Author Archives

Liz Goldsmith

Webinar: Cabling Requirements for Spine-and-Leaf Topologies

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The webinar will describe how to implement a spine-and-leaf data center network architecture, how spine-and-leaf is designed to ensure full connectivity among switches. It is also sometimes called full-mesh, and it requires just that—a full mesh of fiber-optic cabling to support all switch-to-switch connections. This presentation describes the spine-and-leaf topology, explaining its characteristics and deployment options. The presentation pays specific attention to the topology’s demands on cabling systems, and approaches to take in order to meet those demands.

White Paper: IE Standards Paving the Way

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The use of Ethernet for industrial automation applications is on the rise and is rapidly displacing traditional Fieldbus protocols that are more complex, often proprietary and have limited distance and performance. In fact, Industrial Ethernet is now bigger than traditional Fieldbus and growing at an annual rate nearly four times that of Fieldbuses. Download this White Paper from Fluke Networks to learn more.

United Fiber & Data hints at major data center and colocation customer

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Dark fiber provider United Fiber & Data is building a global data center & colocation provider” for an unknown customer in the New York City area. The facility will use 25 pairs (50 fiber strands total) of dark fiber to connect a Manhattan-based data center to the customer’s facility in Secaucus, NJ, and another data center in Newark, NJ. The dark fiber is part of UFD’s wholly owned and operated, greenfield built, low-latency network that connects the company’s more than 60-mile metro fiber-optic network in New York City, which has more than 330 buildings on net.

On Topic: Preparing for 5G

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Some service providers have begun their 5G roll outs; others will launch theirs soon. But both must consider the proper strategy to ensure successful deployments. The articles in this edition of Lightwave On Topic: cover the subject from diverse angles, including the importance of time-sensitive networking, the support of network slicing, implementing routing in 5G support networks, and test considerations.

Softing acquires Phoenix Digital in play for IIoT fiber-optic modules

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Softing acquires Phoenix Digital Corporation, a provider of secure industrial fiber-optic communications products for high availability industrial networking sites. The fiber-optic modules eliminate the need for typical Ethernet networking hardware when connecting PLC to PLC, and when connecting PLCs to smart field devices simplifies connectivity, nearly eliminates setup and maintenance and drastically improves network robustness.

Define Smart

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There’s currently no dictionary definition of a smart building, though we seem to be moving towards a shared understanding that for a building to be considered ‘smart’, it should use technology to deliver useful, consistent, user focused experiences as well as space and energy efficiencies. We can contrast this with ‘connected’ and ‘intelligent’ buildings,

Cybersecurity for Smart Buildings

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The increased focus on cybersecurity for smart buildings is being driven by the ever-growing number of networked IoT devices and the convergence of OT and IT security. The seamless interconnection of IoT devices makes smart buildings increasingly vulnerable and susceptible for cyber-attacks with expensive and destructive consequences.

7 Reasons to Certify

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When it comes to testing a cabling installation, there are essentially three choices–verification, qualification and certification. Verification is great for troubleshooting as it will tell you if your cabling is connected correctly and can help you find breaks, connectors and splices. Qualification lets you know if your cable under test will support a specific application, making it great for small moves, adds and changes or determining if an existing cable plant can support an application. But only certification will tell you if the cable plant fully meets industry standards – it’s the only test that measures across predefined ranges and compares the results to TIA, ISO and IEEE specifications to determine if a link is compliant with a specific category or class of cable and able to support the application. Certification is also what most cable manufacturers require for a warranty.

EdgeConneX Opens its Buenos Aires Edge Data Center

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EdgeConneX has launched its newest facility in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to EdgeConneX, global service providers and local organizations throughout the region will gain access to scalable data capacity with low-latency connectivity, critical content delivery solutions, and advanced cloud services previously unavailable in this region. The data center supports and provides local connectivity, peering, and internet exchange solutions from leading network providers, including Metrotel, Silica Networks, CenturyLink, and others. It also facilitates interconnection between multiple networks and other service provider customers.