Cim201704 DL

SPIDERWEB
Patent Pending
RIBBON
Quickly
and easily
ribbonized
Innovative
bonding pattern
Wrapping Tube Cable (WTC) with SWR ACTUAL SIZE
1.34"
0.98"
0.870"
Typical 1728 Fiber Typical 864 Fiber WTC 1728 Fiber

RILT Construction CLT Construction Construction
Doing more with less

AFLs Wrapping Tube Cable (WTC) with SpiderWeb Ribbon (SWR) is a true game changer. The unique construction of
the ribbon fiber makes it easier to work with compared to traditional ribbon fibers, saving installation and splicing time.
SWR is easily bunched together allowing more fibers to be used in a smaller space. With AFLs WTC, you can now run
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These are not exaggerations. Let us show you the difference our new WTC with SWR can make for you.
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AflRib_CIM_1704 1 3/17/17 11:07 AM

FOR PROFESSIONALS MANAGING THE CABLE AND WIRELESS
APRIL 2017 SYSTEMS THAT ENABLE CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS
NEXT-GENERATION
FIBER TERMINATION PAGE 5
TECHNOLOGY PAGE 17
Outside plant
standards in the works
DATA CENTER PAGE 18
Cabling for the

spine-leaf fabric
INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS PAGE 32
Where are hyperscales

pushing the server
market?
w w w.c a b li n g i n s t a ll .c o m
1704CIM_C1 1 3/24/17 8:03 AM

Is your data center on the right path
to 40, 100, or even 400G?
Cornings award-winning EDGE8 solution is the industrys first modular, tip-to-tip

optical cabling system to feature a Base-8 design to maximize per-rack-unit
density for better network scalability and improved link performance. Now our
EDGE8 solution delivers even more value more applications, more options,
more flexibility, more security, and more ways to seamlessly migrate to 400G.
Are You Corning Connected?
Visit www.corning.com/edge8/bicsi to learn how the

EDGE8 solution fits into your technology road map.
2016 Corning Optical Communications. LAN-2112-AEN / December 2016
1704CIM_C2 2 3/24/17 8:03 AM

CONTENTS A P R I L 2 017
vol. 25, no. 4
ABOUT THE COVER

FASTConnect offers a quick, easy
mechanical-style termination.
AFLs Rich Megill details this and
other termination styles used in
premises and LAN environments.
SEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 5.
Group Publisher Alan Bergstein

(603)-891-9447; alanb@pennwell.com
Chief Editor Patrick McLaughlin
(603) 891-9222; patrick@pennwell.com
Senior Editor Matt Vincent
(603) 891-9262; mattv@pennwell.com
Art Director Cindy Chamberlin
Production Director Mari Rodriguez
Senior Illustrator Dan Rodd
Marketing Manager Joni Montemagno
Audience Development Manager Stephanie OShea
Ad Traffic Manager Glenda van Duyne
FEATURES www.pennwell.com
EDITORIAL OFFICES
5 INSTALLATION 18 DATA CENTER Cabling Installation & Maintenance
61 Spit Brook Road, Suite 401, Nashua, NH 03060
The next generation of on-site Cabling the spine-and-leaf Tel: (603) 891-0123, Fax: (603) 891-9245
www.cablinginstall.com
fiber-optic termination options network switch fabric CORPORATE OFFICERS
RICH MEGILL MUSTAFA KESKIN Chairman Robert F. Biolchini
Vice Chairman Frank T. Lauinger
President and Chief Executive Officer
17 TECHNOLOGY 22 DESIGN Mark C. Wilmoth
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development
One OSP standard under HDBase-T applications, and Strategy Jayne A. Gilsinger
Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial
revision, others in the works news and tips Officer Brian Conway
PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN TECHNOLOGY GROUP
Senior Vice President & Publishing Director
Christine A. Shaw
FOR SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES:

DEPARTMENTS Tel: (847) 559-7330; Fax: (847) 763-9607
www.cim-subscribe.com; e-mail: cim@halldata.com
3 EDITORIAL 24 PRODUCT FOCUS

Innovate. Celebrate. Motivate. Media converters
Cabling Installation & Maintenance (ISSN 1073-3108), Volume 24,
14 26
No. 4. Cabling Installation & Maintenance is published 12 times a year,
monthly by PennWell Corporation, 1421 S. Sheridan, Tulsa, OK 74112.
PERSPECTIVE EDITORS PICKS Periodicals postage paid at Tulsa, OK 74112 and at additional mailing
offices. SUBSCRIPTION PRICES: USA $84 1yr., $120 2 yr.; Canada/Mexico
$96 1 yr., $140 2 yr.; International $118 1 yr., $170 2 yr. POSTMASTER:
Testing MPO and evoling Send address corrections to Cabling Installation & Maintenance, P.O. Box
data center standards 32 INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS

3425, Northbrook, IL 60065-3425. Cabling Installation & Maintenance
is a registered trademark. PennWell Corporation 2017. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Permission, however, is granted for employees of corporations licensed under
Hyperscales drive data the Annual Authorization Service offered by the Copyright Clearance Center
Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, Mass. 01923, or by calling CCCs
Customer Relations Department at 978-750-8400 prior to copying. We make
center server market portions of our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that
offer products and services that may be important for your work. If you do
not want to receive those offers and/or information via direct mail, please let
us know by contacting us at List Services Cabling Installation & Maintenance,
61 Spit Brook Rd, Suite 401, Nashua, NH 03060. Printed in the USA. GST No.
126813153. Publications Mail Agreement no. 1421727.
1704CIM_1 1 3/24/17 8:01 AM

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1704CIM_2 2 3/24/17 8:01 AM

EDITORIAL
W H AT 'S N E W AT
Innovate. Celebrate.
Motivate.
We are happy to tell you that for the third con-
secutive year we will administer the Cabling
Innovators Awards program. The program will
culminate during BICSI's Fall Conference and
DATA CENTER Exhibition the week of September 24-28, when
SWDM specifications we present awards to recipients who have been
published
deemed by our judges to have exhibited innova-
tion on any number of levels.
INSTALLATION
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN That awards ceremony can be compared to
Makeover in patrick@pennwell.com the second act of a three-act play. What happens
the server
room first is the actual innovation. As the program has
taken shape in its first two years, it has become a noteworthy example of the
many ways innovation can happen within our industry. Certainly products can
be innovative, and we have honored many products accordingly over the past
FIBER-OPTIC two years. Additionally, honorees have been recognized for their innovative ap-
CABLE proaches to projects and processes within the cabling and communications
Prepare for trades. I personally have enjoyed learning about innovative project approaches
lime-green through the Cabling Innovators Awards program, and I hope to become familiar
OM5
with many more of them this year.
So "Act One" is to innovate. I am certain that everyone reading this page has
CONNECTIVITY
done just that, and probably has done so fairly recently.
Direct-connect
Act Two is to celebrate, by receiving the physical award (suitable for display-
method
getting ing in the lobby of your shop or corporate heqdquarters) as well as the recogni-
standardized tion that will come with your receipt of a Cabling Innovators Award. September.
Vegas. Attractive award. Photo opportunities. Potentially viral social media ex-
posure. Boom.
I'd be remiss if I overlooked Act Three, which has been a pleasant if un-
STANDARDS planned result of the awards program in its first two years. I have learned that
TIA examining 28- professionals in all spheres of our industry have been motivated by the impres-
AWG patch cords sive displays of ingenuity and adaptability that manifest themselves in the sto-
ries of our award recipients. One project leader told me he has learned of some
technologies for the first time through the Cabling Innovators Awards program,
and has used the information to his practical advantage while specifying and
carrying out some installation projects.
Full disclosure: The program is a paid-entry situation. We don't operate it to
fill our coffers, but we do require entry fees to offset our administrative costs.
We'd be honored if you'd consider entering your innovation this time around.
Detailed info is available on our website, cablinginstall.com/innovation-awards.
www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance APRIL 2017 3
1704CIM_3 3 3/24/17 8:01 AM

1704CIM_4 4 3/24/17 8:01 AM
installation
The next generation of on-site

fiber-optic termination options
From polishing to fuse-on splicing, each method of next-generation field termination while
terminating optical fiber requires care and consideration. introducing new technology products
that save time, money and most of all,
BY RICH MEGILL, AFL optical budget.
Field termination by definition is the
installation of a connector onto the fi-
ber pathway for the purpose of a repeat-
The age when anaerobic epoxy connec- able, mateable mechanical connection
tions were the sole option for field-ter- to another fiber or active equipment. A
mination connectors has passed and the technician has to be able to produce a
next generation of termination products quality fiber-optic interface in the field
offer more flexibility to meet current or under applications environment. This
and future termination needs. There is need has grown exponentially in the
no single field termination connection past 10 years driven by the increasing
method that is perfect for every applica- demand of access networks and the in-
tion. Today several alternatives for field The traditional anaerobic field creased value of rack space. The require-
termination of fiber cables are available. termination includes the use of epoxy ments of the field-terminated optical in-
The application requirements for fiber and hand polishing in a figure-8 terface have substantially changed from
termination are very diverse in both in- pattern, as shown here. the days when a single fiber physical
side-plant applications as well as out- polish interface was required. This need
side-plant applications. Space is more From temporary restoration links to fi- has expanded to include small form fac-
valuable than ever and many times there ber-to-the-x (FTTx) drop deployments, tor connectors or multifiber connec-
is little or no available space for splice no-epoxy/no-polish (NENP) connectors with high-bandwidth character-
trays or splice sleeves in housings, enclo- tors are being utilized to increase speed istics may be part of the requirements.
sures and panels. Additionally, the next and reduce cost. The new self-contained Demand has been generated by repair,
generation of field termination options patch and splice module is a viable alter- need to improve fiber routing, fiber sys-
is an excellent choice for upgrading or native to traditional patch and splice fi- tem upgrades and consolidation of
cleaning up a project in a rack environ- ber management panels while remov- space to temporary connections. No lon-
ment or enclosures. ing the space required for a splice tray ger is field termination just for repair or
These products are very effective re- and reducing the cost of space needed. a technicians occasional process. NENP
pairing or restoring existing connectors The major technologies available to- mechanical connectors are deployed
on installed active equipment or on new day accomplish the transfer of opti- in the inside plant or outside plant en-
systems where factory cables cannot be cal power within the termination in vironment and many crews are dedi-
used. The introduction of splice-on con- two waysa mechanical interface us- cated to using them as part of the FTTx
nectors and self-contained patch and ing index-matching gel to join the fibers or optical local area network (OLAN) ar-
splice modules have expanded the arse- or a fused fiber splice to join the fibers. chitecture. The customers needs have
nal that companies can use to cost-ef- This article will document the advan- changed and so have the requirements
fectively connect their plant in the field. tages and limitations of each type of for field termination. The metrics for
1704CIM_5 5 3/24/17 8:01 AM

