are long lengths of metal. Th e fear is that screens can “attract” signals that are in the environment, or radiate signals that appear on the twisted pairs. Th e fact is that both screens and shields, and the copper balanced twistedpairs in a UTP cable, will behave as an antenna to somedegree. Th e diff erence is the noise that couples onto the screen or shield is actually 100 to 1,000 times smaller in magnitude than the noise that is coupled onto an unshielded twisted pair in the same environment. Th is diff erence is due to the internal pairs’ well-defi ned and controlled common mode impedance to the ground plane that is provided by the screen/shield.

Here is an analysis of the two types of signal disturbers that can aff ect the noise immunity performance of balanced twist-ed-pair cabling:

At frequencies below 30 MHz, noise currents from the envi-ronment can penetrate the screen/shield and aff ect the twisted pairs; however, the magnitude of these signals is substantiallysmaller (and mostly attenuated due to the absorption loss of the aluminum foil), meaning that unshielded twisted pairs in the same environment are actually subjected to a much higher electric fi eld strength. Th e good news is that the balance per-formance of the cable itself is suffi cient up to 30 MHz to en-sure minimum susceptibility to disturbance from these noise

This data, provided by Nexans/Berk-Tek (www.berktek.com), shows the difference in coupling between two UTP cables (black) is at least 40 dB worse than the interaction between two properly grounded F/UTP cables (blue).





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Antenna susceptibility:UTP vs. ungrounded F/UTP

-120

-80

-100

-60

-40

-20

0

20 db gain

1 10 100Frequency (MHz)

* Data provided courtesy of NEXANS/Berk-Tek


Even when two F/UTP systems are left ungrounded, they still provide a minimum of 20 dB better performance (blue) than two UTP cables (black). [Data provided by Nexans/Berk-Tek.]

sources, regardless of the presence of an overall screen/shield.At frequencies above 30 MHz, noise currents from the envi-

ronment cannot penetrate the screen/shield due to skin eff ects, and the internal twisted pairs are fully immune to interfer-ence. Unfortunately, balance performance is no longer suffi -cient to ensure adequate noise immunity for UTP cabling at these higher frequencies. Th is can have an adverse impact on the cabling system’s ability to maintain the SNR levels required by applications employing DSP technology.

Th e potential for a cable to behave as an antenna can beexperimentally verifi ed by arranging two balanced cables in series, injecting a signal into one cable to emulate a trans-mit antenna across a swept frequency range, and measuring the interference on an adjacent cable to emulate a receivingantenna. As a rule of thumb, the higher the frequency of the noise source, the greater the potential for interference. Th e cou-pling between two UTP cables is a minimum of 40 dB worse than the interaction between two properly grounded F/UTP cables. It should be noted that 40 dB of margin corresponds to 100 times less voltage coupling, thus confi rming the modeled predictions. Th e UTP cable radiates and receives—behaves like an antenna—substantially more than the F/UTP cable.

A second antenna myth is that common mode signalsappearing on a screen or shield can only be dissipated through a low-impedance ground path. Th e fear is that an unground-ed screen will radiate signals that are “bouncing back and forth” and “building up” over the screen/shield. In fact, left unground-ed, a screen/shield will substantially attenuate higher-frequen-cy signals because of the low-pass fi lter formed by its resistance, distributed shunt capacitance, and series inductance.

Th e eff ects of leaving both ends of a foil twisted-paircable ungrounded can also be verifi ed by using the above-mentioned experimental method. Th e coupling between two UTP cables is still a minimum of 20 dB worse than the interac-tion between two ungrounded F/UTP cables. (Note that 20 dBof margin corresponds to 10 times less voltage coupling.) Even under worst-case, ungrounded conditions, the UTP cablebehaves more like an antenna than the F/UTP cable.

Modeled and experimental results clearly dispel these an-tenna myth. Screens and shields off er substantially improved noise immunity compared to unshielded constructions above30 MHz, even when improperly grounded.

Th e performance benefi ts of using screened and fullyshielded systems include:

• Reduced pair-to-pair crosstalk in fully shielded designs;• Reduced alien crosstalk in screened and fully shielded

designs;• Screened Category 6A cable diameters that are smaller

than many 6A UTP cables, allowing greater pathway fi ll/utilization;

• Substantially improved noise immunity at all frequencies,

and especially above 30 MHz when cable balance starts to signifi cantly degrade;

• Signifi cantly increased Shannon Capacity for futureapplications.

Fusion of the bestAchievable SNR margin is dependent upon the combined prop-erties of cabling balance and the common mode and diff erential mode noise immunity provided by screens and shields. Applica-tions rely on positive SNR margin to ensure proper signal trans-mission and minimum BER. With the emergence of 10GBase-T, it has become clear that the noise isolation provided by good balance alone is just barely suffi cient to support transmission objectives. Furthermore, the alien crosstalk and noise immunitybenefi ts provided by F/UTP and S/FTP cabling designs have been demonstrated to off er almost double the ShannonCapacity, a performance advantage that has caught the atten-tion of application developers and system specifi ers alike.

It is oft en said that the telecommunications industry has come full circle in the specifi cation of its preferred media type. In actuality, today’s screened and fully shielded cabling sys-tems represent a fusion of best features of the last two gener-ations of LAN cabling: excellent balance to protect against low-frequency interference, and shielding to protect against high-frequency interference.

(Editor’s note: Th is article is derived from Valerie Rybinski’s white paper, “Screened and Shielded Cabling: Noise Immuni-ty, Grounding, and the Antenna Myth.” Th e paper contains in-formation used in this article, as well as a full explanation of the simplifi ed loop antenna model, a complete bibliography of Rybinski’s sources, and a glossary of terms and acronyms. Th e white paper is available at www.siemon.com.)











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For just about a half-decade, the National Electri-cal Code has included lan-guage requiring the removal of cable from building pathways when that cable is not in current use or tagged for future use. Th e NECdefi nes this type of cable as “abandoned,” and man-dates its removal, though not its method of removal.

Over the past fi ve years, this and other cabling-trade publications have chronicled the development and modi-fi cation of abandoned-cable removal requirements. More recently, trade publications focused on the profession of real-estate management have turned their attention to the topic as well, and with good reason. Th e glut of aban-doned cables inside commercial offi ce buildings today exists, at least in part, because of the transient nature of occupancy in such buildings.

Traditionally, when a tenant moves out of a building, it would leave the cabling in place—sometimes, severalgenerations of it (e.g., Category 3, 5, 5e for some long-term tenants). And most oft en, a new tenant would install a new structured cabling system rather than rely on thecabling left by the previous occupant. Th at practice was great for the business of those organizations that man-ufacture, design, or install structured cabling systems. It was not so great, however, for the building pathways’fuel loads—which led to the removal requirements.

Teamwork neededAs the past few years have shown, the entire situation has not been glorious for the owners of commercial build-ings either. Th ey essentially were left on the hook for the cost of removing years’, and in some cases decades’, worth of abandoned cable. Th e Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA Interna-tional; www.boma.org) is a trade association that pro-vides education and advocacy for property owners and managers, covering all types of buildings. Th e orga-

nization has adopted a position on the existence, andremoval, of abandoned cable.

To quote BOMA’s position paper directly, “Building owners, managers, tenants, and service providers need to work cooperatively to ensure that all parties under-

stand their responsibilities to comply with the NationalElectrical Code provisions on removing or taggingunused cabling in buildings.”

Aft er providing some background information on the NEC provisions addressing abandoned cable—and noting that while the NEC itself is not law, many juris-dictions in the United States adopt the document by ref-erence into local codes—BOMA requests specifi c action from its members.

Again, directly from the position paper: “BOMAInternational recommends that building owners and managers survey their buildings to identify unused

After weaving through a series of National Electrical Code articles defi ning, and requiring removal of, abandoned cables, technicians must weave through masses like these to ensure compliance with the locally adopted building code.

Abandoned cable removala dogged challenge for all

Unfortunately, for everyone involved, ignoring the issue won’t make it go away.

PATRICK McLAUGHLINPATRICK McLAUGHLIN is chief editor of is chief editor of Cabling Installation & Cabling Installation & MaintenanceMaintenance..







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cable. If such wires exist, members should identify the wiring by its rating (riser rated “CMR,” plenum rated “CMP”) and its use (communications, alarm, security, etc.). Th e NEC 2002 and 2005 include language that allows some cabling to be retained if it is tagged for future use as long as it meets the permitted use criteria specifi ed for cable installations (i.e., minimum of

“CMR” and/or “CMP”). Any cable that does not meet the per-mitted use specifi cations should be removed.

Leasing languageTh e BOMA paper continues: “Your leases should clearly state that tenants must remove any cabling that is abandoned dur-ing the term of their tenancy, and/or your license agreements should require service providers to remove all wires upon the termination of the contract. We recommend that you review your leases and license agreements to ascertain exactly who was responsible for the installation and/or abandoning of the cabling and whether you have recourse to recover any of the funds needed to remove the wire. Next, make any amend-ments necessary if you are not already protected by theseagreements.”

As BOMA pointed out to its membership, abandoned cable is a code issue within those jurisdictions that have adopted the 2002 or 2005 NEC. As such, it is subject to enforcement by

the local authority having jurisdiction.Th ough this author did not get an on-the-record comment concerning enforcement of abandoned-cable removal, some commented anonymously that enforcement varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Words getting in the way?One potential reason for such unpredictable enforcement could be the sometimes-confounding wording within the NEC in which abandoned cable is referenced. Th e 2002 NEC includes seven separate sections that mandate the cable’s removal, and an accompanying seven individual sections that defi ne the term “abandoned cable.”

Th e seven sections of NEC 2002 that contain the defi nitions are: 640.2, 725.2, 760.2, 770.2, 800.2, 820.2, and 830.2. Th eseven sections with the removal language are: 640.3, 725.3, 760.3, 770.3, 800.52, 820.3, and 830. Th e requirements forremoval are worded essentially the same, as follows: “Th e ac-cessible portion of abandoned [application for which cables are used, or cable type] cables shall not be permitted to remain.”

Simply, the code-based requirements to remove abandoned cables are not going away. How quickly those abandonedcables themselves are going away appears to depend on thetenacity of building owners/managers, along with the enforce-ment procedures of the local AHJ.





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technology

Many companies are planning to install networks with the ability to transmit 10-Gbit/sec Ethernet to meet the ever-increas-ing demand for bandwidth and im-proved response times. Th e need for higher bandwidth fi rst manifests itself in the back-bone cabling or in data centers. Shielded cabling systems are entering center stage in the promotional battles for market share. Th e question whether to select, specify, and install unshielded versus shielded has consequently become the topic of the day.

Th e Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE; www.ieee.org) completed and approved a new chapter in the Ethernet standard (802.3) to enable10-Gbit/sec Ethernet transmission over twisted-pair cop-per cabling. Th is implementation, called 10GBase-T, is specifi ed in a standard that supports both unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) and screened or fully shielded twist-ed-pair (STP) cabling systems.

