Introduction to Cabling Standards and the impact of Data Centres on the ICT industry

23rd November 2008Paul Mathews MInstSMM

Global Channel Manager

Structured CablingNeed for Structured Cabling

1985 TR-42 Cabling Standards

– 1836 Telegraph– 1876 Telephone– 1911 Automatic switch– 1948 Transistor– 1950 PABX– 1960 IBM S360 Computer– 1980 PCs (Apple IBM)– 1980 LANs (Ethernet )– 1980 Telephone Switches– 1990 10BASE-T – 1995 100BASE-T– 1999 1000BASE-T– 2000 Video distribution– 2000 Convergence– 2006 10GBASE-T

Cabling StandardsCabling Standards

600 MHz600 MHz• CATEGORY 7

– A NEW STANDARD PUBLISHED IN 2002

16 MHz16 MHz• CATEGORY 3

– NOW ONLY USED FOR HIGH PAIR COUNT BACKBONE TELEPHONE CABLES– SOMETIMES CALLED CW1308 IN UK 20 MHz20 MHz

• CATEGORY 4– NOW RETIRED IN MODERN STANDARDS 100 MHz100 MHz

• CATEGORY 5– THE MAJOR PRODUCT IN STRUCTURED CABLING– CAT5 WAS UPGRADED TO “CAT5e” IN 2000 and

revamped again in 2002 250 MHz250 MHz• CATEGORY 6

– A NEW STANDARD PUBLISHED IN 2002– CAT 6A WAS RATIFIED 2008

500 MHz500 MHz

1000 MHz1000 MHz• CATEGORY 7A

– DRAFT STANDARDS BEING REVAMPED FOR CLASS FA

Cabling StandardsCabling Standards

TIA 942TIA 942DATA CENTRESDATA CENTRES

ISO/IEC 11801Information Technology – Generic cabling for customer premises

EN50173Information technology. Generic cabling systems. General requirements and office areas

ANSI EIA/TIA 568-BCommercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard

Cabling StandardsCabling Standards

• ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A – first ratified in 1991 with the goal to specify a structured cabling system with a projected usable life on at least 10 years

• 1995: TSB-72 introduced ‘Centralised fibre optic guidelines’

• 2001: TIA-568-B.1 incorporated centralised cabling into the standards

• 2005: TIA-568-B and 568-B.1 Addendum 5 added Telecommunication Enclosures (TE) that enable optical fibre to be used and connected within zone cabling

• New addendums added Gigabit Ethernet, Cat 6 and 850nm laser-optimised 50um fibre

ICT EvolutionICT Evolution

• The need for faster and more bandwidth(such as video streaming content)

• The need for more space as computerrooms evolve, caused by larger storageareas for:Servers and communications cablingRouters and switches, fibre channelSAN equipment, storage devices,keyboards and monitorsSecurity, access and CCTV equipmentRacks

• See Connectix Article 6 – Server cabinet installation• See Connectix Article 21 – Why choose Cat 5e, 6 or 10G

The BADold days…

ICT EvolutionICT Evolution

• The average lifetime of cabling systems is 3 years

• Is the end usermaximising theirreturn on investment?

• Company expansion• Development of

standards,education andbest practiceinstallation

The new ICT age….

The data centre...What is a data centre?

• “A building or portion of a building whose primary function is to house a computer room and its support areas,” according to TIA 942

• Includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, HVAC, fire suppression and special security devices

• Tier 1 – can be as small as a normal computer room

• Tier 4 – mission critical computer systems such as ISP hosting, financial services and emergency services infrastructures

Drivers for DC'sDrivers for data centres

• Disaster backup– 9/11, Buncefield Oil depot, Hurricane Katrina

• Data protection legislation– Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II

• Growth in online businesses– Mail-order, internet gambling

• Growth in financial sector– Share dealing, internet banking, credit card transactions

• Competition amongst universities for‘distance-learning’ students

• Corporate organisations requiring security,storage, resilience and back-up

• EU Data Retention Directive (Aug 2007), 2 years of call records

Data Ctr DynamicsData Centre Dynamics

1.0 Physical location of the data centre2.0 Physical sizing and capabilities3.0 Electrical systems to and within the data centre4.0 Fire minimisation, detection, alarm and suppression5.0 Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)6.0 Communications Cabling within and to the data centre7.0 Cabling containment within the data centre (including

raised floors)8.0 Equipment racks and cabinets9.0 Information Technology equipment10.0 Security, Access and CCTV11.0 Project management12.0 Ongoing maintenance

Tier PerformanceData Centre Tier Performance

Tier Classifications per TIA-942 Standard

RequiredRequiredNot requiredNot requiredOperations Centre

0.41.622.028.8Downtime (hours per year)

99.995%99.982%99.749%99.671%Site availability

Tier 4Tier 3Tier 2Tier 1

New technologyNew technology and techniques

• Connectix Express range offers preterminated, pre-tested links that exceed the performance requirements

– Express preterminated are available for Net 10G, Net 6 or Net 5E and Fibre including Lightspeed

• Removes on-site termination, massively reducing the time required to install

• Excellent performance is assured because all the terminations are carried out by skilled personnel in the UK

• Full performance testing of every link is carried out prior to dispatch

• Pre-labelled with the required scheme

Pre terminatedcopper and fibre

systems

Starlight MTPStarlight MTP

• Pre terminated MTP high density fibre optic system for high speed networks

• 80% quicker to install over traditional pre terminated fibre optics

• Supports future transmissions of 40Gbitand 100Gbit/second

• Will provide 12 – 96 cores in 1u of rack space (3mm diameter cables – less cable tray, less air flow obstruction, easier cabinet entry and easier fire-stopping)

Quality controlQuality control

• Working within an ISO 9001 quality regime Connectix controls quality right from the start

• A unique 100% testing programme– Only Inferometer measuring equipment in the UK

for Lightspeed– 12 months developing / training and equipping– £80k investment in new facility in Braintree

• Connectix controls quality all the way through the supply chain by only using trained system integrators approved and authorised and qualified distribution partners

outstandingquality andperformancewarranty…

Future EventsFuture Events

• Data Centre Design Principle Seminars, register at www.connectixcablingsystems.com/register

• Exclusive to Connectix affiliates only• Copper and fibre optic training courses – see

www.connectixcablingsystems.com/events

IET Endorsed Training provider

CIBSE Continuing Professional Development BICSI Continuing Education Credits

Thank you