Category: Copper

Solving interoperability challenges of delivering up to 90 watts of PoE wiring

As the industry adopts the latest generation of PoE technology for managing data and power over a single Ethernet cable, users face the challenge of making pre-standard powered devices (PDs) work alongside new IEEE 802.3bt-2018-compliant PDs in an existing Ethernet infrastructure. Microchip Technology Inc. has eased the transition with IEEE 802.3bt-2018-compliant PoE injectors and midspans for users and power sourcing equipment (PSE) chipsets for system developers that enable both pre-standard and IEEE-compliant PDs to receive up to 90W of power without changing switches or cabling.

Webinar: Ready for Four Pair PoE?

New devices based on the 802.3bt standard will supply up to 90 watts over four twisted pairs, supporting a new generation of PoE-supported devices. This webinar will give you the background you need to specify, install and troubleshoot these devices, including: How it Works, Cable Bundling Considerations, Field Termination Considerations, Cabling Performance, and Installing and Troubleshooting.

Single Pair Ethernet Consortium

Cabling Installation & Maintenance interviews Frank Straka, Panduit’s product line manager for copper products, about the Single Pair Ethernet Consortium, discussing the group’s objectives, the single-pair ecosystem, Panduit’s role in the group, and some forthcoming products related to this emerging technology.

Is Copper Dead?

In 1995, I attended a seminar in which the presenter told us that copper was dead, that we were approaching the limits of copper and that the future was fiber. However, fiber is not the answer to everything. The semiconductors that provide the processing power for the modern world are still electrical, not optical. Semiconductors create the data that must then be transmitted at rocket-ship speeds, and so the need exists for a copper connector that will allow extremely high-speed data to be taken from silicon to silicon, or silicon to fiber.

Single-Pair Ethernet Consortium: Bringing Single-Pair Ethernet to Building Automation

A new Ethernet protocol has been designed to operate over a single pair of UTP/STP cable – otherwise known as single-pair Ethernet. Although, individually, these devices don’t call for much power or bandwidth, the sheer number joining our networks (75 billion or more by 2025) will increase overall bandwidth needs.To discuss advances in technology, the Single-Pair Ethernet Consortium (SPEC) was formed, bringing together organizations that make single-pair Ethernet devices, equipment and connectivity. The group’s hope is to nurture the adoption and growth of single-pair networks in a standards-compliant ecosystem that discourages proprietary network types and instead makes use of Ethernet.

Cable Testing 101: Understanding Near and Far End Crosstalk

Crosstalk is the phenomenon by which a signal transmitted on one pair or one channel creates an undesired affect on another pair or channel. It causes interference on an affected pair of conductors or overall cable creates errors or prevents data transmission. But are you aware of the difference between the near end and far end crosstalk parameters you need to test for in balanced copper network cabling systems?