The next generation of on-site fiber-optic termination options continued
comparison in this article include cost, These mechanical-type connectors

time, optical performance, labor skill, gained a very bad reputation in the mid-
Your Global Automation Partner tooling investment and termination 1990s when deployed in the outside
consistency. plant environment. Todays mechanical
The industry has evolved not just systems have significantly improved the
from demand but also from a tech- retention of the fiber as well as the per-
nology and equipment-cost perspec- formance of the index-matching gel.
tive. It was not long ago that the cost of The final area that has driven
a fusion splicer was $30,000 or higher. changes in field termination has been
Technology and demand have had a sig- the increased need for an angled polish
nificant impact on the cost and per- connector (APC) endface as the inter-
Table 1 Anaerobic connector attributes

Not suitable for repairing
Parameter Value
flimsy connectors
Connector type SC, ST, FC, LC (UPC)
(or your reputation).
Fiber/Cable type 250 m, 900 m, 2mm, 3mm, 4.8 mm, SM, MM
Singlemode (UPC) Varies due to polish
Insertion loss
Multimode Varies due to polish
Rugged, reliable industrial
Singlemode Varies due to polish
automation products from Turck Return loss @ room temperature
Multimode Varies due to polish
are built to perform in the toughest Operating temperature -40 deg. C to +75 deg. C
conditions, and our engineered
solutions are customized to meet formance of this next generation of fu- face. APC interface has become indus-
your application challenges. sion splicers giving consistent good try standard for FTTx and other out-
Cheap knock-offs cant compare. results even when using fixed V-groove side plant equipment. Finally, the cost of
Turck works! cladding alignment at a cost of $3k-4k. material per termination has decreased
High-end core-alignment fusion splicers significantly as these next-generation
are now in the $10k range. This has re- termination products have become
moved a significant roadblock by reduc- widely deployed.
ing the capital investment to produce Anaerobic (epoxy/polish)The
quality splices. Technology improve- baseline for the comparisons in this ar-
ment has also been apparent in the in- ticle will be traditional anaerobic field
creased performance and acceptance to termination. These terminations were
mass fiber splicing 12 fibers or more. accomplished by taking the existing
Another area where technology has field fiber and adhering it inside the
made high-performance field termi- ferrule. Once the epoxy has cured, the
nation more cost effective has been technology must scribe and break the fi-
the cleaver. Typical high-performance ber stub then polish the ferrule endface
cleavers today have a blade life span with a puck and lapping film. These are
Custom Connectivity that brings cost-per-cleave under $0.02. low-cost connectors that give stable per-
Whether its a harness with custom
The investment in a high-performance formance over time and temperature.
wiring topology or a custom cable
cleaver is recommended as the per- Anaerobic connectors are considered
color for a standard connector, Turcks
expertise creates your best solution. formance of these new connector sys- to be proven and widely accepted in the
tems are directly related to the consis- industry. These connectors had been the
tent quality of the cleave that can be workhorse of the early fiber deployment
Call 1-800-544-7769 produced. When working with a qual- as good performance resulted when
or visit info.turck.us/connectivity ity cleave, a NENP termination using in- properly installed, but there are perfor-
dex-matching gel is a viable solution. mance limitations. The mating endface
6 APRIL 2017 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com
1704CIM_6 6 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Incoming
fiber
Mechanical splice Factory polished
with index match gel Fiber stub endface Your Global Automation Partner
A no-epoxy/no-polish (NENP) connector provides a factory-polished endface

along with retention of the fiber using compression.
Angled cleave
Weve got a
cable for that.
APC
factory-polished Incoming
endface fiber
Flat cleave
Angled-polish NENP connectors are available in angled-cleave or flat-cleave

options. Production of consistent cleaves with an 8-degree angled cleave is
challenging in the factory and in the field.
and performance of the connector was recommended for APC

defined in the field by the skill of the Limited bandwidth application, 1G
technician. Performance of anaerobic Consumables needed and had a lim-
terminations are impacted by lapping ited shelf life
film material, skill of technician in puck Require product-specific tools (puck,
and polish, the shelf life of adhesive and polish base, scribe, cleaver)
the time spent on each connection to No-epoxy no-polish (NENP) con- Our Reelfast bulk cable
maximize the endface polish. nectors remove field-polishing vari- program inventories more
Anaerobic connector considerations: ableThe next step in the family of
than 5.5 million meters of
Labor-intense process with incon- fiber terminations is the NENP mechan-
cable for countless industrial
sistent results (5-7 minutes per ical connector available in a wide vari-
and process automation
termination) ety of connector types. This system has
Connector performance dependent a physical way to retain the field fiber applications. Youll get
on skill of the technician and quality by compression and meet the fiber re- precisely the cable you want
of the supplied materials tention characteristics while providing in exactly the length you need.
Limited to produce PC finish; not a factory-polished endface for mating Custom design available.
Table 2 No-Epoxy No-Polish connector attributes
Parameter Value
Connector type SC, ST, FC, LC (APC and UPC)
Fiber/Cable type 250 m, 900 m, 2mm, 3mm, 4.8mm, SM, MM
(OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4 and OM5)
Singlemode (UPC) Typical: 0.2 dB; Maximum: 0.5 dB

Insertion loss Singlemode (APC) Typical: 0.2dB; Maximum: 0.5 dB
Multimode Typical: 0.1 dB; Maximum: 0.5 dB
Singlemode Typical: -55 dB; Maximum: -50 dB Call 1-800-544-7769 or
Return loss @ room temperature
Multimode Typical: -25 dB; Maximum: -20 dB visit turck.us/bulkcable
Operating temperature -40 deg. C to +75 deg. C
1704CIM_7 7 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Table 3 Comparison of NENP connector with and without angled cleave

for field-installed APC connectors in
Angled endface with angled cleave connector stub Angled endface with flat cleave connector stub FTTx-type projects. Traditional APC
Specialty cleaver for angled cleaves (inconsistent Traditional high-performance cleaver flat cleave performance carries a > -65 dB specifi-
performance) cation for back reflection, also known as
Cleaver will only be used for angled mechanical Used with any UPC finish mechanical connector, return loss. This level of back reflection
connectors fusion splicer
is attainable utilizing index-matching
Higher-cost equipment and increased maintenance Rugged and proven to give consistent results at <
costs $0.02 per cleave gel using an angled cleave fiber mated
to an angled cleave connector stub.
in the adapter. Location and stabil- Performance is less craft-sensitive This is possible when both the stub and
ity of this mechanical retention is criti- and more consistent the field fiber have an 8-degree cleave.
cal to produce consistent performance Provides both UPC and APC fac- The illustration shows the two connec-
by this style connector. The use of a pre- tory-polished endface in multiple tor-stub cleave options in regard to the
cision cleaver to produce the best pos- ferrule sizes APC endface.
sible cleave and the tight tolerances of Products to support most com- Production of consistent cleaves
the connector interface allow the opti- mon cordage sizes, 900-m to with an 8-degree angled cleave is a
cal power to pass from the field fiber to 4.8mm cordage challenge in the factory and a bigger
the connector fiber with minimal loss Bandwidth performance 10G challenge in the field. Insertion and
or reflection. Factory endface ensures con- alignment of these stubs is time-con-
The retention technology used to se- sistent mating suming and extremely craft-sensi-
cure the field fiber stub varies by ven- Singlemode and multimode (OM1, tive. Specialty angled cleavers are sole
dors, using crimp rings to compression. OM2, OM3, OM4 OM5) purpose and require higher mainte-
The field fiber is installed to match the No fusion splicer needed nance, which adds cost to the termi-
field fiber stub to the connector stub, al- High-performance nation when considering angled cleave
lowing optical transmission through cleaver recommended APC mechanical connectors. This
index-matching gel. The gel currently NENP angled polished connec-
used today has been proven stable from torsThe introduction of consistent
at least -50 degrees C to in excess of 250 APC terminations has fed the demand
Fusion Pre-installed fiber 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112
Incoming
fiber Transmit Unused Receive
Fusion splice protection Pre-polished ferrule

In a 12-fiber MPO connector, 8 of the
Splice-on connectors retain the performance of a splice-on pigtail without the 12 fibers are used4 to transmit and
need to store a splice sleeve; they are the most robust and consistent option for 4 to receivein 40- and 100-Gbit/sec
field-installable fiber connectors. transmission.
Table 4 NENP fusion splice-on connector attributes

degrees C, and there is no longer a life-
time concern when deployed inside or Parameter Value
outside. Temperature has an impact on Connector type SC, ST, FC, LC (APC or UPC)
loss with these connectors, but they re- Fiber/Cable type 900 m, 2mm, 3mm, SM, MM
(OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4 and OM5)
main within the TIA 568-C.3 perfor-
Singlemode Typical: 0.15 dB; Maximum: 0.30
mance requirements (0 to 60 deg. C) and dB
Telcordia GR-326 requirements (-40 to Insertion loss
Multimode Typical: 0.10 dB; Maximum: 0.30
+75 deg. C). dB
NENP mechanical considerations: Return loss @ room temperature SM -65 dB (APC), -55 dB
Fast termination of fiber cable in field (UPC) MM -30 dB (PC)
(1-2 minutes) Operating temperature -40 deg. C to +75 deg. C
1704CIM_8 8 3/24/17 8:01 AM

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mounting wing screws pull the bracket
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For new construction, the nail or screw-on

