Leagues, teams, and events have pushed the need for optical fiber far beyond broadcast and backhouse IT systems. As IP has become more prevalent in moving video files, many of these systems rely on fiber as the primary method of transmission. Applications like VR, AR, Replay, Statistics, POS, Wi-Fi, Injury Video Review and Photo Press are not baseband HD/SDI, but data that requires a robust network of optical cabling throughout the facility.
Developing a comprehensive plan that tackles all of the potential opportunities can be complex but it doesn’t have to be. A couple of key considerations are:
•Do you share the backbone and pathways?
•How do you manage the tight space in existing closet IDF’s and the MDF?
•Who has access and during what times?
•How do you track and manage changes?
•Who provides maintenance and systems support?
An infrastructure where both in-house IT, special systems and event infrastructure share the same cable, patch panels and IDF/MDF locations is typically the most cost effective, but not necessarily the most desirable. Since some systems will need to be left permanently patched for monitoring and updates even when not in use, the idea of rebuilding and changing the network topology for each event is not feasible. In addition, sharing cable plant infrastructure can introduce security issues and network outages at the most critical times.
Consideration should be given to sharing a high capacity backbone between common points in the infrastructure and then splitting it out to dedicated patching points for each functional use such as IT, house/event and league/team.