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 FOR PROFESSIONALS MANAGING THE CABLE AND WIRELESS
JANUARY 2016 SYSTEMS THAT ENABLE CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS

SIZING UP
fiber connectivity PAGE 17

PERSPECTIVE PAGE 7

Will NEC changes

threaten PoE?
DATA CENTER PAGE 13

Standards makers
mull 50GBASE-T
MARKET INSIGHTS PAGE 40

SDN going mainstream

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 CONTENTS J A N U A R Y 2 016
vol. 25, no. 1

ABOUT THE COVER

Serial, parallel and WDM
optical technologies offer
multiple ways to reach specified
speeds and distances. Photo
credit: kubais/Bigstock.com.
SEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 7.

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
Editorial Creative Director Meg Fuschetti
FEATURES Production Director Mari Rodriguez
Senior Illustrator Dan Rodd

7 PERSPECTIVE
Proposed revisions to 2017 NEC
would impact PoE deployment
CHRIS DIMINICO
13 DATA CENTER
Inching closer to final standards
for high-speed twisted-pair
networking and cabling
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
17 DESIGN
Optical designs provide multiple
ways to reach speeds, distances
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
21 TECHNOLOGY
AIM and DCIM strive to provide
tangible vallue to users
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
27 WIRELESS
Emering 2.5- and 5-Gbit/
sec wired connectivity aims to
support high-speed wireless
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
Marketing Manager Joni Montemagno
Audience Development Manager Debbie Bouley
Ad Traffic Manager Glenda van Duyne
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DEPARTMENTS
3 EDITORIAL 32 PRODUCT FOCUS
Cabling Installation & Maintenance® (ISSN 1073-3108), Volume 25,
No. 1. Cabling Installation & Maintenance is published 12 times a year,
Is the past prologue for Cable-pulling lubricants monthly by PennWell® Corporation, 1421 S. Sheridan, Tulsa, OK 74112.
Periodicals postage paid at Tulsa, OK 74112 and at additional mailing
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33 EDITOR’S PICKS
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30 PRODUCT EXHIBITION
is a registered trademark. © PennWell Corporation 2016. All rights

40
INFRASTRUCTURE INSIGHTS
Featured products at
SDN headed to the mainstream
BICSI Winter 2016
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 EDITORIAL

W H AT 'S N E W AT
www.cablinginstall.com
Is the past prologue
for Code compliance?
Over the final two weeks of 2015, we here at
TESTING Cabling Installation & Maintenance, along with
Time-domain-based the staffs of several other titles published by our
cabling testing parent company PennWell, moved our corpo-
rate offices. The fact that our new office is about
a quarter mile down the road from our old office
is of little consequence. We experienced every-
thing that goes into an office move and, as you
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN probably know all too well, there's not enough
patrick@pennwell.com room on this page to describe it all in detail.
INSTALLATION When we arrived at our new workplace on
Conduit wrench December 30, we took a tour of the place, admiring the freshness of every-
for cut-in boxes
thing. I even got to stick my head into the equipment room because even
though all the cabling was completed, some final network connectivity qual-
ity-control was underway. And while I didn't get the opportunity to chat with
the crew that installed the cabling systems in our new office, I knew exactly
where they were and what they were doing on December 30. They were about
a quarter-mile away, at our old facility, removing the cabling that had been
put in place 17 years earlier.
CONNECTIVITY As we have documented many times over the years, it is a violation of
Water-tight connectors
the National Electrical Code to abandon cabling when vacating a facility.
for conduit
Abandoned-cable removal became a requirement with the 2002 edition of the
NEC. In the years since then it has become a regular course of business for in-
stallers (removers) of cabling; it also has become a necessary budgetary line
item for companies, like ours, that leave a facility.
In the article that immediately follows this one, Chris DiMinico weighs in
on a proposed revision to the 2017 edition of the NEC that would, he opines,
NETWORK CABLE
Dividers for cable
add "complexity, cost, and confusion of the cabling requirements, safety, and
management Code enforcement." The specific proposed revisions DiMinico calls out are
those that would add the requirement to install cables rated "LP" for certain
WIRELESS
circuits that will transmit Power over Ethernet.
Power management for We scratched the surface on this topic in our September 2015 issue, and
remote radio units something tells me that Chris DiMinico's article this month won't be the fi-
nal word we publish on it. The 2017 NEC revision process is in a fairly ad-
vanced stage. As always, we will keep you up to date as we know more
information. Based on the tone of DiMinico's article, this topic is likely to di-
rectly, and maybe dramatically, affect designers, installers and owners of ca-
bling systems.

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 3

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 PERSPECTIVE
CHRIS DIMINICO
is president of MC
Communications.

Proposed revisions to 2017

National Electrical Code would
impact PoE deployment
As currently proposed, revisions to the 2017 NEC will by developing Telecommunications
negatively affect PoE deployment, potentially reducing Systems Bulletins (TSBs) and Technical
Reports (TRs) for IEEE 802.3 applica-
achievable cabling distances and adding complexity,
tions such as 1000Base-T, 2.5/5GBase-T,
cost, and confusion. A reasonable recommendation is to 10GBase-T and remote powering (PoE).
defer the proposed revisions to the 2020 Code cycle. IEEE and TIA/ISO have established li-
aison officers, enabling tightly coupled
standards reflecting inputs from across
BY CHRISTOPHER T. DIMINICO, MC Communications, Cisco Systems the telecommunications industry.
IEEE 802.3 is in the process of devel-
In October 2015, the code-making pan- Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) oping an amendment to PoE in the IEEE
els of the National Fire Protection provide related standards regarding var- 802.3bt Task Group to increase the max-
Association (NFPA) met to consider re- ious aspects of telecommunications in- imum power available at a powered de-
visions to the National Electrical Code frastructure, including cabling, pathways vice by utilizing all four pairs in a twist-
(NEC) to take effect with the publishing and spaces, and labeling. BICSI supple- ed-pair cable. Coordination with TIA/
of the 2017 NEC. This article provides a ments these standards with manuals of ISO cabling committees on power deliv-
review of the proposed revisions to the best practices and methods by which re- ery continue, with the development of
NEC that impose new compliance re- quirements from TIA standards are im- ISO/IEC TR 29125 “Telecommunications
quirements on communications cables plemented. Additionally, BICSI provides Cabling Requirements for Remote
used to supply power to communica- training in the design, implementation, Powering of Terminal Equipment,”
tions equipment, considering the impact integration and project management and the TSB-184-A addendum to TSB-
of Power over Ethernet (PoE) deploy- of telecommunications and data com- 184 “Guidelines for Supporting Power
ment. The article will not review topics munications technology and related in- Delivery Over Balanced Twisted-
on the enforcement of the Code. frastructure through an industry-rec- Pair Cabling.”
Codes, standards and regulations have ognized designation of achievement
an enormous impact on the design and called the Registered Communications Proposed revisions to the 2017 NEC
installation of telecommunications in- Distribution Designer (RCDD). The second draft revision to the 2017
frastructure. The Telecommunications In addition to generic telecommu- NEC Article 840.160 and Article 725.144
Industry Association (TIA) and nications standards, TIA and ISO/ are given below under the cited Article,
the International Organization IEC support the Institute of Electrical without modifications to the source
for Standardization/International and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) content. The safety issues claimed in

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 7

support of the revisions were expressed
as concerns over operation of cable be-
yond their temperature ratings.
Article 840.160 Communications
Circuits – Communications cables, in
addition to carrying the communica-
tions circuit, shall also be permitted to
carry circuits for powering communica-
tions equipment. Where the power sup-
plied over a communications cable to
communications equipment is more than
60 watts, communications cable and
the powering circuits shall comply with
725.144 where communications cables are
used as substitute to Class 2 and 3 cables.
Article 725.144 Transmission of Power
and Data – The requirements of 725.144(A)
and (B) shall apply to Class 2 and 3 circuits
that transmit power and data to a powered
device. The requirements of Parts I and III of
Article 725 and 300.11 shall apply to Class 2
and Class 3 circuits that transmit power and
data. The conductors that carry power for
the data circuits shall be copper. The current
in the power circuit shall not exceed the cur-
rent limitation of the connectors.
Informational Note No. 1: One example
of the use of cables that transmit power
and data is the connection of closed cir-
cuit TV cameras (CCTV).
Informational Note No. 2: The 8P8C
connector is in widespread use with pow-
ered communications systems. These
connectors are typically rated at 1.3 am-
peres maximum.
1. The ampacity ratings in Table 725.144
shall apply at an ambient temperature
of 30°C (86°F).
2. For ambient temperatures above
30°C (86°F), the correction factors of
310.15(8)(2) shall apply.
Informational Note: One example of the
use of Class 2 cables is a network of closed
circuit TV cameras using 24 AWG 60°C
rated, Type CL2R, Category 5e LAN (local
area network) cables.
(B) Use of Class 2-LP or Class 3-LP
Cables to Transmit Power and Data. Types
CL3P-LP, CL2P-LP, CL3R-LP, CL2R-LP,
CL3-LP, or CL2-LP shall be permitted to
supply power to equipment at a current
level up to the marked ampere limit lo-
cated immediately following the suffix LP
and shall be permitted to transmit data to
the equipment. The Class 2-LP and Class
3-LP cables shall comply with the follow-
ing: (B)(1) through (B)(3), as applicable.
Informational Note No. 1: The “(xxA)”
following the suffix –LP indicates the am-
pacity of each conductor in a cable.
Informational Note No. 2: An exam-
ple of a Limited Power (LP) cable is a ca-
ble marked Type CL2-LP(0.5A), 23 AWG. A
Type CL2-LP(0.5), 23 AWG could be used
in any location where a Type CL2 could
be used, however the LP cable would be
suitable for carrying up to 0.5 A per con-
ductor, regardless of the number of cables
in a bundle. If used in a 7 cable bundle, the
same cable could carry up to 1.2 amperes
per conductor.
1. Cables with the “-LP” suffix shall
be permitted to be installed in bun-
dles, raceways, cable trays, commu-
nications raceways, and cable rout-
ing assemblies.
2. Cables with the suffix “-LP” and a
marked ampere level shall follow
the substitution hierarchy of Table
725.154(A) and Figure 725.154(A) for
the cable type without the suffix “-LP”
and without the marked ampere level.
3. System design shall be permitted by
qualified persons under engineering
supervision.
Impact on PoE deployment
Power over Ethernet (PoE) is specified
to provide power over the same generic
cabling that is used for data transmis-
sion. The success of Base-T technology
and PoE is largely due to the cost-effec-
tiveness and plug-and-play simplicity of
copper structured cabling. The proposed
Code revisions will create a “new” class
of communication cables for operating
temperatures greater than 60°C with
designated ampacity limits for power-
ing. The revisions will add confusion