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LVMB2 They cost less than extension rings LVS2
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APC connection back-reflection per- provides a connection that closely ap-

formance is often not a major consid- proaches a factory termination with the
eration in most current FTTx-type de- addition of the optical loss of the fusion
ployments as this consideration was splice added to the connector insertion
minimized by the deployment of dig- loss. A very predictable and consistent
ital transmission systems. Consistent insertion loss and back reflection can be
performance or an APC endface in an produced as the fusion splicer will ver-
FTTx-type field connection can be pro- ify cleave angle and approximate splice
duced with traditional high-perfor- loss. This is much less dependent on
mance cleavers and give > -55 dB for A self-contained patch-and-splice
back reflection, allowing hardware module, like the one shown here,
vendors to continue to use the outside removes the need for a separate splice
plant default standard APC connection. tray, thereby decreasing the footprint
The variables of field deployment in- needed for fiber management.
clude temperature change, performance
variation due to factory fiber character- Fusion splice-on connectors
istics, quality of field fiber with regards remove additional variables, add
to quality of fiber, tools and termination strengthA wide variety of splice-on
process. With all the variables when de- connectors are now available for use in
fining a mechanical connector, the in- the field and retain a consistent splice Shown here is a self-contained patch
dustry has been able to consistently loss and return loss over temperature and splice module installed in a fiber-
meet the insertion loss requirements of and time. These connectors retain the management shelf.
TIA-568-C.3 standard of 0.75-dB max, performance of a splice-on pigtail with-
ITU-T G.671 standard of 0.05-dB max out the need to store a splice sleeve and craft skill as the fusion splicer will per-
and Telcordia GR 326 standard of 0.4-dB are the most robust, consistent option form initial pass/fail analysis of the fiber
max per mated pair. Individual optical for field-installable fiber connectors. stubs and cleave angles before splicing.
performance needs must be addressed A fusion splicer and high-perfor- NENP fusion splice-on connector
with the specific mechanical connector mance cleaver are needed to produce considerations:
manufacturer to ensure a robust optical this field termination. Once terminated Fast termination of fiber cable in the
plant is built. and installed, the splice-on connector field (2-2.5 minutes)
Performance is more stable with the
Table 5 MPO/MTP connector attributes
addition of the fusion splice
Parameter Value Provides both UPC and APC fac-
Connector type MPO, MTP (APC or UPC) tory-polished endface in multiple
Fiber/Cable type 900 m, 2mm, 3mm ferrule sizes
Singlemode Typical: 0.25 dB; Maximum: 0.75 dB
Insertion loss Products to support most common
cordage sizes 900-m to 4.8 mm
Return loss @ room temperature SM -65 dB (APC) MM -30 dB (PC)
Bandwidth performance
Operating temperature -40 deg. C to +75 deg.
10G and higher
Table 6 Self-contained patch and splice module attributes Singlemode and multimode (OM1,
OM2, OM3, OM4)
Parameter Value
Fusion splicer needed (cladding
Connector type SC, LC, ST, FC, MPO, MTP (APC or UPC)
Fiber/Cable type 900 m, 2mm, 3mm, 4.8mm, SM, MM (OM1, OM2, OM3, alignment is acceptable)
OM4 and OM5) High-performance
Singlemode Typical: 0.15 dB; Maximum: 0.30 dB cleaver recommended
Insertion loss
Return loss @ room temperature SM -65 dB (APC), -55 dB (UPC) MM -30 dB (PC) MPO/MTP connector offers strength
Operating temperature -40 deg. C to +75 deg. C in numbersTaking the strength from
1704CIM_10 10 3/24/17 8:01 AM

the fusion splice type connector and Bandwidth performance
Let
expanding its flexibility for field de- 10G and higher
ployment brings us to a field-install- Singlemode and multimode (OM1,
able multi-fiber connector, the MPO OM2, OM3, OM4, OM5)
There
(multi-fiber push on). This connector Mass fusion splicer needed (cladding
offers the same benefits as a single fi- alignment is acceptable)
ber fusion splice-on connector but ter-
Be
minates up to 12 fibers per connection. Self-contained patch and splice
This type of connector helps with res- modules the options continue
toration, repair and upgrade projects A variation of field-installable termi-
of existing MPO networks. The factory
endface and fusion spliced optical path
produce a solid alternative for field ter-
nation continues into a self-contained
field-installable patch and splice mod-
ule. Field-installable modules use a
Light
mination. The MPO termination has traditional pigtail splice to adapter;
been growing and will continue to grow however, the need for factory pre-
with fiber consolidation and high-speed termination is removed. This is ex-
bandwidth connections. tremely beneficial where limited space
Today 40-, 100, and 400-Gbit connec- or a small footprint fiber termina-
tions utilize parallel transmission that tion is needed.
requires a 12- or 24-fiber MPO connec- By removing the need for a separate
tor terminated with specified pinouts splice tray, the footprint needed is de-
for bonded independent transmission creased for fiber management and has
legs. The demand for MPO connection significant cost impact where lease
will be agnostic to the technology used price per square foot is a consideration.
in the transmission. From Bidirectional Large splice shelves in racks are no lon-
(BiDi) devices to short wave divi- ger needed with this type deployment
sion multiplexing (SWDM) to Gigabit and it removes the need to factory order
Ethernet transport, an MPO connec- preterminated product providing ad- STICKLERS High
tor will be used to provide simultane- ditional flexibility in many types of de-
ous fiber connect and disconnect capa- ployments. Each module will be housed
Volume Fiber Optic
bility. As this industry grows, the need in an industry-standard footprint, for Cleaning Kits
for reliable field-installable connec- example LGX-118 and allow up to 24
tors will grow. small form factor terminations in a sin- Engineered for
Multiple fiber termination splice-on gle self-contained unit. field techs.
connector considerations: Because this module is self-con-
Fast termination of up to 12-fiber ca- tained, patch and splice, it is a cost-ef- Includes everything
ble in field (increased time if install- fective solution when adding a circuit to you need to effectively
ing a connector on LT cable) an existing fiber rack system or coloca-
Performance is stable with the addition type deployment. These are truly a
clean fibers and
tion of the mass fusion splice pigtail splice and offer traditional pig- connectors on-site.
Accommodates ribbon or 3-mm tail performance for the termination.
round cordage to terminate Self-contained patch and splice mod- For more information:
Provides both UPC and APC fac- ule considerations: SticklersCleaners.com/CIM
tory-polished endface in multi- Fast termination of up to 24-fiber ca-
ple polarities ble in field (increased time if install-
Allows polarity and fiber designation ing a connector on LT cable)
to be defined onsite (very useful for Reduced rack space needed as patch
upgrade scenarios) and splice are self-contained
1704CIM_11 11 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Table 7 Comparison of all next-generation termination options
Anaerobic NENP mechanical NENP splice-on NENP splice-on MPO Self-contained patch and splice
module
Cost per termination* $11-15 $10-14 $12-16 Ribbon $82-95 $13-16 per fiber
**LT $90-107
Connector cost $3-4 $9-11 $10-12 $75-85 $10-13
Time per termination 5-7 minutes 1-2 minutes 2-2.5 minutes Ribbon 5-7 minutes 2-2.5 minutes
**LT 10-15 minutes
Labor per termination $7-10 $1-3 $3-5 Ribbon $7-10 $3-4
**LT $14-21
Level of training and High Low Medium Medium Medium
experience
Products technique High Medium Low Low Low
dependency
Performance Skill-dependent Medium High High High
Typical insertion loss Varies due to field 0.2 dB SM 0.15 dB SM 0.2 dB SM 0.15 dB SM
All meet TIA max loss 0.75 dB polish 0.1 dB MM 0.1 dB MM 0.1 dB MM 0.1 dB MM
Typical return loss Varies due to field * -55 dB SM flat cleave -65 dB (APC-SM) -65 dB SM -65 dB (APC-SM)
polish * -65 dB SM angle cleave -55 dB (UPC-SM) -30 dB MM -55 dB (UPC-SM)
*-25 dB MM -30 dB (PC-MM) -30 dB (PC-MM)
Bandwidth need <1G 10G >10G >10G >10G
APC capable Not recommended Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cost of all tools required $500 $800-1400 $3500-10,000 $10,000-12,000 $3,500-10,000
Termination kit plus NA High-precision cleaver Splicer kit Mass splicer kit Splicer kit
Labor rate: $85
Reference: SC UPC termination
Operating temperature of -40 deg. C to +75 deg. C
*At room temperature **Loose tube (LT) installation requires ribbonizing fibers
Provides both UP and APC fac- reliable field termination, which can im- of these technologies. Multiple vendors of-
tory-polished endface in multi- pact your bottom line by: fer many products, from standard use to
ple polarities Increasing the capability of a fiber high-performance low-loss. Pick the prod-
Allows polarity and fiber designation technicians abilities to terminate uct and technology that meets the needs
to be defined onsite (very useful for in the field when neededin house of your fiber network. Many times there is
upgrade scenarios) or contracted; no one perfect solution. It may be advan-
Bandwidth performance Providing consistent results with tageous to deploy more than one type of
10G and higher limited variation due to technician field-installable termination for the suc-
Singlemode and multimode (OM1, training or skill; cess of your network. u
OM2, OM3, OM4, OM5) Reducing the labor and/or material MTP is a registered trademark of US Conec.
Fusion splicer needed (cladding cost of field installation of fiber-optic
alignment is acceptable) connections; Rich Megill is a senior application engineer
Providing additional methods for fast for AFLs Cable and Connectivity division and
supports the service-provider and enterprise
As the needs of our fiber-optic network restoration of service;
markets. He works closely with AFLs engi-
continue to grow and expand, the tools Giving factory endface performance neering team and customers to produce inte-
and material options for building and re- termination on cables terminated grated fiber-network solutions for both inside
pairing this network will evolve. There is in the field. and outside plant applications. Megill has more
no single type of field-installable termi- than 32 years experience in fiber-optic tech-
nology and is responsible for AFL solutions
nation that will serve every application When deciding which path is right for you,
ranging from FTTx design and fiber manage-
encountered. The new next generation it is imperative to verify the optical head- ment to outside-plant splicing products with
of field terminations offer cost-effective, room in the design to take full advantage multiple types of cable transport.
1704CIM_12 12 3/24/17 8:01 AM

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1704CIM_13 13 3/24/17 8:01 AM

PERSPECTIVE
Pinned design versatile, complex

The most common MPO design stan-
dard calls for terminating up to 12 fi-
bers in one row. A 2-pin mating system
Testing MPO and

is used to perfectly align fiber ends for
insertion into a coupler or adapter that
joins another link terminated with an
evolving data MPO connector and stabilizes the con-

nection. Links and terminals are such
that individual MPO connectors and
center standards couplers are either pinned or unpinned,

i.e. male/female.
Moreover, MPO connectors are keyed
for up or down orientation, allowing the
MPO connectors offer a myriad of benefits order of fibers in the alignment to be re-
versed. In this manner, a multitude of
for structured cabling, but pose challenges for
cable/connector configurations are pos-
certification. What do you need to know? sible across a multi-link cable channel.
Such variability gives designers a great
deal of freedom, but it creates more op-
BY MIKE BUNNING, SOFTING portunities for error in installation
and certification. We will address this
When we think of fiber-optic networks, has lacked. Design constraints include in a moment.
most of us picture thin, arcing path- the requirement of low power con-
ways of light tracing a web of instanta- sumption and the steep price of real es- Loss budgets are hard
neous telecommunications around the tate for the network physical plant. The Signal loss can be looked at as a deter-
world. When we think of server farms MPO (multi-fiber push-on) design is a mining factor in the choices made when
or data centers, we imagine thick bun- perfect example of the kind of adap- designing a cabled system. This is espe-
dles of twisted-pair cable nestled in ca- tive engineering that helps fiber-op- cially true as the need to certify band-
ble tray and spraying a rainbow of wires tic cable compete with copper in enter- width applications intensifies. Although
into racks of blinking equipment. prise facilities and data centers. MPO the principle of signal loss is similar in
So far, so good. Except these days, connectors allow cable carrying multi- optical fiber and copper twisted-pair,
more and more fiber being installed into ple fiber strands to be terminated with their physical properties are com-
the backs of that equipment, thanks to a single push-on connection at patch pletely different.
multiple-fiber cables terminated with panels or cassettes linking a multi-fi- Within the fiber realm, multimode fi-
MPO connectors. ber trunk to fanout cables with stan- ber has emerged as a better choice for
It is hard to see exactly where the dard SC/LC ends. Some SFP will now the shorter distances of cable trunks in-
future lies in terms of fiber-versus-cop- directly accept an MPO/MTP connec- side buildings where the superior band-
per for the 40/100G data center build- tor. This saves a ton of time in deploy- width-distance product of singlemode
out. The present seems to be a case of ment. More importantly, installers can fiber is essentially wasted. The much
co-evolution, as growth in the demand quickly field-test multi-fiber perma- larger multimode core is optimized at
for bandwidth and transmission den- nent links before and after they run, lower wavelengths allowing less-ex-
sity spurs innovation to supply the nec- vouching for the integrity of the cable pensive light sources, such as LEDs and
essary solutions that one or the other and installation. VCSELs. While multimode is physically
1704CIM_14 14 3/24/17 8:01 AM