Th is article explains the transmission-performancerequirements for the twisted-pair cabling systemdefi ned in the 10GBase-T standard. It will also discuss the following questions:

• Is the familiar UTP cabling no longer a viable choice? • Has shielded cabling become the new solution for

high-speed applications like 10GBase-T?

Twisted-pair transmission requirementsTo achieve the 10-Gbit/sec data rate, each wire pair in the twisted-pair cabling must be able to transmit800 million symbols per second (data rate of 800 Mega Baud). A “symbol” is a voltage level; a new symbol must be transmitted every 1.25 nanoseconds (or 1.25 billionth of a second). To support this very high rate of signal transmission, the cabling performance parameters are specifi ed up to 500 MHz. In comparison, the Catego-

ry 6 cabling standard defi nes the transmission perfor-mance of the cabling over the frequency range from1 through 250 MHz.

Th e cabling standards characterize the performance of twisted-pair data cabling using a signal-to-noiseratio (SNR) analysis. Th is method defi nes:

• Th e minimum required signal strength (or the max-imum signal loss allowed) over the frequency range of interest—in this case, over the range 1 through 500 MHz;

• A number of noise parameters or disturbances that cannot exceed established values over the same fre-quency range. Th e specifi ed noise parameters

Whether using Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or newer Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cabling, successful transmission depends on high-quality workmanship, such as maintaining the twist rates all the way into the jack.

Twisted-pair optionsfor 10-Gigabit Ethernet

Conducting appropriate tests will help ensure your medium of choice is ready for high-frequency, high-speed transmission.

HUGO DRAYEHUGO DRAYE is marketing manager for Fluke Networks’ certifi cation is marketing manager for Fluke Networks’ certifi cation tools (www.fl ukenetworks.com). He holds a Master’s degree in electrical tools (www.fl ukenetworks.com). He holds a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Louvain, Belgium, and an MBA from engineering from the University of Louvain, Belgium, and an MBA from Seattle University.Seattle University.





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Source: Fluke Networks

UTP vs. screened UTP cable construction

ConductorInsulationPairPair shield

Cable shieldSheath

ConductorInsulationPairShield

Sheath

ConductorInsulationPairPair shield

Sheath

ConductorInsulationPairSheath

UTP STP

S/UTP S/STP


are related to crosstalk between wire pairs in the cable and signal refl ection on each wire pair measured by the return loss parameter.

Because of the very high frequency range required for 10GBase-T, the crosstalk requirements must be expanded to include not only the crosstalk that happens between wire pairs within each cabling link, but also to include the crosstalk that is induced from wire pairs in adjacent cabling links. Th e lat-ter is called alien crosstalk. Th e performance of each individ-ual cabling link is certifi ed by the “in-channel” tests, while the alien crosstalk performance or the coupling between wire pairs in adjacent links is to be certifi ed by the “between-chan-

nel” test parameters.How can you be assured that the installed cabling system

will support 10GBase-T transmission? Industry standardsdefi ne the test parameters as well as the measurement method-ology to assure compliance of installed cabling systems. Th is testing procedure is called cabling certifi cation.

Applying the standardsTh e IEEE has been the organization to develop, expand, and maintain the “Ethernet” standards, in its 802.3 set of spec-ifi cations. IEEE project 802.3an developed and defi ned the system to transmit 10-GbE over twisted-pair cabling. Th is project encompasses all aspects of the network implementation,including the minimum capability of the cabling link between a transmitting device and a receiving device. Th e IEEE isfocused on the transmission performance of the end-to-end cabling link independent of the number of connections or

other cabling installation issues. IEEE 802.3an development has been completed and was approved by it standards board in June 2006.

Th e cabling industry is undertaking two sets of activities:• Guidelines for cabling compliance with the transmission

requirements of 10GBase-T;• A new cabling standard that delivers better transmission

performance than Category 6, called Augmented Catego-ry 6 (Category 6A) or Augmented Class E (abbreviated Class EA by the International Organization for Standard-ization [ISO]).

In the North American market, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA; www.tiaonline.org) is the lead-ing standards body for data communications cabling. Th e ISO, meanwhile, develops, publishes, and maintains standards for the worldwide market. Both standards bodies are involved with the two activities mentioned above.

Cabling guidelines for compliance with 10GBase-TTh e TIA published a document titled Telecommunications Systems Bulletin 155 (TIA TSB-155), which contains the guidelines and performance criteria by which any cabling system can be evaluated for compliance with the cabling transmission requirements for 10GBase-T. Th e guidelinesin TSB-155 address the in-channel performance (testparameters that defi ne the performance of an individualcabling link over the frequency range from 1 through500 MHz) and the between-channel performance(signal coupling between adjacent links commonly referred to as alien crosstalk). Th e ISO is in the process of creating a Technical Report (TR 24750) that serves the same purpose,and intends to provide the same guidance as the TIATSB-155 document. (Th ese guidelines do not suppose aspecific Category or Class of cabling, but it will bediffi cult to meet the performance established by TSB-155[TR 24750] for any cabling lower than Category 6 or Class E.)

New cabling standardsBoth TIA and ISO are developing a new cabling type called Augmented Category 6 (Category 6A) or Augmented Class E (Class EA). Th is new cabling will off er better performance than Category 6 or Class E cabling. Th e performance of the in-channel and between-channel parameters will be defi ned up to 500 MHz. Th e standards activities that defi ne the Aug-mented cabling systems are not yet complete, even though many manufacturers off er Category 6A (Class EA) solutions in the market. Th e TIA development is further along than the ISO development, and will be published as Addendum 10 to the TIA standard 568-B.2 (TIA-568-B.2-10). Th is TIA docu-ment is, at the time of this writing, in Draft 7.0.

An important reason for the new cabling systems is

Adding a foil shield around the four pairs of Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) creates Screened UTP (S/UTP). Wrapping a foil shield around each pair creates Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). Screened STP (S/STP) adds a foil screen around all four shielded wire-pairs.





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that Category 6 cabling may not satisfy the between-chan-nel performance (alien crosstalk performance), especial-ly for longer links. TSB-155 states that Category 6 “should” perform satisfactorily for links up to 37 meters long; it may well work up to 55 meters, and it may need some mitigation if you want to run 10GBase-T over Category 6 links longer than 55 meters.

In a real-world installation, the alien crosstalk performance of installed Category 6 cabling depends on many factors. Th e

best advice we can give: Test alien crosstalk performance of installed Category 6 cabling before deploying 10GBase-T. If the links pass the requirements specifi ed in TSB-155, they are ready to support 10GBase-T. One design goal for the Cate-gory 6A system states that it shall satisfy the alien crosstalk performance for 10GBase-T for a full 100-meter horizon-tal channel.

Starting from scratchA new cabling installation should be treated as a long-terminvestment. Electronic devices are typically replaced severaltimes within the lifespan of the cabling system. Replac-ing a cabling system is a much more disruptive and costlyproject than exchanging network devices like switches and routers. You should, therefore, consider the best cabling system for the time horizon of your investment. In a newdata center design, this decision should favor a Category 6Acabling system.

As mentioned earlier, shielded cabling types are getting much attention in the Category 6A market. Th e standards do not favor UTP over STP construction. Instead, as wasexplained earlier, the standards set performance limitsfor the in-channel transmission capability as well as for the between-channel capability.

We have witnessed the testing of many UTP cablinginstallations that fully meet the requirements spelled out in the proposed Category 6A standard. Th e shield-ing in the screened cable types off er better electromagneticinterference (EMI) performance and diminishes the sig-nal coupling between wire pairs in adjacent cabling links. Ashielded cabling installation, if properly installed, shouldoff er better margins for the alien crosstalk tests.

Th is raises an interesting question: Do cabling systems with very good margins (15 dB or more) perform better in every-

day network operations than cabling with merely good (say, 5 dB) margins? We believe the answer is, “No.” Th e distinc-tion is not noticeable. It is true that a reasonable margin of a few dB above the minimum requirements protects network traffi c from spurious and random EMI events that undoubt-edly occur. Also, remember that the dB scale is not a linear scale. For example, a worst-case alien crosstalk margin of6 dB means that at the worst-performing frequency, the mea-sured alien crosstalk signal is half of the allowable signal

level for alien crosstalk.

Considering unshieldedIn the selection process betweenunshielded and a variety of screened and shielded cabling options, UTP remains the more economical sys-tem. Installation contractors in the

North American market are familiar with unshielded ca-ble types. Category 6A UTP may, however, bring a few new challenges.

Many of the Category 6A UTP implementations have big-ger outside diameters, and the density in patch panels hasdecreased. Th e increased outside diameter (OD) creates a greater distance between wire pairs in adjacent links, therebyreducing the between-channel signal coupling. A bigger OD for the cabling does, however, aff ect the fi ll rate in ducts and pathways. An increase in the OD of 0.1 inch, from 0.25 inch to 0.35 inch, represents an increase in fi ll volume of 21%. Italso aff ects the ease of handling and bending of cable bun-dles. If you select a UTP Category 6A cable with an increased outside diameter, pathway layout, duct sizes, and cable sus-pension should be designed to accommodate the OD param-eter of the cable.

Alien near-end crosstalk (NEXT) is susceptible to the per-formance of the cabling near ends of the link, most noticeably in patch cords, patch panels, and the wire management in the racks. To alleviate or mitigate alien crosstalk problems in UTP installations, the Category 6A patch panels support less den-sity and trade off that density for alien crosstalk performance by allowing more space between jacks in the panel.

Alien NEXT for UTP cabling can also be improved byadjusting the practices of bundling in the wire management of the racks. Allowing more free fl ow between the cables and placing wraps or hook-and-loop ties a few feet apart, rather than a few inches apart, will help. Also, smaller bundles are more manageable and will require less time to conduct the alien crosstalk tests.

Shielded/screened optionsIt is important to note that there are several diff erent varieties of shielded cabling, and that a series of new acronyms has

Do cabling systems with very good margins (15 dB or

more) perform better in everyday network operations

than cabling with merely good (say, 5 dB) margins? We

believe the answer is, “No.”










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emerged to describe the diff erent cable types. In the most com-mon construction type, the wire pairs are fully covered with a metal foil. Th is construction used to be called FTP (foiled twisted-pair) or ScTP (screened twisted-pair) but is now oft en referred to as F/UTP (foiled/unshielded twisted-pair) or S/UTP (screened/unshielded twisted-pair). An alternate construction provides a foil around each individual wire pair. And the Cat-egory 7 cable construction provides a foil around each wire pair, then a foil around the four foil-screened wire pairs and lastly, a braided screen woven of thin wire around that out-side foil. Th is cable construction is also called SSTP (shielded screened twisted-pair). Th e fl exibility and manageability of SSTP is much less than that of UTP.

Th e foil screen or shielding is eff ective in preventing high-frequency signal interference between wire pairs in adjacent cables. Good cable balance off ers great immunity from inter-ference caused by lower-frequency signals. To obtain these benefi ts from screens, you must follow a number of veryimportant installation practices. Th e key concerns are the shield must fully surround the wire pairs in the cable from end to end, and must provide proper grounding.