TABLE 725.144, Ampacities of Each Conductor (in Amperes) in a 4-Pair Class 2 or Class 3 Data Cable,
Based on Copper Conductors at Ambient Temperature of 30°C (86°F) with All Conductors in All Cables
Carrying Current, 60°C (140°F), 75°C (167°F) and 90°C (194°F) Rated Cables
AWG Numberof 4-Pair Cables in a Bundle
1 2-7 8-19 20-37 38-61 62-91 92-192
Temp Rating Temp Rating Temp Rating Temp Rating Temp Rating Temp Rating Temp Rating
60°C 75°C 90°C 60°C 75°C 90°C 60°C 75°C 90°C 60°C 75°C 90°C 60°C 75°C 90°C 60°C 75°C 90°C 60°C 75°C 90°C
26 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.8 1.0 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.6 NA NA NA
24 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.4 1.6 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.5
23 2.5 2.5 2.5 1.2 1.5 1.7 0.8 1.1 1.2 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.4 0.5 0.6
22 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.4 1.8 2.1 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.7 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.7
Note 1: For bundle sizes over 192 cables, or for conductor sizes smaller than 26 AWG, ampacities shall be permitted to be determined by qualified personnel under
engineering supervision. Note 2: Where only half of the conductors in each cable are carrying current, the values in the table shall be permitted to be increased by
a factor of 1.4. Informational Note: The conductor size in data cables in widespread use are typically 22-26 AWG.

8 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

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 and complexity to specifying generic
telecommunications cabling. This, com-
bined with the uncertainty of so-called
“safety issues” and Code enforcement
will adversely affect the adoption and
cost of PoE deployment.
Additionally, TIA and ISO/IEC ca-
bling is functionally specified over the
temperature range from -10°C to +60°C.
Connectors, patch cords, crosscon-
nect wiring, patch panels, consolida-
tion points, etc. would require extended
operating temperature specifications.
Channel transmission parameters such
as insertion loss and DC resistance in-
crease as a function of temperature, re-
quiring considerations for adjusting
achievable lengths.
Code revision technical aspects
Proposed Table 725.144 is inconsistent
with TIA draft TSB-184-A and based
solely on a single test report without col-
laboration by affected standards bodies.
Specifically:
• Table 725.144 limits cable bun-
dle sizes to <19 cables except for
22 AWG (<37 cables) with 0.48 A
per conductor;
• TIA TSB-184-A allows for up to 74 ca-

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bles in a bundle with 0.5 A per con-
ductor (1 A per pair).

The TIA TSB-184-A findings are a re-

sult of cooperative analysis of tempera-
ture rise versus current measurements
from multiple cabling manufacturers, as
well as modeling between standards or-
ganizations (IEEE/TIA/ISO/IEC) during
the development of remote-power-
Snake Tray Innovates ing guidelines.
In accordance with the NFPA pub-
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Statement of Problem and
labor and materials. Twenty-ᣞve patents later, we manufacture a
full line of cable management and power distribution solutions all Substantiation: For the following reasons,
designed to help bring down the total cost of construction. the IEEE 802.3 Working Group believes
that this change to the Code is premature
and should be deferred to the 2020 Code
revision cycle. This delay should permit
sufficient time for all interested and af-
fected parties to review and comment.
1. Lack of LP Cable specification—At the
date of the written comment submis-
sion deadline, 21 August 2015, the spec-
ifications and availability of the refer-
enced LP cabling was not, to the best of
our knowledge, publicly available. This
fact alone makes it impossible to pro-
vide adequate technical review of this
new type of cabling, thus effectively
precluding public input.
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10 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

 been provided detailing the testing
methodologies used as the basis for the
proposed changes. There is insufficient
technical justification provided for the
change to require the use of LP cabling.
In addition, no technical data has been
provided showing that when operating a
communications circuit over a communi-
cations type cable under the established
guidelines that a safety condition is cre-
ated or exists.
The proposed NEC revisions will neg-
atively impact PoE deployment, poten-
tially reducing achievable cabling dis-
tances and adding complexity, cost, and
confusion of the cabling requirements,
safety, and Code enforcement. There are
significant differences between the pro-
posed NEC table revisions (Table 725.144)
and those in TSB-184-A. The NEC ta-
ble was developed from a single report;
Try it for free at: www.LinkWareLive.com or
arrange a demonstration by calling 1-844-721-8130.
TSB-184-A is being developed with broad-
based cabling and equipment manufac-
turer participation (IEEE/TIA/ISO/IEC).
Consideration of the changes should
be deferred to the 2020 Code revision
cycle, permitting sufficient time for all
interested and affected parties to review
and comment on the following.
• Review of Table 725.144 current lim-
its and operating temperatures
• Review specifications and availability
of the referenced LP cabling
• TIA TR-42.7 Task Group char-
tered to consider differences in TSB-
184-A and proposed Table 725.144,
to include test methodologies and
configurations
• Review of safety criteria and Code en-
forcement before Code adoption.
The timeline for the 2017 NEC revision
process is as follows.
is a cloud-based service that lets
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• January 4: Letter ballot; princi-
pal members of CMP 3 and CMP 16
vote on proposals. A 2/3 majority
is required.
• February: Technical Correlating
Committee reconciles drafts.
• April: 2nd draft revisions published.
• Late April: Notice of Intent to Make a
Motion (NITMAM) deadline.
• June: NFPA annual meeting.
• Later in 2016: NFPA Standards
Council meets. u
Chris DiMinico is president of MC
Communications, a telecommunications con-
sulting firm with clients including Cisco Systems.
He also is president and chief technical officer
of PHY-SI, LLC, which produces high-speed test
fixtures. He plays an active role in the develop-
ment of a number of telecommunications indus-
try standards. Diminico is an active participant in
and technical contributor to IEEE 802.3 and TIA.
He is the IEEE liaison officer to TIA TR-42.
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 Data Center
Inching closer to final standards
for high-speed twisted-pair
networking and cabling
The IEEE’s 25 and 40GBase-T specifications
move along, potentially joined by 50G, while
Category 8 is near the finish line.
BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
Specifications from multiple standards
bodies are nearing their respective fin-
ish lines, suggesting that 2016 will be
the year in which 25GBase-T, 40GBase-T,
and Category 8 cabling all become stan-
dardized. Each of the specifications has
been in the works for multiple years, and
if all goes well it may not be long before
the specifications are completed.
25, 40, and 50?
In an article we published nearly a
year ago (“IEEE to study new Base-T
data rates for data centers and enter-
prise applications,” February 2015),
IEEE 802.3bq Task Force chair David
Chalupsky explained that the scope of
802.3bq could change to include spec-
ifications for 25-Gbit/sec transmission
in addition to the document’s original
40-Gbit/sec specifications. Chalupsky
explained, “As bandwidth needs ex-
ceed 10 Gbits/sec, 25/40GBase-T efforts
will address enterprise server room
and data center application require-
ments, using similar modulation tech-
niques for the respective specifications.
www.cablinginstall.com
Largely based upon 10GBase-T sig-
naling whose data rate has been sped
up four times, the 40GBase-T proj-
ect took a hard look at the 100-meter
reach convention used for prior Base-T
PHYs. With server-to-switch connec-
tions as the target use for 40GBase-T,
30-meter reach was seen as sufficient
for installations using middle-of-row
or end-of-row placement for switch-
ing equipment.”
Because the addition of a 25-Gbit/
sec specification would be a modifica-
tion to the original project, incorpo-
rating 25G specs required approval of
a project authorization request (PAR)
modification within the IEEE 802.3bq
Task Force. That modification was
approved in September 2015. Based
on the timeline shared at 802.3bq’s
November 2015 meeting, September
2016 is the target timeframe for stan-
dard finalization.
As Chalupsky noted in early 2015,
the IEEE 802.3bq Task Force “has been
collaborating with cabling standards
organizations on defining Category 8
Cabling Installation & Maintenance
cabling specifications. Although first
defined for 40GBase-T, Category 8 is
also anticipated to be the target chan-
nel for 25GBase-T … Analysis to date
of 25GBase-T on Category 8 has shown
that it is generally an easier problem
to solve than running 10 Gbits/sec on
100 meters of Category 6A. This means
that the cost per bit, and power per
bit, of 25GBase-T products could de-
cline quickly to rather economic lev-
els. Secondly, this is the first time
that IEEE 802.3 has specified two new
higher-speed Base-T PHYs that run
on the same cabling system. This cre-
ates an inherently long life roadmap
for a Category 8 cabling system: Use
it for 1000Base-T or 10GBase-T today,
and the same infrastructure can be re-
used in the future for 25GBase-T or
40GBase-T operation.”
Recently it came to light that it’s
possible a third speed—50 Gbits/sec—
may someday also target Category 8 ca-
bling. When 25GBase-T was added to
the 40GBase-T specification, the first of-
ficial step in that process was a call for
interest within the IEEE 802.3 Working
Group (of which 802.3bq is a subset).
That call for interest is a first step in
the development of any specification
that 802.3 produces. If the call for in-
terest is approved 802.3 forms a study
group, which meets before developing a
PAR. The PAR takes a potentially wind-
ing path through the study group and
JANUARY 2016 13
Inching closer to final standards for high-speed twisted-pair networking and cabling continued
the 802.3 Working Group before poten-
tially being approved. That long-wind-
ed-but-abbreviated description of the
very beginning of the standards pro-
cess serves as a disclaimer, because the
idea that a 50GBase-T specification may
someday come to fruition is just that—
an idea. There has not been a call for in-
terest for 50GBase-T and, according to
a member of the 802.3bq Task Force,
the 25/40GBase-T specification will be
completed without a 50GBase-T compo-
nent. If 50GBase-T ever becomes a real-
ity, it will do so after the finalization of
25/40GBase-T.
Nonetheless, in the current “idea”
stage that precedes a call for interest,
the intent would/will be for 50GBase-T
to operate over Category 8 cabling. That
possibility has at least a couple impli-
cations for the Category 8 standard.
As Masood Shariff, engineering senior
principal with CommScope, pointed
out in an article we recently published
(“Category 8 questions answered,”
October 2015), “IEEE 802.3bq Task Force
is collaborating with TIA TR-42.7 and
ISO/IEC/JTC 1/SC 25/WG3 to ensure
consistency and compatibility of the ca-
bling specifications with the ‘link seg-
ment’ specifications in IEEE 802.3bq
applications. Liaison letters to clarify
requirements or provide additional in-
formation are generated at most meet-
ings and latest drafts of the TIA and ISO
Category 8 specifications are sent to the
IEEE 802.3bq committee where they are
posted in a ‘private,’ password-protected
area for members to review and com-
ment. The relationship between IEEE
802.3bq and its companion cabling stan-
dards organizations has been very posi-
tive and constructive, with several com-
mon members attending the meetings.”
Category 8, or wait?
Via regular correspondence, members
of the TIA TR-42.7 Telecommunications
Copper Cabling Systems Subcommittee
are aware of the potential call for in-
terest for 50GBase-T. As such, at the
most recent meeting of the TR-42
Telecommunications Cabling Systems
Committee meeting in October, TR-42
decided it would not immediately pub-
lish the Category 8 cabling standard
even if TR-42.7’s work on the standard
was complete.
The thinking is that if indeed the
IEEE moves forward with 50GBase-T
and targets Category 8 as the support-
ing media, the TIA will hold open the
possibility that Category 8’s electri-
cal performance requirements may
need to be made more restrictive (i.e.
better-performing) in order to sup-
port 50GBase-T.
 On one hand, waiting to publish Category 8 for this reason
would save TR-42/TR-42.7 from having to create a “Category
8A” standard (or something with similar nomenclature) to
support 50GBase-T. On the other hand, consumer behavior
patterns have shown time and again that official standardiza-
tion of a Category cabling performance level prompts an in-
crease in purchases of that technology. So for the few cabling
vendors that have developed systems intended to comply with
the forthcoming Category 8 specifications, the wait may con-
tinue for the market as a whole to gain a satisfactory comfort LaserWaveÆ FLEX WideBand Optical Fiber
level to invest in Category 8 cabling.
TR-42.7 meets on a more-frequent basis than TR-42’s
thrice-yearly schedule. Once TR-42.7 hammers out the fi-
nal details of the ANSI/TIA-568-C.2-1 Specifications for 100Ω Enabling low cost multimode solutions
Category 8 Cabling specification, TR-42 may choose to have for next generation data center networks
the standard published rather than to hold it up pending
IEEE’s action or inaction on 50GBase-T. To learn more, visit www.ofsoptics.com
Whenever ANSI/TIA-568-C.2-1 is complete, the Category
8 work will not be entirely over for TR-42.7. Valerie
Maguire, director of standards and technology for Siemon,
explained in our recent “Category 8 questions answered”
article: “TIA is developing requirements for Category 8 ca-
bling constructed from Category 8 components and is also
undertaking an initiative to develop Class II cabling re-
quirements that will harmonize with ISO/IEC. The Class
I and Category 8 cabling specifications support modular
RJ45-style connectors. The performance associated with
Class II cabling can only be realized when Category 8.2 ca-
bles are used in conjunction with non-RJ45 interfaces such
as the Siemon TERA connector.” In a Web-delivered sem-
inar held November 5, Maguire said, “Substantial compo-
nent-related work needs to be done” on the TIA’s Category 8
Class II specifications.
Also in that seminar, Maguire advised, “Until
25/40GBase-T processing capabilities are finalized, it’s too SPEAK WITH THE EXPERTS!
early to make a guarantee of 25/40GBase-T application sup-
port for any grade of cabling,” and that, “Performance to a
draft Category 8 cabling specification is not the same as a
25/40GBase-T application support claim.”
We will continue to follow and report on the development
of the IEEE 802.3bq specifications, as well as the possibility
2016 Winter Conference
that the IEEE may initiate a 50GBase-T project. We also will January 31 - February 4, 2016
follow and report on the TIA’s Category 8 specifications, in- OFS Fiber Booth #908
cluding what happens once those specifications are finalized.
When we learn of new information, we will post that informa- /ofsoptics /ofs_telecom

