Cim 20100501 may_2010

www.cablinginstall.com

MAY 2010

SOLUTIONS FOR PREMISES AND CAMPUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE

DATA CENTER PAGE 7

The revision

of TIA-942

INSTALLATION PAGE 13

Fundamentals of

fi ber transmission

EDITOR’S PICKS PAGE 29

iPad’s WiFi woes

DON’T MIX YOUR

multimode PAGE 19

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www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance MAY 2010 3

Group Publisher Susan Smith(603) 891-9447; [email protected]

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MAY 2010 | VOLUME 18 NO. 5

ABOUT THE COVER

Switching from 62.5- to 50-μm multi-

mode fi ber can boost your bandwidth.

But if you mix the two together, you

won’t like the results.

TO LEARN MORE, SEE ARTICLE ON PAGES 19.

:: FEATURES

DATA CENTER

7 What will be in the revised version

of the TIA-942 Data Center standard?

JONATHAN JEW, J&M CONSULTANTS

INSTALLATION

13 The fundamentals of optical

light sources and transmission

VALERIE MAGUIRE, SIEMON

DESIGN

19 Making the switch from

62.5- to 50-micron fi ber

JOHN KAMINO, OFS

TECHNOLOGY

23 Digital signage presents

ambiguity and opportunity

PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN

IP CONVERGENCE

27 Global and granular looks at

the audiovisual market

PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN

:: DEPARTMENTS

4 Editorial

What’s your backup plan?

29 Editor’s Picks

WiFi woes causing trouble for iPad users





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4

on cablinginstall.com

MAY 2010 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

PATRICK McLAUGHLIN

Chief Editor

[email protected]

:: EDITORIAL ::

Several years ago when Cabling

Installation & Maintenance began to

sharply focus on the cabling and other

systems within data centers, it did not

take long before I noticed an overarch-

ing theme to just about

every conversation I had

on the topic. It didn’t

matter what we began

talking about—for exam-

ple, overhead versus

underfl oor cable rout-

ing, the copper/fi ber mix

in data center networks,

managing huge bundles of cables at

the rack—the conversation always

ended up coming around to managing

the facility’s heat and keeping critical

equipment cool. The theme made its

way into virtually every conversation.

Recently the theme of an over-

heated data center was much-dis-

cussed at the offi ces of Wikipedia, to

be certain. In late March, an overheat-

ing problem at the online encyclope-

dia’s European data center caused

a temporary global shutdown of the

site. The Wikimedia Technical Blog

explained that servers in the European

data center shut themselves down

in order to avoid damage from over-

heating. Once that happened, the site

moved all user traffi c to its Florida data

center; however it then was discovered

the failover mechanism in the Florida

location that changed Domain Name

System entries, was broken.

The problem was resolved quickly,

but many users could not access the

site for more than an hour. The blog

made no mention of what efforts the

organization makes to control the heat

in its European data center. But some-

thing tells me a man by the name of

Ian Seaton would have a fi eld day in

that data center. (What? You don’t

know who Ian Seaton is? Go to our

Web site, www.cablinginstall.com,

and search his name.)

The biggest snafu in the Wikipedia

situation was that the site’s backup

plan did not work successfully. It

sounds as if things got resolved pretty

quickly, and no one was inconve-

nienced for a terribly long time, but

the overheated data center would have

been seamless to users if the backup

systems had worked as they were

expected to. It begs the question: What

is your backup plan? And how sure are

you that it will work when called upon?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a data center

manager, network administrator, or the

operator of a contracting organization.

Someday, sometime, the systems you

rely upon for business operation will

fail. Do you know what you’ll do when

that happens?

If you don’t, 90 minutes without

Wikipedia will be a best-case scenario.

Think: Travelers stranded in Europe

and at the mercy of Eyjafjallajokull.

What’s your backup plan?

� DESIGN/INSTALL/TEST

New premises-cabling

textbook published

� NETWORK CABLE

Phthalate-free plasticizers

enable eco-friendly cables

� DATA CENTER

New blade-based optical

interconnect system

� CABLING STANDARDS

TIA-942 revision

likely to recommend

certain connectors

� CONNECTIVITY

TECHNOLOGIES

High-density fiber system

a fit for data centers

� WIRELESS

Wireless LANs and

distributed antenna systems

� IP CONVERGENCE

Integration allows IP

video over wireless

� NETWORK PROTOCOLS

IEEE moves on serial 40G

Visit cablinginstall.com for

these and other news stories.















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ANSI/TIA-568-0 Generictelecommunicationscabling for customer

premises

ANSI/TIA-569-CStandard for

telecommunicationspathways and spaces

ANSI/TIA-606-AAdministration standard

for commercialtelecommunications

infrastructure

ANSI/TIA-607-BTelecommunications

grounding and bondingfor customer premises

ANSI/TIA-942-ATelecommunications

infrastructure standardfor data centers

ANSI/TIA-568-C.1Commercial buildingtelecommunications

cabling standard

ANSI/TIA-568-C.2Balanced twisted-pairtelecommunications

cabling andcomponents standard

ANSI/TIA-568-C.3Optical fiber cabling

components standardANSI/TIA-570-B

Residentialtelecommunications

infrastructure standard

ANSI/TIA-1005Telecommunications

infrastructure standardfor industrial premises

ANSI/TIA-1179Healthcare facility

telecommunicationsinfrastructure standard

Note red text indicates standards that are not yet

published but that are active projects

ANSI/TIA-758-BCustomer-owned outsideplant telecommunications

infrastructure standard

ANSI/TIA-862-A Buildingautomation systems

cabling standard

Common standards Premises standards Component standards

TIA premises telecommunications cabling standard scheme


:: DATA CENTER ::

ANSI/TIA-942, one of the

Telecommunications Industry

Association’s (TIA; www.tiaonline.

org) best-selling standards, is under-

going revision. All American National

Standards Institute (ANSI; www.ansi.

org) standards must be reaffi rmed,

withdrawn, or revised every fi ve years.

Since ANSI/TIA-942 was published

in 2005, it was readily apparent that it

needed to be revised. The revision to

TIA-942 will be named TIA-942-A.

New TIA cabling standards scheme

Because TIA-942 was published

after the restructuring of the TIA-568

series cabling standards, TIA-942

needed to be modifi ed to fi t into the

new TIA premises telecommunica-

tions cabling standards scheme. In

this new scheme, common informa-

tion that applies to multiple types of

premises is in common standards, and

information specifi c to a particular

type of premises is in premises stan-

dards such as TIA-942. Component

standards deal with the specifi cation

of components and are intended pri-

marily for component manufacturers.

This scheme is meant to improve ease

of use, effi ciency, and ensure consis-

tency between standards.

Some of the changes that will be

made in TIA-942-A to incorporate

it into the new scheme include the

following.

• Reference the generic telecommu-

nications cabling topology, terms,

and environmental classifi cations

described in TIA-568-C.0.

• Move content regarding bond-

ing and grounding into the draft

What will be in the revised version of the

TIA-942 Data Center standard?