Th e shield must be kept intact over the entire length of the cable, and must fully surround the cable and connecting hard-ware. If the shield is, for example, formed into a pigtail over the last inch of the cable, it will reduce the protection against EMI and alien crosstalk. In addition, avoid splitting the shield at sharp bends in the cable. Th e shield is typically a ribbon of aluminum foil that is wrapped around the cable. If the cable is bent at too sharp of a radius, the shield may separate, thereby reducing the eff ectiveness of the shield and its ability to pro-tect against alien crosstalk.

Th e shield must be grounded on both ends of the link. It is oft en said that a shield is 90% eff ective when it is grounded at one end of the link. Such a shield continues to protect the wire pairs against many external high-frequency disturbances,but an open-ended shield may allow resonances at certain frequencies. A resonance creates the chance that the signals couple into the data wire pairs, creating a signifi cant alien crosstalk disturbance at those individual frequencies. Field certifi cation may record very low margins for alien crosstalk at those frequencies.

Because the shield should be terminated to ground at both ends, it is critical that the ground potential at both ends isapproximately the same to avoid any ground-loop currents. Th e TIA-607 standard on grounding and bonding allows a maximum diff erence in ground potential of 1 Vrms (Volt root mean square) between the two ends. Th is rule requires that the telecommunications system is grounded throughout in compliance with the TIA-607 standard and that the electrical system in the building is correctly grounded and fully com-plies with rules spelled out in the National Electrical Code and

other codes enforced by local jurisdictions.In the fi eld, you can verify that the ground potential meets

the diff erence requirement before you connect the other end. Connect the shield at one end, then measure the alternating-current voltage between the shield and the ground connection at the other end using a digital voltmeter that covers a band-width of 100 kHz or better.

Th e performance in or near the patch panels plays a sig-nifi cant role in maintaining the eff ectiveness and protection delivered by a shielded cable. Installation workmanship and experience play a big role in the quality of the installed sys-tem. Field certifi cation verifi es that the desired quality has been delivered.

Shielded cabling may also require additional testing inPower over Ethernet (PoE) applications because the shielding tends to retain heat within the cable, which increases return loss and reduces cable life. Th e proposed 802.3at standard, whichincreases the maximum PoE power from 13 watts to 30 watts, makes this issue more critical. 802.3at will set maximum temperature limits for unshielded cabling but does not yetaddress shielded cabling.

Because PoE is not oft en used within data centers, the use of shielded cabling in the data center sidesteps this potential problem. If PoE is run over shielded cabling, the cable should be tested periodically for return loss to assess whether any thermal damage may have occurred.

Shielding against aliensTh e IEEE 10GBase-T standard includes requirements forcabling; the TIA TSB-155 and ISO TR 24750 documentsincorporate these requirements. Th e new cabling standardsunder development—Category 6A and Class EA—aim to delivera future-ready cabling system that supports the full100-meter channel requirements for 10GBase-T. Th ese new standards also aim to support possible future developments.

We can predict that alien crosstalk performance is going to be part of any future high-speed network application. Because of theemphasis on alien crosstalk, screened/shielded cabling types are gaining attention in the market. Properly installed shield-ing enhances EMI performance in general and alien crosstalk performance in particular.

Certifi cation testing has always been an important part of cabling deployment. It becomes a very important step if you are interested in deploying 10GBase-T over installed twisted-pair cabling. Certifi cation of new Augmented cabling systems, whether constructed with unshielded or shielded components, delivers the assurance that the cable system is ready to sup-port 10GBase-T and beyond. In-channel testing should be performed on 100% of the links, and alien crosstalk test-ing should be performed on a selected number of disturbedcables in the cabling installation.










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The technological food chain that is the data center yields chal-lenges at every turn. Over the past several months, we have detailed on these pages the myriad consid-erations that go into planning, deploying, and admin-istering networks and their structured cabling systems within data centers. High-density networks using blade servers present concerns that include cable manage-ment, power use, and potentially cabinet security.

And that is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.On a monthly basis, we try to show you glimpses of

the “bottom of the iceberg” for professionals tasked with administering data center cabling systems. Th is month, we take a look at some of the most recently introduced products and technologies that focus specifi cally ondata center transmission and administration.

High capacity fi ber managerTh e company’s FiberGuide fi ber management system now includes a 24 x 4-inch system, doubling the network

capacity of typical 12-inch systems. FiberGuide is designed to protect and route optical-fi ber patch cords, multi-fi ber cable assemblies, and intra-facility fi ber cable to and from fi ber splice enclosures, dis-tribution frames, and fi ber-optic

terminal devices. It also is built to ensure that a 2-inch minimum bend radius is maintained throughout.

ADC

www.adc.com

Cabinet security systemTh e Electronic Locking System for the company’s line of cabinets is an IP-addressable locking solutiondesigned to increase data center security by providing

automated access control and monitoring. Managed with soft ware via Ethernet connection, the system elim-inates keys by assigning each user with access codes or proximity cards to open specific cabinets, while maintaining a detaileddata log of access attempts, configuration changes,and modifications to cabinet handles. Com-ponents include a com-munications module, electronic lock upgrade kit, electronic lock module, keypad module, and proximity card reader. Each Electronic Locking System is customized to meet specifi c data centerrequirements.

CHATSWORTH PRODUCTS

www.chatsworth.com

Web-enabled power controlTh e iBootBar remote power distribution and manage-ment solution lets you reboot or power-control remote telecom equipment via an IP network using and Internet browser. It provides control of eight A/C power outlets,

and each can be turned on, off , or cycled for power-on reset. A serial port or optional internal modem (sup-ports data and voice) provides out-of-band access when the network is unavailable. Supporting Telnet, SNMP, SMTP, and SSL security, iBootBar can be confi gured

Products and technologiesmeeting myriad challenges

Latest innovations aim to alleviate problems associated with cable management, power consumption, security and, oh-by-the-way, signal transmission.

PATRICK MPATRICK MCCLAUGHLIN LAUGHLIN is chief editor and is chief editor and STEVE SMITHSTEVE SMITH is executive is executive editor of editor of Cabling Installation & Maintenance.Cabling Installation & Maintenance.







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to monitor networked equipment and will automatically reboot the equipment in the event of a system freeze.

DATAPROBE

www.dataprobe.com

Data center power reducerQLx4000 Lane Extender ICs are em-bedded in an ultra-small QSFP (quad small-form-factor pluggable) connec-

tor, enabling longer reach, thinner cable interconnects, and reducing kilowatts in the data center. Combining a four-chan-nel equalizer with integrated higher layer functionality designed to ensure full com-pliance with the QSFP specifi cation, the technology eliminates the need to con-vert to fi ber-optics. Th ese Lane Extend-ers come in a 4 x 7-mm package, and can be integrated in any cable shell, line card, or backplane. Fully embeddable units fea-ture 240 mW power dissipation and 10 to 34 Gbits/sec bandwidth range.

QUELLAN INC.

www.quellan.com

10-Gbit/sec patch cordTh ese 10-Gbit/sec-capable, RJ-45-style patch cords feature a proprietary color-coded snap-on clip that can be added or removed while the plug is inserted or dis-engaged, allowing improved fl exibility in patch fi eld identifi cation and manage-ment. Th e 10G 6A F/UTP MC cords in-clude an ultra-slim boot designed for tight side-stackability in high density patching environments, such as blade servers. Th e

boot provides integrated “cantilevered” latch protection that limits snagging whenremoving cords and allows the latch to beoperated from further back on the plug. Th e plug also features an enhanced strain relief boot designed to ensure proper bend radius, fl exibility, and boot retention. Coupled with the company’s patented cross-pair metallic isolator and 360-de-gree crimp, the plug maintains cable pair geometry and eliminates deformation. As part of a 10G 6A F/UTP end-to-end channel, these MC cords meet or exceed all 10GBase-T standard requirements,including alien crosstalk parameters.

SIEMON

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www.cable-install.comwireless

As the wireless LAN (WLAN)industry looks ahead to the high speeds promised by the IEEE 802.11n protocol and the growing expectation for more critical applications to successfullyrun over wireless, the architectures are evolving.

Legacy Wi-Fi networks aimed at the enterprise mar-ketplace included autonomous “fat” wireless access points (WAPs) that didn’t off er adequate management, security, and roaming capabil-ities. Later, centralized systems used “thin” WAPs and moved theintelligence and security policies to a main switch-based controller to get around the challenges experi-enced with legacy systems.

But the war between “fat” and “thin” may not be over. Some in the industry are discovering that the centralized controller approach may not be the best architecture to handle the ever-increasing number of Wi-Fi users, demand for fasterwireless speeds, and emergingWi-Fi applications.

Is it possible that wireless LAN technology is coming full circle with intelligence being put back into the WAP?

Losing the fatTh e fi rst autonomous WAPs were stand-alone devices with routing capabilities able to handle everything from networkprocessing and radio-frequency (RF) communica-tion to authentication and encryption. Many of these

traditional WAPs were fi rst used for critical verticalapplications, such as inventory management, and were a huge benefi t to several types of businesses.

As the number of WAPs increased, however, they became increasinglydiffi cult and time-consuming to manage. Manual confi guration of each WAP was oft en required to set power level, channel, andsecurity policies. In addition, manyencountered security breach-es due to fi rst-generation secu-rity standards that proved to be easily broken.

“Th e security issue with traditionalfat WAPs wasn’t so much based on the architecture and the fact that the intelligence resided in the WAP, but more because the security stan-dards were not robust at that time,” says Frans Versluis, senior managerof wireless marketing for ADC (www.adc.com). In addition tosecurity and management issues, the process of having to re-authen-ticate with each WAP when roam-ing provided limited mobility.

To solve the management, security, and mobilityissues, a centralized management approach was neededto perform signal and channel adjustments and setsecurity and roaming policies from one central location. Functionality and intelligence was moved from the

WLAN goes fat to thinand back again

When the industry moved to centralized wireless solutions with switch-based controllers, many thought the war between “fat” and “thin” was over. But now it appears the battle is still on.

BETSY ZIOBRONBETSY ZIOBRON is a freelance writer and regular contributor to is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Cabling Cabling Installation & MaintenanceInstallation & Maintenance. She can be reached at: [email protected]. She can be reached at: [email protected]

Ortronics’ centralized wireless system features the very small Wi-Jack WAP that works in con-junction with an Aruba Networks’ controller.





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WAP to a centralized WLAN controller, which is essentiallya switch responsible for WAP confi guration and administer-ing security policies while also routing data packets from and to the WAPs.

“In the past, the mentality in the enterprise was that wire-less would be used for isolatedlocations, with a few WAPs to cover open areas and conference rooms,” says Bob Elliot, productdevelopment manager at Panduit (www.panduit.com). “Distributedsystems with intelligent WAPs worked well for that. When cus-tomers began looking for ways to use wireless technology through-out the entire enterprise, the modelchanged to having several tens or even hundreds of WAPs. Th at’s when customers realized that programming WAPs from one centralized controller made more sense.”