less efficient at containing light, the
Do You Need
new encircled flux (EF) standard (IEC
61280-4-1) means single strand multi-
Space Savings in
mode fiber cable links can be certified
with tighter loss budgets. EF provides a Your Data Center?
method for specifying light-fill limits in
28AWG Small
launch conditions during reference set-
ting and testing. While not directly rel-
evant to the MPO, the ability to certify
EF compliance is no small thing, as loss- OD Modular Plugs
limit savings can sum over entire chan-
nels and lead to a more cost-effective
40G application.
Network installations can fail

certification just as easily from
wrong or careless test methods
as from faulty components.
Materials aside, there are technical

factors that make loss budgets for the
40/100G fiber network hard to pin down
in real installations. Simon Harrison,
Product Features:
general manager of Softings WireXpert
business, pointed out in a recent talk
AWG
Terminations to AWWG 2 288&3 30 patch
atch c
patch
0 pa cable
ca
on multifiber testing that the standards CAT6 & CAT6a a performance
p
perfoorm
rm
ma anc
nce e
governing Ethernet, cabling, and testing
Shielded & unshielded
lde ed igns
d designs
dessign
de igns
do not uniformly account for the various
potential configurations that pinned Low profile strain eff boot
in relief
re
relie
lie bo
boo
MPO connectors introduce in multifi- Proprietary contact
ac & wirewire
ber links. In cases where the user must
decide which limits to employ, it is pos- alignment systems
sible for standards governing individ-
ual links to exceed the limit imposed
by IEEE 802.3 equipment-to-equipment 2
+1 717.235.7512
512
standard. In other words, while testing
methods for individual links must com- www.StewartConnector.com
co
or.c
ply with IEC 61280-4-1, the entire chan-
nel must conform to IEEE 802.3 for 40G
performance to be guaranteed.
There is also the methodology factor.
Network installations can fail certifica-
tion just as easily from wrong or careless
test methods as they can from faulty
components. Because of its refractive
and reflective qualities, glass fiber ends
1704CIM_15 15 3/24/17 8:01 AM

PERSPECTIVE
are carefully polished and tuned at the less time to install and test than the sin- require separate devices for testing
factory for minimal insertion loss. This gle-strand equivalent. But certifying the MPO. By contrast, a modular system of
is particularly the case with MPO con- 40G fiber data center can be tricky be- plug-in adapters designed for different
nections, where so many fibers in such a cause both reference-setting and au- types of cabling (including MPO/MTP
small space must meet each other per- to-setting must occur under the precise cabling) offers efficiencies. Modularity
fectly every time a connection is made. pinned/unpinned conditions for each in- enables local and remote units, which
Without strict adherence to fiber-op- stalled permanent link, as well as for the comes in handy for testing MPO-to-SC/
tic test practices, which include micro- complete equipment-to-equipment chan- LC cassettes. When using such a mod-
scopic examination and proper equip- nel. This is easier said than done. Testers ular test set, the technician plugs the
ment calibration and maintenance, the come either pinned or unpinned. A vari- MPO light-source adapter into the re-
whole exercise of computing signal loss ety of test and reference cords in different mote unit, and plugs the standard mul-
over multilink fiber channels becomes pinned/unpinned configuration must be timode adapter into the local unit.
meaningless. on hand to properly set reference and test If you are a contractor migrating to
conditions for each link and for the MPO fiber or looking ahead to an increase in
Taking test methods and channel. The technician must also be fiber data center business you will need
gear up a notch able to test links from the MPO aggrega- to look closely at your current testing
To sum up, there are two areas of addition endpoint to the various patch panel, device arsenal and deployment strategy.
tional complexity to navigate with the cassette and equipment SC/LC interface Going forward, there are distinct advan-
40G fiber network: fuzzy loss budgets connections. This requires another test tages to a modular platform. u
and MPO channel topology. unit and reference cords compatible with
Multifiber trunks terminated with the non-MPO terminal. Michael Bunning is manager of business devel-
opment at Softing (itnetworks.softing.com/us).
MPO connectors obviously take a lot Many test instrument manufacturers
LightStack
Siemons LightStack system combines superior low loss performance

and ultra high density with unmatched accessibility all packaged in
sleek, modern enclosures that manages fiber cabling like never before.
Seamless migration to 40 and 100 Gigabit applications and beyond

Supports up to 864 MTP fibers 1U and up to 3465 MTP fibers in 4U
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To learn more about LightStack and Siemons full range of

Base 8 and Base 12 Plug and Play fiber systems, visit
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1704CIM_16 16 3/24/17 8:01 AM

technology
One outside-plant standard under

revision, others in the works
The TIA has begun the process of updating its monikers that BICSI uses to describe these
758 Outside Plant standard to a C revision; documents do not mean the respective
standards will be identified as BICSI 013,
meanwhile BICSIs D013 Outside Plant
BICSI 038, and BICSI 039. They are simply
Installation standard and others are in draft. numeric identifiers that BICSI uses. As an
example, the draft standard that was D012
BY PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN ultimately was published as BICSI 006-
2015 Distributed Antenna System Design
and Implementation Best Practices.
These under-development OSP instal-
At its meeting in early February, cites TIA-568-C.2 (in reference to 100-ohm lation standards will be separate from
the Telecommunications balanced twisted-pair cabling), C.3 (multi- BICSIs Outside Plant Design Reference
Industry Association (TIA) TR- mode and singlemode fiber-optic cabling) Manual (OSPDRM), which currently is in
42 Telecommunications Cabling and C.4 (75-ohm coaxial cabling). its 5th edition. That fifth edition was pub-
Systems Committee officially began Since the time of that publication, the lished in 2011. Describing the manual
the work of updating the ANSI/TIA- TIAs 568 standards series has under- and its importance to cabling profession-
758 Customer-Owned Outside Plant gone its D revision. Additionally, two als, BICSI explains, From its beginnings
Telecommunications Infrastructure sets of specifications for cabling perfor- of supporting the telegraph, OSP cabling
Standard. The B revision of the standard mance levelsCategory 8 twisted-pair and infrastructure has evolved into the
was published in 2012; the recently com- cabling and OM5 multimode fiber ca- vital element that supports all voice and
menced effort will result in the publica- blinghave been published. At the very data communication globally. Even to-
tion of the C revisionANSI/TIA-758-C. least these updates will be worked into days cellular wireless networks are sup-
The TIAs TR-42.1 Commercial Building the 758 standards C revision. ported by a wide array of OSP cabling and
Telecommunications Cabling subcommit- In addition to the TIA revising its ex- infrastructure, empowering individuals
tee will undertake the project. Previous isting outside plant standard, BICSI has to communicate as they need.
revisions of the standard were developed nearly completed work on an outside-plant Written by industry experts repre-
by the erstwhile TR-42.4 subcommittee. standard of its own. A draft of BICSI D013, senting thousands of completed projects,
The subcommittee has not established a forthcoming standard for general in- the OSPDRM focuses on outside plant
a timeframe for the standards comple- stallation and implementation practices properties, with the detailed information
tion. TIA develops standards in accor- within OSP, is about 90 percent complete, contained applicable to all projects large
dance with procedures established by the the association reports. D103 is one of a and small. In addition to covering tradi-
American National Standards Institute suite of three OSP standards under devel- tional infrastructure subjects such as ca-
(ANSI). Among those procedures is to af- opment within BICSI. The others are D038, bling and pathways, the OSPDRM also
firm, revise or withdraw a standard on a covering installation and implementation covers items not typically found within
five-year schedule. When TIA-758-B was of OSP pole, anchors and guys; and D039, interior design work, such as right-of-way,
published in 2012, the TIAs 568 standard covering the installation of cabling into ae- permitting and service restoration. u
series was in its C revision. Section 4.4 rial pathways.
of TIA-758-B, titled Recognized Cabling Please note the D013, D038, and D039 Patrick McLaughlin is our chief editor.
1704CIM_17 17 3/24/17 8:01 AM

data center
Cabling the spine-and-leaf

network switch fabric
A mesh structured cabling module can receives before it switches it. It only
allow data center administrators to get the opens the outer envelope to read the
Layer 2 address without worrying about
most out of an investment in a fabric.
reading the IP address. This allows
an Ethernet switch to move packets
BY MUSTAFA KESKIN, Corning Optical Communications very quickly.
Despite its efficiency, Ethernet also
has some shortcomings when the net-
work size grows. In a network consisting
As the size of networks grew during the A brief history of multiple Ethernet switches, in order
last decade, we saw a shift from classi- Since its arrival in the 1980s as a local to stop broadcast packages such as ad-
cal three-tier network architectures to area network (LAN) protocol, Ethernet, dress resolution protocol (ARP) requests
a flatter and wider spine-and-leaf ar- with its simple algorithm and cheaper from flooding and looping around the
chitecture. With its fully meshed con- manufacturing costs, has been the driv- network, a technology called spanning
nectivity approach, spine-and-leaf ar- ing force behind the data center and in- tree protocol (STP) is used. STP blocks
chitecture provided us the predictable ternet evolution. An Ethernet switch redundant links to prevent loops hap-
high-speed network performance we looks into each and every package it pening in the network. Networks run-
were craving and also the re- ning on STP technology use the re-
liability within our network Shortcomingsg of layer 2 switching dundant links as failover in the
switch fabric. event of a main link failure. This
Along with its advantages, provides resiliency to the infra-
spine-and-leaf architecture structure at the cost of half the uti-
presents challenges in terms of lization of the available bandwidth.
structured cabling. In this ar- We built networks with span-
ticle we will examine how to ning-tree logic for a very long time
build and scale a four-way spine until we encountered new prob-
and progress to larger spines lems. The first problem was that
(such as a 16-way spine) and we were mostly limited with a dual
maintain wire-speed switch- core network that does not allow
ing capability and redundancy room for growth (in order to serve
as we grow. We will also ex- an expanding number of custom-
plore the advantages and disad- ers, our networks needed to grow
vantages of two approaches in accordingly). The second problem
building our structured cabling was latency. If we have a big net-
main distribution area; one ap- A typical three-tier network with spanning-tree work, we normally divide them
proach uses classical fiber patch protocol enabled. Redundant links are blocked to into smaller networks which we
cables, and the other one uses prevent network loops. call virtual LANs (VLANs). This
optical mesh modules. results in different latency for
1704CIM_18 18 3/24/17 8:01 AM