Five years after initial publication, revisions are

underway for the TIA’s data center cabling specification.

JONATHAN JEW, J&M CONSULTANTS

ANSI/TIA-942-A will be a Premises Standard (middle column) in

TIA’s new standard scheme. That means information that applies

to multiple types of premises including data centers will be found

in Common Standards (left column), while information specifi c to

data centers will be found in 942-A.





__

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Draft TIA-942-A example data center topology

ENI

MC

CP

ZDA ZDA

EDA EDA EDAEDA EDA EDA

HDA HDA

IDA IDA

MDA TR

Horizontalcabling for spaces

outside computer room

HDA HDA

EDA EDA EDA EDA

CP

HC

HC HC HC HC

ICIC

EO EO EO

EO EO EO EO

EO EO EO

Backbonecabling

Horizontalcabling

Telecomspace

Cross-connect

Inter-connect

Outlet

CP - Consolidation pointEDA - Equipment

distribution areaENI - External network interfaceEO - Equipment outlet

HC - Horizontal cross-connectHDA - Horizontal distribution areaIC - Intermediate cross-connectIDA - Intermediate

distribution area

MC - Main cross-connectMDA -Main distribution areaTR - Telecommunications

roomZDA - Zone distribution area

Access provider or campus cabling

Computerroom 1

Computerroom 2

Entranceroom

New space intermediatedistribution area (IDA)containing anintermediatecross-connect (IC)

MAY 2010 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com8

:: DATA CENTER ::

TIA-607-B standard, which provides

much more information regard-

ing telecommunications ground-

ing and bonding. Because bond-

ing and grounding are important

for all premises, it is appropriate for

this content to be in a generic rather

than a premises standard.

• Remove content regarding labeling

in computer rooms and instead refer

to TIA-606-A Addendum 1, which

was published in late 2008 and

deals specifi cally with computer

room and equipment room adminis-

tration. Eventually, TIA-606-A will

be superseded by TIA-606-B, which

will incorporate the addendum and

extend the concepts in TIA-606-A

to administration outside computer

rooms and equipment rooms.

• Move content regarding racks

and cabinets to the draft TIA-

569-C standard (because cabinets

and racks are used in all types of

premises).

• Replace power and telecommu-

nications cabling separation dis-

tances with a reference to the

more-detailed information being

developed for TIA-569-C.

• Move content regarding outside

plant pathways to the draft TIA-

758-B outside plant standard.

Incorporating TIA-942 addenda

TIA-942-A will incorporate the con-

tents of two addenda to TIA-942.

TIA-942-1 Data center coaxial

cabling specifi cations and appli-

cation distances. Addendum 1, pub-

lished in 2008, provides additional

specifi cations for coaxial cable con-

nectors used for T-3, E-1, and E-3 cir-

cuits. It permits longer horizontal

cabling from the main distribution area

(MDA) for coaxial cable used for these

circuits, and provides revised circuit

distance guidelines for T-1, T-3, E-1,

and E-3 circuits in data centers using

the new component specifi cations.

TIA-942-2 Additional guide-

lines for data centers. Addendum

2, which was approved in late 2009

and should be available now, pro-

vides additional guidelines on a wide

variety of subjects, the most impor-

tant of which are revisions to improve

energy effi ciency. The addendum

accomplished the following.

• Specifi ed a wider range of temper-

atures and humidity in data cen-

ters based on revised guidelines

published in 2008 by the American

Society of Heating, Refrigeration

and Air Conditioning Engineers

(ASHRAE; www.ashrae.org).

• Specifi ed a three-level lighting pro-

tocol to reduce energy usage.

• Added Category 6A to supported

media and specifi ed it as the rec-

ommended media for balanced

twisted-pair cable.

In an early draft, TIA-942-A includes the addition of the

intermediate distribution area (IDA) and intermediate crossconnect

(IC) to serve the needs of larger data centers.






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ENI

MD

ZD

EO EO EO EO EO EO EO EO EO EO

ZD

LDP LDP LDP LDP

ENI

Network accesscabling subsystem

Distributorin accordancewithISO/IEC 11801

Main distributioncabling subsystem

Zone distributioncabling subsystem

ENI - External network interface (cross-connect in telecom entrance room)MD - Main distributor (equivalent to main cross-connect in TIA MDA)ZD - Zone distributor (equivalent to horizontal cross-connect in TIA HDA)LDP - Local distribution point (equivalent to consolidation point in TIA ZDA)EO - Equipment outlet (equivalent to outlet in TIA EDA)

Optional cables

ISO/IEC 24764 and CENELEC EN 50173-5example data center cabling topology


:: DATA CENTER ::

• Added guidance to

check with equipment

manufacturers regard-

ing radio sources (wire-

less LANs, cellular tele-

phones, handheld radios,

etc.) in computer rooms

and entrance rooms.

• Updated data center

Tiering reference guide.

International standard

infl uence

The recently approved ISO/

IEC 24764 international

data center telecommu-

nications cabling stan-

dard will likely infl uence

some of the changes that

will be made in TIA-942-A

because it is desirable to

harmonize with interna-

tional standards. The ISO/

IEC standard may have

an impact on several aspects of TIA-

942-A, including terminology, max-

imum horizontal cabling lengths,

cabling types, and connectors.

Terminology. The ISO/IEC

24764 standard, published by the

International Organization for

Standardization (ISO; www.iso.org)

and the International Electrotechnical

Commission (IEC; www.iec.ch),

only deals with telecommunications

cabling and is primarily based on the

European data center cabling standard

CENELEC EN 50173-5, which was

published in 2007. Both the ISO/IEC

and CENELEC (www.cenelec.eu) stan-

dards use terminology that is different

from that found in TIA-942. For exam-

ple, what TIA-942 calls the horizon-

tal crossconnect (HC) located in the

horizontal distribution area (HDA), the

ISO/IEC and CENELEC standards call

the zone distributor (ZD). Because ISO/

IEC 24764 does not deal with spaces,

there is no equivalent in that standard

for spaces such as the MDA or HDA.

It is unlikely that TIA-942 terms

will be changed to match the ISO/IEC

terminology. However, it is expected

that terms for parts of the infrastruc-

ture not named in TIA-942 will be

adopted in TIA-942-A. Examples are

the equipment outlet (EO) and external

network interface (ENI).

Maximum horizontal cabling

lengths. The ISO/IEC and CENELEC

data center standards permit various

maximum cabling lengths for zone dis-

tribution cabling (horizontal cabling)

based on the type of cabling employed.

Balanced-pair zone distri-

bution cabling is limited to

a maximum of 100 meters,

but optical-fi ber cabling

lengths are only depen-

dent on the channel-length

restrictions for the cabled

optical fi ber category used

(i.e., 300 meters for OF-300

channels, 500 meters for

OF-500 channels, and

2,000 meters for OF-2,000

channels).

TIA-942 has only two

exceptions to the normal

rule that horizontal cabling

is limited to 100 meters, as

follows.

