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FUTURE-PROOFING
Making enterprise
future-ready
Mike Holmes, Marketing
Manager, Nexans
www.nexans.co.uk
Ensuring network infrastructure meets
the explosive growth in demand for
bandwidth and functionalities
The enterprise IT landscape is rapidly changing. HD video,
the Internet of Things, cloud and big data are vastly
increasing data traffic requirements. Files are becoming
exponentially larger as people simultaneously transmit
increasing amounts of voice, data and video to many
different IP devices. The current explosive growth in
bandwidth demand is expected to continue and increase
further. Soon, we’ll be seeing major developments in wireless
technology evolution and a threefold increase in power
transmitted through IP networks.
We’re also seeing increasing convergence of infrastructure,
which provides enormous efficiency increases, both from
a technical and business perspective. By pre-integrating
formerly separate technology components, pooling IT
resources and automating IT processes, huge efficiency
advantages and lower costs can be realised. This approach
centralises management of IT resources, consolidates systems
and boosts resource utilisation.
However, several factors need to be taken into account
when preparing for convergence. For example, there are
consequences for building layout, calling for more ceiling
ports in addition to ‘traditional’ floor outlets. It’s not just a
question of putting in as many cables and ports as possible –
they also need to be installed in the right places.
Three steps to your solution…
Today, users may experience their network running more
slowly than it used to, especially at certain times of day, no
matter what application is used. Solving this, and ensuring
the problem doesn’t get significantly worse, requires a
complete rethinking of network design, rollout, expansion and
servicing. How much redundancy do you need to build in to
maximise availability without over-specifying? How do you
ensure cabling, connectivity and networks will hold up in an
increasingly demanding environment? How can you ensure
network infrastructure meets today’s explosive growth in
demand for bandwidth and functionalities?
To answer these questions, we need to take a closer look
at current developments. We can identify three key areas
in which rapidly growing demands on networks will expand
exponentially in the near future.
1. People and devices
What type and level of performance do your organisation’s
users and devices require – not just now, but in the future?
If distances aren’t factored-in correctly, and there’s no clear
view of the requirements for each section of cabling, there is a
risk of underspecifying (adversely affecting performance and
reliability) or overspecifying (and overspending).
The network needs to be able to handle escalating
bandwidth and power demands to accommodate greater
convergence, the Internet of Things and the proliferation
of ‘everything IP’. For Wi-Fi, it’s vital to remember that as
bandwidth increases the reach drops. So, although Wi-Fi data
rates are set to reach speeds of up to 27Gbps in the next few
years, reach may only be 10-20m. This has a considerable
impact on the cabling layout required to support additional
wireless access points (WAPs) required to cover the same
area. In addition, the cabled backbone will require sufficient
bandwidth and have potential to provide high power PoE.
2. Building conditions
Which specific conditions exist in your building or buildings?
Which distances need to be bridged? Are there specific
requirements, with regard to functionality or uptime? Space
within buildings is often limited and structural changes can’t
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