different types of data traffic. The traffic architecture allows any host connected These principles influence the
that flows through the Layer 2 network to any leaf to connect others using only way switch manufacturers design
within a single VLAN has a different la- two hops, which is switch-to-switch their equipment.
tency compared to traffic flowing be- connection. For example, leaf 1 to spine Closer look into a spine switch
tween different VLANs crossing through 1 and spine 1 to leaf 10. Because an en- If we look into a typical spine switch,
the Layer 3 core. tire spine layer is built in a redundant at first sight we notice multiple expan-
fashion (in case of a spine or leaf switch sion slots, such as four or eight that ac-
Introduction to spine-and-leaf fabric failure), alternative paths and resources cept different line cards, which are used
Most of modern day e-commerce, social can be utilized automatically. for connecting to leaf-switch uplinks.
media, and cloud applications use dis- The basic rules of building spine-and- Line cards can come in different fla-
tributed computing to serve their cus- leaf networks are as follows. vors such as 36x40G QSFP (for 40-Gig)
tomers. Distributed computing means The main building blocks are net- ports or 32x100G QSFP28 (for 100-Gig)
servers talking to servers and work- work leaf switches and network ports. Quad small form pluggable (QSFP)
ing in parallel to create dynamic web spine switches. and QSFP28 ports are empty, so neces-
pages and answers to customer ques- All hosts can only be connected to sary transceivers have to be bought sep-
tions; it requires equal latency. Having leaf switches. arately in the form of either singlemode
to wait for results can create unhappy Leaf switches control the flow of traf- or multimode transceivers or active op-
customers. We need a network archi- fic between servers. tical cables (AOC), or twinaxial cables.
tecture that can grow uniformly and Spine switches forward traffic along General rule is that the number of avail-
can provide uniform latency for modern optimal paths between leaf switches able ports on the spine switch deter-
applications. at Layer 2 or Layer 3. mines the number of leaf switches you
The solution to these problems came The uplink port count on the leaf can connect to the spine, thus determin-
from a network architecture which is to- switch determines the maximum ing the maximum number of servers you
day known as spine-and-leaf fabric. The number of spine switches. can connect to the network.
idea has been around since 1952 when The spine switch port-count de- Next, we see supervisor modules
Charles Clos first introduced the multi- termines the maximum number of that monitor and manage the opera-
stage circuit-switching network, which leaf switches. tions of the entire switch. Power sup-
is also known as Clos networks. The plies provide redundant power, and at
backbone of this network architecture
is called the spine, from which each leaf
is connected to further extend network Consistent data center network designs new scale
resources. The network can grow uni- 2-way spine 4-way spine 16-way spine
1000s of nodes 10K+ nodes 100K + nodes
formly by simply adding more spine or
leaf switches, and without changing the
network performance.
The spine section of the network
grows horizontally, which restricts the
layers of the network to two layers com-
pared to traditional Layer-3 architec-
ture. For example, with a two-way spine
we can build networks that can sup-
port up to 6,000 hosts, and with a four- Up to 6,000 10GbE Up to 12,000 10GbE Over 100,000 10GbE
way spine we can build networks up to interfaces interfaces interfaces
12,000 hosts, and with a 16-way spine
we can go over 100,000 10-GbE hosts. In a spine-and-leaf network fabric, leaf switches control the flow of traffic
Secondly, all leaf switches are between servers and spine switches forward traffic along optimal paths between
connected to every available spine leaf switches. An architecture known as 16-way spine can scale to support more
switch in the fabric. This fully meshed than 100,000, 10-Gbit Ethernet hosts.
1704CIM_19 19 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Cabling the spine-and-leaf network switch fabric continued
Consistent data center network designs new scale network with redundancy and at
wire-speed switchingLets con-
sider this situation. We have two spine
Single QSFP port switches and there are four line cards
on each spine switch, but we only have
four uplink ports on each leaf switch.
Is it possible to distribute these four
uplinks among eight line cards in or-
Spine 1
der to maintain redundancy and wire-
speed switching?
If we are using 40G SR4 transceivers,
we know that they are actually made
up of 4x10G SR transceivers, and a 40G-
SR4 port can be treated as four individ-
Single QSFP port Leaf switches ual 10G ports. This is called port break-
out application. Port breakout allows us
While this is not the most elegant approach, this setup shows a 10-Gbit to scale out and have redundancy as we
crossconnect using 8-fiber breakout modules. By making an LC patch connection grow networks in ways we traditionally
between respective leaf and spine switches, a user can break out all 40-Gbit cannot do. For example, its possible to
ports and distribute them over four different line cards. This approach maintains break out 2x40G SR4 transceivers into
redundancy, because if a line card is lost, only 25 percent of bandwidth is lost. 8x10G ports, and easily distribute them
over eight line cards.
the backside of the spine switch we gen- depending on the model you are Crossconnect with traditional
erally have fabric modules that mitigate planning to use. port breakoutTo represent this, lets
traffic flow between different line cards. Scaling out a spine-and-leaf create a 10G crossconnect using Corning
Evenly distributing leaf-switch uplink
connections among line cards on the Using a mesh module: connectivity option 2
spine switch can dramatically improve
the switching performance by reducing
the amount of traffic flowing through Single QSFP port
the fabric module.
This increases end-to-end pack-
age delivery times, which means delays,
and requires procurement of additional
Spine 1
fabric cards, which means additional
cost. In the coming sections we will
discuss how to solve these problems
with cabling.
Closer look into leaf switch L1 L2 L3 L4
LN
When it comes to the leaf switch discus-
Single QSFP port Leaf switches
sion, the main consideration is the num-
ber of uplink ports, which defines how
many spine switches one can connect In this setup a mesh module is connected to the spine on one side and to the
to, and the number of downlink ports, leaf on the other side. Spine-side ports connect to individual line cards on the
which defines how many hosts can con- spine switch. Every time the user connects a leaf switch on the leaf side, that
nect to the leaf switch. Uplink ports port is automatically broken out and shuffled across the spine ports on the
can support 40/100G speeds and down- mesh modulewhich are already connected to separate line cards. No LC-to-LC
link ports can vary from 10/25/40/50G patching is required.
1704CIM_20 20 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Cabling the spine-and-leaf network switch fabric continued
Scaling out a 16-way spine design using a mesh module Going beyond four-way spine switch
43640Gig 43640Gig 43640Gig 43640Gig is easy using mesh modules. We will
connect the spine side of the mesh mod-
ule to other spine switches. We are los-
Spine
Sp
S i 16 ing the line-card level redundancy and
Spine
S i 12 switching efficiency, but we gain more
Spine 8
S redundancy by distributing risk over 16-
way spine. At this point, we should also
Spine 1 Spine 2 Spine 3 Spine 4
invest in fabric modules, because we will
have a case that will have different leaf
switches on different line cards in the
same chassis. With this final expansion,
L1 L2 L3 L4 we can have a network that is four times
LN
bigger than a four-way spine.
Using mesh modules has several ad-
Leaf switches
vantages. We can lower connectiv-
Using the mesh-module scenario, we can go beyond a two-way spine and even ity costs by 45 percent. By replacing LC
beyond a four-way spine, to a 16-way spine as depicted here. Implementing patch cords with MTP patch cables, we
this approach, a user does lose the line-card-level redundancy and switching can reduce congestion by 75 percent.
efficiency; however the user gains more redundancy by distributing risk over the Because we do not need housings to do
16-way spine. With this type of implementation, it is worth investing in fabric the LC breakout and patching, we can
modules, because this scenario includes different leaf switches on different line realize a 75-percent space savings at the
cards in the same chassis. main distribution area (MDA).
History has shown us that with ev-
Edge8 solution port breakout modules. Lets consider a mesh module. This mesh ery new development we had to invent
We can breakout all 40G QSFP ports at module is connected to the spine switch new ways of doing things. Today, the in-
the spine layer using Edge8 solution port on one side and to the leaf switch on dustry is moving toward spine-and-leaf
breakout modules. We can do the same the other side. Spine-side ports are con- fabric, and switch manufacturers have
exercise with the leaf switches. Now, nected to individual line cards on the advanced switching systems designed
we can simply make an LC patch con- spine switch. And every time we con- for this new generation of data center
nection between respective leaf switch nect a leaf switch on the leaf side, it au- switch fabric. A basic requirement for
and spine switch. By doing this, we can tomatically breaks out that port and such fabrics is to build a mesh-struc-
breakout all 40G ports and distribute shuffles them across the spine ports on tured cabling module that can al-
them over four different line cards. the mesh module, which are already low you to get the best out of your fab-
Redundancy is maintained, which connected to separate line cards. ric investment.
means if you lose one line card, you only We do not have to do any LC-to-LC Meshed connectivity for spine and
lose 25 percent of your bandwidth. We patching. We still achieve the shuf- leaf can be achieved using standard
maintained line-speed switching by fling we were trying to do in the previ- MDA-style structured cabling, which we
making sure that all leaf switches are ous scenario, we have full redundancy, can compare to building new things us-
represented on all line cards, thus no and we can get full performance out of ing old tools. Using mesh modules as a
traffic needs to go through the vertical our switches. new tool to build next-generation net-
fabric module. Every yellow highlighted Expanding the fabric with mesh works can dramatically reduce the com-
port represents a single 40G QSFP port. moduleGoing from two-way spine plexity and connectivity costs for your
Is this the most elegant way of doing to four-way spine is easy. We simply data center fabric. u
things? No. This is called building new use one mesh module per spine switch,
networks using old tools. and distribute each 40G uplink from Mustafa Keskin is market development man-
Crossconnect with mesh mod- leaf layer over four line cards on each ager for Corning Optical Communications
uleIs there a better way to do this? spine switch. Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA).
1704CIM_21 21 3/24/17 8:01 AM