Getting into thinVendors such as Cisco (www.cisco.com) and Aruba Networks (www.arubanetworks.com) led the way with centralized controller-based systems, and many cabling and connectivity vendorseither jumped on board with their ownoff erings or teamed up with Cisco and Aruba. Ortronics/Legrand (www.ortronics.com), for ex-ample, was the fi rst structured cabling company to market a centralized wireless system (in late 2004) when they teamed up with Aruba Networks (see pho-to, page 40). Th e Ortronics so-lution includes their own Power over Ethernet (PoE) injectors anddual-band/dual-radio Wi-Jack WAPs that work in conjunction withAruba Networks’ controllers.

“Th e Aruba controller manages each Wi-Jack by downloading the confi guration to the WAP,” explains Tony Walker, wireless marketing manager for Ortronics/Legrand. “Users can automatically manage the number of users, power levels, and the coverage area based on defi ned thresholds. If a WAP goes out of service, the controller recog-nizes that, because every 30 nanoseconds, it’s communicating with the WAP—and if it doesn’t get a response, it automaticallypowers up the surrounding WAPs to cover the area.”

According to Walker, the Wi-Jack WAPs are connected through the structured cabling system so that the data stream

is transmitted wirelessly from the client to the WAP and then over the structured cabling system to the controller.

Panduit teamed up with Cisco Systems in late 2005 to deliverthe Panduit Wireless Connection Solution, a combination of Cisco’s WAPs, controllers, and antennas, and Panduit’s WAP

enclosures, PoE patch panels, and connectivity. Th e system is available with either distributed (fat) or centralized (thin) WAPs to suit various types of deployment.

“Customers are now talking wired and wireless in the same sentence,” says Panduit’s Elliot. “You can’t separate the two, which is why Panduit now offers both wireless and wired

solutions.” This year, Belden (www.belden.com)

entered the wireless networkingarena with even “thinner” WAPs.

Th e Belden Wireless Solution fea-tures what is known as chan-nel blanket technology, which is deployed using edge switch architecture (see fi gure, “Four-radio WAP topology, page 44). Th is setup prevents having to send packets back along the structured cabling to a central-

ized controller, which ironicallyis considered one of the key

benefits of moving back to fat WAPs (see figure, “Connecting

WAPs without centralized controller”,page 44).

In this scenario, the WAPs are so simple that they do not even require a MAC or IP address, and they aredirectly connected to the edge switch that makes all packet routing and securitydecisions while delivering PoE to the WAPs. Th e Belden technology allows each WAP to operate on the same chan-

nel to create channel blankets with no co-channel interfer-ence or latency, as opposed to the more common method

“Most people are underwhelmed with the performance

of Wi-Fi networks and would rather connect to the

wired network. Users are wanting to do more than just

e-mail and browsing over the wireless LAN, and putting

more intelligence at the edge actually improves speed.”

ADC’s WFX Wi-Fi Array features an embedded control-ler with integrated 802.11b/g and 802.11a WAPs in one device.





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• “Fat” access points

• 802.11b dominant

• Lacked centralized management

First generation: 1998-2001Independent access points

• “Thin” access points with centralized switch

• Addressed management and security issues

• Complicated and expensive

Second generation: 2001-2005WLAN switch

• Array controller and integrated access points

• Capacity and coverage maximized

• Fewer devices, cost effective and simple

Third generation: 2006-futureWLAN array

Third-generation WAP architecture

• 12 60˚ sectors provide 100% RF overlap for redundancy and failover

• One non-overlapping channel per sector

• High-gain antenna system for increased range

An intelligent “fat” array

ABG1 Listening only

ABG2

A12

A1

A11A10A9

A8

A7 A6

A2

A3A4A5ABG4 ABG3

= + +


of individual Wi-Fi cells. Th e company says this scenarioallows for easily increasing the density of WAPs to provide more capacity.

“In our wireless solution, the WAPs basically become just antennas, similar to a distributed antenna system,” explains Brad Meeks, director of wire-less marketing for Belden.

“Association between theclient and the network neveroccurs at the WAP, but atthe edge switch.”

Meeks adds, “Depending on the density, a client may be communicating with two or three WAPs at any given time. When the client sends data, it is the edge switch that decides in real time on a packet-by-packet basis which WAP the packetis received from. Th e switch bases that decision on sev-eral parameters, including interference, number of users, and capacity.”

Belden’s solution includes two-radio WAPs to provide two separate channel blankets that can be set up as two sepa-rate networks—ideal for specifying one channel for voice andanother for data. Later this year, the company will introduce a four-radio WAP, PoE extender, and management console soft -ware for monitoring and confi guring each edge switch.

Recent industry buzz has focused on moving intelligence back into the WAP to either eliminate or reduce the use of a

switch-based controller. While still a proponent of centralized systems for their features and capacity through dense deploy-ment, Ortronics’ Walker is noticing the same trend: “If you have a controller managing 48 WAPs, that’s a lot of congestion

on the network. And if I’m transferring a fi le to a person using the same WAP on the same network, it makes sense for thedata stream to bypass the structured cabling and controller bygoing to the WAP and then directly to the other person. Th is

is why some vendors are moving some processing intelligence back out to the WAP.”

Coming around againTrapeze Networks (www.trapezenetworks.com) is one com-pany contributing to this trend. Their Smart Mobile WLANarchitecture features WAPs that can perform encryption,enforce policy, and forward data, depending on application needs. According to the company, this off loads some of the controller’s responsibility, leaving it free to enforce more stringent policies and enable fast, seamless identity-basedroaming.

ADC’s WFX Enterprise Wi-Fi Solution is an example of a cabling and connectivity vendor supporting the idea of in-

telligence in the WAP (see figure, “An in-telligent ‘fat’ array,” above). ADC’s WFX Wi-Fi Array com-bines an embedded controller and up to16 WAPs in a singledevice to provide higher capacity over a larger coverage area—up to 864 Mbits/sec according to the com-pany (see photo page 42, and fi gure “Th ird-generation WAParchitecture,” left ).

“Th e controller re-sides within the array, has one MAC address, and acts as a switch with up to 2-Gbit switching capability,” explainsADC’s Versluis. “We still take advantage of centralized capabil-ities by providing an out-of-band management platform

ADC’s WLAN Array is a third generation device that puts the intelligence back into the WAP yet integrates several sector-ized antennas to increase signal range and capacity.

ADC’s WFX-3900 Array is an intelligent “fat” WAP that features an embedded controller with four 802.11b/g and twelve 802.11a integrated WAPs to provide a maximum of 864 Mbits/sec of throughput for a larger area.





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Source: Belden

Connecting WAPs without centralized controller

Edge ethernetswitch

Edge ethernetswitch

Core ethernetswitch

LAN backbone

Cell-based system core architecture Channel blanket edge architecture

LAN backbone

WLAN switch

WLAN L2switch with PoE

AP APAP AP AP AP

IP4MAC4

IP1MAC1

IP1MAC1

IP2MAC2

IP3MAC3

Patch cablesPatch cable

Direct Category 5e cable3 Switch ports3 PoE ports3 IP addresses

PoE injector

Direct Category 5e cable

Source: Belden

Channel 1with increased throughput



Rogue access point detection

Four-radio WAP topology

Channel blankets


that allows users to push out pro-fi les, radio settings, and security information to each array.”

Comparable to the differ-ence between a light bulb and a f lashlight, instead of using omni-directional antennas that distribute signal equally in all directions, ADC’s WFX arrays feature sectorizedantennas that focus signal in one direction over a longerdistance.

“A person sitting at 2 o’clock from the array would con-nect through one of the array’s radios while someone at 6 o’clock would connect to another,” explains Versluis.

“Anyone that stays within that 125,000-square-foot space never hits the wired network or has to worry about roam-ing because the embedded controller manages all the radi-

os in the array.” According to Versluis, eliminating the controller an packing more radios into one device reduces costs and simplifi es deployment because there are signifi cant-ly fewer devices required.

A new company, Aerohive Networks (www.aerohive.com), recently put even more intelligence back into the WAP with the introduction of the “cooperative control” HiveAPs that act as switches and share information with each other over both wired and wireless media, completely eliminating the

use of a switch-based control-ler (see photo, and figure, HiveAP cooperative control,” page 46). In this solution, the company says, each individualHiveAP features cooperative control soft ware that provides enterprise-class roaming, RF management, mesh networking, best-path forwarding, security, and quality of service at the net-works’ edge.

“Routers have information about the best route they can take for transmitting data;we do that with our WAPs,”explains Stephen Philip, senior director of marketing for Aero-hive Networks. “We can con-nect as many HiveAPs to the wired network as we like, and these WAPs also mesh togetherto communicate wirelessly as well. Th is allows cooperative RF control and automatic chan-nel selection between WAPs in the same hive, as well as the ability to intelligently passuser credentials from one WAP to neighboring WAPs for seam-less roaming.”

Th e company also off ers a HiveManager appliance to pro-vide a single management

“As we move to the higher speeds offered by 802.11n

and running more mission critical applications over Wi-Fi,

do we really want to be backhauling all that traffi c over

the LAN to a centralized controller?”

The Belden Wireless Solution connects very simple WAPs directly to an edge switch to eliminate the use of a centralized controller residing in the core network.

By having WAPs all on the same channel, Belden’s 4-radio WAPs create four separate channel blankets that can act as individual networks with no co-channel interference or roaming latency.





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The fi rst triple-play tester that

replaces 6 traditional testers.

Tri-Porter™ is the ultimate “Triple Play” solution with over 50 separate features and capabilities that will make your job of assuring customers’ cabling systems easier than ever before. It combines a world-class speakerphone butt set with a full ethernet network tester that has active network negotiation capabilities, as well as line testing at 100Mbits to qualify VoIP.

The video/coax tests include a unique tone generation technology that will let you trace signals thru splitters, traps and fi lters to fi nd the other end of a cable link. It further detects RF energy and measures signal strength of cable runs. Tri-Porter™ handles a full range of physical wiring tests for the fast, effi cient delivery of IP-based voice, data and video services for either the home or small offi ce.

The perfect 21st century tool for 21st century needs.

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Tri-Porter™ (IVT600) includes a handy carrying case, along with the 20-piece wiremapping sets, for remote discovery of telephone, network and coax cables.

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Source: Aerohive

HiveAP

Wired connectionWireless connection

Layer 2 Ethernet switch

Layer 3 Ethernet switchCooperativecontrol signaling

HiveAP cooperative control

Wired LAN

Wireless LAN


Aerohive’s WLAN system is based on what the company calls cooperative-control technology, which the company says provides enterprise-class roaming, RF manage-ment, mesh networking, best-path forwarding, security, and quality of service.

interface for confi g- uration, updates, and device monitoring.

“Th e key diff erence between our system and a centralized controller-based system is that our HiveManager is not a switch; it is only used to con-fi gure the wireless network,” says Philip. “You can then turn it off , and the wireless network still functions because the WAPs move the packets and make thedecisions on who isallowed where. In con-trast, if you turn off a switch-based controller, the wireless LAN is down.”

