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With changing needs and tremendous technological advances, the cabling infrastructure architecture has come a long way. In the past, the data center manager depended heavily on experience as well as on available solutions but could not yield desired results. Things had to change as demands became more rigorous.

A crucial element for any enterprise's IT strategy, the structured cabling system offers uniformity, flexibility, scalability and changes within a low budget. IT/BPO, BFSI, telecom, education and health verticals are the key drivers for the structured cabling industry.

Growing Demands
Over the past 30 years, there have been exceptional advances in the networking technology. With the development of Ethernet in the early 1970s, rates of point-to-point data transfer have increased by a factor of ten thousand. From 1 MB StarLan to 10 Gb Ethernet, the stable increase in bandwidth has been fueled by an ever-rising demand for more speed, applications, memory and devices.

Persistent increase in processor capability and advance operating system that enable the development of new applications need faster speed. These applications and their associated devices create more network usage and congestion, driving demand for more bandwidth.

This need of additional bandwidth is felt first at network blockage. When a section of the network becomes a bottleneck, network equipment such as Ethernet switches and servers are replaced with next generation equipment that have faster processors, more memory, enhanced operating systems, and the intrinsic ability to run more multifaceted applications.

Eventually, network equipment speed outpaces the infrastructure that connects devices. Networks with Category 3 cabling (or Cat 3 cabling) systems could support the first few generations of switches and computers that supported 10 Mbps Ethernet over 100 mts. With the introduction of the 100 Base-TX protocol, bandwidth restrictions between devices were removed. However, Cat 3 cabling was deficient to support the hundred times increase in bandwidth, which led to the development of Category 5 cabling to support 100 Mbps over 100 mts.

Avoiding Cat 4, network planners had to decide the cabling system they wanted to install. At that time, the bulk of networks operated with 10Base-T network devices. However, Cat 3 cabling would not support the emerging 100Base-TX protocol. Yet, the good news was that Cat 5 could run 100Base-TX and was well-matched with Cat 3. In other words, any application designed for Cat 3 (10Base-T) would run just as well, if not better, on the Cat 5 cabling system.

IEEE Standards
The most active network equipment, including computers, servers, Ethernet switches, routers and hubs, has a life of not more than three to five years. In contrast, structured cabling historically has a useful life of 10-15 years. Therefore, structured cabling installed today will outlive at least three generations of networking equipment upgrades.

The challenge is how to determine what type of active equipment will exist in these three generations of product. The answer can be found in IEEE or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This organization consists of networking equipment manufacturers such as Cisco, Nortel, Juniper and others that look at the future of networking and develop solutions for future product generations. Using IEEE standards as a guide, it is possible to see the direction for both active equipment and cabling requirements for the next few generations.

IEEE has already released standards for 10GbE over fiber and over short range copper (CX4), and is swiftly moving ahead with IEEE 802.3an, 10GbE over unshielded twist pair copper (UTP). There are other active standards bodies like TIA and ISO committees with their work on Augmented Category 6, also known as Category 6a. With the advent of these new standards it is clear that 10GbE over UTP is going to be a reality in the coming generations of network equipment, and this is fully supported by the standards making bodies, TIA and ISO.

Selecting the Infrastructure
With all the choices of fiber and copper cabling at your disposal, it is difficult to choose the right one because each network is unique and exceptional. Beware of one-size-fits-all solutions as they cannot possibly account for the infinite numbers of variables, and this must be considered when selecting a cabling infrastructure. While taking cabling infrastructure decisions, bandwidth requirements and time of implementation should be kept in mind.

There are three possible scenarios based upon very different network requirements:

Need for 10 Gb: If this is the case, one should choose 10GbE over fiber. It will be more expensive than copper due to media conversion and more expensive ports on equipment.

Not sure what to do: Space occupy on a short-term lease, or are concerned about the current state of the standards: In this case, the coherent alternative is a Category 6 cabling solution. Once the standard is released, it looks like Category 6 will support 10GbE at the shorter distance of 55 meters, just in case you do require 10GbE in the near term. But the question is: why is Category 5 not a good choice in this scenario? In 2005, the dominant UTP cabling standard for new installations shifted from Category 5e to Category 6.

In addition, Category 5e is not recognized by IEEE or TIA to support 10Gbase-T because Category 5e cannot support 10GbE for any practical distance. There were early announcements on 10GbE running on Category 5e: yet these tests were only made on single runs of cable in a laboratory environment and not on actual installations. In actual installations, the noise generated by adjacent cables (alien crosstalk) is too great to allow 10GbE transmission for any reasonable distances over category 5e cabling.

Building space is on a long-term lease or the building is owned: Bandwidth requirements are ample. Choose Augmented Category 6. Augmented Category 6 will be more expensive than Category 6, however, the installation time and cost will be virtually the same. For this scenario, Augmented Category 6 offers a cabling system that will be in service for at least three generations of active networking gear.

In the scope of any networking project, the infrastructure is a relatively small expense. Adding the small capital expense for Augmented Category 6 cabling will defer or eliminate future costs of cabling system upgrades as new applications require replacement of active networking gear.

Building for Bandwidth
Technology advancements and upgradation in networking will continue. New processor technology, coupled with new operating systems, will allow the formation of advanced applications and services. These new applications will demand more and more bandwidth, driving the need for higher speed protocols and cabling to support these protocols. Yet, if one owns their space, or have a long term lease, a good thumb rule is to design your passive cabling infrastructure to bear at least three generations of active networking gear with an Augmented Category 6 solution.

To design for three generations, look to the IEEE and educate yourself on the protocols being developed for the future. This offers a priceless lead toward building for bandwidth in the future.

Infrastructure Solutions
ADC Krone manufactures and distributes a complete range of standards-based, technologically advanced solutions that support voice, data, security, audio, video, controls and other building and campus systems. The TrueNet Structured Cabling Solution provides an absolute copper and fiber cable, connectivity and cable management solution from the entrance facility to the desktop and across the campus. Supported by an exceptional warranty, TrueNet is the choice of network managers worldwide, who operate high-value and mission critical networks.

Few ADC Krone cable solutions are supporting common enterprise applications. Integral to each solution are the TrueNet patch panels, fiber frames, connectors, cable management, termination/splice/storage panels and other products for every unique requirement in the passive portion of your network.

Arpita Prem
arpitap@cybermedia.co.in