Most data centers typically use a mixture of direct connect and interconnect cabling. As the name implies, a direct connection runs point-to-point between racks. A data center interconnect routes patch cords to a presentation panel. For large projects, this strategy can become difficult to manage as patch cords tend to become longer and cable pathways grow more congested.
It’s happening again; this time, we’re obsessing over all things “smart.” At first, there were just smartphones. Then came smart watches, smart homes, smart grids, smart switches and smart cities. At some point, the term “smart” became diluted as marketers started applying it to more and more solutions. It’s time to stop and ask: What do we really mean by “smart”? Hidden in that definition is the need for connectivity and the ability to inform the user in order to guide decisions.
In today’s smart buildings, the network has become more important than ever. A resilient, redundant, intelligent physical layer can help prevent and minimize network downtime’s negative impacts.
Gold-level awards are earned by organizations whose innovations are judged to be excellent, and whose benefits are clear. Each gold-level innovation makes a substantial improvement over previous methods employed, approaches taken, or products and systems used. 2019 Cabling Innovators Gold Awards include products and customer use cases from AFL, Belden, Chatsworth, CommScope, Corning, Credo Semiconductor, Esticom, Fluke Networks, Drybit, Jonard Tools, Legrand, Leviton, OFS, Panduit, R&M, Rosenberger, Senko, Siemon, Softing, Sumix, Sunbird, Superior Essex, and Wirewerx.
During the 2019 Cabling Innovators Awards ceremony, the final set of awards presented, the Platinums, have been judged to be superb innovations, characterized by a groundbreaking approach to meeting a need, or establishing a new level of performance, efficiency, ease-of-use, and other beneficial qualities. Here the 2019 Cabling Innovators Platinum Award honorees including: AFL, Belden, Cailabs, CommScope, Dura-Line, Cable Ferret, Fluke Networks, Panduit, and the Siemon Company.
To make things “smart” and improve overall efficiency, we connect IoT devices through a network to the cloud (and each other). Thus, anything “smart” requires connectivity, both wired and wireless, at least in most cases. The 5G networks of the future will bring sophisticated connectivity to these edge IoT devices with higher speeds, more machine-to-machine connections and very low latencies – enabling a new generation of applications and use cases that we haven’t yet thought of.
The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin completed a 5,000 square foot data center project. The installation included From the data center’s core cabinets out of the MDF, there are 96 strands of SM fiber and 24 strands of 50um OM4 MM fiber. There is also 200 pair of copper connections back to the MDF. From the MDF, an equal amount of fiber connects out to the owner’s network. There are 3,504 strands of 50um OM4 fiber, for over 7,000 terminations. This fiber connects 46 individual server cabinets, as well as fiber distribution cabinets. All of this fiber is the Systimax instaPATCH pre-terminated cabling solution, connected to high density LC cassettes. There is also 144 Cat 6 copper cables that interconnect each POD back to the core.
Emerging standards to support Single-Pair Ethernet will have a meaningful impact in the smart building sector. Joining panelists from Analog Devices, Cisco, CommScope and Panduit, ACE IoT outlined how widespread adoption of Single-Pair Ethernet standards will help resolve long-standing challenges acquiring and deriving value from building operations data.
Installers need to have the right fiber connectors to finish a job quickly, in budget and properly for their customer. There are several connector technologies being used in the field today; this blog post examines the pros and cons of the splice-on connector compared with its peers and provides you with the knowledge to get you started with minimal investment.
Which fiber optic connector is right for your job? You need to evaluate your customer’s priorities to consider cost, time and performance. Cost is an easy factor to look at and its importance depends on the budget for the job. In a large project where the budget has some flexibility, the connector’s cost may not make a difference. If you have a project where the budget is tight, the cost could be what keeps your project on target.