Battle still onIn the the war between “fat” and “thin,” many solutions seem to lie somewhere between like Belden’s solution that features thin WAPs, yet eliminates the use of a centralized controller by connecting WAPs directly to an edge switch. Cost, of course, continues to be a key issue in this battle, and the idea that thin WAPs with switch-based controllers are cheaper may be a misconception.

“Th in WAPs have always been thought to be cheaper, buttoday’s equivalent autonomous and thin WAPs areessentially the same price, and the controller is still veryexpensive,” says Aerohive’s Philip. “Th e idea that we would have a major cost reduction at the WAP by moving the intel-ligence to a centralized switch didn’t really eventuate.”

Proponents of centralized systems see the recent trends

but are optimistic that the wireless LAN industry will not move back to fat WAPs. “It’s more difficult to do a dense deployment with fat WAPs, and the centralized model offers

the capacity and ease of management that cus-

tomers are looking for,” says Ortron-i c s / L e g r a n d ’s Walker. “Howev-er, a year ago, the

discussion was over and everybody was on board with

centralized solutions. Now, some people are questioning if they really need all they’re buying with a centralized solution, or if maybe there’s something in between.”

Back to being fat?Walker adds, “While I foresee some segmentation in the mar-ket where fat WAPs may be ideal for customers that care more about coverage and less about capacity, I don’t foresee the in-dustry moving back to fat WAPs.”

But ADC’s Versluis disagrees: “Others are now doing what we’ve been advocating for a long time. We don’t believe in sending every packet back along the wired network whenpeople are communicating wirelessly, which is why we’re not a proponent of putting the switch anywhere but at

the edge.”Versluis continues, “Most people are under-

whelmed with the performance of Wi-Fi net-works and would rather connect to the wired network. Users are wanting to do more than juste-mail and browsing over the wireless LAN, and putting more intelligence at the edge actually im-proves speed.”

Aerohives’ Philip concludes, “Th ere are many dis-advantages to a controller-based approach. First of all, the controller is a single point of failure for the wireless LAN, and it’s an extremely expensive de-vice. Adding extra controllers for redundancy, and having one controller for each branch offi ce thatonly requires a few WAPs is extremely cost-pro-hibitive. And as we move to the higher speeds of-fered by 802.11n and running more mission criticalapplications over Wi-Fi, do we really want to be backhauling all that traffi c over the LAN to a cen-tralized controller?”

Aerohive’s HiveAPs act as switches and share infor-mation with one another over both wired and wire-less media.










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Compiled by Steve Smith


A 4,000-square-foot lab designed to educate, demonstrate, and eval-

uate networking and security infra-structure products has been unveiled at telecom distributor Anixter’s (www.anixter.com) corporate headquarters in Glenview, IL.

Th e UL-certifi ed Infrastructure Solu-tions Lab (ISL) replaces separate network-ing and security labs with an integratedfacility designed to refl ect actual use of the latest technologies being used in the fi eld. Anixter says the lab employs current security and networking “best practices,” and highlights standards and technologies being deployed in actual networking and security installations. Th e facility also features enterprisecabling and security solutions available from the company’s key manufacturer partners.

“Th e fact that we present solutions in a vendor-neutral environment means that customers can make critical busi-ness decisions based on real-world test-ing and unbiased analysis,” says Steve

Leatherwood, senior vice president of marketing for Anixter EnterpriseCabling and SecuritySolutions.

Th e ISL will be staff ed by professionals who are experienced in a variety of technologies. Custom-ers can evaluate a variety of networking and securi-ty infrastructure solutions in a “real world” environ-ment so that they canselect the systems that will best suit their needs.

Specifically, Anixter says, the lab will dem-onstrate networking and security prod-ucts running over a single IP network, the amount of bandwidth an IP camera or other device will take up on a partic-ular network, and the impact that en-vironmental eff ects will have on overall cabling performance.

With separate demonstration, ed-

ucation and evaluation areas, the lab will build on “industry fi rsts” uncov-ered by previous Anixter labs, includ-ing defi ning performance levels for UTPcabling, developing non-destructive patch cord testing, and simulating ac-tual network applications over copper and fi ber cabling.

Anixter lab integrates networking, security

Anixter’s Infrastructure Solutions Lab lets users evaluate numer-ous networking and security infrastructure solutions in a “real world” demonstration/evaluation environment before choosing a system for their specifi c needs.

Big Blue digging deep for Big Green data center purge

Redirecting $1 billion per year across its businesses worldwide, IBM

(www.IBM.com) has unveiled a data center energy-reduction plan that could achieve 42% energy savings for “Big Blue” and its clients.

For an average 25,000-square-foot data center, the company says, the proj-ect’s anticipated savings could equate to as much as 7,439 tons of carbon emis-sions per year.

Dubbed “Project Big Green,” the ini-

tiative targets IBM’s own eight million square feet of data centers in six conti-nents, as well as clients around the world. Th rough the project, IBM expects to dou-ble the computing capacity of its data cen-

ters within the next three years without increasing power consumption or its car-bon footprint.

But rather than doubling the size of its data centers by building out new space,

IBM expects the initiative will help save more than fi ve bil-lion kilowatt hours of energy per year.

“Many data centers have now reached full capacity, limiting a fi rm’s ability to grow and make necessary capital investments,” explains Mike Daniels, senior vice president of IBM Global Technology Services. “We are

IBM’s Project Big Green initiative aims to achieve a 42% energy savings for a typical

25,000-square-foot data center.





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Wireless Gigabit Ethernet on-the-fl y

New technology in BridgeWave Communications’ (www.bridgewave.com) line of 100-Mbits/sec wireless links now let you upgrade in the fi eld to Gigabit Eth-

ernet simply by activating a web-enabled software key.Both the FE80U and FE80XU point-to-point bridges, when at Gigabit Ethernet

speeds, include the company’s proprietary AdaptRate technolo-gy that switches capacity from Gigabit Ethernet to 100 Mbits/sec transmission to provide continuous operation, even dur-ing intense downpours. “It’s now possible to extend network capacity to full Gigabit

Ethernet bandwidth without time-consuming and expen-sive hardware upgrades,” says Gregg Levin, Bridge-Wave’s senior vice president and chief marketing offi cer. The bridge technology, Levin adds, “enables enterpriseusers to start out with highly economical 100-Mbits/sec capacity and then upgrade to full Gigabit Ethernet rates as bandwidth needs grow.”

Designed as a “future-proof” alternative to traditional 100-Mbits/sec, 18 to 38-GHz links, the point-to-point bridge technology can provide unlimited frequency re-use in the 80-GHz licensed spectrum.


Thirty-eight Stantron Broadcast Rack equipment racks from APWMayville

(www.stantronracks.com) were recentlyinstalled at the Soldiers Media Center in Arlington, VA, which produces numer-ous news and public aff airs programs for military personnel around the world. Th e Center distributes its information through the American Forces Network via IP and satellite, and to public access cable television.

Th e fl exible Stantron racks house vid-eo and audio routers, satellite receivers,Avid server components, patching, cam-era control and switching electronics, and a variety of recording, playback, and duplication equipment. Installed by Pro-fessional Products Inc. of Gaithersburg, MD, 26 of the racks were deployed in the main broadcast technical core, six in the IT portion of the technical core, three in the studio control room (pictured), and three in the video dub room.

“The integration of a patchbaycabling system, as requested by Soldiers Media Center, places extreme impor-tance on cable management through-out the technical core,” explains Steve Losquadro, director of project manage-ment for Professional Products. “Th e 36-inch depth of the Stantron racks, along with customized two-inch wooden fur-ring strips that were a special customer request, aff orded our integrations team with the fl exibility and room to properlyrun cables inside and between racks, and ensure that the equipment could be properly cooled, maintained, and re-en-gineered aft er we left the site.”

Th e furring strips were secured into notches on the sides of the racks and, Losquadro says, “this provided the two-inch gap between each rack in the technical core that helped us meet our integration challenges.”

Added Jim Hatcher, Professional Prod-ucts CTO, “the ability to use these racks in the IT portion of the technical core, which typically uses specialized racks to

accommodate servers and data routing equipment, was another bonus.”

APWMayville delivered the racks with solid side panels for the end of each rack row, copper bus ground bars, and sol-

id rear doors that are designed to createenvironmental security—moving cool air through the racks to maintain an idealoperating environment for the Media Center’s active equipment.

Flexible racks meet military media center specs

BridgeWave’s FE80U and FE80XU point-to-point bridges now incorporate software-based technology that enables an upgrade from 100-Mbits/sec network capacity to full Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth as needs grow.

Flexibility in the design of Stantron racks from APWMayville enabled a smooth installation at the Soldiers Media Center in Arlington, VA, where 36 customized units house everything from video routers and satellite receivers to camera control and switching electronics.





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Presentation 1: Importance of proper cable management in the data center, from circuit tracing to airfl ow impedance, and copper/fi ber choices related to management.

Presentation 2: Technologies built for management – a technology-focused rather than brand-focused look at some of the products that have been developed specifi cally for cable management in the data center.

Presentation 3: The TIA-606A addendum covering data centers – The 606A standard did not consider data centers, and the 942 standard did not consider administration. The two worlds are getting together in the form of an addendum to 606A.

Sponsored by:

Many legacy data centers can be held up as cases in point of how not to manage and administer structured cabling. Whether the environment is a data center’s LAN or its SAN, improper administration can have adverse effects ranging from the inability to trace a circuit, to impeding airfl ow, to making moves/adds/changes an unnecessarily long process. This webcast, produced by Cabling Installation & Maintenance, provides a look at the industry standards, best practices, and technological developments that are helping data center managers improve the manner in which they administer their cabling plants.

Date: July 11, 2007 Time: 1:00 p.m. EDTModerated by: Patrick McLaughlin, Chief Editor, Cabling Installation & Maintenance

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WEBCAST

JULY 11, 2007

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Short runs… DURHAM, NH—The University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH IOL; (www.iol.unh.edu) recently conducted multi-vendor 10GBase-T interoperability for Fulcrum Microsystems, Solarfl are Communications, and Teranetics. Solarfl are and Teranetics demonstrated their independent 10GBase-T PHY implementation using different systems at either end of the link. Tests were repeated multiple times over a 55-meter, two-connector topology of Category 6 cabling to show support for legacy installed cabling. A network throughput and latency benchmark showed that the link sustained a throughout of 10-Gbits/sec. The tests used two different switch designs from Fulcrum Microsystems (www.fulcrummicro.com). Mike Zeile, vice president of marketing at Fulcrum, says, “These two switch reference designs will provide OEM customers with quick-to-market [Ethernet] platforms that have the assurance of interoperability.”