tion first at our website, cablinginstall.com. u /company/ofs

/OFSoptics

Patrick McLaughlin is our chief editor.

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 15

 Design
Optical designs provide
multiple ways to reach
speeds, distances
Serial, parallel and wave-division multiplexing
technologies provide more than one path
to high-speed optical communication.
BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
Several recent examples show that
when the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE; www.ieee.
org) 802.3 Working Group develops a
specification for Ethernet, even when
the specification is complete it is not the
proverbial “be-all, end-all” for a given
speed. On the contrary, such a specifica-
tion often is just the beginning for optics
developers, system designers, network-
ing professionals and ultimate end-us-
ers; it signals the kickoff of what is likely
to be a number of specifications that en-
able Ethernet transmission at a specific
speed to some distance.
For example, among the recent ini-
tiatives within 802.3 was the forma-
tion of study groups for 25-, 50- and
100/200-Gbit/sec Ethernet transmission,
in November. The IEEE 802.3 50-Gbit/
sec Ethernet Over a Single Lane Study
Group, and the 802.3 Next Generation
100-Gbit/sec Ethernet Study Group will
jointly investigate the market require-
ments for 50-, 100- and 200-Gigabit
Ethernet, including server-to-switch
and switch-to-switch applications. The
www.cablinginstall.com
study groups will define objectives for
the Ethernet specifications leverag-
ing 50-Gbit/sec signaling technology,
based on market needs. The 25-Gbit/
sec Ethernet PMD(s) for Single Mode
Fiber Study Group is tasked with ex-
ploring the development of new 25-Gbit/
sec singlemode fiber links, as well as
evaluating market requirements sup-
porting longer-reach 25-Gbit/sec inter-
faces up to 10 kilometers or more. The
group’s work will complement the fast-
tracked efforts of the 802.3by 25-Gbit/
sec Ethernet Task Force to develop a 25-
GbE specification.
While publicizing and commending
these initiatives, the Ethernet Alliance
(www.ethernetalliance.org), commented
that in making these moves IEEE 802.3
is “demonstrating Ethernet’s capacity
for dynamically addressing the chang-
ing needs of its rapidly expanding mar-
ketplace.” Ethernet Alliance president
Scott Kipp added, “Ethernet is begin-
ning the standardization of a new era
of speeds based on 50-Gbit/sec signal-
ing technology. The 50-Gbit/sec lanes
Cabling Installation & Maintenance
will enable 50-Gigabit Ethernet SFP56
modules, and 200-GbE QSFP56 modules
and other corresponding technologies
… The launch of these new study groups
will help deliver the next generation of
cost-optimized, higher-speed solutions
demanded by hyperscale data centers,
enterprises, cloud service providers and
more. It’s proof that Ethernet will con-
tinue to be optimized for new markets.”
From MMF to SMF
During the 802.3 meeting at which the
group gave the go-ahead to form these
study groups, a presentation advocat-
ing the 25-GbE Over Single Mode effort
elaborated somewhat on Kipp’s notion
of Ethernet being optimized for differ-
ent markets. Among the motivations
for forging ahead were to allow mar-
kets including enterprise and metro net-
works to adopt 25-GbE. David Lewis of
Lumentum, David Malicoat of HPE and
Kohichi Tamura of Oclaro delivered the
presentation, assisted by Paul Kolesar of
CommScope and Peter Jones of Cisco.
The group explained that, as was the
case with 1- and 10-GbE, adoption of 25-
GbE over multimode fiber started ear-
lier and ramped faster than 25-GbE over
singlemode fiber. Citing market research
from LightCounting, the presenters
noted that 2014 was the year in which
shipments of singlemode-based 1-GbE
optics surpassed shipments of multi-
mode 1-GbE optics in all form factors.
JANUARY 2016 17
 Likewise, LightCounting projects 2018 to be the crossover year
for 10-GbE optics, when singlemode shipments outpace mul-
timode. In its infancy, 25-GbE is expected to follow the same
early path; multimode far outpacing singlemode. However, the
group pointed out that over multimode fiber, 10-GbE’s reach is
400 meters while 25-GbE maxes out at 100 meters over multi-
mode. Therefore, the transition from multimode to singlemode
One Plug. for 25-GbE could be faster than what it will be for 10-GbE.
“The 25-GbE ecosystem is missing a story for >100 meters,”
Three Types. the presentation said. The group added that metro networks and
many enterprise networks require more than 100 meters, and “le-
More Flexibility. veraging 25G lane rates with 25-GbE/100-GbE just makes sense.”
The presentation referenced 25- and 100-GbE because the
current 25-GbE initiative is for a “single lane,” and by provid-
ing four such parallel lanes, users can achieve 100-GbE trans-
NEW mission rates. In spring 2015 the IEEE finalized the 802.3bm
MFP8 IE
specification, which enabled a lane-count reduction for mul-
timode-based 100-GbE by specifying 4, 25-GbE lanes whereas
the original 100-GbE (IEEE 802.ba) standard specified 10, 10-
Gbit/sec multimode lanes.
This approach of using fewer, higher-speed lanes to achieve
a given data rate is common within IEEE 802.3. The multi-
MFP8 ple-lane, parallel optic approach gives rise to the use of ar-
ray-style, MPO connectors that facilitate multiple paths of
light in each direction. As we reported recently (“Standard for
16- and 32-fiber connector interface taking shape,” September
2015), the IEEE’s 400GBase-SR16 specification will use 16 lanes
MFP8-4x90 of 25-Gbit/sec transmission and 16 lanes of 25-Gbit/sec re-
ception over OM4 fiber. The Telecommunications Industry
Association’s Subcommittee TR-42.13, Passive Optical Devices
500 PoE+
Cat.6A 10 GBE
MHz and Fiber Optic Metrology, is developing specifications for 16-
!
oth No. 124
Visit Our Bo and 32-fiber connector interfaces that will accommodate this
32-lane iteration of 400-GbE.