1. Up to 300-meter hori-

zontal optical-fi ber cabling

originating from the MDA

in data centers where no

HDA is present.

2. Up to 300 meters hori-

zontal 75-ohm coaxial cabling origi-

nating from the MDA.

TIA-942-A will probably remove

horizontal cabling distance restrictions

for optical fi ber other than the appli-

cation-dependent restrictions speci-

fi ed in TIA-568-C.0. Removing such

restrictions will permit more fl exibil-

ity in designing optical-fi ber networks

such as storage area networks.

Cabling. ISO/IEC 24764 speci-

fi es a minimum of Class EA (Category

6A) for all balanced-pair except net-

work access cabling—cabling origi-

nating from the entrance room. TIA-

942 permits the use of Category 3

through 6A for both backbone and

horizontal cabling, but recommends

Category 6A. TIA-942-A will probably

eliminate the use of one or more of the

While harmonization between TIA and

international standards is an ideal, one should not

expect all the terminology used in the ISO/IEC

24764 and CENELEC EN 50173-5 standards to be

included in TIA-942-A.






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:: DATA CENTER ::

lower Categories of cables for balanced

twisted-pair horizontal cabling.

ISO/IEC 24764 specifi es a minimum

of OM3 (50/125-micron 850-nanometer

laser-optimized multimode fi ber) for all

multimode optical fi ber in data centers.

Connectors. Unlike TIA-942,

which specifi es no particular connec-

tors, ISO/IEC 24764 specifi es the fol-

lowing connectors. LC and MPO for

multimode fi ber at the EO and ENI;

LC and MPO for singlemode fi ber EO;

Angled LC connector for singlemode

fi ber at the ENI

TIA will probably recommend but

not require the use of LC and MPO

connectors.

Other new content

TIA-942-A will include a new section

on energy-effi cient design, including

recommendations regarding the design

of telecommunications cabling, path-

ways, and spaces to improve energy

effi ciency. This content will be in addi-

tion to the energy-saving measures

provided in TIA-942 Addendum 2.

To handle large data center topolo-

gies, TIA-942-A will add a new space

named the intermediate distribution

area (IDA), containing a new second-

level backbone distributor named

the intermediate crossconnect (IC).

Practical experience has shown that

very large data centers may require

this second-level distributor. For exam-

ple, a large data center could include

several computer rooms, each of which

could have one or more IDAs to act

as central points of administration for

the room. For an example data center

using this setup, see the fi gure titled

Draft TIA-942-A Example Data Center

Topology.

The potential changes described

in this article are being considered

by TIA TR-42.1, the subcommit-

tee responsible for TIA-942-A. Please

note, though, that many of them may

not make it into the fi nal publication.

Also, there will be other modifi cations

to TIA-942 that I have not described

here. Because we are at the beginning

stages of the revision, it is diffi cult to

tell what those modifi cations will be.

If all goes well, TIA-942-A could be

published sometime in 2011.

JONATHAN JEW is president of J&M

Consultants (www.j-and-m.com).






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Light spectrum

Ultraviolet/400 nm

Violet/455 nm

Blue/490 nm

Green/550 nm

Yellow/580 nmOrange/626 nmRed/750 nm

Infrared/800 nm850 nm

Multimode,short wavelength

Visiblespectrum

Increasing frequency

Multimode, single-mode,long wavelength

Single-mode,long wavelength

1300 nmFiber opticapplication

1550 nm


:: INSTALLATION ::

It may be surprising to learn that the

idea of using lightwaves to trans-

mit voice signals is well over a cen-

tury old. In fact, Alexander Graham

Bell’s “photophone” invention used

a narrow beam of sunlight focused

on a thin mirror that vibrated when

hit by human sound waves to trans-

mit voice signals over distances up to

700 feet back in 1880. The foundation

for modern techniques of transmit-

ting light energy was set in the 1960s

when ruby lasers were fi rst demon-

strated, and in the 1970s when work-

ers at Corning Glass Works produced

the fi rst optical fi ber with signal losses

less than 20 dB/km. Since then tre-

mendous strides have been made in

the refi nement of semiconductor laser

and light-emitting diode sources, as

well as the optical fi ber cables and

components used to support the

transmission of light energy.

While optical fi ber cabling exper-

tise is commonly thought to fall

within the domain of service provid-

ers, it cannot be overlooked that opti-

cal fi ber cabling plays an important

role in supporting customer-owned

telecommunications infrastructures as

well. Beyond supporting long-length

runs installed between buildings or

points in a customer-owned campus

environment (commonly referred to

as “outside plant” cabling), it is inter-

esting to note that on average, 20% of

the cabling installed in the enterprise

and 40% of the cabling installed in

the data center is optical

fi ber cabling. While bal-

anced twisted-pair cop-

per cabling may still be

the media of choice due

to familiarity, perceived

ease-of-termination com-

pared to optical connec-

tions, and signifi cant lower

local area network (LAN)

equipment costs, the fol-

lowing benefi ts are com-

pelling reasons to consider

optical fi ber cabling in

your information technol-

ogy (IT) infrastructure.

• Extended distance

support beyond the

balanced twisted-pair

limit of 100 meters

• Smaller media (e.g. two Category

6A cables occupy the same space

as one 216-fi ber cable.)

• Lighter media (e.g. 108 Category 6A

cables weighing 1,000 pounds or 1

216-fi ber cable weighing 40 pounds

can be used to support 108 chan-

nels that are 200 feet in length.)

• Signifi cantly higher port density in

the telecommunications room and

line-card density in the data center

(up to 1,728 in a 4U housing)

• Smaller pathways

• Improved air fl ow due to less cable

damming

• Media robustness; optical fi ber

The fundamentals of optical

light sources and transmission

Bandwidth and throughput capacity are all about a

fiber’s ability to receive and transmit light paths.

BY VALERIE MAGUIRE, SIEMON

The common optical communications

wavelengths of 850 to 1550 nm fall between

the ultraviolet and microwave frequencies in

the light spectrum.












SourceLight rays

Multimode and singlemode light propagation

Multimode –step index

Multimode –graded index

Singlemode –step index


:: INSTALLATION ::

can withstand double the pull ten-

sion (50 lb versus 25 lb) of balanced

twisted-pair cabling

• Reduced LAN equipment power

consumption and cooling costs

• High-speed applications support;

40- and 100-Gbit/sec optical-fi ber

Ethernet applications will soon

be published by the IEEE 802.3ba

Ethernet Task Force

• Centralized optical cabling may

be used when deploying central-

ized equipment in the horizontal

to eliminate the need for an optical

crossconnect

• Immunity to electromagnetic and

radio frequency interference (EMI/

RFI)

• Immunity to lightning strikes

Signal transmission over

optical fi ber cabling

Optical communication is the trans-

mission of photon (or light) energy

through a low-loss waveguide whose

function is to propagate the light sig-

nals over long distances. In telecom-

munications systems, the source of

the photon energy may be a light-

emitting or semiconductor laser

diode, whose function is to produce

light energy at a single wavelength.