design
HDBase-T applications,
news and tips
Alliance shares success stories, vendor shares WyreStorms 6x6 HDBase-T Matrix,
guidance, lab implements new testing program. which allows up to six integrated me-
dia sources with full switching control
BY PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN of all inputs and outputs from a central
control point, the company explained.
The media sources include cable boxes,
Apple TV, a Dell computer with dual
In the years since the HDBase-T out-of-sight equipment rack. HDMI video cards, and a Skype cam-
Alliances founding in 2011, the group As it does with several of these pro- era The four Samsung displays can be
has produced several specifications, files, the alliance asks and answers the used individually, or as a whole for an
certification programs and mem- question Why HDBase-T? In this case 80-inch full HD monitor showing a sin-
ber services. Recently the alliance also the answer is: Ease of installation, in- gle source. All sources are located in the
produced a series of case-study suc- cluding running Cat cable; ease of use basement, for a sleek and elegant look.
cess stories profiling installations of and management; clean and elegant
HDBase-T technology in different en- look, without cable clutter. Hospitality applications
vironments. Among those environ- HDBase-T technology is also deployed in
ments are residential and commer- Connected home office a number of commercial and retail envi-
cial properties. Well summarize a few Another residential HDBase-T install ronments. Among the many other case
of them here. took place in the home office of a finan- studies in the alliances portfolio are two
Property developer Luxlo outfitted cial executive who wanted the ability dining establishments.
a luxury apartment in Mayfair, London to conduct business and watch finan- One is a fast-food restaurant, un-
with HDBase-T gear featuring au- cial markets from home. The alliance named but U.S.-based. The alliance
dio-video equipment from HDanywhere. explains, The request was fairly sim- explains, The customers needs de-
According to the alliance, the custom plebe able to receive up to five differ- manded a rugged, heat-resistant solu-
install, performed by EasyComp com- ent video sources simultaneously over tion to extend digital AV media reli-
prises a total of eight sources, including a video wall of four flat-panel displays ably using HDBase-T technology from a
SKY HD boxes, Apple TV, Blu-ray, CCTV, placed in the room, with no latency or computer located inside the proprietors
DVR and AV receivers, and seven dis- quality issues. The setup had to provide venue to an interactive display located
playsboth high-definition and 4K the ability to monitor markets and news, outside the venue in the drive-through
distributed in the living rooms, bed- to work on presentations, and to partici- lane bearing variant temperatures (ex-
rooms, master bathroom, staff room pate in video conferences with the same treme cold, heat and humidity). An
and kitchen. quality and efficiency that a commer- HDCP-compliant [High-bandwidth
The fact that the residential prop- cial office provided. A one-month project Digital Content Protection] extender
erty has a staff room suggests that timeline was required. was needed to run up to 100 meters over
budget was not a primary concern. The New Jersey-based FieldTrees Design Category 6, delivering crystal-clear au-
entire installation connected through Group completed the installation of dio and video to the GDS [global distri-
Category 6 cabling for up to 35 me- a full video wall, with switching and bution system] display located at the
ters. All sources are housed within an display capabilities. FieldTrees chose drive-through store.
1704CIM_22 22 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Another installation took place at the application and installation environ- installation, use only HDBase-T-certified
Wash Park Sports Alley Bar and Grill in ment. Specifically, one should ask components, Leviton says. These
Denver, CO. Tech Dwellings installed and answer the following questions: products are tested by the HDBase-T
the system, which featured Key Digital 1) Should I use HDBase-T Class A or Alliance and will ensure full compati-
equipment. Multi-zone video is accom- Class B equipment? 2) Are there any bility with 5Play performance. Also, as
panied by audio and lighting control, power considerations? 3) Where will mentioned earlier, we recommend using
Key Digital and the HDBase-T Alliance the AV link go? Cat 6A cabling with alien crosstalk pre-
explained. All displays are able to select Next, Leviton urges, understand the vention technology as the backbone of
and view any video source at any time signal characteristics. The company ex- the cabling system.
in any combination while also able to plains, AV signals over HDBase-T look
view any desired source on all displays. much like the data signals you encoun- New certification
Key Digitals Compass Control system ter every daythey are just a little less In addition to the program that certi-
utilizes HDBase-T to send control sig- forgiving. HDBase-T is packet-based like fies components for HDBase-T transmis-
nals for audio and video over the same Ethernet, but it doesnt have a retrans- sion, the HDBase-T Alliance, along with
wire, they added. The HDBase-T KD- mission mechanism. So there is no recov- Underwriters Laboratories, recently
HD8x8Lite Matrix Switcher was speci- ery from packet errors. You can avoid pix- launched the Certification Program for
fied, delivering out uncompressed con- ilation or complete video dropout due to Power over HDBase-T (PoH) Cables. The
tent for the patrons and enabling the bar packet errors by using the right cabling. alliance and UL issued a joint statement
and server staff to have complete control The third piece of advice from that said in part, This program, tar-
of each display with a touch of a button. Leviton is to recognize the capabili- geted at cable manufacturers, addresses
Answering Why HDBase-T? they ties of twisted-pair cabling. Category the increased performance and safety
note, Simplicity and flexibility in instal- 5e, 6, and 6A UTP cablingthe alli- requirements related to heating due to
lation. High performance and quality ances specified media typeswill de- current levels being carried under PoH
with distribution of uncompressed con- liver varying performance results, de- of audiovisual installations. With in-
tent. Easy control and monitoring. One- pending on the type of installation, creasingly complex installations and the
cable connectivity for displays around video resolution, and distance Leviton proliferation of PoH equipment, AV ven-
all video zones in the bar. explains. While Cat 5e channels can dors, manufacturers and professionals
carry HDBase-T signals in an isolated have indicated the need for standard-
Four tips point-to-point link, they do not sup- ization and consistency for high perfor-
A document from Leviton titled port HDBase-T in real-world high-den- mance, regardless of the size of cable
Installing HDBase-T in AV Projects: sity installations with adjacent data or bundles. The new certification program
What You Need to Know addresses the HDBase-T channels. evaluates the cables ability to carry di-
cabling infrastructure chosen for these Leviton added that its own testing rect current power up to 100 watts
applications. Within that document the finds use of Cat 5e in these applications over the four pairs of the cable and to
company says, Large displays are driv- can lead to high packet error rates and maintain HDBase-T data transmission
ing the need for higher resolution, mov- total link loss, as the channels are not performance.
ing beyond todays high of 1080p. Ultra designed for resistance to alien cross- The certification program is based on
high-definition TV with 4K resolution talk. Even Cat 6 cables can be limited in the pending standard UL 4299 Outline of
is regarded as the next standard deliv- carrying HDBase-T signals when adja- Investigation for Power over HDBase-T
ering 2160p format at 3840x2160 pixel cent to other cables carrying HDBase-T. Cables. The cables will be covered un-
density. Digital signals for these displays We recommend Cat 6A with alien cross- der ULs Follow-Up Services surveillance
are increasingly sensitive and consume talk prevention technology to support program that includes both regular in-
greater bandwidth; thats why having HDBase-T signals that are in the pres- spections at cable manufacturing facil-
the optimal cabling infrastructure in ence of multiple disturbers, including ities as well as ongoing testing to deter-
place is paramount. other HDBase-T signals and 10 GbE. mine continued compliance, the two
Leviton offers four pieces of ad- The final tip for HDBase-T users is organizations said. u
vice for these installations. First, the to select the right media and compo-
company advises us to consider the nents. To ensure the best HDBase-T Patrick McLaughlin is our chief editor.
1704CIM_23 23 3/24/17 8:01 AM

PR
S
CU
OD
FO
UC
T
MEDIA CONVERTERS Tripp Lites Gigabit Ethernet
multimode media converter
Ultra PoE device converts Tripp Lites 10/100/1000 LC Multimode
media, delivers 60W Media Converter allows the user to extend
Black Boxs Industrial UPoE media converter seamlessly a Category 5e UTP Ethernet connection up
and transparently converts 10-/100-/1000-Mbit/sec to 550 meters over multimode fiber-optic
copper to 1000-Mbit/sec fiber transmission. Because cable. The company says the converter
it is a Layer 2 media converter, it automatically senses provides an economical solution for network
and adapts to speed on the copper connectivity to nodes located in isolated
side for true plug-and-play operation, corners or separate
adds the company. Housed in an IP30- buildings of a corporate
rated case that can be DIN mounted, campus or university. The
the converter features one 10-/100- unit autonegotiates MDI/
/1000-Mbit/sec RJ-45 UTP port and MDI-X port connections
one 1000Base-X SFP port. Supporting and senses network
both multimode and singlemode speed automatically on the UTP port. It also
fiber, the device sends power over all auto-detects full- or half-duplex operation on
four pairs of Category 5e/6 cabling. the fiber port. This converter uses the 850-
Depending on the SFP, the unit can nm wavelength and supports multimode
drive singlemode signals up to 50 50/125 cable up to 550 m (1804 ft) or
miles (80 km). Whether used to power security cameras, 62.5/125 cable up to 400 m (1312 ft). The
wireless access points, alarms, traffic controllers, input port has a female RJ-45 connector
sensors, monitoring devices, or other PoE equipment, and the output port has a female LC duplex
the Ultra PoE media converter delivers 60 watts of connector. Six LEDs provide performance
power, while power available at the PD is 50 watts. monitoring at a glance. Power is supplied by a
Black Box, www.blackbox.com/mediaconverters compact AC adapter.
Tripp Lite, www.tripplite.com
Transition Networks Ethernet over coax extender with PoE+

Transition Networks Ethernet Over Coax Extenders with PoE+ are billed as a flexible and cost-effective way to extend
Ethernet networks at near Gigabit speeds and provide full PoE+ power to security cameras, wireless access points
or other IP devices using existing coaxial cabling infrastructure. The extenders work in pairs, with the local extender
(EOCPSE4020-110) transmitting power and data over coax to the remote extender (EOCPD4020-110), which, in turn,
provides data and power to the connected IP device. A 10/100/1000Base-T RJ-45
or 100/1000Base-X SFP combo port offers network connection flexibility, and near-
Gigabit communication speeds provide sufficient bandwidth for many applications.
According to the company, The Ethernet Over Coax Extenders With PoE+ allow
for quick and easy analog-to-IP security network upgrades using safety extra
low voltage classification for power, avoiding the need to run new cabling or hire
electricians to install new power at edge locations."
Transition Networks, www.transition.com
1704CIM_24 24 3/24/17 8:02 AM

PR
S
Ready Solutions
CU
OD
FO
UC
for Residential Fiber
T
Industrial Ethernet-to-fiber bit driver
The Industrial Ethernet to Fiber Optic Bit Driver from S.I. Tech
Inc. is a 4x3.6x1.2-inch device containing one 10/100-Mbit/
sec Ethernet port and one fiber port. The
fiber port can be multimode, for shorter
distances, or singlemode, for longer
distances, the company points out. The
multimode version of the bit driver comes
with ST interfaces; the singlemode version Charles Fiber Rack Solutions
comes with SC interfaces standard, with LC
1RU, 2RU and 4RU patch, splice and splitter
trays for 19 or 23 rackmount enclosures with
interfaces optional. The device can be DIN- swing-out shelves, SC or LC connectors,
rail mounted, with redundant 10- to 32-VDC power input, which front and rear access and cable management
is commonly found in industrial plants. The Ethernet board is
conformal coated for protection from dust, dirt and humidity, S.I.
Tech notes. The enclosure is IP-40 rated. The Industrial Ethernet
to Fiber Optic Bit Driver (Model 2151) supports the IEEE 802.3
specification MDI using autonegotiation or a manual setting.
Status indicators ease troubleshooting power/link status/LAN
activity/data speed. The device can be used with straight- or Fiber Building Terminal Hubs
cross-wired Ethernet cables. Compact, indoor nber hubs support fusion,
pre-terminated and neld ferminated feed and
S.I. Tech, www.sitech-bitdriver.com
drop cables. Four sizes provide scalable nber
demarcation for 48, 96, 144 or 384 subscribers
Multi-port PoE+ media converter

