FEATURE: CABLING STANDARDS
OSAMA ABED, TECHNICAL
MANAGER (GULF, MIDDLE EAST,
EAST AND SOUTH AFRICA),
NEXANS CABLING SOLUTIONS
developments and proposals for cabling
standards and we develop new products
based on that. Hence, our experts are in
a good position to give customers the
best advice and plans suited for their
current and future needs.
What and why is the recommended
category of cabling required to meet
modern standards?
As cabling dictates how fast a
network can operate, is there a
particular standard those installing
cabling infrastructure should look for
in terms of speed?
Cabling infrastructures are installed to
allow the connectivity between systems,
and the cabling categories in copper, and
grades in fibre optics, are chosen based
on the required connectivity speed. For
example, Category-6 in copper cabling is
sufficient to operate the speed of 1Gbps,
while for higher speeds up to 10Gbps
require Category-6A cabling. In fibre
optics, speed is related to the maximum
distance of operation required, and both
parameters dictate the minimum fibre
optics grade to be used. The speeds and
reaches for both copper and fibre optics
cabling are governed by the structured
cabling standards, which are well
defined in terms of operational speed
and maximum reach distances.
The latest standards development needs
to be considered in the planning and
design of the project to ensure that the
final project implementation will not
only support the current applications
requirements but also be able to
accommodate the latest emerging
technologies. If organisations neglect
the latest standards today, they may
be investing in an outdated technology,
which will become even more outdated
once new applications evolve. So, staying
up to date at the project planning stage is
a must to ensure that their investment will
last for a very long period and be able to
support future technologies.
What is the best way for those
wishing to install new cabling
infrastructure to judge the standard
of its reliability?
How can those looking to install new
cabling infrastructure ensure that
their cabling meets future standards? Structured cabling standards are
developed and published by reputable
organisations that are taking an active
part in developing new technologies
to serve the IT industry, and it is the
priority of all standard organisations
to set standards limits to ensure the
reliability of the final product. It
is enough for the project owner to
ensure that the project specifications
Future standards are always developed
while taking into consideration existing
standards and are, in fact, developed as
an upgrade to existing standards limits.
During the consultation and planning
phases of a project, we understand from
the customer their current requirements
and future plans, and based on their
inputs, we recommend the type of
installation and choice of structured
cabling that will best support their future
expansion plans. As Nexans actively
participates in all standard committees,
we are always aware of the new “The real
challenge for
each vendor is
how much better
their product
is as compared
to the standard
limits.”
www.intelligentcio.com
are meeting the latest standards
updates and that the structured
cabling vendor has trusted quality
standards to ensure the reliability of
the final project implementation.
How long should cabling infrastructure
last and how many generations of
equipment should it support?
Structured cabling systems are the
most durable systems in the IT industry.
They last from 20-25 years. Comparing
this to other systems, and looking
at active switches for example, the
active switches life time is a maximum
of five years, which means that the
structured cabling can support four
or five generations of upgrade in the
active switches technologies. This
cycle, however, is lower in data centre
environments, where updates of
technologies are happening much faster
than the building environments, making
the structured cabling good for two or
three generations of upgrade in active
switching technologies with an average
of 10 years life time. Nexans’ structured
cabling solution is guaranteed for 25
years of operation, and the warranty
covers the product quality as well as the
applications speeds, ensuring that the
installed cabling will continue to support
the promised applications speeds for the
warranty period of 25 years.
All major cable manufactures are
required to make their cable to
minimal standard compliances
for each grade. How do these vary
between the grades currently
being installed?
Each vendor should maintain the product
grade above the minimum limits required
to pass the standard compliance, which
will ensure that all products satisfy the
standard limits. The real challenge for
each vendor is how much better their
product is as compared to the standard
limits. For example, a product having
20dB margin above the standard limits is
much better than another product that is
having 5dB margin above the standard
limits. Higher margins also mean more
reliability and stability during operation,
which results in better guaranteed speed
of operation. n
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