DataVoice Multiplexing options

MFP8 Also covered in that same issue (“On the fast track: WBMMF
standardization,” September 2015) was the emergence of mul-
Field-Assembly RJ45 Plugs Cat.6A / CAT6A
timode-based wave-division multiplexing (WDM)—a poten-
Whether using the straight type (MFP8), the angled type (MFP8-4x90)
or with an innovative cable gland (MFP8 IE): All MFP8 types allow for tial alternative to serial and parallel optics designs to accom-
on-site assembly to solid or stranded conductor cables with a range of modate high speeds. Cisco brought multimode WDM to the
5 – 10 mm (0.2 – 0.4 in.), and are suitable for networks with transfer
rates of up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Saving time and cost with market with its introduction of its QSFP 40G BiDi (bidirec-
installation, repairs and maintenance, means more flexibility for the tional) transceiver in early 2014. BiDi uses duplex LC ports to
installer in structured building cabling.
enable 100 meters of 40G transmission over OM3 fiber and 125
For further information, videos and technical data refer to:
meters over OM4 fiber.
www.telegaertner.com/mfp8 Later in 2014 the concept of wideband multimode fiber
Telegärtner Inc. Tel: (630) 616-7600 (WBMMF) was introduced, followed shortly thereafter by the
411 Domenic Court Fax: (630) 616-8322
Franklin Park, IL 60131 Email: sales@telegaertner.com introduction of such a fiber and the initiation of a standards
effort to formally specify it.

www.cablinginstall.com
 Optical designs provide multiple ways to reach speeds, distances continued

A joint task group (JTG) within TIA
TR-42 has decided it will use the 32G
Fibre Channel and 100GBase-SR4 link
models to determine fiber parameters
for the WBMMF standard. By satisfying
both models, the WBMMF standard will
support at least 28 Gbits/sec/wavelength
to at least 100 meters, and it also will
support at least 100 Gbits/sec/fiber to at
least 100 meters.
Multimode-based WDM technology
is an ecosystem, requiring optical fiber
cabling capable of handling transmis-
sion over multiple wavelengths but also
requiring the development of transceiver
technology that facilitates the gener-
ation, transmission and reception of
those signals.
In that vein, the Short-wave Wave
Division Multiplexing Alliance (SWDM
Alliance) formed in fall 2015. Upon
its founding, the group commented,
“Optical shortwave technology is en-
abled by vertical cavity surface emit-
ting lasers [VCSELs], which are the most
cost-effective lasers used in data cen-
ter interconnections. VCSELS have been
widely deployed at data rates up to 10
Gbits/sec, and these deployments have
driven large-scale installations of duplex
multimode fiber in enterprise and cloud
data centers. A common technique to in-
crease the data rate beyond 10 Gbits/sec
is the use of four parallel VCSELs, each
running at 10 or 25 Gbits/sec, transmit-
ted over ribbons of parallel fiber. This
technique requires eight fibers instead
of two—four to transmit and four to re-
ceive. Installing such a parallel fiber can
represent an expensive overhaul to the
fiber plant in the data center due to the
need for increased fiber capacity in the
trunk and also new patch cables to the
optical modules.
“By contrast, SWDM technology
allows users to leverage their installed
duplex multimode fiber at 40 or
100 Gbits/sec, using four VCSELs
operating at different wavelengths
multiplexed into a single strand of
multimode fiber, thereby requiring
only one transmit fiber and one
receive fiber. This provides the ability
to migrate from 10 to 40 or 100
Gbits/sec, while minimizing overall
power dissipation and maximizing
transmission distance.”
The existence of serial and paral-
lel transmission lanes, as well as short-
wave wave division multiplexing, will
provide system designers with multiple
architectures upon which they can build
high-speed transmission systems for a
number of environments. u
Patrick McLaughlin is our chief editor.

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 Technology
More than alphabet soup,
AIM and DCIM strive to
provide tangible value to users
Standardization efforts and recent analyst scrutiny
put the software-enabled capabilities in the spotlight.
BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
Automated infrastructure management
(AIM) may be a relatively new term to
professionals in the structured cabling
industry, but the technology at the core
of AIM has been commercially available
for about two decades. Before the term
AIM was settled on and bona fide stan-
dards-development efforts were under-
way to specify the technology, industry
personnel heard and used terms includ-
ing “intelligent patching,” “intelligent in-
frastructure management,” and “intelli-
gent physical layer management.”
As terminology evolved, so did sys-
tems’ capabilities and market penetra-
tion. In late 2014 Nexans (www.nexans.
com) authored a document titled “AIM
Systems Explained,” in which it dis-
cussed the dichotomy of user attitudes
toward the technology. “The range of
opinions is extreme,” the company ex-
plained. “At one end are those who will
pay almost any premium to have what
they see as a ‘must-have’ technology, and
at the other, end users and IT consul-
tants who wouldn’t have an AIM system
if it was free.” Nexans said hindrances to
adoption included the tendency by some
www.cablinginstall.com
providers to oversell AIM’s capabilities,
but also identified as a key barrier “dif-
ficulty in specifying or scoping an AIM
system … this situation has multiple fac-
ets. The scope of any AIM deployment
needs careful thought and clear docu-
mentation; there is a requirement for the
end user or consultant to clearly set out
what is wanted and for the integrator
to understand these requirements and
quote accurately for their delivery.”
The company uses the term “expec-
tation gap” several times as it lays out
typical examples of each side of the
business arrangement having different
visions of the outcome. “To get it right
takes time and commitment,” Nexans
said. “It is easy to get stuck in a vicious
cycle of, ‘What can it do?’ ‘What do you
want it to do?’”
Getting standardized
The paper points to the stan-
dard-development initiatives taken
by the International Organization
for Standardization/International
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/
IEC) as an effort to break down barriers
Cabling Installation & Maintenance
between AIM system providers and us-
ers. Specifically, the ISO/IEC drafted
an amendment to its 14763-2 Cabling
System Administration standard “with
an Annexe now containing a specifica-
tion of the minimum requirements of an
AIM system …” CENELEC’s EN 50174-1
specification included similar language.
Nexans commented, “This is a huge step
forward as it at least allows an end user/
consultant to request a quote for an
AIM in accordance with these Annexes,
which levels the playing field.”
The company then credits ISO/IEC
for advancing the cause further with the
drafting of ISO/IEC 18598 Automated
Infrastructure Management—
Requirements, Data Exchange and
Applications. The standard is not yet
completed but could be in early 2016.
Nexans explained, “This new AIM stan-
dard contains—in addition to the usual
scope, definitions and abbreviations—
three important sections. Clause 5 de-
tails the requirements and recommen-
dations for a ‘standard’ AIM system;
Clause 6 details the applications and
benefits of standalone AIM systems and
goes on to describe some potential ben-
efits of AIM systems when connected to
other management systems; and finally
Clause 7 addresses the interface neces-
sary to allow information exchange with
other systems.”
The company describes Clause 6 as
“unusual for an ISO/IEC standard in that
JANUARY 2016 21
 More than alphabet soup, AIM and DCIM strive to provide tangible value to users continued

it deliberately contains no requirements
and is entirely tutorial, which is usually
to be avoided. It is, however, the clause
that provides the ‘Why’ for AIM and
links the requirements of Clause 5 to ap-
plications and benefits, and discusses
such aspects as: managing and utilizing
assets, automatic infrastructure docu-
mentation and monitoring, event man-
agement and alerting, and the deploy-
ment of new services. It also discusses
process management, infrastructure se-
curity management and discovery, and
configuration of attached equipment.”
The Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA) will publish AIM
specifications as Addendum 1 to its
ANSI/TIA-606-B standard. The TIA
has followed the ISO/IEC’s progress on
Exactly which type of technology
does what can be challenging to sort
out. Belden’s Poulos explained that
DCIM solutions “can range from soft-
ware solutions to full-scale hardware,
software and sensor solutions,” while
AIM “includes both the hardware that
automatically detects insertion or re-
moval of patch cords, such as an intelli-
Magic Quadrant for DCIM tools
Challengers
suite—questions [about locations and
connectivity of network assets] are easy
to answer. AIM is an emerging ISO/IEC
standard that defines the management
of structured cabling, patching, and net-
work connectivity. An intelligent con-
nectivity management solution lever-
aging the AIM standard is an ideal tool
to automatically track patching activi-
Leaders
Emerson Network Power
Schneider Electric

its 18598 standard and essentially has

taken that standard organization’s lead.
Nlyte Software
AIM and DCIM
AIM is sometimes used in the same con- Sunbird Software Panduit
text with—and in fact, is sometimes (formerly Raritan)
CommScope (iTRACS)
confused with—data center infrastruc-
FNT
ture management (DCIM), though the Cormant
two technologies are not the same. As FieldView Solutions
Belden’s (www.belden.com) product
Device42 Optimum Path
Ability to execute

line manager Kristen Poulos recently

pointed out in a blog post, “Data cen-
ter managers now have a number of
options for turning a once-very-man-
ual error-prone process into one that
is efficient and intelligently managed.
Whether it’s a DCIM, AIM, IIMS [intel-
ligent infrastructure management sys-
tem], IPLMS [intelligent physical layer
management system] or intelligent
patching solution, these solutions all
strive for one goal: to provide a real-time
view of the network to quickly identify
incidents, automate routine tasks and
help managers better understand capac-
ity. They can also help managers better
monitor network security and reduce
energy consumption through optimum
density mapping.”
Geist ABB
Rackwise
Modius
Niche players Visionaries
Completeness of vision As of September 2015
In Gartner’s 2015 Magic Quadrant for DCIM Tools, vendors analyzed were spread
among the Leaders, Visionaries, and Niche Players categories.
gent patch panel, and the software that ties and report all changes to the physi-
collects, stores and communicates this cal layer. Network devices can communi-
information.” cate with switches and routers to update
Similarly, CommScope (www.com- location-based moves, adds and changes
mscope.com) product manager Blake Van as well as IP or server names based on the
Scoy blogged, “If your organization is us- physical layer information. This offers de-
ing an AIM-based intelligent connec- cision makers real-time visibility into the
tivity management solution—either on status and disposition of connectivity
its own or as an integral part of a DCIM changes as they occur.

