There was a time when in the USA and UK it was deemed ‘not possible’ to get 10G ethernet over copper cabling at a 100m channel. Whilst opinion was changing, the european manufacturers ‘stole a march’ and produced a new category of copper cabling classified as an S/FTP cable. This means that it has foil twisted pairs with an overall screen/braid. This cable was designed initially for 10G (before the standard) and was designed to operate up to 600Mhz. This cabling system was ratified as Cat 7 (class F).
In summary, Category 6a and 10GbaseT can be delivered over both unshielded and shielded cabling systems. Manufacturers that offer 25 year warranties over UTP systems have to be 100% sure that their customers install and test the cabling systems correctly, taking into account all of the mitigation factors such as cabling bundling etc.
There are numerous options for deploying ethernet via copper cabling in the ‘horizontal’ cabling elements of a building/campus. Currently, the common ones are Category 6 and Category 6A in the UK and North America and Category 7 and Category 7A in Central Europe.
U/FTP has Smaller Overall Diameter. Because U/FTP cable does not require a centre spline separating the wire pairs to maintain pair geometry, the cable overall diameter (OD) is much smaller than F/UTP cables. Without the centre spline, the U/FTP cable is more flexible and easier to work with during installation. It also takes up less room in the conduit than the F/UTP.
The two principal advantages of pre- terminated cabling are reduced time on site and improved quality of terminations. Pre-connectorised, or pre-terminated, cabling is most popular when time on site is at an absolute premium. This may be in a new build, such as a data centre, where time scales are critical and many different trades are vying for the right to work on any particular bit of floor space. Related to the 'less time on site' issue is the fact that less people are required on site.
The next generation of PoE, PoE++ or 4PPoE, ieee 802.3bt will offer 60W+ Powering over all four pairs across structured cabling links. Consequently, M&E Design documentation is now even more critical in its accuracy within modern building design. More and more IP-Connected devices are providing several different services within modern buildings, and Power over Ethernet is enabling end-device manufacturers to offer remotely powered intelligent equipment. This White Paper discusses the implications of PoE on future design philosophies and the additional considerations to be made when specifying intelligent building infrastructures.
The first step or test phase always requires that 100% of the links designed to transmit 10GBASE-T traffic must be tested against the in-channel test performance specifications and all links must pass. The in-channel parameters refer to the test parameters of and between wire pairs within a cabling link. Field certification up to the advent of 10GBASE-T only included in-channel test parameters. These parameters remain the same as currently specified in the TIA/EIA-568-B document.
One of the most common sources of confusion in the field of uninterruptible uptime is what constitutes a reliable data centre. All too often, reliability is in the eye of the beholder: what is acceptable to one person or company is inadequate to the next. Competing companies with data centres of radically different infrastructure capabilities are all claiming to deliver high availability. With the continuously increasing pressure on high availability and the explosive growth of the internet cons an increased demand for computer hardware reliability.
With the recent implementation of Construction Product Regulations requiring even more stringent compliance to additional performance in fire conditions, M&E Design documentation is now even more critical in its accuracy within modern building design. More and more IP-Connected devices are providing several different services within modern buildings, and Power over Ethernet is enabling end-device manufacturers to offer remotely powered intelligent equipment.
M&E Design documentation has never been more critical in its accuracy in modern building design. With the arrival of more and more IP-Connected devices providing several different services in the secure and efficient operation of a building, is it now wise to produce “Generic” Specification documents? Should performance requirements of the client take precedent in delivering a building completed using recognised standards-compliant reliable solutions, or leave it open to interpretation?