Omnitron Systems OmniConverter GPoE+/SX is a multi-port Power
over Ethernet Gigabit media converter with switching capabilities. It
features four 10/100/1000-Mbit/sec RJ-45 ports that are capable
of delivering 15.04W or 34.20W of PoE, as well as one or two
fiber ports that support Gigabit or Fast Ethernet transceivers. The
GPoE+/SX supports several networking modes for distributing
traffic, including directed switch mode that prevents network
congestion, and multiplexer mode that isolates secure data streams CFIT-Flex Universal Enclosures
for different cameras in multi-user surveillance applications. Models Environmentally-protected enclosures can be
with two fiber ports support dual device mode, which enables the eexibly conngured to serve nber, copper
and coaxial applications. Optional swing-out
GPoE+/SX to operate as two independent PoE media converters.
bulkhead provides up to 72 nber drops
The two fiber ports also facilitate daisy-chain topologies and
redundant fiber links with less than 50-ms failover. Models are
available with SC, ST and LC fixed-fiber connectors, or with SFP
transceivers at 100-Mbit/sec or Gigabit data rates in multimode,
singlemode, and a variety of CWDM and DWDM wavelengths.
Omnitron Systems, www.omnitron-systems.com
1704CIM_25 25 3/24/17 8:02 AM

EDITORS PICKS
T WISTED -PAIR
CABLE FOR 4K T V
NE W SMALL- CELL
PL ATFORM
LOWERING THE
BARRIER TO IOT
News, products and trends for the communications systems industry

COMPILED BY
Matt Vincent
ci m @ pen n well . com
DIGITAL BUILDINGS
The HBP-100 Series provides automatic control

Legrand debuts of individual LED and fluorescent lighting fixtures in
UL-listed snap-in warehouses, distribution centers, parking garages

and other indoor and low bay spaces. These sensors
mounting accessory help facility managers avoid down time and help con-
tractors meet project deadlines while maintaining
for Wattstopper safety standards.
high bay infrafred Legrand notes that in meeting the UL 916 Standard
for Energy Management, the HBP-100 series sen-
building occupancy sors passed one of the most significant tests for this
type of product design, called the UL Conduit Nipple
sensors Strength Test for Non-Metallic Enclosures, which
requires products to withstand a 5 ft-lb impact without
Legrand North America announced that its cracking the enclosure or separating the sensor from
Wattstopper High Bay Passive Infrared (PIR) the fixture.
occupancy sensors now feature the first Products with this UL rating ensure reliability and
ever Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed safety for people and property, reducing the like-
snap-in mounting accessory. The snap-in lihood of injury from electrical shock or fire and
design, now standard on all HBP-100 Series damage to fixtures or electrical box-mounted controls.
products as well as the extender modules, Many Wattstopper products, including the line of BZ
allows for quicker and safer installation, says power packs and FSP fixture integrated sensors, have
the company. passed this test, adds the company. u
1704CIM_26 26 3/24/17 8:02 AM

FIBER-OPTIC NET WORKS
Hudson Fiber completes national WAN, adds 16 markets

In January, Hudson Fiber Network network, along with our New York City Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Salt Lake
(HFN), a provider of high-bandwidth, network, positions us as a national City, Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis
low-latency networking solutions for provider, delivering high-value, pur- and St. Louis.
financial, content, carrier and enter- pose-designed network solutions, We have achieved our goal by cre-
prise customers, announced the com- commented HFNs CEO Brett Diamond. ating a completely different model for
pletion of its national wide area net- HFN continues to partner with the businesses to connect, explained HFN
work (WAN) with service now live fastest growing and most demand- COO Keith Muller. Weve built a national
across 16 markets. According to the ing enterprises in the tri-state area to crossconnect platform for carriers and
company, the significance of this mile- deliver specialized network solutions. enterprises alike. We enable customers
stone is compounded by the comple- Our national network and model now to bring their own access, connect to
tion of the HFN northeast NJ corridor mirror that of leading network ser- the closest data center and move traffic
network, delivering an 864-fiber-optic- vice providers, with the advantage of to any endpoint nationally. Our network
cable backbone connecting hundreds the latest fiber solutions and faster delivers high-bandwidth, low-latency
of lateral access points within the fast- deployment time. fiber routes that are critical for tech-
est growing business districts through- The HFN national WAN service reliant companies. Our solution doesnt
out HFNs New Jersey facilities and is now fully operational across mar- only deliver best-in-class network perfor-
extensive New York City fiber network. kets including Boston, New York, mance, but also enables customers to
The combined completion of New Jersey, Philadelphia, Ashburn pay per port, giving them a cost struc-
our national WAN and NJ fiber-optic (Virginia), Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Los ture that is mileage insensitive. u
your copper and fiber cable installation?

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1704CIM_27 27 3/24/17 8:02 AM

EDITORS PICKS
COLOCATION DATA CENTERS
FIBER-OPTIC TECHNOLOGY
NTT Com acquires RagingWire Data
Centers, Inc.
Fiber Optic Center RagingWire Data Centers, Inc. and its parent company NTT Communications
(FOC) boosts (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business
EMEA technical within Japans NTT Group, announced on February 23 that NTT Com intends
to purchase the remaining shares of RagingWire and acquire 100-per-
business cent ownership of the company. In addition, RagingWire named long-term
development team RagingWire executive and current president, Douglas Adams (pictured), as
CEO, and RagingWires founder, George Macricostas, who had served as
Fiber Optic Center, chairman and CEO of RagingWire, was named executive chairman.
Inc., (FOC), a distrib- According to a press
utor of fiber-optic release: Founded in the
products, announced year 2000 by George
recently that Marcel Macricostas, RagingWire
Buijs has joined was one of the compa-
the companys EMEA technical busi- nies that helped to create
ness development team. Per a press the data center coloca-
release, Buijs joins FOC with more than tion industry, which has
25 years in the photonics industry. In grown to a multi-billion-
addition to founding the first photonics dollar industry worldwide.
department at a technical college in the Under the leadership of
Netherlands, with three fellow teachers, Mr. Macricostas, RagingWire became an industry innovator and leader with
he has previously developed curricu- two patents in mission critical power delivery, a growing data center port-
lum for the subjects of optoelectronics, folio of over 1.2 million square feet with nearly 100 megawatts of critical
fiber optics and machine vision. power and a long track record of delivering 100-percent uptime for its cus-
Further, for more than 17 years, tomers, resulting in RagingWire being recognized for earning the highest cus-
his specific role in research and devel- tomer loyalty in the data center industry as measured by the Net Promoter
opment for a global fiber-optic con- Score (NPS). During his tenure with the company, Mr. Macricostas funded
nector company was developing pro- and guided the company from inception and through two recessions, achiev-
cesses for making fiber-optic prod- ing rapid, sustainable and profitable growth, and ultimately a successful
ucts and a broad process portfolio. merger with NTT Communications. Mr. Macricostas continued to lead the
Buijss department was responsible company for three years during post-merger integration, resulting in a 2017
for several important developments business plan that will double the companys revenue as compared to pre-
in both the single-fiber and multi-fiber merger levels.
optic connector markets. His areas of The release continued, In January 2014, NTT Communications
expertise include laser cleaving, pol- acquired an 80-percent equity stake in RagingWire. By joining the NTT
ishing and measurement processes Communications family of companies, RagingWire became part of one of
and proven yield and product perfor- the largest data center companies in the world with 140 facilities in 17 coun-
mance improvements. tries. With the strong financial backing of NTT Com, RagingWire opened
Marcels process, analytical and the Sacramento CA3 Data Center and the Ashburn VA2 Data Center total-
statistical knowledge gives him the ing 320,000 square feet of space and 28 megawatts of power. In addition,
ultimate tools to help every FOC cus- RagingWire began construction on its massive Dallas Data Center Campus on
tomer meet their specifications in 42 acres of land and the Ashburn Data Center Campus on 76.5 acres in the
making the ultimate fiber-optic prod- heart of the famed Data Center Alley region. The first phase of the Dallas
uct, while improving process yield, development, the TX1 Data Center, with 230,000 square feet of space and
added FOCs press release. u 16 megawatts of power, will have its grand opening on April 18, 2017. u
1704CIM_28 28 3/24/17 8:02 AM

EDITORS PICKS
SMALL CELLS T WISTED -PAIR CABLE
Zinwave unveils 4K Ultra-HD shielded twisted-pair

small-cell point-of- AV media cables deliver HDBaseT
interface platform signals up to 100m
Zinwave recently introduced Small Belden recently announced the pounds of pull tension. The com-
Cell Point of Interface (SC-POI), a launch of its 4K Ultra-High-Definition pany contends that the cables single
1U interface panel that connects (UHD) media cables, models 2183P overall foil shield provides 100 per-
up to four small cells to the com- (plenum) and 2183R (riser). The prod- cent protection from noise interfer-
panys UNItivity distributed wire-
less platform. The 19-inch, rack-
mountable panel simplifies the con-
nection of small cells as signal
sources for Zinwaves UNItivity dis-
tributed antenna system (DAS), pro-
viding the ideal combination of cel- uct line is designed specifically to ence and saves significant termi-
lular signal sources and distribu- deliver 4K content over HDBaseT nation time, eliminating the need
tion capabilities to deliver wireless up to 100 meters in a unique, small, to terminate individually shielded
services in todays enterprises sleek design. The products are now pairs or a braid.
and public venues, contends available for purchase through autho- The Belden 4K UHD media cables
the company. rized Belden distributors. are also up to 25 percent smaller
According to Zinwaves press Belden conducted extensive than some other HDBaseT cabling
release for the product, DAS solu- HDBaseT testing in its Belden solutions, the company adds. Built
tions provide proven distribution Engineering Center to better under- with a durable, corrugated, foil shield
efficiencies and real economic ben- stand which cable characteris- and a helical drain, the 4K UHD
efits for multi-operator, multi-fre- tics best support the higher band- Media product family is extremely
quency applications, but they require width needs of 4K video, explains flexible and designed to be installer
an RF source to provide cellular sig- Michael Saber, the companys direc- friendly, comments Galen Gareis,
nals. Small cells are an ideal signal tor of marketing, broadcast AV. The principle product engineer at Belden.
source for DAS because they are Belden 4K UHD Media cable is the The cables can be terminated
smaller, more energy-efficient, and result of the testing. The cable was using the Belden REVConnect prod-
much less expensive than traditional designed to support HDBaseT 5Play, uct line of modular shielded plugs
base stations. However, small cells but it is interoperable with various and jacks, eliminating the need
are currently one- or two-frequency equipment brands. to separate the bonded pairs.
units, so it takes multiple small cells The 4K UHD Media cables are Combining the REVConnect plug with
to deliver the multi-frequency sig- manufactured using Beldens pat- the 2183 cable is proven to increase
nals needed in most modern build- ented bonded-pair technology. The first pass yields and reduce the
ings. Zinwaves SC-POI makes it cable is rated to withstand 45 potential for rework, adds Belden. u
easy to configure up to four small
cells per panel as signal sources
for the UNItivity distributed wire-
less platform.
Rather than competing with one multi-frequency services within build- a DAS can be a complex and messy
another as in-building wireless solu- ings, commented Slavko Djukic, operation, our SC-POI makes it
tions, small cells and DAS can work Zinwaves chief technology officer. simple and easy to deploy small cells
together to deliver cost-effective, While configuring small cells to feed as a DAS signal source. u
1704CIM_29 29 3/24/17 8:02 AM