22 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

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 More than alphabet soup, AIM and DCIM strive to provide tangible value to users continued
“An AIM-based intelligent connec-
tivity management solution should be
considered an integral part of any best-
in-class DCIM suite to strengthen the
intelligent, real-time management of
the physical infrastructure,” Van Scoy
continued. “With a true DCIM solu-
tion, users have comprehensive com-
mand-and-control over both IT and fa-
cilities resources. Any data point can be
fed into the suite or from the suite using
open, industry-standard interfaces and
protocols. Data can be collected, aggre-
gated, managed and visualized in real
time from virtually any source. It is a
software suite, unrestrained by hard-
ware legacies or point products that
constrain data exchange.”
Deep analysis
Analyst firms Gartner and IDC both re-
cently examined DCIM and issued re-
ports on the space’s market as well as
technology advancements.
In its report “Magic Quadrant
for Data Center Infrastructure
Management Tools,” Gartner explained,
“DCIM tools monitor, measure, manage
and/or control data center resources
and energy consumption of both IT-
related equipment (such as servers, stor-
age and network switches) and facili-
ties infrastructure components (such as
power distribution units and computer
room air conditioners). DCIM tools are
data-center-specific (they are designed
for data center use), rather than general
building management system tools, and
are used to optimize data center power,
cooling and physical space.”
The report goes into significant de-
tail on market conditions as well as
strengths and cautions of DCIM sys-
tems offered by 15 providers. As part
of its analysis, Gartner stated that
DCIM benefits “are better-understood
than they were a year ago, and as a re-
sult, there has been a gradual, overall
24 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance
increase in DCIM investments, although completeness of vision on one axis (the
DCIM adoption patterns do vary by or- X axis) and according to its ability to
ganization size and geography.” The an- execute on the other axis (the Y axis).
alyst later added, “Price, ease of deploy- Each axis is divided in the middle, so
ment, and overall ease of use continue the entire plot is divided into quadrants.
to be some of the biggest concerns cus- Offerings that climb more than halfway
tomers have when selecting a DCIM ven- up each axis land in the Leaders quad-
dor and product. They are also among rant. Those more than halfway up the
the top reasons why some organiza- vision axis but less than halfway up the
tions are choosing not to deploy DCIM, execution axis are in the Visionaries
yet or at all.” quadrant. Those on the lower half of
IDC MarketScape DCIM
Leaders
Emerson Network Power
Schneider Electric
Nlyte
Panduit
Sunbird software
Siemens
CommScope iTRACs
Cormant FNT command
ABB
Device42
RF code
Capabilities
CA Technologies Major players
FieldView
Modius
Contenders
Participants
Source: IDC, 2015 Strategies
When IDC analyzed DCIM vendors in its recent MarketScape report, all but one
ranked as either a Leader or a Major Player.
Bragging rights each axis are in the Niche Players quad-
Appearance in Gartner’s Magic rant. In its most recent report, issued
Quadrant has become a notable brag- in October, Gartner did not place any
ging right among vendors in any IT DCIM vendor in the Challengers quad-
sphere. In analyzing technologies— rant, which comprises the top half of the
DCIM in this case—Gartner rates execute axis and the bottom half of the
each vendor’s offering according to its vision axis. A graph within this article
www.cablinginstall.com
 More than alphabet soup, AIM and DCIM strive to provide tangible value to users continued

shows where Gartner placed each of the
15 vendors it analyzed.
Naming the leaders
Similarly and also in October, IDC issued
its report “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide
Data Center Infrastructure Management
2015 Vendor Assessment.” Its ratings qual-
ify the 15 vendors’ strategies and capabil-
ities and characterizes analyzed vendors,
in descending order, as Leaders, Major
Players, Contenders and Participants. Its
2015 assessment included one Contender
and no Participants.
An excerpt from the document states,
“The ultimate goal of a data center is
to deliver IT services to end customers,
and data center managers are under in-
creasing pressure to deliver this service
quickly, wherever and whenever needed,
without compromising uptime and re-
liability. DCIM, when implemented well
to encompass very large sets of data
from many data center types (on-prem-
ises, edge, and colocated); 3) Investment
in predictive analytics and automation
technologies to enable the lights-out
data center.
Jennifer Koppy, IDC’s research di-
rector for data center trends and strate-
gies, commented, “DCIM is a collection
of tools to increase the visibility into and
control over data center resources from
the critical facilities layer up through to
the IT management layer. The provid-
ers in this space approach these man-
agement challenges in different ways. As
organizations investigate a software-de-
fined approach to IT architecture, the in-
clusion of solutions such as DCIM that
enable visibility through the critical facil-
ities layer should be considered. This re-
search uncovers the breadth and scope of
the providers’ offerings and their strate-
gies for enabling data center resources to
be viewed as pools of resources to enable
greater agility and flexibility.”
Automated infrastructure manage-
ment and data center infrastructure
management are distinct technologies
and, as the detail in this article shows,
perform quite different functions. Yet
they are similar in that, like just about
any technology, they require careful
consideration to determine their appro-
priateness for a given situation before
they are implemented.
When implementing either type of
solution, a user organization may ex-
pect its vendor to play a hands-on role in
setup and launch. The soft cost of a us-
er’s effort to get the system working eas-
ily could be underestimated. u
Patrick McLaughlin is our chief editor.

and supported across the enterprise, can

be a critical step in delivering data cen- www.thelightconnection.com
ter resources ‘as a service’ to customers
… Selecting the most appropriate DCIM TLC’S NEWEST DATA CENTER OFFERING
solution should start with an assessment
of the future strategy for delivering IT
service to customers. With many enter-
24 Fiber High-Density
prise IT organizations moving toward a Micro-Distribution Fiber Optic Cable
distributed data center strategy, where
the data center is a collection of resources
(owned or colocated) in the different re-
gions in which the company does busi-
ness, it will be important to select a solu-
tion that can be localized to the region
and also a services organization that can
deploy and maintain the solution in all
geographies … The ability of a DCIM pro- The newest addition to TLC’s data center family of cables, the high
density micro-distribution is composed of 2 contrasting color bound
vider to enable secure connections and
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automate tasks becomes a competitive 3mm and 3.8mm OFNP constructions with all fiber types
differentiator.” available. The “HDMD” is a perfect fit for 24 fiber MTP/MPO
IDC further identified three key cri- connectors and the small OD is preferred where space
is at a premium such as data centers and closets.
teria that organizations should consider
when evaluating DCIM vendors: 1) The 1–888–571–7111 | (315) 736–7384
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www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 25