SALT LAKE CITY, UT—Silex Technologies (www.silexamerica.com) has unveiled Multicast Video Distribution System (MVDS), a wired/wireless video distribution system designed for the digital sign industry. MVDS’ digital multicast technology and an advanced compression algorithm lets it support large numbers of displays at long distances with no image degradation. Designed for airport arrival/departure areas, trade shows, retail advertising, classrooms, and emergency information displays, the MVDS technology can connect using industry-standard Ethernet cabling and hardware, or via 802.11a wireless networking. Silex says its technology eliminates the need to use more expensive analog splitters and repeaters.

RICHARDSON, TX—A Web-based printing program for producing telecommunications system labels has been unveiled by CommScope (www.commscope.com) that enables SYSTIMAX BusinessPartners to create professional product labels for specifi c installations. The customized solution replaces the static templates available on the company’s website, and provides two ways to create labels. The software supports labeling on a number of SYSTIMAX products, including M2000/M3000 panels, PATCHMAX PS panels, LE and L faceplates, and VisiPatch/VisiPatch 360 panels.

SACRAMENTO, CA—Low-power semiconductor transceiver developer KeyEye Communications (www.keyeye.net) and copper transceiver manufacturer Methode Electronics (www.methode.com) will jointly develop 10-Gigabit Ethernet copper MSA pluggable modules compatible with the short-reach, lower-power mode of the IEEE 802.3an 10GBase-T standard. The companies say the modules will help data center managers signifi cantly reduce cost and power consumption resulting from a growing array of10-Gigabit servers and switches.

WATERTOWN, CT—Siemon’s (www.siemon.com) EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) manufacturing operations and logistics center’s Quality Management System in Brno, Czech Republic, has been certifi ed ISO9001:2000. The Brno facility will serve as Siemon’s pan-EMEA logistics hub, housing stock and acting as the key distribution center for the company’s markets. In addition, the facility houses IT cabling component manufacturing operations.

providing clients the IBM action plan to make their data centers fully utilized and energy effi cient.”

Specifi cally, Project Big Green will in-volve a fi ve-step approach to data center energy savings:

• Evaluate existing facilities with en-ergy assessment, virtual 3-D power management, and thermal analytics—including identifying and resolving existing/potential heat-related issues that could create outages;

• Plan, build or update to an ener-gy-efficient data center, includ-ing a free online self-assessment ofdata center energy use, the op-tion of a pre-configured 500 or 1,000-square-foot data center withenergy-efficient technology, and a solution for improving air fl owunder the data center raised fl oor

that can reduce cabling costs;• Virtualize IT infrastructures, such as

emerging hybrid systems that feature special purpose processors designed to improve performance and reduce energy consumption;

• Seize control with power manage-ment soft ware, such as provision-ing soft ware that can reduce 80% ofpower consumption on servers by putting them on standby mode when not needed;

• Exploit liquid cooling solutions both inside and outside of the datacenter, including IBM’s patented

“stored cooling” technology designed to signifi cantly increase the effi ciency of the data center’s end-to-end cool-

ing system.“Relief from the energy crisis can’t be

achieved through incremental improve-ments,” says Bill Zeitler, senior vice pres-ident of IBM System and Technology Group. “Bold ideas and actionable plans

are needed to deal with this issue.”Project Big Green includes a new glob-

al “green team” of more than 850 energy-effi ciency architects from across IBM.

Th e company also plans to launch a Web-enabled clearinghouse, the Ener-gy Effi ciency Incentive Finder, which will include details about incentives and programs that are available from local utility companies, governments, and other participating agencies around the world.

Big Green initiativecontinued from page 49

“Relief from the energy crisis can’t be achieved

through incremental improvements.”





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15-meter, four-connector channel configuration

AB

Source: Berk-Tek/Ortronics

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Ethernet Load Modules from perfor-mance test systems developer Ixia

(www.ixia.com) were used at a demon-stration at Interop this spring to per-form “real” data plane traffi c generation and analysis of the Berk-Tek (www.berktek.com) and Ortronics/Legrand (www.ortronics.com) NetClear GTX Augmented Category 6 UTP channel solution. Analysisresults showed frame rates and characterized data packetsbeing sent.

“Today’s network components are in-creasingly aware of packet sequences that now require cabling systems combined with more sophisticated active equip-ment, higher up in the protocol stack, which is critical for effi ciently qualifying 10GBase-T,” says Nelson Nurga, princi-pal technologist with Ixia. “As a result, it has become increasingly diffi cult to test eff ectively for end-to-end network de-

livery and measure the performance of these application-aware devices with tra-ditional test gear. To test these intelligent network devices eff ectively, real applica-

tion traffi c needs to be created.”Th e Interop demonstration, says Todd

Harpel, director of marketing for Berk-Tek, measured “the real-life impact of net-work degradation on the qualify of the

cabling system delivered to an end user.”Confi gurations were pre-confi gured,

hot-staged, and pre-tested at the Ixia lab in Calabasas, CA, and included two four-

connector NetClear GTX chan-nel confi gurations consisting of one 15-meter and one 100-meter channel running live 10GBase-Ttraffi c. NetClear GTX cablingcomponents consisted of the LANmark-10G Category 6Acable from Berk-Tek and the Clarity 10G patch panel, patch

cords, and TracJack workstation mod-ules from Ortronics/Legrand.

In addition to the Interop demonstra-tion, the Data Communications Com-petence Center for Nexans, locatedin Berk-Tek’s New Holland, PA facility,is using two 10GBase-T load module boards for ongoing further analytics of physical layer component capabilitiesresulting from increased network speeds and bandwidth.

Cat 6A solution undergoes 10-GbE traffi c test

The NetClear/Ixia test included two four-con-nector NetClear GTX channel confi gurations consisting of one 15-meter channel (shown) and one 100-meter channel running live 10GBase-T traffi c.

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL—A recent Web poll of more than 1,100 technology professionals, conducted by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA; www.comptia.org), fi nds that security technologies and solutions will have the greatest impact on organizations in 2007. A year ago, security ranked second in the CompTIA poll. Wireless data applications fi nished second in this year’s poll, followed by convergence solutions such as VoIP. “The proliferation of devices that are now connected to networks, and the increasing mobility of customers and workers, have pushed security to top-of-mind for everyone, from the technician monitoring the network to the business owners and operators whose livelihood can be at risk in the event of a security catastrophe,” says John Venator, CompTIA president and CEO.

SUNNYVALE, CA—A powerline networking technology, MegaPlug AV 200 Mbps Ethernet Adapter Kit, is based on the HomePlug AV standard for distributing large entertainment and data fi les around the home without the need of Ethernet cabling. Developer Actiontec Electronics (www.actiontec.com) says the adapters can be used to connect computers, set-top boxes and other devices for high-speed multimedia fi le transfer over existing home electrical wiring. The technology features two Ethernet adapters that can be used to build a new home network or to extend an existing network to areas of the home that are diffi cult to reach via Ethernet cabling or wireless

signals. According to Actiontec, the MegaPlug technology enables throughput speeds that are more than twice that of previous generation HomePlug technology solutions, at least double that of 802.11g wireless connectivity, and approaching Ethernet cabling levels.

CORNING, NY—A $300 million facility expansion is planned for Corning Inc.’s (www.corning.com) Sullivan Park Research and Development campus. “We have set some aggressive goals for accelerated innovation, including an anticipated doubling of new business-generating technologies per decade,” says Joseph Miller, executive vice president and CTO, in announcing the expansion.

“Ensuring that we have modern, fl exible laboratory space conducive to the development of a healthy pipeline of innovative technologies across diverse fi elds is critical to our success.”

BRICK, NJ—North American Video (www.navcctv.com) has been awarded a $100,000 security installation contract from the Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. The agreement includes design and implementation of a state-of-the-art video surveillance system for the state’s second largest school system and its 134,000 students. North American Video designs, installs, and offers training for security systems for applications ranging from banking to retail.

Short runs…





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New Products Compiled by Steve Smith

Indoor/outdoor fi ber hubsTh e OmniReach Indoor Fiber Distribu-tion Hub FDH 3000i is designed to orga-nize and administer fi ber-optic cables and passive optical splitters for such installa-tions as multi-dwelling units. Providing a cross-connect and interconnect inter-face for optical transmission signals at the

MDU, the 3000i features a front-facing cross-connect confi guration designed for fi ber management and able to accommo-date a range of fi ber counts as well as sup-porting factory-installed pigtails, fanouts and splitters. Th ese cabinets can be wall- rack-, or fl oor-mounted.

Providing a connection between fi ber-optic cables and passive optical splitters

in the outside plant, the OmniReach FDH 3000S fi ber distribu-tion hub can be mounted to support aerial, direct-buried, and underground ap-plications. Th e hub connects feeder and distribution cables via

optical splitters in FTTx networks, and is especially suited for rural and brownfi eld deployments.

ADC

www.adc.com

LSZH patch cablesDuplex 62.5/125-µm and 50/125-µm multimode LSZH (low-smoke zero-hal-ogen) fi ber-optic patch cables are now available in more than 60 standard con-fi gurations. Th ese cables are designed for harsh environments, particularly where space is at a premium, such as high-end server rooms, aircraft , and ships/sub-marines. Covered by a lifetime warran-

ty against defects from manufacturing and workmanship, the LSZH cables can be custom ordered to length and for spe-cifi c installation requirements.

CABLES TO GO

www.cablestogo.com

Passive cooling cabinetN-Series TeraFrame network cabinets are engineered to solve thermal prob-lems, such as network switches with side-to-side airfl ow located in a hot aisle/cold aisle layout that run the risk of re-con-suming hot exhaust air, causing elevated equipment intake temperatures that lead to failure. Th e company’s CPI Passive Cooling solutions technology manages high-density switches while maximiz-

ing the data center’s energy effi ciency. Available in 10 heights and 11 depths, theN-Series cabinets can manage 48 Catego-ry 6A UTP cables per RMU (rack-mount units), and are designed to simplifyinstallation and maintenance while pro-viding maximum cable management

capacity. Th e cabinet is built to acceptcables through openings located on the top and bottom, while T-shaped cable guides and cable management spools align with each RMU, dividing andorganizing cables as they enter and exit the rack-mount space.

CHATSWORTH PRODUCTS

www.chatsworth.com

Enterprise access pointMAP-625 enterprise-class wireless ac-cess points provide a centrally managed WLAN solution that enable migration from legacy standards to 802.11n with-out upgrades, architectural changes, or additional peripheral equipment. Fea-turing dual radios, the MAP-625 isdesigned to provide 802.11n clients with

more than four times the performance of typical WLANs while simultaneouslysupporting legacy 802.11a/b/g devices at their full speeds.

COLUBRIS NETWORKS

www.colubris.com

Compact OSP enclosureDesigned for high-density telecommu-nications equipment, such as 3G UMTS equipment and batteries, the 50B Com-pact Enclosure for outside plant mea-sures 15 inches wide by 25 inches tall and





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If Higher Ed Is Your Market,ACUTA Has Events for You!