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1704CIM_30 30 3/24/17 8:02 AM

EDITORS PICKS
IOT APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
Avnet, AT&T seek to lower barriers to IoT solutions development

At the Mobile World Congress, held including their Cellular IoT starter kit package for cellular
February 27-March 2 in Barcelona, and LTE IoT add-on kit, Avnet and AT&T connected
global technology distributor Avnet and have now introduced the Avnet Global
AT&T announced an agreement to offer LTE IoT Starter Kit, powered by AT&T.
AT&Ts Internet of Things (IoT) managed This latest IoT starter kit, scheduled
services as a part of Avnets IoT solu- for release in the second quarter of
tions portfolio. Per a press release, the 2017, offers a complete development
agreement, which empowers Avnet to environment for sensor-to-cloud appli-
integrate AT&Ts cloud application devel- cations and services. The combina-
opment tools (as supported by the car- tion of AT&Ts IoT managed services sensor-to-cloud solutions.
riers flagship platforms AT&T M2X and and Avnets new Global LTE IoT starter Demand for connected devices con-
AT&T Flow Designer) paves the way for kit offers developers a unique set of tinues to climb, says Mike Troiano,
the two companies to more effectively tools and services that will simplify and vice president, AT&T Internet of Things.
harness their respective expertise to accelerate the creation of connected Were excited to integrate our IoT devel-
support designers in the development IoT devices, said Tim Barber, senior oper platforms, M2X and Flow Designer,
and production of next-generation IoT vice president, global design chain busi- into the Avnet Global LTE IoT starter kit.
devices with global cellular connection. ness development, Avnet. With the pro- Together were helping bring IoT innova-
Building on the success of the duction-ready LTE kit and AT&T IoT ser- tions to life faster and more efficiently
companies previous collaborations, vices, Avnet provides the complete than ever before. u
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
AFL............................................................ CV4
Arlington Industries.......................................9 ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES
Bel Stewart Connector................................15 MAIN OFFICE INTERNATIONAL
61 Spit Brook Road AUSTRIA, EUROPE, GERMANY,
Brother Mobile Solutions Inc. .......................2 Suite 401, Nashua, NH 03060 NORTHERN SWITZERLAND
(603) 891-0123 Holger Gerisch
Cablesys ..................................................... 30 fax: (603) 891-9245 +49-(0)8847-6986656
Fax: +49-(0)8801-9153792
GROUP PUBLISHER
Charles Industries Ltd. ...............................25 holgerg@pennwell.com
Alan Bergstein
(603)-891-9447 ISRAEL
Corning Optical Communications LLC..... CV2 Dan Aronovic
alanb@pennwell.com
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER
+972 9 899 5813
Diamond Ground Products Inc................... 30 aronovic@actcom.co.il
Susan Smith
ICC Premise Wiring ....................................13 (603) 891-9260 ASIA
fax: (603) 891-9245 Adonis Mak
Micro Care Corp. ........................................ 11 susans@pennwell.com +852 2 838 6298; Fax: +852 2 838 2766
REPRINTS
adonism@actintl.com.hk
Oberon Inc.................................................. 30 Susan Smith JAPAN
(603) 891-9260 Masaki Mori
Senko Advanced Components Inc.................4 fax: (603) 891-9245 +81 3 3219 3561
susans@pennwell.com mori-masaki@ics-inc.co.jp
Siemon Company.........................................16 DIRECTOR, LIST RENTAL TAIWAN
Kelli Berry Ms. Rebecca Tsao
Softing Inc...................................................27 (918) 831-9782 +886 2 23965128 ext.203
kellib@pennwell.com Fax: 886 2 23967816
T3 Innovation LLC ...................................... 30 rebecca@arco.com.tw
Turck Inc....................................................6, 7
SHOULD YOU NEED ASSISTANCE CREATING YOUR AD, PLEASE CONTACT MARKETING SOLUTIONS
VICE PRESIDENT Paul Andrews
The index of advertisers is published as a service, and the 240.595.2352; pandrews@pennwell.com
publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.
1704CIM_31 31 3/24/17 8:02 AM

INFRASTRUCTURE
INSIGHTS
Global Data Center Server Market by Product
% CAGR 20162021
Tower
6.5
6.29% Micro
servers
5.75% servers 5.49%

6.0 2.34%
5.5
Driven by 5.0
4.5
hyperscales, global 4.0
Blade
3.27%
data center server 3.5 servers
29.25%
market forecast to 3.0
2.5
hit $56B by 2021 2.0 Rack

servers
1.5
According to a recent market study by 62.93%
1.0
Technavio, the global data center server
markets size is projected to reach USD 0.5
$56 billion, growing at a CAGR of close to 0.0

5 percent over the studys forecast period. Rack Blade Tower 2016 Market Share
servers servers servers
Titled Global Data Center Server Market
2017-2021, the analysts report provides
generation, says Abhishek Sharma, one of the lead analysts at
analysis of the market in terms of revenue
Technavio for data center research. Rack servers contribute signifi-
and emerging trends. The report also
cantly toward the growth of the data center server market through
includes up-to-date analysis and forecasts
continuous innovations by vendors and component manufacturers.
for various market segments and all
Most of the enterprise data centers currently in operation opt for rack
geographical regions.
servers, which brings in a significant amount of revenue to the mar-
According to the studys executive sum-
ket. The adoption of these servers will continue to increase because
mary, Servers are the backbone of a data
of the enterprise preference and expertise in operating these servers,
center operation...the rising number of hyper-
pushed by continuous innovations in compute power and energy effi-
scale data centers for analytic applications
ciency by vendors.
such as big data analytics will be a key driv-
Blade servers are extremely compact and designed to be installed
ing factor for the data center server market.
with chassis, notes the reports executive summary. The support
Based on product, the report categorizes the
infrastructure required for blade servers are supplied by the chas-
global data center server market into seg-
sis, and their performance is comparable to that of rack servers. The
ments for rack servers, blade servers, tower
blade servers have relatively simple cabling, have better load balanc-
servers, and micro servers. Rack, blade and
ing, and are very efficient through integrated Ethernet and Fibre Chan-
tower models are the top three revenue-gen-
nel switches, thus driving for their increasing adoption. Additionally,
erating product segments, states the report.
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to co-locate racks
Observations on each market segment
will mainly opt for this type of server.
from Technavio are as follows.
Tower servers are mainly used in the standalone form, and provide
Rack servers are traditional data cen-
cooling and scalability provisions. They have fairly complex cabling
ter servers, which account for a majority
and are mainly compatible with high-end servers, adds Sharma.
63 percent of the overall market revenue
SMEs are the main end-users of these towers. Many tier 1 and tier 2
Matt Vincent, Senior Editor data centers from underdeveloped countries are also adopting these
m at t v @ pe n n w el l . co m servers as they are available at affordable price points. u
1704CIM_32 32 3/24/17 8:02 AM

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RIBBON
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1704CIM_C4 4 3/24/17 8:03 AM

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Wrapping Tube Cable (WTC) with SWR ACTUAL SIZE

Typical 1728 Fiber Typical 864 Fiber WTC 1728 Fiber

Doing more with less

AflRib_CIM_1704 1 3/17/17 11:07 AM

Cabling for the

Where are hyperscales

1704CIM_C1 1 3/24/17 8:03 AM

Cornings award-winning EDGE8 solution is the industrys first modular, tip-to-tip

Are You Corning Connected?

Visit www.corning.com/edge8/bicsi to learn how the

2016 Corning Optical Communications. LAN-2112-AEN / December 2016

1704CIM_C2 2 3/24/17 8:03 AM

ABOUT THE COVER

Group Publisher Alan Bergstein

FOR SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES:

3 EDITORIAL 24 PRODUCT FOCUS

data center standards 32 INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS

1704CIM_1 1 3/24/17 8:01 AM

1704CIM_2 2 3/24/17 8:01 AM

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance APRIL 2017 3

1704CIM_3 3 3/24/17 8:01 AM

The next generation of on-site

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance APRIL 2017 5

1704CIM_5 5 3/24/17 8:01 AM

comparison in this article include cost, These mechanical-type connectors

Table 1 Anaerobic connector attributes

6 APRIL 2017 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

1704CIM_6 6 3/24/17 8:01 AM

A no-epoxy/no-polish (NENP) connector provides a factory-polished endface

Angled-polish NENP connectors are available in angled-cleave or flat-cleave

and performance of the connector was recommended for APC

Table 2 No-Epoxy No-Polish connector attributes

Singlemode (UPC) Typical: 0.2 dB; Maximum: 0.5 dB

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance APRIL 2017 7

1704CIM_7 7 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Table 3 Comparison of NENP connector with and without angled cleave

Fusion Pre-installed fiber 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112

Fusion splice protection Pre-polished ferrule

Table 4 NENP fusion splice-on connector attributes

8 APRIL 2017 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

1704CIM_8 8 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Entry h ENTR ANCE P L ATES, HOODS, DEVICES

NON-METALLIC Made in USA

For new construction, the nail or screw-on

We also offer a variety of low voltage

Arlington 800/233-4717 www.arlingtonlowvoltage.com Patented

1704CIM_9 9 3/24/17 8:01 AM

APC connection back-reflection per- provides a connection that closely ap-

10 APRIL 2017 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

1704CIM_10 10 3/24/17 8:01 AM

the fusion splice type connector and Bandwidth performance

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance APRIL 2017 11

1704CIM_11 11 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Table 7 Comparison of all next-generation termination options

12 APRIL 2017 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

1704CIM_12 12 3/24/17 8:01 AM

icc.com/distributor csr@icc.com 888-ASK-4ICC

1704CIM_13 13 3/24/17 8:01 AM

Pinned design versatile, complex

Testing MPO and

evolving data MPO connector and stabilizes the con-

center standards couplers are either pinned or unpinned,