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 Wireless
Emerging 2.5- and 5-Gbit/
sec wired connectivity aims to
support high-speed wireless
The NBase-T Alliance spent 2015 building consensus for
its cause, and now focuses on deploying its technology.
BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
In late 2014 the NBase-T Alliance officially
unveiled, with founding member compa-
nies Aquantia, Cisco, Freescale and Xilinx
combining to carry out the group’s stated
mission “to promote the development of
2.5- and 5-Gigabit Ethernet technology for
enterprise infrastructure.” A little more
than a year later the alliance—now boast-
ing approximately four dozen member
companies including several manufactur-
ers of cabling technologies—can look back
on a successful 2015. In fact, it did just
that last month.
On December 9 the NBase-T Alliance
released a new MAC-PHY specification
and announced the addition of 14 mem-
bers, which brought its total member-
ship past 45. Peter Jones, the alliance’s
chair and a principal engineer with
Cisco, commented, “We have spent the
last year building consensus with key in-
dustry leaders and individuals involved
in the IEEE standards process, and pro-
viding the industry with specifications
in order to begin real product develop-
ment. We believe our work has acceler-
ated the definition of the 802.3bz stan-
dard, and is facilitating the widespread
www.cablinginstall.com
deployment of multigigabit products.
We expect 2016 will be a year of wide-
spread product adoption and intend to
deliver the supporting specifications
and certification programs needed to
develop a strong ecosystem around 2.5G
and 5GBase-T.”
802.11ac wireless networks are the
primary application that prompted the
alliance’s formation and technology de-
velopment. Its efforts aim to enable the
transmission of data at 2.5 and/or 5
Gbits/sec over the existing, installed base
of Category 5e and Category 6 cabling.
“Existing gigabit infrastructure is insuf-
ficient to handle 802.11ac deployment,”
Jones explained recently on the occasion
of the alliance marking its first anniver-
sary. “Gigabit Ethernet has been around
since 1999 and has now become the bot-
tleneck. The market needs technology
to support greater-than-1-gig over ex-
isting cables.”
Such technology, of course, needs to
exist in order to be deployed. The first
2.5- and 5-Gbit/sec switch ports began
shipping in the second quarter of 2015,
the NBase-T Alliance explained, adding
Cabling Installation & Maintenance
Ideal Networks, manufacturer of the
LanXplorer Pro, recently joined the
NBase-T Alliance, at which time Dan
Payerle commented, “It is strongly
advisable that key metrics in the
cabling be retested before committing
to the equipment upgrades to ensure
seamless, robust operation.”
that 2.5G and 5G access points are ex-
pected in the first quarter of 2016, along
with the first network interface cards
and test equipment.
Cabling participants
In its first year the alliance gained a
number of cabling vendors as mem-
bers, including CommScope, Fluke
Networks, Ideal Networks, Molex and
Panduit Corporation, all of whom
JANUARY 2016 27
 Emerging 2.5- and 5-Gbit/sec wired connectivity aims to support high-speed wireless continued
are contributor-level members. Ideal
Networks’ membership is recent; the
company announced it joined the alli-
ance on December 11.
At the time of that announcement,
Ideal Networks business unit manager
Dan Payerle stated, “NBase-T technol-
ogy extends the life of existing cabling
plants by taking a partial step between
1G network speeds and 10G, and there-
fore creating a low-cost path to multi-
gigabit speeds. Simply by changing to
network equipment based on NBase
technology, network owners can in-
crease speeds of their existing Category
5e and Category 6 cables up to 5 Gbits/
sec at lengths up to 100 meters, saving
recabling costs, installation time, and
invasive disruption to the physical infra-
structure of any enterprise building.”
He also noted that it is critical that
end users or network equipment re-
sellers test the existing cabling plant’s
ability to support higher speeds be-
fore NBase-T equipment is installed.
“Because material quality and instal-
lation workmanship varies greatly, it
is strongly advised that key metrics in
the cabling be retested before commit-
ting to the equipment upgrades to en-
sure seamless, robust operation. Ideal
Networks and the NBase-T Alliance
are collaborating to establish recom-
mended test methods for installed
cable infrastructure in enterprises
around the world.”
The alliance plans to formalize a cer-
tification program, through which it in-
tends to work with a third party to de-
fine test suites, facilitating testing and
labeling of compliant products.
Meanwhile, a formal work
project is underway within the
Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA) to develop a telecom-
munications systems bulletin (TSB)
for the purpose of evaluating twist-
ed-pair cabling systems for their ability
28 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance
to support 2.5- and 5-Gbit/sec transmis-
sion. In a project authorization request
(PAR) approved in early 2015, the TIA’s
TR-42.7 Subcommittee said the TSB it
intends to publish (which will be num-
bered TSB-5021) will include test re-
quirements needed to qualify installed
cabling to support those speeds. The
TSB may also recommend mitigation
procedures that could be used on in-
stalled systems.
Focused on 11ac
While the NBase-T Alliance intends to
broaden the applications for which 2.5G
and 5G connectivity is deployed—the
group mentioned small cells, service
provider gateways, security cameras
and Carrier Ethernet among others—it
clearly is aiming squarely at the 802.11ac
market, and in particular that wireless
technology’s “Wave 2.”
“The transition to next-generation
802.11ac Wave 2 access points will drive
significant demand for 2.5G ports in the
coming years, as this technology will al-
low enterprises to cost-effectively deliver
more bandwidth while reusing parts
of their existing infrastructure,” said
Matthias Machowinski, research direc-
tor for enterprise networks and video
with IHS. “2.5G ports will be one of the
bright spots in the switching market,
growing at a 175-percent CAGR through
calendar year 19,” he added.
Chris DePuy, vice president of re-
search on the enterprise edge for
Dell’Oro Group, observed in mid-2015,
“We saw the very first 2.5/5 GE port
shipments begin to ramp at the end of
June, and expect volumes to begin rising
significantly ... The benefit of increased
throughput without replacing cable ...
could push port counts over 1 million in
only a year.”
The alliance’s efforts over a year plus
have indeed been productive; IEEE and
TIA standard-development efforts are in
progress, and indications are the IEEE
standard is on something of a fast track.
The alliance said, “By fostering collab-
oration among its many members, the
alliance provided an industry forum
for discussing and resolving techni-
cal issues in order to streamline discus-
sions at IEEE meetings. 802.3bz tech-
nical baselines were adopted in May
2015, all of which were compatible with
the NBase-T specification. The 802.3bz
draft is already substantially com-
plete and at its last meeting, the Task
Force agreed to accelerate its schedule,
aiming for approval of the standard in
September 2016.”
Another perspective
Despite emphasis on the use of in-
stalled Category 5e and Category 6 ca-
bling for 2.5G and 5G, sentiment, par-
ticularly in the cabling industry, is that
it is advisable for users to install new,
Category 6A cabling if they plan to de-
ploy these speeds.
In its Standards Informant blog post
describing IEEE 802.3bz, Siemon stated
that the company “recommends that
Class EA/Category 6A or higher grade of
cabling be used for support of new IEEE
802.11ac-2013-based enterprise wireless
access point uplink connections, even
if it is anticipated that 2.5GBase-T or
5GBase-T equipment will be deployed.”
Additionally, in the Quarter 2,
2015 issue of The Standards Advisor,
CommScope updated the progress of
TIA’s TSB-5021: “A draft document is be-
ing developed, with the recommenda-
tion that Category 6A is used for new
projects that will deploy 2.5G/5GBase-T.”
While this official recommendation
is months away from being published,
the NBase-T Alliance specifications aim
to squeeze more throughput out of in-
stalled Category 5e and 6. u
Patrick McLaughlin is our chief editor.
www.cablinginstall.com
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 PRODUC T E XHIBITION
Look for these products at the BICSI Winter Exhibition, February 1-3

Infrastructure for data Category 8 certifier

centers and beyond With a test frequency range of 2.5 GHz, the WireXpert
Belden describes itself as a single-source is a Category 8-ready certifier. Optional test adapters
supplier for data center infrastructure include encircled flux (EF)-compliant multimode
solutions—from the demarcation point in adapters, MPO/MTP adapters, and test kits for
the entrance room to the crossconnect and Category 5e, 6 and 6A patch cords. The 6A kit can
the equipment rack—including the cable in perform a bidirectional Category 6A patch cord test
between. Its data center infrastructure solutions in less than 10 seconds. Also on display will be options
seamlessly integrate functional areas while for testing coaxial cable, as well as M12 D-coded and
improving cooling, power and density efficiency, the X-coded industrial Ethernet cables. WireXpert’s dual-
company adds. “Our copper and fiber connectivity solutions control system allows one technician to perform tasks
provide for maximum performance, availability and uptime while preterminated that usually require two.
solutions speed up deployment time and make upgrades easier,” Belden adds. Softing notes, “The powerful measurement engine
In addition to its data center systems, Belden will also display copper, fiber of WireXpert performs the most complex cable certifi-
and wireless networking solutions that deliver voice and data to the office, meet- cation tests accurately in seconds.”
ing space or cafeteria. “Our high-definition video and speaker cables deliver SOFTING BOOTH 813
the best picture and sound to network operation centers,” the company notes.
“Specialty cables for CCTV, access control, building automation and fire-alarm sys-
tems ensure safety, security and comfort throughout any facility.”
The company also emphasizes it serves customers well with its in-house cus-
tom capabilities. It “has over 20 years of experience in delivering support for
high-end technology needs,” the company says. “With in-house manufacturing
capabilities, Belden can offer engineering support during the design phase; unpar-
alleled customization of enclosures and racks; short delivery lead times; integra-
tion of data-center-ready solutions, racks and enclosures, cabling, connectivity,
power and thermal management systems.”
BELDEN BOOTH 219

MaxCell and MaxSpace

MaxCell describes its namesake product as “the only flexible fabric innerduct system designed specifically for the
network construction industry. The unique fabric construction allows MaxCell to conform to the shape of the cables
placed within, greatly reducing the wasted space associated with rigid innerduct. Network operators who use
MaxCell can increase their cable density by as much as 300 percent.”
At the BICSI Winter Exhibition, the company also will feature a new, patent-pending no-dig technology and
construction method called MaxSpace. It explains the MaxSpace method “safely removes existing innerduct from
around active fiber-optic cables with virtually no load on the cables and no interruption of service. As the innerd-
ucts are removed, cables migrate to the bottom of the outer conduit. Once all innerducts are removed, up to 90-per-
cent conduit space is recovered, allowing up to 9 more cables to be placed in the reclaimed space of a conduit that
was once considered full.”
MAXCELL BOOTH 812

30 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com


Rack-mounted AC unit
Tripp Lite’s new SRCOOL7KRM Rack-Mounted AC Unit helps keep rack
equipment cool—not the room around it, the company emphasizes.
The Rack-Mounted AC Unit is EIA-compliant and provides 7,000 BTU of
cooling capacity.
“The unit restarts automatically after power failures and the built-in
timer allows scheduled unattended shutdowns and startups,” Tripp Lite
adds. “It’s also self-contained—no need for a water-collection tank or
floor drain. It plugs into a standard outlet for quick and easy installation.”
TRIPP LITE
BOOTH 823
Loose-tube adapter
The Greenlee Communications branded proprietary design of the LT-900
loose-tube fiber adapter “is the only tool to use to splice loose-tube fiber
to other fiber and splice-on connectors,” the company proclaims. “In
the past, splicing loose-tube fiber to splice-on connectors wasn’t really
possible. This patent-pending product securely holds the fiber, and
not the loose-tube buffer, allowing the precise alignment of fibers for
accurate splicing.”
The adapter prevents any “pistoning” when the fibers are being
aligned, Greenlee Communications explains. “Pistoning is the action of
the 900-micron loose-tube buffer being moved during fiber alignment, but
the actual fiber slips inside of the loose-tube buffer. The LT-900 is another
example of innovation and Greenlee Communications’ goal to support
successful process.”
GREENLEE COMMUNICATIONS BOOTH 901
www.cablinginstall.com
Category 6 indoor/
outdoor cable
Comtran’s Category 6 indoor/outdoor cable is flame-
retardant and fully water-blocked, and is designed
for use in wet locations both indoors and outdoors,
the company says. “It is UL Listed CM-LS and will
continue to perform where standard plenum, riser,
and outside-plant cable will fail due to moisture
exposure,” Comtran adds. “The indoor/outdoor
rating allows the cable to run beyond 50 feet into a
building, where outside-plant cable is restricted—
which eliminates the need to transition cables
between buildings.”
According to Comtran, applications for its
Category 6 indoor/outdoor cable include security
cameras, single-floor outlet applications, below-
grade ductwork, slab-on-grade construction, cam-
pus-style environments and flood-prone areas.
COMTRAN CABLE BOOTH 1004
Single-fiber fusion splicer
The Fujikura 62S single-fiber fusion splicer incorporates core-
to-core alignment and “splices in 6 seconds and 15 seconds
with the tube heater,” AFL says. “Using profile alignment
system for consistent low splice loss and accurate loss
estimation, the 62S features a calibration-free arc discharge
system (with auto splice mode), automatic fiber identification,
auto-start tube heater, auto-start fiber splice upon closing
of wind-protector cover, power Li-ion battery for longer
operation, high-resolution LCD monitor, and greater fiber
view magnification after splicing,” the company adds.
The 62S single-fiber fusion splicer is suitable for back-
bone network installation to optical electronics component
production, AFL says.
AFL BOOTH 1019
Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 31
PR