By turning the light source on and off

quickly, streams of ones and zeros can

be transmitted to form a digital com-

munications channel. LED and laser

light sources vary considerably with

respect to their cost, transmit speed,

and physical properties.

The wavelength of the optical light

source describes the frequency of the

transmitted lightwave (the longer the

wavelength, the lower the lightwave’s

frequency) and has been selected to

best match the transmission proper-

ties of recognized optical fi ber types.

A helpful analogy is to think of “wave-

length” as the color of the light signal

that is being transmitted. The common

optical communications wavelengths

of 850 nm to 1550 nm fall between the

ultraviolet and microwave frequencies

in the light spectrum.

“Source aperture” describes the

width of the transmitted light sig-

nal pulse. This characteristic is also

related to the diameter of the optical

fi ber (the “waveguide”) that will opti-

mally transmit the light pulses, which

helps to explain why there are several

types of optical fi ber cabling systems

available. Large diameter optical fi ber

(50- and 62.5-μm) is required to ade-

quately support transmission of light

sources with larger apertures such

as LEDs and vertical-cavity surface-

emitting lasers (VCSELs) by minimiz-

ing signal loss and maximizing trans-

mit distances. Small diameter optical

fi ber (e.g. 9-μm) is required to ade-

quately support transmission of laser

light sources.

As a result of the variance in source

aperture and optical fi ber size, there

are two ways that light can propagate

through optical fi ber. Because 62.5-

and 50-μm optical fi ber diameters are

relatively large compared to the wave-

length of the transmitted light signal,

there are many paths or “modes” that

light energy may take when it propa-

gates through the optical fi ber. This

type of transmission is referred to as

multimode. Because the 9-μm optical

fi ber diameter is similar to the wave-

length of the transmitted light signal,

only the one wavelength associated

with transmission propagates through

the optical fi ber. This type of transmis-

sion is referred to as singlemode.

Index of refraction

Careful examination of multimode

signal propagation quickly raises a

Step index multimode fi bers (top) have a uniform refractive index,

meaning all energized light paths travel at the same speed whether

they’re propagating at the fi ber’s core or edge. In graded index

multimode fi bers (middle), the refractive index gradually changes

from a maximum at the center to a minimum near the edge, which

minimizes undesirable modal dispersion. Virtually all multimode

fi bers made today are graded-index.












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:: INSTALLATION ::

concern about how the design of the

optical fi ber itself may adversely impact

signal propagation. The earliest optical

fi ber design, referred to as step index,

was constructed with a uniform index

of refraction. This meant that all ener-

gized paths of light, whether propa-

gating at the core or at the edge of

the optical fi ber, traveled at the same

speed. The undesired result is that,

over distance, the energized modes

in a step index optical fi ber will sup-

port different path lengths and the

output pulse will subsequently have

lower amplitude and wider spread (lon-

ger duration) than the input pulse due

to the faster and slower light paths.

Modal dispersion describes the degree

to which the output pulse has spread

compared to the input pulse and

effectively limits the bit rate or band-

width of the step index optical fi ber

to between 20 and 30 million signal

cycles per second transmitted over the

distance of one kilometer. This band-

width capacity is typically presented as

20 MHz∙km to 30 MHz∙km.

To compensate for this phenome-

non, graded index optical fi ber is con-

structed so that the index of refraction

gradually changes from a maximum at

the center (“slowing” the light signal)

to a minimum near the edge (“speed-

ing up” the light signal) of the optical

fi ber. This increases the bandwidth of

graded-index fi ber to greater than 1

billion signal cycles per second trans-

mitted over the distance of one kilo-

meter—1 GHz∙km. Virtually all multi-

mode fi bers manufactured today are

graded-index. Because singlemode

optical fi ber supports only one wave-

length of light, modal dispersion is not

a concern for this medium.

An additional improvement to multi-

mode optical fi ber design involves opti-

mizing the media to specifi cally sup-

port the VCSEL light source. Because

the source aperture of an LED source

exceeds the diameter of the largest

optical fi ber suitable for telecommuni-

cations (62.5 μm), all modes of a multi-

mode fi ber are energized and the pulse

output is fairly easy to control with

graded index optical fi ber. However,

because the source aperture of a

VCSEL light source is much less than

the diameter of the smallest optical

fi ber suitable for telecommunications

(50 μm), only a portion of the available





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17www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance MAY 2010

:: INSTALLATION ::

transmission paths in a multimode

fi ber are energized. Second-generation

“laser-optimized” graded-index opti-

cal fi ber is even more tightly speci-

fi ed to ensure that the pulse output of a

VCSEL source exhibits well-controlled

and limited modal dispersion.

In consideration of next-generation

applications that will employ more-

complex transmission schemes such

as transmitting more than one wave-

length over a single fi ber (e.g. wave-

length division multiplexing), empha-

sis is being placed on ensuring that

optical fi bers have a smooth attenua-

tion profi le over the range of possible

transmission wavelengths. Of partic-

ular concern is attenuation increase

in the 1360- to 1480-nm range (also

known as the “E-Band”or “water

peak” range) due to hydroxyl ions that

are absorbed into singlemode fi bers

during the manufacturing process.

Low water peak (LWP) singlemode

fi bers have undergone an additional

manufacturing step to reverse the

water absorption and have a nearly

smooth attenuation profi le. Zero

water peak (ZWP) singlemode fi bers

undergo a more-complex process that

eliminates all losses in the water peak

range and further lowers attenuation

loss across the entire spectrum.

The many variables associated

with optical fi ber transmission, includ-

ing the capabilities of the light source,

modal dispersion, chromatic disper-

sion (a second order effect character-

izing slight shifts in the transmit light

spectrum), bandwidth, and losses in

the transmission line contribute to the

bit rate and distance capabilities of

various optical fi ber media. In general,

lasers transmitting over singlemode

fi ber support the highest bandwidth

and longest distance, while LEDs

transmitting over larger diameter (62.5-

μm) multimode fi ber support the lowest

bandwidth and shortest distances.

Editor’s note: This is part one

of a two-part article on the funda-

mentals of optical-fi ber cabling and

transmission. Part two, which will

appear in our next issue, will cover

cable construction, connectivity

options, and fi eld deployment.

VALERIE MAGUIRE is global sales

engineer with Siemon (www.siemon.

com).





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:: DESIGN ::

Multimode fi ber systems continue to

provide the most cost-effective cabling

solution for data centers, local area net-

works (LANs), and other enterprise

applications. Compared to singlemode

fi ber, multimode systems offer sig-

nifi cantly lower costs for transceivers,

connectors, and connector installa-

tion while meeting and exceeding the

bandwidth and reliability requirements

of the most demanding networks.

If you are designing a new short-

reach installation, you will probably

choose laser-optimized 50-micron

(μm) OM3 or OM4 multimode fi ber.

These fi bers preserve the systems-

cost benefi ts over singlemode fi ber by

using low-cost 850-nm vertical-cavity

surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) tech-

nology, are capable of 10-Mbit/sec

through 10-Gbit/sec operation, and

will support upcoming 40- and 100-

Gbit/sec transmission speeds.