April 6–9, 2008April 6–9, 2008April 6–9, 2008April 6–9, 2008April 6–9, 2008Spring SeminarsSpring SeminarsSpring SeminarsSpring SeminarsSpring Seminars

St. Louis, MOSt. Louis, MOSt. Louis, MOSt. Louis, MOSt. Louis, MO

January 27–30, 2008January 27–30, 2008January 27–30, 2008January 27–30, 2008January 27–30, 2008Winter SeminarsWinter SeminarsWinter SeminarsWinter SeminarsWinter Seminars

Anaheim, CAAnaheim, CAAnaheim, CAAnaheim, CAAnaheim, CA

October 14–17, 2007October 14–17, 2007October 14–17, 2007October 14–17, 2007October 14–17, 2007Fall SeminarsFall SeminarsFall SeminarsFall SeminarsFall Seminars

Minneapolis, MNMinneapolis, MNMinneapolis, MNMinneapolis, MNMinneapolis, MN

July 29–Aug. 2, 2007July 29–Aug. 2, 2007July 29–Aug. 2, 2007July 29–Aug. 2, 2007July 29–Aug. 2, 200736th Annual Conference36th Annual Conference36th Annual Conference36th Annual Conference36th Annual Conference

& Exhibition& Exhibition& Exhibition& Exhibition& ExhibitionHollywood, FLHollywood, FLHollywood, FLHollywood, FLHollywood, FL

Reach decision makers responsible for voice, data and video services

on campuses from coast to coast at ACUTA events.

Contact ACUTA to Connect with Higher Ed!Amy Burton, Mgr. Corporate Relations/Marketing 859/278-3338

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New Products33 inches deep, with 6U of 19-inch rack space. Th e enclosure can mount to pad, pole or wall, and features hinged, tam-per-proof doors that can lift off for easier mounting. Other features include gray or beige powder-coat paint fi nish, integratedback-up battery module, and alarms to detect high temperature and intrusion. Sealed for maximum protection, the 50B Compact Enclosure is designed forGR-487, Zone 4 compliance.

COMMSCOPE

www.commscope.com

Hot spot zapperHotSpotr, billed as an easy-to-install system for cooling data center hot spots, supplies cool air to hot racks and then ex-hausts the hot air directly to the CRAC (computer room air conditioner). Each unit is designed to eliminate hot spots in up to three racks. Models include:HT-100 always-on under-f loor air

mover; HT-300 three-speed under-fl oor air mover; HT-500 thermostatically controlled under-fl oor air mover; andHT-700 thermostatically controlled over-head air mover.

DEGREE CONTROLS

www.fi xmydatacentercooling.com

Heavy-duty AV cableDesigned for transmission of component analog video in a twisted-pair format without hardware delay compensation, the LSK04HD heavy-duty, ultra-low skew UTP cable provides a consistent pair lay with a maximum time-delay diff erential of 2 ns (per 100 m) between any two pairs. Each pair in the cable is constructed from

23-gauge solid copper and a precision100-Ω dielectric. Featuring a double-jacket design, the cable’s inner jacket is designed to maintain critical spacing of the twisted-pair elements, while the outerTPE jacket off ers additional strength, durability, diameter, and abrasion resis-

tance. Th e minimized pair skew (or delay)allows for red, green, and blue video com-ponents to remain in sync for optimal picture quality and video distribution.

GEPCO INTERNATIONAL

www.gepco.com

Two-in-one blowerTh e Fibrefl ow Fusion blower can blowfi ber counts of 1 to 96 (typically requires two machines to cover this range). It





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is fitted with a radial force-settingdevice, a blocking device, and an elec-tronic speed and distance counter. In-

cluded with the blower are control and air treatment, set of air hoses, tools,lubricating oil, and spare parts.

EMTELLE US

www.emtelle.com

Fiber cleanerA fi ber-optic solvent, which uses a plastic-safe solver designed for superior cleaning

properties, is a key element of the com-pany’s new fi ber-optic cleaning kit. Alsoincluded are a cleaning card and cleaning cube, both of which are designed to pro-vide cleaning and wiping surfaces that are safe to fi ber end faces. In addition, the kit includes two sizes of swabs for clean-ing inside fi ber ports.

FLUKE NETWORKS

www.fl ukenetworks.com

Gell-free loose tubeTh e NanoCore line of gell-free, loose tube optical-fi ber cables includes a 12 to 24 fi ber-optic strand zip cord, a single-jacket construction built to accommodate from 2 to 12 strands, and a dual-jacket con-struction that can ac-commodate up to 72 strands. (Where more than 12 strands are present, they are sep-arated by a colored binder into 12-strand bundles.) Designed to work with MT, MTP/MPO, and other small-form-function connectors, NanoCore cables off er high-er fi ber strand counts in smaller diameter cables, and can be installed in most ple-num environments. Available construc-

Product Focus: fi ber-optic polishing equipment

Long-life polishing fi xture, fi lm

Built for long life and designed for use with ST, SC, and FC connectors with 2.5-mm ferrules, the Model 45-342 polishing fi xture features a precision-manufactured center hole diameter to assure the ferrule is kept perpendicular to the polishing surface. In addition, a grooved face is designed to enhance polishing effi -

ciency and optimal connector performance. The compa-

ny has also introduced a line of aluminum ox-ide polishing fi lms forceramic, stainless steel, plastic and

composite ferrules. A single sheet typically

yields a range of 10 to 20 connectors when used in the recommendedthree-step process of 0.5-µm, 3-µm, and12-µm fi lms. Films are available in quantities of 20 per sleeve in 3 x 6-inch sizes.IDEAL INDUSTRIESwww.idealindustries.com

The Rev system for processing fi ber-optic connectors features a patentedconnector holding mechanism that is optically aligned and calibrated

to achieve maximum performance and compliance with Telcordia stan-

dards. According to the company, newly terminated connectors can be polished to singlemode geometries in less than two minutes. Damaged connectors on cabling, patch cords, OTDR launch boxes, and test equip-ment interfaces can be recovered and retro-polished to their original specifi cations. Lightweight and por-table, powered by either a 9-volt bat-tery or AC adapter, the Rev is built for inclusion in fi eld termination kits. Interchangeable workholder fi xtures support all industry-standard UPS/APC connectors, MIL-SPEC termini,and custom components. As analternative to mechanical cleaving devices, Rev can also polish bare fi bers to superior fl atness and sur-face fi nish in preparation for fusion-splicing activities.KRELL TECHNOLOGIESwww.krelltech.com

Portable polisher for fi eld termination





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Learn about the testing challenges for 10Gig Ethernet over copper cabling and see how new installation and testing guidelines help combat Alien Crosstalk.

Download our white paper today at

www.flukenetworks.com/10Gig

©2006. Fluke Corporation.N E T W O R K S U P E R V I S I O N

10Gig Testing White Paper

New Productstions include 8.3-µm singlemode and 62.5/50-µm multimode, including fi ber for 10-Gigabit Ethernet applications.

HITACHI CABLE MANCHESTER

www.hcm.hitachi.com

Fiber-optic fueled cameraBuilt-in 10-bit digital fi ber-optic trans-ceivers are now available with the Super-Dome series of indoor/outdoor analog PTZ dome cameras. Th e fi ber interface is designed to provide exceptional light-ening immunity for outdoor security

installations, and exceptional resistance to electrical interference for industrial/harsh environment interior installations. Th e V1700M multimode version off ers a transmission distance of up to 2.7 miles, while the V1700S singlemode versionoff ers a transmission distance of up to 18.6 miles. (Singlemode versions sup-porting longer distances are available.) Th ese cameras off er 480 TVL, high-res-olution, DSP imaging in color, with 18x and 22x, day/night operation with 23x, and image stabilized 26x and 35x optical zoom. Th e fi ber-optic transceiver sup-ports switch-selectable interfaces, such as Manchester/Biphase, RS-422, andRS-485 (two- and four-wire).

INFINOVA

www.infi nova.com

Snag-free plugTh e patented Snagless L-plug has been engineered to protect the modular jack lever from snagging surrounding cables or equipment, rendering the connector unbreakable. It is designed to stay tightlyand securely in port and, according to the company, is as easy to lock and un-lock as a traditional L-plug. Snagless

L-Plug with snagless boot is available for RJ-45 Category 5e, and soon to be avail-able for Category 6. It has a cable rating of up to 350 MHz, and features gold con-tacts with UL 94V-0.

WESTEK ELECTRONICS

www.westek.com

Recessed patch panelsTh ese recessed patch panels provideexpanded options for applications where the back rail is positioned close to the rear doors, or in applications with min-

imal depth in front of the panel. Th erecess depth (3-inches from installation point) provides room for proper patch cord bend radius. Built for standard19-inch racks and cabinets, the recessed panels are off ered in the company’s Uni-versal and QuickPort styles, in 1RU2-port, 2RU 48-port, and 2RU 72-port confi gurations.

LEVITON VOICE & DATA

www.levitonvoicedata.com

Power over Ethernet midspanA one-port, gigabit Power over Eth-ernet (PoE) midspan (PD-7001G)

is built to main-tain existing PoE standard param-eters with dou-ble the power,supporting a min-imum of 30 watts

at the port output. Th is unit is suitable for such applications as security cam-era installations, gigabit video phones, WiMAX transmitters, or 802.11naccess points. Th e PD-7001G is designed to generate safe power over Category 5cabling, providing maximum power byusing a 55-volt output. Th e unit includes

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www.textender.com800-432-2638

Extend T1/E1 over:

Data Comm for Business, Inc.

WireUp to Several Miles

of 2-pair Wire

FiberMiles of Fiber

EthernetIP/Ethernet


New Productsan interlocking feature that lets you scaledeployments by linking multiple one-port midspan units as new devices are added to the network, and an internal AC/DC converter.

MICROSEMI CORP.

www.microsemi.com

CCTV balunTh e Active CCTV Transmitter Balun pro-vides enhanced video performance for a single CCTV video channel via Category 5 UTP cable. When installed inside a dome

camera or camera back box, the balunfeatures manual gain compensation to support distances from 500 to 3,000

feet when used with a passive balunat the receiver (up to 6,000 feet when used with an active balun). It consumes less than 0.7 watts, deriving power from the CCTV camera.

MUXLAB

www.muxlab.com

IP video softwareXProtect Corporate IP video soft ware is designed for large, multi-site and mul-tiple server installations requiring 24/7 surveillance. The distributed serverarchitecture allows unlimited recording and arching of video, while client access provides live view, playback, and video evidence export with smart search and analysis. Th e soft ware supports a wide range of network cameras and encoders, while the open platform includes appli-cation program interfaces (API) for inte-gration with third-party systems.

MILESTONE SYSTEMS

www.milestonesys.com

Curved patch panelsClarity curved patch panels for the com-pany’s Clarity 6 and 5E connectivity tech-nology feature a patent-pending recessed design that helps direct patch cords to vertical rack or cabinet management, and

serves as an alternative for installations with limited rack space for horizontal management. Available in 24-port (1U) and 48-port (2U) confi gurations, these ETL-tested patch panels are verifi ed to TIA Category 6 and 5e component spec-ifi cations, include rear cable management and full labeling capabilities, and fea-ture universal 568-A/B wiring as well as110 termination practices.