S
CU
OD

FO
UC
T
PRODUCT FOCUS CABLE-PULLING LUBRICANTS

Polymer-based, quick-cleaning lubricant

Greenlee offers a full line of cable-pulling lubricants “to lower friction and pulling tension during a cable pull,” the
company explains. “The lubricants allow the cable to run smoothly over the conduit surface, preventing damage
to the cable jacket or any other problems that may result from excessive tension.”
The company says all its lubricants are compatible with rubber, neoprene, nylon, PVC,
high-density or cross-linked polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, semiconducting jacket, and
Hypalon cable types. They have an application range of 20°F to 190°F (-6°C to 88°C), a mini-
mum storage temperature of 30°F (-1°C), and, Greenlee says, “offer an environmentally safe and
non-hazardous product that cleans up easily and is non-staining.”
The company advises that knowing the application for which the lubricant will be used, will
help determine which one is right for the job. “For electrical and datacom, use Clear Lube—a
clear and colorless polymer-based lube,” the company says. “For electrical, use the Cable-
Cream—a wax-based heavy-duty lubricant that adheres to the cable without messy dripping. For electrical or
datacom use that cleans up quickly and can be applied by hand or pump, Greenlee offers two polymer-based
lubricants, Cable-Gel or Winter-Gel.” All four of the company’s cable-pulling lubricants are available in a 1-quart
squeeze bottle and 1- or 5-gallon buckets.
Greenlee, greenlee.com

PATENT
PENDIN
G 3D DESIG
N

32 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

EDITOR’S PICKS
£ TIA COMMIT TEES'
NE W LE ADERSHIP

£ WIRELESS
TECHNOLOGY
ENABLES IOT

£ DAS VENDORS
R ANKED

News, products and trends for the communications systems industry

COMPILED BY
Matt Vincent
ci m @ pen n well . com

switching unit, and the receivers con-

nect end-user stations to the central
switching unit.
Video frames are delivered with
zero compression and zero latency,
ensuring the most graphically demand-
ing applications operate with no reduc-
tion in image quality and no perfor-
AUDIO VIDEO INFR ASTRUC TURE mance degradation. Up to 23 ports can
be configured to connect to comput-
Digital KVM matrix switch from ers, and up to 29 ports may be used
for connecting users for secure com-
Black Box enables HD video, puting, resource sharing and content
audio, USB sharing among 30 collaboration. User stations can be

control-room users located up to 50 meters from the cen-

tral switching unit.
Black Box recently announced the release of its DCX3000, a The company says the small form
high-performance digital KVM matrix switch. The DCX3000 deliv- factor (less than 1U) system lowers
ers fast switching of HD video, audio and USB across a combina- cost by up to 50 percent compared
tion of 30 sources and end users. Broadcast applications include to existing digital KVM matrix solu-
live production studios, outside broadcast vehicles (OBV) and tions. In addition, Black Box says the
post-production. Additional applications include control rooms for switch’s “paradigm-changing” graphical
public safety, transportation, military, process control and manu- user interface enables easy selection
facturing, utilities and air traffic control. and switching between video and com-
The DCX3000 system contains three components: the cen- puting sources through the use of auto-
tral switching unit (DCX3000), the receiver unit (DCX3000- refreshing thumbnail images. The unit’s
DVR), and server access modules (DVI, DCX3000-DVT; Display- thumbnail selection window design
Port, DCX3000-DPT). The remote-powered Server Access Mod- provides an intuitive multi-viewer user
ules (SAMs) extend DVI or DisplayPort signals and USB over experience and enables an “at a glance”
standard category cabling from individual servers to the central view of the matrix sources.

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 33

 EDITOR’S PICKS
ENTERPRISE CABLING ARCHITEC TURE

Siemon adds 24-port zone cabling enclosure

Siemon recently introduced its
24-port MAX Zone Unit Enclosure,
designed to support cost-effective
zone cabling in a variety of enterprise
workspaces by enabling shorter, easy-
to-manage connections to work area
or equipment outlets. The enclosure
accepts up to 24 ports using Siemon
copper or fiber MAX outlets, Z-MAX
Category 6A outlets or TERA Cat-
egory 7A outlets to support a wide
range of horizontal copper and fiber
applications.
The enclosure features foam gas-
keting to minimize vibration and pre-
vent dust ingress, and includes easy-
to-remove knockouts to facilitate rout-
ing cables in and out of the enclosure.
Designed to meet UL’s plenum rating
requirements, the unit can be easily
mounted under a raised floor, in the
ceiling, or on a wall, Siemon says. The
enclosure’s cover is fully removable
for improved access to connections,
while integrated labeling facilitates
port identification.
Part of Siemon’s line of ConvergeIT
Cabling Solutions for Intelligent Build-
ings, the company says its 24-Port
MAX Zone Unit Enclosure is intended
for use with Siemon plenum-rated
cables, cords and connecting hard-
ware to provide connections in the
plenum space for voice, data, wireless
access points, LED lighting, security,
building automation systems, digital installation time when performing
signage and other low-voltage devices moves, adds and changes,” comments
that require network connectivity. Brian McCaffrey, product manager for
“The use of zone cabling that pro- Siemon. “Our new 24-port enclosure
vides an intermediate connection not only supports zone cabling con-
point between the telecommunica- nections to work area outlets, but it
tions room and the work area outlet also provides shorter, easy-to-manage
has been proven to provide an over- connections for a wide range of low-
all lower total cost of ownership in voltage intelligent building devices that
today’s enterprise environments, sig- are converging onto a single unified
nificantly reducing disruption and physical infrastructure.”

£ STANDARDS

TIA cabling standards development subcommittees elect leadership

At the Telecommunications Industry Association’s TR-42 Engi-
neering Committee meeting in October, several of the group’s
cabling standards development subcommittees elected leader-
ship to serve two-year terms from 2015 to 2017.
Specifically, the TIA TR-42 Telecommunications Cabling
Systems Engineering Committee’s odd-numbered subcommit-
tees (TR-42.1, 42.3, 42.5, 42.7, 42.9, 42.11 and 42.13) each
elected a chair and vice chair. Chairs and vice chairs of the
even-numbered subcommittees (TR-42.6, 42.10, 42.12 and
42.16) are serving 2014-2016 terms.
Those elected in October officially assumed their leadership
positions when the TR-42 meeting adjourned on October 16.
Listed here are the odd-numbered subcommittees and
their newly elected chairs and vice chairs.
TR-42.1 Generic and Premises Cabling: Chair: Henry
Franc, Belden; Vice Chair: Joe Cody, Corning. TR-42.3
Pathways and Spaces: Chair: Cindy Montstream,
Legrand; Vice Chair: Jonathan Jew, J&M Consultants.
TR-42.5 Infrastructure Terms: Chair: Diane Forbes,
Northwest Information Services; Vice Chair: Ron Tellas,
Panduit. TR-42.7 Copper Cabling: Chair: Wayne Larson,
CommScope; Vice Chair: Sterling Vaden, Surtec. TR-42.9
Industrial Cabling: Chair: Brad Woodman, Molex; Vice
Chair: Bob Lounsbury, ODVA. TR-42.11 Optical Systems:
Chair: Paul Kolesar, CommScope; Vice Chair: David
Mazzarese, OFS. TR-42.13 Passive Optical Devices and
Fiber Optic Metrology: Chair: Greg Sandals, OFS; Vice
Chair: Dan Morris, Kitco.

34 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

 EDITOR’S PICKS
£ AUDIO VIDEO INFR ASTRUC TURE

Leviton joins HDBaseT Alliance, highlights benefits to AV installers

Leviton announced that it has joined
the HDBaseT Alliance, providing
HDBaseT certification to its end-to-
end IT/AV systems. The company
notes that, as demand increases
for ultra-HD and 4K video displays,
HDBaseT network technology has
emerged as an attractive solution,
due to its flexibility, simplicity and
standards-based performance assur-
ance. The HDBaseT Alliance helps
manufacturers, low-voltage contrac-
tors, installers and end users take
advantage of time-tested IT infra-
structure to transmit uncompressed
high definition multimedia in commer-
cial applications.
“The HDBaseT Alliance provides a
much-needed standard for delivering
HD digital video, audio, Ethernet,
power and control signals over a
single category cable,” said Bill Lauby,
senior product manager at Leviton
Network Solutions. “Certified HDBa-
seT extension, coupled with certified
IT category cable links, creates a fully
qualified standards-based end-to-end
solution that is guaranteed to work. In
addition, HDBaseT-certified Leviton
solutions give low-voltage contractors
the audiovisual connectivity they need
for commercial, education, healthcare
and government installations.”
A product or system with an HDBa-
seT logo indicates that it complies with
HDBaseT standards and is interop-
erable with other certified products.
As a member of the alliance, Leviton
ensures customers that its HD video
and audio products meet the demand-
ing performance standards estab-
lished by the alliance.
Benefits of HDBaseT technology, as
noted by the company, include: trans-
mission of uncompressed audio and
video up to 10.2 Gbits/sec, supporting
Ultra HD, 2K, 4K and 3D video; use of
category-rated cabling and standard
RJ-45 connectors as part of a test-
able permanent link; support for 100-
Mbit/sec Ethernet; Power-over-HDBa-
seT (PoH) capability to allow power
from either end of the HDBaseT link;
support for HDCP (High-bandwidth Dig-
ital Content Protection); RS-232 and
IR remote control signal channels for
communication between devices.

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£ INTERNET OF THINGS

LPWAN radio module enables

large-scale IoT deployments for
smart cities networks
Libelium has released a new radio
module designed to bring LoRa
Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) wire-
less connectivity to Waspmote Inter-
net of Things (IoT) sensors
for applications that require
low-energy, long-range
data transmission on a
large scale.
Libelium’s LoRaWAN
radio module is fully inte-
grated with the Waspmote
sensor platform and is also
available as an upgrade
for all existing Waspmote
sensor devices. The Wasp-
mote Plug & Sense devices offer
easy network configuration for
smart cities applications to moni-
tor environmental factors, noise pollu-
tion, and water quality, as well as park-
ing and smart lighting applications, the
company says. Paired with Libelium’s
LoRaWAN module, the Waspmote Plug
& Sense Line received its CE marking
in November 2015, making it the first
horizontal sensor platform certified for
use in Europe.
The companies note that protocols
known as Low Power Wide Area Net-
works (LPWAN) are accelerating smart
city and IoT deployments in Europe,
Asia, and North America. Semtech’s
open LoRaWAN standard is the back-
bone for many IoT uses that require
bidirectional data communication and
geolocation information. The Libelium
LoRaWAN sensors send information
to base stations in the field, and have
successfully completed tests on Ker-
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including split pairs. The rugged double
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the industrial IoT,” said David Gascón, silicone covers for the RJ45 and RJ11 ports.
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Many smart cities
and industrial IoT appli-
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bandwidth data trans-
mission over distances,
both indoors and outdoors,
Maps multiple cable runs
often in areas of high electromag-
netic interference. The Waspmote Plug
& Sense sensors and the Libelium
LoRaWAN radio module received CE
marking on the 868-MHz band. Certi-
fications for the U.S. version are cur-
built for durability.
rently in progress. An embedded radio built for reliability.
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link LoRa base stations for 868-MHz LoRaWAN IoT network.