But if you are upgrading an existing

system, many of which have 62.5-μm

multimode already installed, should you

stick with 62.5-μm? Or can you go with

the higher performance of 50-μm OM3

or OM4 fi ber? This article highlights the

things you must consider when upgrad-

ing an existing 62.5-μm system.

Why two fi ber sizes?

The numbers under discussion—

50-μm and 62.5-μm—refer to the diam-

eter of the fi ber’s core, through which

light signals are transmitted. The fi rst

optical fi bers, deployed in the 1970s

for both short- and long-reach applica-

tions, were 50-μm multimode fi bers.

In the early 1980s, singlemode fi ber

replaced 50-μm fi ber in longer-distance

installations. However, 50-μm multi-

mode continued to be more cost-effec-

tive for short-reach interconnects, such

as building and campus backbones, up

to 2,000-meter distances.

But as data rates increased, 50-μm

fi ber could not support 10-Mbit/sec

rates over the 2-kilometer distances

required by some campus installa-

tions. Not enough power could be

coupled from the light-emitting diode

(LED) sources in use at that time into

the 50-μm core to support these link

distances.

62.5-μm multimode fi ber was intro-

duced in 1985 to solve this problem. It

could capture more light from a LED in

its larger core, and 2-km campus links

operating at 10 Mbits/sec were easily

supported. Also, the larger-core fi ber

was easier to cable and connectorize.

It became the most commonly used

fi ber for short-reach enterprise applica-

tions in North America.

Today, as data rates surpass

10-Gbits/sec and lasers have replaced

LEDs, 62.5-μm fi ber has reached its

performance limit. 50-μm fi ber offers

as much as 10 times the bandwidth

of the 62.5-μm fi ber. What’s more,

improvements in technology have

made 50-μm fi ber easier to use.

Multimode fi ber choices today

To consider making the switch from

62.5-μm to 50-μm multimode, it is

Making the switch from

62.5- to 50-micron fi ber

What to do, and what not to do, when opting for

higher-bandwidth 50-micron multimode.

JOHN KAMINO, OFS

Fiber designation

EMB (in MHz∙km) @ 850 nm

OFL (in MHz∙km) @ 850 nm

OFL (in MHz∙km) @ 1300 nm

OM1 (62.5) N/A 200 500

OM2 (50) N/A 500 500

OM3 (laser-

optimized 50)2,000 1,500 500

OM4 (laser-

optimized 50)4,700 3,500 500












:: DESIGN ::


important to fi rst understand the ter-

minology used to designate the vari-

ous performance grades of multimode

fi ber. In each of these designations,

“OM” stands for “optical multimode.”

For example, OM1 is the designa-

tion for fi ber with 200/500 MHz∙km

overfi lled launch (OFL) bandwidth at

850/1300 nm; this typically is 62.5μm

fi ber. OM2 is used for fi ber with

500/500 MHz∙km OFL bandwidth at

850/1300 nm (typically 50-μm fi ber).

More-recent additions are OM3,

for laser-optimized 50-μm fi ber hav-

ing 2,000 MHz∙km effective modal

bandwidth (EMB, also known as laser

bandwidth) at 850 nm (designed for

10-Gbit/sec transmission), and most

recently OM4, for laser-optimized

50-μm fi ber having 4,700 MHz∙km

EMB at 850 nm, designed for 10-Gbit/

sec transmission over longer distances.

It’s also important to note that for

next-generation 40- and 100-Gbit/sec

Ethernet, only OM3 and OM4 fi bers are

included in the draft standard as sup-

ported (multimode optical fi ber) media.

OM1 and OM2 fi bers are not supported

media types.

The latest offerings in multimode

fi ber are 50-μm bend-optimized prod-

ucts. These fi bers offer all the advan-

tages of high-bandwidth laser-opti-

mized multimode fi ber, with the added

advantage of lower bend sensitivity.

Traditional 50-μm multimode fi bers

can be sensitive to tight bends, leading

to high link loss that could exceed the

system loss budget. New bend-opti-

mized multimode fi bers offer extremely

low bending loss at both 850 and 1,300

nm. These fi bers can be bent down

to a radius of 7.5 mm (almost ¼-inch)

with less than 0.2 dB added loss at 850

nm. At a 15-mm radius (~½-inch), the

added loss is less than 0.1 dB—up to

a 10x improvement in bend loss com-

pared to traditional multimode fi ber,

signifi cantly diminishing the threat of

added loss created by tight bends.

Upgrading a 62.5-μm network

The primary considerations for an

upgrade or extension of an existing

62.5-μm network are:

• the required transmission speed

(now and especially in the future),

• link distance,

• ease of cable replacement, and

• cost of cable replacement.

If you are running Gigabit Ethernet

(1-Gbit/sec), then legacy 62.5-μm fi ber

will transmit a distance of 220 to 275

meters, depending on its bandwidth

rating. But at 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-

GbE; 10-Gbits/sec), they will only sup-

port 26 to 33 meters. If your network

will not need to support 10-GbE at dis-

tances greater than 25 meters, then

you may be able to stick with 62.5-μm

fi ber. It is important to note, however,

that most 62.5-μm fi ber has not been

measured for laser bandwidth, and

some legacy fi ber may have diffi culty

supporting even this short distance.

And if you want to transmit longer

distances over 62.5-μm fi ber, you will

be forced to use much-more-expen-

sive 1,300-nm transceivers that will

operate over multimode or singlemode

fi ber. These transceivers cost signifi -

cantly more than 850-nm multimode

devices, because the 1,300-nm opto-

electronics package is the far more

complex of the two.

If you are considering extending

your network by installing additional

62.5-μm fi ber, you need to carefully

review your future network plans. If

you plan to upgrade your network

speed to 10-Gbits/sec in the future,

recabling with laser-optimized OM3 or

OM4 fi ber would be a wiser choice.

Measuring laser bandwidth

As previously stated, 62.5-μm fi ber

provides limited support for 10-Gbit/

sec transmission, so it generally is not

measured for laser bandwidth (EMB).

Typically, only 50-μm fi bers are mea-

sured for EMB. To verify bandwidth of

62.5-μm fi ber, the traditional OFL band-

width measurement method is used.

For 50-μm fi bers, EMB is ensured

by using a method called Differential

Mode Delay (DMD). This DMD test

is required by standards to verify

10-Gbit/sec performance, and involves

scanning the fi ber’s core in small

increments to see how the signal trav-

els in various regions of the core.

Once the DMD test is conducted and

a DMD “profi le” is obtained, the stan-

dards allow two methods to disposition

the fi ber. One is the DMD Mask method,

and the other is the Effective Modal

Bandwidth Calculated (EMBc) method.

The DMD Mask method provides

direct verifi cation of the fi ber’s DMD

performance using a set of clearly

defi ned DMD masks and templates that

are overlaid on the DMD profi le. This

technique provides fl exibility in apply-

ing more-stringent DMD performance

criteria in certain regions of the fi ber,

including the 0-5μm center region.

