FEATURE: CABLING STANDARDS
speeds, including 25 Gb/s and higher, to
support these connections.
Class I, class II, and category 8 cabling
has a unique channel topology that is
optimised for support of 25GBASE-T
and 40GBASE-T server to switch
connections in the data centre. These
cabling solutions are characterised to
2 GHz and supports 30 metre cabling
channels that contain no more than
two connectors. Data centre designers
that can arrange their rack and cabinet
layouts to support maximum 30-metre
channel connections at these locations
today will be well-positioned to
migrate to 25G/40GBASE-T when the
technology becomes available.
In the data centre backbone, where
switch-to-switch backbone links are
rapidly migrating to greater than
40 Gb/s speeds, optical fibre cabling
provides the best cabling option.
What is the best way for those
wishing to install new cabling
infrastructure to judge the standard
of its reliability?
In order to judge the reliability of
the installed products, it is highly
recommended that those installing new
cabling infrastructure carefully review
worst case (not “typical” or “average”)
performance guarantees and ask
vendors to provide independent third
party certificates for their proposed
products and solutions.
Customers are urged to always source
their equipment from the reputable
manufacturers with a proven track
record and a comprehensive range
of end-to-end cabling solutions for
the LAN, intelligent building and data
centre networks.
How long should cabling
infrastructure last and how many
generations of equipment should
it support?
Cabling typically represents two to three
per cent of an overall network hardware
budget and it is expected to perform for
10–20 years and support two to three
generations of active electronics.
However, there are several factors
that must be taken into consideration
when determining the category or
class of cabling that will be used in a
network infrastructure. These include
the time an end-user will occupy a
facility, the expected installed lifetime
of the cabling plant, the applications
that will run on the cabling plant over
its useful life, the timeframe during
which standards, applications and
electronics manufacturers will support
the cabling plant, the cost of active
electronics, warranty length and covered
components as well as price as it relates
to performance.
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?
Whilst many the cable manufacturers
provide minimally compliant cables
and connectivity, the headroom
provided by the cabling system is
highly desirable because it helps to
ensure that the entire cabling system
will perform reliably and robustly over
its lifecycle.
Headroom, as provided by Siemon’s
category 6A shielded and unshielded
cabling solutions, is especially beneficial
when the cabling plant is subjected
to frequent changes and allows the
cabling to be more tolerant of variables
associated with real-life cabling
installations. In networks with hundreds
or thousands of installed drops, even
a low percentage of links having
marginal test results can consume
hundreds of hours and thousands of
dollars to resolve.
“Cabling is expected
to perform for
10–20 years and
support two to three
generations of active
electronics.”
54
INTELLIGENTCIO
www.intelligentcio.com