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 37

 SHOWCASE EDITOR’S PICKS
£ DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEMS

Corning tops ABI Research’s DAS

vendor competitor assessment
Corning took the top spot in ABI Research’s latest refresh of
its “DAS Vendor Competitive Assessment” report, followed
by CommScope and Cobham Wireless in the vendor rank-
ings. These companies, along with JMA Wireless and Dali
Wireless, represent the top five DAS vendors as tabulated by
the analyst, accounting for almost two-thirds of the market,
according to ABI Research’s estimates.
“The DAS equipment vendor market continues to be
hyper-competitive, and since we last published a competitive
assessment in 2014, there have been several mergers and
acquisitions that changed the competitive landscape,” says
Nick Marshall, research director at ABI Research. “TE Con-
nectivity’s DAS business was acquired by CommScope, Axell
was acquired by Cobham, Zinwave was acquired by McWane,
and CSI sold its DAS equipment business to Westell. Since
we expect the North American market for DAS to grow rap-
idly, this region becomes the battleground for market share
and innovation for modern DAS systems.”
In the report’s “Innovation” category, Dali Wireless beat out
its competitors due to its Matrix and RF Router digital DAS
technology, which ABI said offers DAS owners and operators
significant capex savings. Corning was ranked second for its
Corning ONE platform, and scored best-in-class points for its
scalability and support of multiple technologies. Third in the
category is Cobham Wireless for its idDAS system.
In the assessment’s “Implementation” category, Corning
took the top spot, thanks in large part to its growing busi-
ness in North America and a significant European footprint,
said ABI. The company also scored highly for its system inte-
gration abilities. CommScope ranked second in this cate-
gory; the company is now the largest DAS vendor by market
share, largely due to its acquisition of TE Connectivity’s DAS
business, noted the analyst. Also contributing to Comm-
Scope’s ranking are its geographical penetration and system
integration abilities. Cobham Wireless rounded out the top
three vendors as a global leader in DAS for public safety and
transportation systems.
The full list of companies included in the report is as fol-
lows: Advanced RF Technologies (ADRF), Bird/DeltaNode,
Cobham Wireless, Comba Telecom, CommScope, Corn-
ing, Dali Wireless, Fiber-Span, JMA Wireless, Kathrein, SOLiD
Technologies, Westell and Zinwave. The report is part of ABI
Research’s In-Building Wireless Research Service.

38 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

 EDITOR’S PICKS
NET WORK ELEC TRONICS

JDSU spinoff appoints new head of datacom products

JDSU spinoff company and future Lumentum and PLM positions with Terawave, AFC
Lumentum Holdings Inc. products deliver a com- and Pirelli. Pfistner earned his PhD in
announced that Chris pelling value proposition.” Applied Physics (Lasers) as well as his
Pfistner was appointed In the newly created posi- MSEE, and BSEE degrees from the
as the company’s vice tion, Pfistner reports to University of Berne, Switzerland.
president, product line Alan Lowe, Lumentum’s “I am excited to join Lumentum,”
management, datacom president and chief exec- said Pfistner. “I share Alan’s vision for
products. Pfistner brings utive officer. “Chris brings Lumentum, and I welcome the oppor-
more than 20 years of exceptional experience tunity to work with strong internal
marketing, product def- and additional depth to teams to define winning products and
inition, and senior lead- my staff as we implement to capitalize on the rapidly expand-
ership experience to the Lumentum initiatives to fully realize our datacom ing datacom transceiver market. We
team. Most recently, he was senior revenue and marketing goals,” said have a deep portfolio of proven tech-
director of marketing at Finisar. Lowe. “I look forward to working with nologies, strong relationships with
Before that, he was vice president of Chris, and the rest of the executive top-tier customers, and a proven
product marketing at NeoPhotonics. team, to move the company to the worldwide sales team. I am enthusi-
As stated by a Lumentum press next level.” astic about leveraging our strengths
release, “Pfistner will focus on the Prior to NeoPhotonics, Pfistner to deliver differentiated, customer-
datacom market, and ensure current held various senior marketing, sales focused solutions.”

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
AFL.............................................................4-5
Arlington Industries.................................... 29
Brother Mobile Solutions Inc. .................. CV4 ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES
Chatsworth Products ....................................2
Corning Optical Communications LLC..... CV2 MAIN OFFICE INTERNATIONAL
61 Spit Brook Road AUSTRIA, EUROPE, GERMANY,
Diamond Ground Products Inc................... 38 Suite 401, Nashua, NH 03060 NORTHERN SWITZERLAND
Dymo Corp.....................................................6 (603) 891-0123 Holger Gerisch
fax: (603) 891-9245 +49-(0)8801-9153791
Fluke Corporation ....................................... 11
Fax: +49-(0)8801-9153792
General Cable Company .............................12 GROUP PUBLISHER
holgerg@pennwell.com
Alan Bergstein
HJ3.W Inc. .................................................. 36 (603)-891-9447 ISRAEL
Hsing Chau Industrial Co. Ltd. ....................32 alanb@pennwell.com Dan Aronovic
+972 9 899 5813
Hyperline Systems Canada Ltd. ..................16 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER aronovic@actcom.co.il
ICC Premise Wiring ............................... 9, 23 Ed Murphy ASIA
Ideal Industries Inc. ................................... 20 (603) 891-9260 Adonis Mak
Light Connection, The.................................25 fax: (603) 891-9245 +852 2 838 6298; Fax: +852 2 838 2766
edm@pennwell.com adonism@actintl.com.hk
Milliken....................................................... 35
REPRINTS JAPAN
Oberon Inc.................................................. 38 Ed Murphy Masaki Mori
OFS..............................................................15 (603) 891-9260 +81 3 3219 3561
Siemon Company.........................................19 fax: (603) 891-9245 mori-masaki@ics-inc.co.jp
edm@pennwell.com
Snake Tray...................................................10 TAIWAN
DIRECTOR, LIST RENTAL Ms. Rebecca Tsao
Softing Inc...................................................14 Kelli Berry +886 2 23965128 ext.203
Southwire Company ....................................37 (918) 831-9782 Fax: 886 2 23967816
Telegartner Karl Gartner GmbH .................18 kellib@pennwell.com rebecca@arco.com.tw
Universal Electric Corp.............................. 26
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.

www.cablinginstall.com Cabling Installation & Maintenance JANUARY 2016 39

 INFRASTRUCTURE
INSIGHTS Looking at the leaders in individual SDN categories, the IHS Infonetics
study also reveals that: white box switch vendors, as a group, are ranked
#1 in bare metal switch revenue; Dell owns 100 percent of branded bare
metal switch revenue; and that HP has the largest share of SDN-capable
Analyst: Data center (in-use and not-in-use) branded Ethernet switch ports. (“Bare metal” refers
to switches for which the software and hardware are sold separately, i.e., a
and enterprise SDN customer can buy just the “bare metal.” With such switches, the end-user is

technology headed free to load an operating system of their choice.)

The research tracks and forecasts SDN controllers and Ethernet
into mainstream switches in-use for SDN separately from not-in-use SDN-capable Ethernet
switches. SDN in-use physical Ethernet switches are forecast by IHS to
In its latest “IHS Infonetics Data Center and make up 15 percent of Ethernet switch market revenue in 2017, up from 4
Enterprise SDN Hardware and Software” percent today. Meanwhile, in-use virtual switch (vSwitch) ports are expected
report, IHS reveals that data center and to make up 11 percent of SDN (in-use and not-in-use) ports shipped by the
enterprise LAN software-defined networking end of 2015.
(SDN) deployments began to ramp in the first “The data center and enterprise LAN SDN market will be solidified by the
half of 2015 (1H15). IHS forecast the market end of 2016, as lab trials give way to live production deployments,” con-
for ‘in-use’ SDN Ethernet switches and cludes Grossner. “And in 2017, SDN will move from early adopters into the
controllers to top $1.4 billion in 2015, nearly hands of mainstream buyers.”
doubling from the year prior.
The semiannual report provides
worldwide and regional vendor mar- 1.5
ket share, market size, and fore-
casts through 2019, plus analysis SDN Ethernet switches
and a discussion of trends for SDN and controllers (US$B)
controllers, bare metal Ethernet
switches, and branded Ethernet 1.0
switches in use for SDN. Accord-
ing to the study, in the first half of
2015 (1H15), bare metal switches
accounted for 45 percent of global
in-use SDN-capable Ethernet 0.5

switch revenue.
Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., research
SDN Ethernet switches
director for data center, cloud and and controllers
SDN at IHS, adds, “New SDN use to top $1.4 billion
0.0
cases continue to emerge, and the 2014 2015
first half of 2015 was no exception,
with the establishment of the soft-
ware-defined enterprise WAN (SD-WAN) mar- Vendors tracked by the report include Alcatel-Lucent, Arista, Big
ket. The SD-WAN market is still small, but Switch, Brocade, Centec, Cisco, Cumulus, Dell, Extreme, HP, Huawei, Juni-
many startups and traditional WAN optimiza- per, Lenovo, Midokura, NEC, Pica8, Plexxi, PLUMgrid, VMware, White
tion appliance vendors and network vendors Box. The report is part of IHS Infonetics’ “Data Center Networks Intelli-
have jumped in.” gence Service.” u

40 JANUARY 2016 Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com

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DATA CENTER PAGE 23

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MARKET INSIGHTS PAGE 40

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