The EMBc method involves com-

plex calculations involving 10 weight-

ing functions to represent the wide vari-

ety of 10-Gbit/sec VCSELs available on

the market. Theoretical in nature, this

technique does not, in OFS’s opinion,












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:: DESIGN ::

provide the scrutiny on fi ber quality and

performance that the DMD Mask tech-

nique does. The EMBc method puts

little emphasis on the 0-5μm region of

a fi ber’s core. Though standards allow

both testing methods, OFS advocates

the DMD Mask method.

Mixing 50- and 62.5-μm

If you decide to add 50-μm fi ber to an

existing 62.5-μm infrastructure, con-

necting 50-μm directly to 62.5-μm is

generally not recommended. The differ-

ence in core sizes could cause high loss

when transmitting from the 62.5-μm

into the 50-μm fi ber. Also, the band-

width of 62.5-μm fi bers is typically

much lower, further degrading system

performance. Even if a low-speed appli-

cation operates over a link made up of

mixed fi ber types, upgradeability will

be severely compromised.

This elevated-loss problem occurs

when transmitting from the larger

(62.5-μm) to the smaller (50-μm) core.

It is comparable to a 4-inch water pipe

connecting to a 3-inch pipe; there is no

problem going from the smaller pipe to

the larger one, but going in the oppo-

site direction can lead to a lot of lost

water (or in this case, light).

The amount of connection loss

you could experience is about 4 dB

for a LED-based system, which fi lls

the entire core of a 62.5-μm fi ber, and

anywhere from 0 to 4 dB for a VCSEL-

based system, which only fi lls a por-

tion of the core.

Because most optical-loss test sets

use LEDs, you should plan for the

worst and assume you will see a 4-dB

loss in one direction. If your link bud-

get can tolerate this additional 4-dB

loss, then you can get away with con-

necting 50-μm directly to 62.5-μm.

The better scenario is to separate

50-μm from 62.5-μm with active elec-

tronics, such as a switch, router, or

simple media converter.

Mixing of 62.5-μm and 50-μm fi ber

is not recommended unless an elec-

tronics interface is inserted into the

link. If 10-Gbit/sec speeds are being

installed, 62.5-μm fi ber will only be

able to support extremely short links,

and replacement is recommended.

JOHN KAMINO is product manager,

multimode fi ber with OFS (www.ofsop-

tics.com).





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:: TECHNOLOGY ::

By just about any measure, the market

for digital signage is hot. And perhaps

that’s the only universal statement

that can be made about the technol-

ogy. In January IMS Research (www.

imsresearch.com) pegged the global

market for digital signage devices at

$3.9 billion for 2009 with a forecast for

sharp growth, in the neighborhood

of 20% annually, through 2013. The

devices considered in IMS Research’s

study included displays, media play-

ers, set-top boxes, computers, net-

works, and software.

As for putting into a nutshell what

a digital signage system is, that proves

to be more diffi cult. “Saying ‘digi-

tal signage’ is like saying ‘vehicle,’”

remarks Steve Lampen, multime-

dia technology manager with Belden

(www.belden.com). “You could be talk-

ing about anything from a boat to a

dump truck.” In the case of digital sig-

nage, a system might include a stan-

dard television sitting in a hotel lobby

displaying the events taking place

at the facility that day. Or it could be

a gargantuan scoreboard at a sports

facility showing game action, scores,

and other information.

Each setup will have its own mis-

sion as well as its own infrastructure

needs. Those infrastructures “can vary

widely,” Lampen explains, “and may

not even include wires. Wireless can

be used as well. Take for example a

billboard in the desert between Los

Angeles and Las Vegas. The board will

need to be powered. Then, you have

to decide how you’re going to get the

signal to it. Does somebody physically

load the signal at the site? Do you use

wireless? Satellite perhaps?”

Media and architecture

That is one reason there is no such

thing as a run-of-the-mill infrastruc-

ture or cabling system for digital sig-

nage. Another reason is that, like the

physical appearance and location of a

digital signage system, the bandwidth

such a system consumes can fall virtu-

ally anywhere on the scale.

Lampen says that in general a sig-

nage system’s bandwidth consumption

will depend on what the user puts on

the screen. “A message of just words

would be low-bandwidth. A static

picture, also low,” he explains. “It is

relatively easy to build a display that is

low-bandwidth and just show that dis-

play. A static image is essentially just

one frame of video, and is easily done.

If you decide to add motion, that’s a

different story. The higher the quality

of motion and the resolution of picture,

the higher the bandwidth that will be

needed to deliver it.” He added that

MPEG-style compression technologies

exist and provide good picture quality

for surprisingly low bandwidth.

Employing digital signage sys-

tems over an Ethernet-based network

Digital signage presents

ambiguity and opportunity

Network owners and cabling installers aim to take

advantage of the varied forms of this hot technology.

BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN

Stadium scoreboards like this

one are elaborate digital signs.





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24

:: TECHNOLOGY ::


is one of three primary delivery meth-

ods. Another is through cable televi-

sion; the most recognizable example of

this method is familiar to hotel guests.

The in-room television channels that

do not display any video, but rather

show information such as daily meet-

ings in the hotel facility, are digital sig-

nage systems.

The third delivery method is to have

the media player on or very close to

the display. Lampen explains that this

setup requires “some kind of server or

laptop device, which are getting amaz-

ingly small, that could be stuck on the

back of the display and loaded on a

regular basis.” Often a laptop is con-

nected to the display and the message

is changed either through the laptop or

via a USB stick.

Opportunities abound

As the digital signage market con-

tinues its upward trajectory, build-

ing owners as well as infrastructure-

system designers and installers see

opportunities to take advantage of the

market growth. Design and installa-

tion companies can seize the oppor-

tunity if they know how to implement

these systems, in their various forms,

in the many environments in which

they can be deployed. Some compa-

nies expressly target digital-signage

deployments as their primary busi-

ness. Some of those companies have

an even more narrow focus, such as

digital signage in airports.

For the building owner, digital sig-

nage systems can represent a poten-

tial revenue stream. Hotels and other

hospitality environments may be the

best example. Lampen explains some

of the typical examples he has seen.

“A hotel owner may put 50 screens

throughout the facility. That hotel likely

hosts events, and can charge the orga-

nizations renting a function room for

the inclusion of details” of their events

on a certain number of the 50 screens.

While IMS’s research is a scien-

tifi c means of understanding the digi-

tal signage market’s drivers and growth

patterns, the eyeball test also gives a

strong sense of the market’s success.

Not only are more digital signs show-

ing up in public areas like airports and

retail facilities; professionals in the net-

working and cabling industries may

also have noticed a growing number of

conferences and expositions dedicated

to digital signage. This past winter,

audiovisual trade association InfoComm

(www.infocomm.org) beefed up its pro-

grams related to digital signage. Said

the group’s executive director and chief

executive offi cer Randal A. Lemke, “For

more than fi ve years, InfoComm has

developed a variety of programs and

training to help AV professionals enter

the world of digital signage. Due to

the continuing evolution of the grow-

ing application, InfoComm is develop-

ing additional programs to address this

evolving and growing segment of the

audiovisual industry.” Those programs

include an online conference, the addi-

tion of a digital signage pavilion at the

organization’s annual exhibition, and

training sessions devoted to the topic at

its annual conference.

PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN is chief

editor of Cabling Installation &

Maintenance.





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:: IP CONVERGENCE ::

Earlier this year InfoComm

International (www.infocomm.org), a

trade association for the professional

audiovisual and information-communi-

cations industries, released the results

of a study it commissioned to exam-

ine the global audiovisual market.

InfoComm enlisted Acclaro Growth

Partners (www.acclaropartners.com)

to carry out the research. InfoComm

described the effort as “the fi rst world-

wide study of its kind aimed at sizing

the commercial AV industry.”

The resulting report, The 2010

InfoComm Global AV Market

Defi nition and Strategy Study, proj-

ects that AV products and services will

become a $91 billion global industry by

2012. “The growth of digital signage,

videoconferencing, and command-

and-control facilities resulted in an 8%

compound annual growth in demand

for AV products and services between

2006 and 2009,” the group said when

announcing the report’s availability.

“Despite a troubling economic envi-

ronment in 2009, spending on AV

goods and services did not contract.

The study fi nds that the audiovisual

industry was a $68 billion-a-year

industry in 2009. A compound annual

growth rate of 10% is projected for the

three-year period from 2009 to 2012.”

According to InfoComm’s execu-

tive director and chief executive offi -

cer Randal A. Lemke, the survey

results might be considered a confi r-

mation. “While we are heartened by

the fi ndings of this study we are not

surprised,” he said. “The audiovisual

industry is growing because soci-

ety relies on AV technology to provide

essential communications solutions.”

Economic snapshot

Some applications that can be market

drivers for structured cabling systems

are also signifi cant in the AV indus-

try; the study says that digital sig-

nage, videoconferencing, and digitized

high-end audio systems will continue

to drive AV growth over the next three

years. Additionally, the study says the

ability to provide total building auto-

mation will create additional growth

opportunities thanks to an automated

building’s energy-effi ciency and sus-

tainability benefi ts.

As the results of that global study

were being made public, InfoComm

was also administering the fi fth in a

series of in-depth studies focusing on

current economic conditions. The most

recent InfoComm Economic Snapshot

Survey was researched in February

2010; previous surveys were carried out

in September 2008 and January, July,

and October 2009. Through this series

of surveys, the organization “exam-

ines the overall ‘economic health’ of

the AV industry and brings into focus

the issues, factors, and trends affect-

ing business performance on an inter-

national scale,” the company explained

in the executive summary of its most

recent snapshot report.

The study included participants

from around the world; 547 AV provid-

ers and 125 end users participated.

Details on that study presented in the

remainder of this article are derived

from the study’s executive summary.

The full report, which is 93 pages in

length, can be downloaded for free

from the organization’s Web site.

The InfoComm Performance Index

(IPI) examines company performance

over the previous six months and

expected performance over the next

six months. According to the associa-

tion, the index does not use hard num-

bers like actual revenue fi gures, but

rather stresses perceptions. The IPI

is a 100-point scale on which the low

Global and granular looks

at the audiovisual market

Trade association InfoComm does first-of-

its-kind as well as ongoing research.

BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN






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28

:: IP CONVERGENCE ::


end is “bankrupt” and the high end is

“record growth and profi ts.”

Finding optimism

Previous economic snapshots showed

the IPI declining beginning in January

2009; the decline fi nally stopped with

the February 2010 study. The indica-

tor remains below the peak it reached

in 2008, but has substantially improved

over 2009 values, InfoComm says. For

example, October 2009 respondents

were optimistic about the future, fore-

casting that the IPI would jump from

57.1 to 63.8. That optimism turned out

to be fairly accurate, as the February

2010 fi gures showed a previous-six-

months IPI fi gure of 63.6.

And the optimism continues, as the

February 2010 forecast calls for the IPI

to increase by 6.3 points to 69.9 over

the next six months. InfoComm points

out that the previous high-water mark

for the IPI was 71.0.

The February 2010 report was the

second one to delve into vertical mar-

ket trends; the October 2009 report

did as well. Among those verticals,

higher education and government/mil-

itary showed the strongest demand

increases. About one-third of sur-

vey respondents indicated demand

had increased in these verticals. The

health care (29.2% of survey respon-

dents) and K-12 (26.2%) verticals also

showed heightened demand.

Health care and higher education

are the verticals for which participants

hold the most optimism for this year.

Overall, however, optimism is tem-

pered. The most popular response to

the question about the most-promising

vertical, selected by one-third of the

study’s participants, was “not sure.”

Only 12.1% of survey participants

believe the economy is already in an

upswing; 37.5% believe it is stable and

will pick up this year. 31.8% believe

the economy is stable but will not pick

up until 2011 or later. Fewer than 8%

see the economy set to bottom out this

year. Only 4.4% believe the bottom will

not be hit until next year.

PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN is chief

editor of Cabling Installation &

Maintenance.





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:: EDITOR’S PICKS ::COMPILED BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN


WiFi woes causing trouble for iPad users

Wireless local area network connectivity issues have been a

slight drawback to what otherwise has been an as-expected

blockbuster debut for Apple’s iPad. Within a couple days of

the device’s availability, Apple’s online support forum was

fl ooded with discussion threads about weak WiFi signals.

The manufacturer released two support documents

specifi cally for iPad WiFi access. In the document entitled

“Troubleshooting WiFi networks and connections,” the

company advised users to move closer to the router or hot-

spot, along with other techniques. Some individuals post-

ing to the forum scoffed at that as a possible solution. One

said, “Bear in mind that the all-metal enclosure of the iPad

may be what’s blocking the signal. There’s a reason the

iPod Touch has a plastic window in the back for the WiFi

antenna, and the MBP’s antenna is housed within the

plastic portion of the hinge.”

Soon thereafter, news organizations began reporting

that incompatibility issues with the iPad’s WiFi connec-

tivity were the reason Israeli offi cials began seizing the

devices from anyone trying to enter the country with them.

The Christian Science Monitor reported this state-

ment from the Israeli government: “The iPad device sold

exclusively today in the United States operates at broad-

cast power levels [over its WiFi modem] compatible with

American standards. As the Israeli regulations in the area

of WiFi are similar to European standards, which are dif-

ferent from American standards, which permit broadcast-

ing at lower power, therefore the broadcast levels of the

device prevent approving its use in Israel.”

Perhaps that’s why it’s called disruptive technology.

Patch cord lays path for 100-Gig connectivity

The 100G Migration Patch Cord from Corning Cable

Systems has a name that pretty well describes its func-

tion. The cord is meant to facilitate the conversion from

10- to 100-Gbit/sec Ethernet transmission in cabling sys-

tems designed around a 12-fi ber MTP connector interface.