ORTRONICS/LEGRAND

www.ortronics.com

hot

prod

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• UPC/APC/MILConnectors

• Telcordia Compliant

• Ideal for Field Kits, Cable Repair

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Material: UL 94-V0 PC/ABS

Size: 1.75” high Cable: 16” Plenum Rated RG-58/U PL

Connector Options: RPTNC(Male) or RPSMA(Male)

Mounting Method: Through hole 15/16 dia (0.94) 78-14 UNF Plastic Hex Nut

Gain: 2.4GHz—4dBi (802.11b/g)

Gain: 4.9-5.8GHz—4dBi ((802.11a)

Centralized Management Cost Effective Solutions

Visit www.oberonwireless.com Call 1-877-867-2312 for details.

Z Dualband Antenna

PowerDsine 3006 POE

Fully IEEE 802.3af Standard Compliant

Easy plug-and-play installation

Automatic detection and protection of non-standard Ethernet terminals

Saves time and reduces installation costs

Powers all major wireless LAN access points and IP phones

Scalable solution 6/12-port product Part#: 33-POE-PD3006

Part#: 34-ZDUAL-KIT-RPTNCM

Part#: 34-ZDUAL-KIT-RPSMAM

46 Nooks Hill Road, Cromwell, CT 06416 USA

Now you have a cost effectivenew compression tool for usewith a wide variety ofconnectors including most 59, 6, 7 and 11 “F”connectors and many RCAand IEC connectors.Compact and sturdy, theCT2 has spring-loadedhandles with a pushbutton lock and isdesigned for easy usein tight spaces. Nospecial adjustments,no adapters… justreliable performanceday after day.For more info visitwww.ripley-tools.comor call 860-635-2200 today.

Visit Booth #1435 at theSCTE Cable-Tec Expo


theIndustry’s

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Connectingthe organizations that developcabling technology and those thatuse it.

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The index of Advertiser’s is published as a service. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.

Chief Editor / Patrick McLaughlin(603) 891-9222 • [email protected]

Executive Editor / Steve Smith(603) 891-9139 • [email protected]

Senior Editor / Matt Vincent(603) 891-9262 • [email protected]

Circulation Manager / Michelle Blake(603) 891-9360 • [email protected]

Art Director / Kelli Mylchreest

Lead Illustrator / Chris Hipp

Senior Vice President/Group Publishing DirectorMark Finkelstein(603) 891-9133 • [email protected]

Associate Publisher/National Sales ManagerEd Murphy(603) 891-9260 • [email protected]

CABLING INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE EXECUTIVE AND EDITORIAL OFFICES

PennWell ATD98 Spit Brook RoadNashua, NH 03062-5737Tel: (603) 891-0123, fax: (603) 891-9245Internet: www.cable-install.com

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES:For subscriptions or to change your format to print or digital, please go to: www.cim-subscribe.com. Subscriptions outside the USA are available in digital format only.

CORPORATE OFFICERS

Chairman / Frank T. Lauinger

President and Chief Executive Offi cer / Robert F. Biolchini

Chief Financial Offi cer / Mark C. Wilmoth

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

Senior Executive AssistantCarol WoodwardTel: (603) 891-9112, fax: (603) 891-9287 [email protected]

VP Audience Development / Gloria S. Adams

ATD PUBLISHING SERVICES DEPARTMENTS

Art Director / Meg Fuschetti

Production Director / Mari Rodriguez(603) 891-9193 • [email protected]

Marketing Communication Manager / Kristen Jones(603) 891-9425 • [email protected]

Ad Traffi c Manager / Lacy Ward(918) 832-9268 • [email protected]

PRINTED IN THE USA GST NO. 126813153

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40052420

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Senior Vice President/Group Publishing DirectorMark FinkelsteinTel: (603) 891-9133; fax: (603) [email protected]

Associate Publisher/National Sales ManagerEd MurphyPennWell Corp./ATD98 Spit Brook RoadNashua, NH 03062-5737 Tel: (603) 891-9260; fax: (603) [email protected]

Online Sales ManagerShaun ShenTel: (916) [email protected]

Reprint SalesDiane TroyerTel: (603) 891-9385; fax: (603) 891-9245 [email protected]

List Rental / Bob Dromgoole(603) 891-9128 • [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL SALES Australia/New Zealand / Glenn ClarkeFax: +61 3 9 568 [email protected]

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Andora, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Western Switzerland / Luis MatutanoTel: +33 1 39 66 16 87; fax: +33 1 39 23 84 [email protected]

Austria, Eastern Europe,Germany, Northern Switzerland / Holger GerischTel: +49 8801-302430; fax: +49 8801 [email protected]

India / Rajan SharmaTel: +91 11 686 1113; fax: +91 11 686 [email protected]

Israel / Dan AronovicTel: +972 9 899 [email protected]

Italy / Vittorio Rossi PrudenteTel: +39 0 49 87 87 584; fax: +39 0 49 66 04 [email protected]

Russia / Anton AntoniukTel: +7 095 234 5678; fax: +7 095 234 [email protected]

U.K. & Scandinavia / Amanda LoftusTel: +44 0 1793 862111; fax: +44 0 1793 [email protected]

Asia Sales Manager / Adonis MakTel: +852 2 838 6298; fax: +852 2 838 [email protected]

Japan / Manami KonishiTel: +81 3 5771 8886; fax: +81 3 5771 [email protected]

Korea / Paek KwonTel: +82 2 420 1293 or 1213; fax: +82 2 420 [email protected]

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, ThailandGrace LeungTel: +65 6 836 2272; fax: +65 6 735 [email protected]

Taiwan / Anita ChenTel: +886 2 8751 5162; fax: +886 2 8751 [email protected]


COMPANY PAGE PHONE WEB

Acuta 55 859-278-3338 www.acuta.org/home.cfm

ADC insert www.adc.com

Agilent Technologies 5 800-829-4444 www.agilent.com/fi nd/wirescope ext 5465

Belden/CDT C3 800-BELDEN-1 www.belden.com

CableManagement Solutions Inc. 4 800-308-6788 www.snaketray.com

Cables To Go 26 800-361-0471 www.quiktron.com

Cablofi l Inc. 39 www.cablofi l.com

Corning Cable Systems C2 800-743-2671 www.corning.com/cablesystems

Daimler Chrysler Vans 12-13 800-4ADODGE www.dodge.com/sprinter

Datacom for Business 58 800-432-2638 www.textender.com

Diamond Ground Products 59 805-493-3837 www.diamondground.com

Dymo Corporation 27 www.rhinolabeling.com

Fluke Inc. 1 www.fl ukenetworks.com/seehow

Fluke Inc. 48 www.fl ukenetworks.com/ SeeMicroSCanner2

Fluke Inc. 57 www.fl ukenetworks.com/10Gig

General Cable Company 31 800-424-5666 www.generalcable.com

Hellermann Tyton 36 800-822-4352 www.hellerman.tyton.com

Hyperline Systems Canada 35 866-63-hyper www.hyperlinesystems.com

Krell Technologies 58 732-617-7091 www.krelltech.com

Leviton Telcom 41 800-922-6229 www.levitonvoicedata.com

Live Wire & Cable 57 888-897-6008 www.live w-c.com

Micro Plastics 20 www.microplastics.com

Mohawk 14 800-422-9961 www.mohawk-cable.com

Oberon Inc. 59 814-867-2312 www.oberonwireless.com

OFS Optics (Optical Fiber Division) 11 www.ofsoptics.com/fi ber

Optical Cable Corp. 2 540-265-0690 www.occifi ber.com

Ortronics Inc. 24 800-934-5432 www.ortronics.com

Paladin Tools 38 800-272-8665 www.paladin-tools.com

Panduit Corp. 10 800-777-3300 www.panduit.com/p922

Panduit Corp. C4 800-777-3300 www.panduit.com/net23

Pulizzi Engineering Inc. 21 977-pulizzi www.pulizzi.com

Ripley Tools 59 860-635-2200 www.ripley-tools.com

Siemon Company 33 www.siemon.com

Test-Um/JDSU 7, 45 805-383-1500 www.test-um.com

Transition Networks 17 800-526-9267 www.transition.com

Tyco Electronics 28 www.tycoelectronics.com

Tyco Electronics Corp. 19 800-553-0938 www.ampnetconnecy.com

Uniprise 8 up.commscope.com/designguide










Get Peace of Mind withBelden® Fiber Solutions

Belden has been involved in the develop-ment of optical fiber components since1972—evolving to its present status as aninternational supplier of high quality, cost-effective optical fiber cabling systems.

The Belden FiberExpress® Solution is theculmination of the company’s experiencein the optical fiber arena, offering users a complete, high-performance, end-to-end cabling system that supports both centralized and fiber-to-the-desk (FTTD)topologies, as well as in-building or campus backbone cabling configurations.

The Belden FiberExpress Solution is, however, much more than an assemblageof top-performing products. It represents a whole new approach to the methodologyof optical fiber cabling, i.e., FiberExpresssystems are unique in their ability to offerboth superior performance and a morecost effective, faster and less complexinstallation process than traditional optical fiber cabling systems.

Belden developed the FiberExpressSolution to assure the smooth operation of your network and to provide for efficient network management—whilecontinually reducing your total cost ofownership and preparing your system for the future.

For more information on fiber solutions from Belden call 1.800.BELDEN.1

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©2007, Belden Inc.

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PANDUIT is a Global LeaderProviding Innovative End-To-EndNetwork Connectivity Solutionsthat Enable the Deployment of Technology.

Copper Cabling Systems Fiber Cabling Systems Outlets Raceway Systems Zone Cabling Systems Network Management and

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Accessories

PANDUIT ® QUICKNET ™ CablingSystems deliver optimumperformance and speed of deploymentfor scalable, high-density applications.

QUICKNET ™ Cable Assemblies and Modular Cassettes arepre-terminated and pre-tested to deliver consistent,reliable performance resulting in significantly less installationtime than traditional field terminations. These end-to-endcabling systems improve flexibility, minimize waste andoptimize cable management in up to 48 ports per rack space.

QUICKNET ™ Copper Cabling System: Pre-terminated cable assemblies are customized for

Category 6 and Category 6A performance levels, cableflame rating, end configurations and lengths from 10 to 295 feet

Modular patch panels include a high-density angled version thatquadruples rack density when used with vertical cable managers

QUICKNET ™ Fiber Optic Cabling System: Pre-terminated cassettes for singlemode, multimode, and

10 Gb/s systems deliver verified low loss, allowing for greaternetwork design flexibility and longer reach network segments

Application specific trunk, interconnect, and hydra cableassemblies are 100% tested to assure verified opticalperformance for improved network integrity

PANDUIT provides the leadership, innovation, and quality necessaryto ensure the performance, reliability, and interoperability of anintegrated network. Invest in a trouble-free, high performanceinfrastructure for the lowest total cost of ownership.

Visit us at www.panduit.com/net23Contact Customer Service by email: [email protected] by phone: 800-777-3300 and reference ad # net23

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