According to the manufacturer, because 100GBase-SR10

Ethernet multimode fi ber electronics use a 24-fi ber connec-

tor, the 100G Migration Patch Cord eliminates the need for

recabling or other major network modifi cations in 100-Gig-

ready 12-fi ber systems.

The company further explained that today many data

center infrastructures are migrating to 12-fi ber cabling sys-

tems that use array or MTP connectors, which allow for

greater density in the backbone and horizontal than other

interface styles do. MTP-to-LC modules break out these

12-fi ber MTP connectors into duplex LC connectors that

are used for duplex fi ber serial transmission, such as 1- and

10-Gbit Ethernet.

With Corning Cable Systems’ LANscape Pretium EDGE

and Plug & Play Universal systems, users can migrate from

10- to 40-Gbit/sec Ethernet by replacing the MTP-to-LC

module with an MTP adapter and a 12-fi ber MTP patch

cord. Migration from 40- to 100-Gbit/sec Ethernet can be

achieved on the same 12-fi ber system by replacing the

12-fi ber MTP patch cord with the 100G Migration Patch

Cord, which has a dual-12-fi ber-MTP to 24-fi ber-MTP design.

The cord features a round cable and ClearCurve bend-

insensitive multimode fi ber.

Uptime Institute goes off on TIA-942

As part of an ongoing effort to expose myths and mis-

conceptions about its Data Center Tier Classifi cation

System, The Uptime Institute recently took issue with

the notion that the TIA-942 Telecommunications

Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers is a guideline for

tier classifi cations.

“The similarities between the Uptime Institute Tiers

and TIA-942 stop at the surface,” the group said in its lat-

est round of Tier Myths and Misconceptions documents.

“Uptime Institute Tiers is functionally disconnected from

TIA-942,” it continued. “The core objective of Uptime

“C

ou

rte

sy o

f A

pp

le”












:: EDITOR’S PICKS ::


:: BULLETIN BOARDS

Institute Tiers is to guide a design

topology that will deliver high levels

of availability, as dictated by the own-

er’s business case. Uptime Institute

Tiers evaluates data centers by their

capability to allow maintenance and

to withstand a fault. Uptime Institute

Tiers is not available in checklist form.”

Jonathan Jew, co-editor of the

upcoming revision to TIA-942 and

author of the article that begins on

page 7 of this issue, concurs with

TUI’s assertion. He explains, “The

TIA-942 Tiering scheme was initially

developed based on the concept of

four tiers originally developed by TUI

because we wanted to acknowledge

that their scheme was in fact the

most widely used for evaluating data

center reliability, and they had very

useful defi nitions associated with

each tier.

“While TIA has remained with pre-

scriptive defi nitions for each tier, TUI

has decided to move to a functional

approach. In the TIA scheme we

might recommend a certain design

solution, while TUI would be more

open to various solutions as long as

the result provided the desired level of

availability.”

He continues, “The TIA’s scheme

is open to evaluate the relative secu-

rity and availability levels of a data

center. However, just selecting the

right pieces still does not guaran-

tee the desired level of availability. It

still requires competent engineers

to design a system that functions

continued on page 32





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32

:: EDITOR’S PICKS ::


Group Publisher Susan Smith(603) 891-9447 [email protected]

Associate Publisher/National Sales Manager Ed Murphy(603) 891-9260; fax: (603) [email protected]

Reprints The YGS [email protected]

Director, List Sales Bob Dromgoole(603) 891-9128; [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL

U.K. & Scandinavia Tony Hill+44 0 1442-239547 [email protected]

France, Netherlands, Belgium, Andora, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Western SwitzerlandLuis Matutano+33 1 39 66 16 87 fax: +33 1 39 23 84 18 [email protected]

Austria, Eastern Europe, Germany, Northern SwitzerlandHolger Gerisch+49 8801-302430fax: +49 8801 913220 [email protected]

India Rajan Sharma+91 11 686 1113fax: +91 11 686 1112 [email protected]

Israel Dan Aronovic+972 9 899 5813 [email protected]

Asia Adonis Mak+852 2 838 6298 fax: +852 2 838 2766 [email protected]

Japan Manami Konishi+81 3 5771 8886 fax: +81 3 5771 8887 [email protected]

Taiwan Cindy Yang+886 2 2396-5128 #246 fax: +886 2 8751 8861 [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES

MAIN OFFICE 98 Spit Brook Road LL-1, Nashua, NH 03062-5737 (603) 891-0123, fax: (603) 891-9245

Anixter, Inc. ....................................................................................... 5

Arlington Industries Langford Group ................................................ 15

Berk-Tek .........................................................................................C4

BTR Netcom .................................................................................... 28

Byte Brothers ..................................................................................30

Chatsworth Products, Inc. ................................................................. 1

Corning Cable Systems ...................................................................C2

Corning, Inc. .................................................................................... 18

Datacom For Business .................................................................... 31

Diamond Ground Products, Inc. ....................................................... 31

Draka Comteq Cable Solutions ........................................................ 16

Fluke Networks Inc. ........................................................................ 31

FSR, Inc. ......................................................................................... 31

General Cable Company .................................................................... 9

ICC Premise Wiring ......................................................................... 25

Leviton Network Solutions .........................................................12, 17

Live Wire & Cable ............................................................................30

MicroCare Corporation .................................................................... 22

OFS Optics .......................................................................................11

Optical Cable Corporation ................................................................. 2

Quabbin Wire & Cable ..................................................................... 24

Senko Advanced Components Inc. .................................................... 6

Siemon Company ........................................................................... 21

The Light Connection ....................................................................... 32

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

The index of advertisers is published as a service, and the publisher

does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.

:: SHOWCASE

properly. Because [TUI’s] system is based on function rather

than components, their system can’t be completely put

down in table form.”

This TIA-942 commentary is one of fi ve myths and mis-

conceptions The Uptime Institute is trying to squelch with

its most recent “mythbusting” effort. These fi ve most recent

myths are international-based, the organization says. In

addition to the TIA-942 myth, others are that TUI’s Tier

Classifi cation System is U.S.-centric; the system requires

an emergency power off (EPO) button; the system requires

raised fl oors; and Tier III and IV data centers require the

engine-generator plant to be operational at all times.

“During recent visits in Latin America, Europe, Russia,

Africa, and Asia, Uptime Institute encountered particu-

lar tier myths and misconceptions,” TUI said in an email

in which it also listed the TIA-942 and four other myths.

“These myths have taken attention away from the funda-

mental concepts of the Tier Classifi cation System. The

result has been shortfalls in design topology despite ade-

quate budgeting. These shortfalls put the data center’s

ongoing uptime at risk.”

continued from page 30





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www.berktek.com

B E C A U S E Y O U R B U S I N E S S R U N S T H R O U G H U S

At a Glance…

� Supports PoE+ to ExtendedDistances, Up to SeveralThousand Feet

� Multiple Loose Tube or TightBuffer Fibers

� Available for Indoor/OutdoorEnvironments

COMPOSITE COPPER/FIBER CABLE

Some things just go better together.





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