For: www.wireville.com
"Heard On The Street" Column
Issue: June 2007
By: Frank Bisbee
The
Information Age is just getting warmed up
The Heard On The Street (HOTS) monthly column is
sponsored by many manufacturers, distributors, associations, publications, and
contractors. This stream of information is gathered and assembled by the staff
of Wireville.com and Communication Planning Corporation. There is something for everyone.
The Information (content) is
for educational and informative purposes. This service is brought to our
readers at no charge. For more than a decade, www.wireville.com website has delivered
all the news that you can use. Keep sending us your news items.
We appreciate the constant
stream of feedback from the readers because it serves to improve the column.
Special Appreciation To The Associations For Sharing Their
Information
We support the efforts of
these associations to develop a safer and more productive workplace.
- ACUTA www.acuta.org
- BICSI www.bicsi.org
- BOMA www.boma.org
- NAIOP www.naiop.org
- CABA www.caba.org
- AFCOM www.afcom.com
- NECA www.necanet.org
- FOA www.thefoa.org
- NFPA www.nfpa.org
- NAED www.naed.org
- AIA www.aia.org
- AHLA www.ahla.org
- AHA www.aha.org
- EWG www.ewg.org
- EIA www.eia.org
- TIA www.tiaonline.org
- NASTD www.nastd.org
- NEMA www.nema.org
- IEEE www.ieee.org
- And many others
ALSO, special appreciation to
the fine publications that share articles and news to make our jobs more
effective. These publications give the readers a very good and inexpensive
education for strategies and tactics to improve the value for the information
services consumer. The information superhighway begins in Wireville.
Yup! The Information Age is
just getting warmed up.
But that’s just my opinion.
Frank Bisbee
SMP Data ( Formerly Superior Modular Products) is proud to
announce several new products designed to meet specific telecommunication needs
for both copper and fiber applications. From the FiberOpticx(tm) product line, SMP Data introduces the
RTC1UB Series Fiber Optic Enclosures. These fiber cabinets offer users a
quick solution for plug and play connectivity. They can be ordered empty
for field installations or completely pre-terminated for easy plug and play
options. Click on the link below to download more information: www.smpdata.com/smp/pages/products/newproducts.html From the Rack Technologies product line, SMP Data introduces two
product sets including new Horizontal and Vertical Finger style cable
management. The Finger Duct Cable Management system offers pass thru
holes for easy installation and cable maintenance and the rounded edge fingers
assist with easy removal and installation of covers making moves, adds, and
changes safe and easy. Click on the link below to download more
information:
"Heard On The Street" Monthly Column
www.wireville.com
4949 Sunbeam Rd, Suite 16
Jacksonville, FL 32257
(904) 645-9077 office
(904) 645-9058 fax
frank@wireville.com
SMP Data Is Proud To Announce Several New Products
www.smpdata.com/smp/pages/products/newproducts.html
In addition to the new Finger Duct Cable Management, the Rack
Technologies product line is pleased to launch the new TERAX(tm) enclosures.
The TERAX(tm) Wall Mount Cabinet is a modular solution for housing
telecommunications and networking equipment in locations requiring security and
versatility. This enclosure was designed explicitly for applications
requiring large zone distribution capabilities that can be easily installed and
offer a secure environment to protect communications components. Click on
the link below to download more information:
www.smpdata.com/smp/pages/products/newproducts.html
SMP Data is also proud to announce the release of their 2007
Product Catalog. This new catalog features all of SMP Data's innovative
product lines along with ordering information, technical data, and full color
pictures. In addition to the full line catalog, customers can request an
interactive CD version, fully downloadable to offer instant access. To
request a copy of the new SMP Data Communications Product Catalog, contact your
local sales rep or fill out the Catalog Request form at
www.smpdata.com/smp/pages/support/literature.html
Electrical Contractor Convention To feature “Think Green” topics
The National Electrical
Contractors Association (NECA) will host a “Think Green” on Sunday, October 7,
2007 during their annual convention in
Specific workshops and
seminars focused toward this emerging new technology include:
It isn’t Easy being Green: But it’s
Profitable
Presenter: Jim Benya Benya Lighting Design
NJATC
Photovoltaics and Distributed Generation
Presenters:
Todd Stafford, NJATC Senior Director; Jim Dunlop, NJATC Curriculum specialist
Contractor
Opportunities in the Solar Market Today & Tomorrow
Presenter: Tom Martinez - IBEW 111
Energy Efficiency / Green Products & Fire Stops
Presenter: Christopher De Marco, Specified Technologies, Inc.
Advancements in Integrated Lighting Controls
Presenter: Howard Wolfman, Osram Sylvania
Residential Green Products & Energy Efficiency
Presenter: Jay McLellan, HAI, Home Automation, Inc.
Solar Opportunities for Contractors
Presenter: Jake Brown, Day4Energy
Energy Code Compliance
Presenter:
Charles Knuffke, The WattStopper
Emerging Green Markets: The Role of the Electrical Contractor on Green Building
Projects
Presenters: Cassandra Quaintance and
Ellen Kotzbauer
In addition, attendees will find renewable energy solutions in the “Green
Alley” within the NECA trade show. Manufacturers of the latest solar, wind and
other energy-efficient technologies will be on hand to discuss design and
installation opportunities that offer new options for commercial and
residential use. These tools will give attendees the pro-active edge they need
to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines, created by the U.S. Green
Building Council.
The National Electrical Contractors Association is the voice of the $100
billion industry responsible for lighting, power, and communication systems in
buildings and communities across the
Leading Cabling Contractor Gets Ahead Of The Competition With CIS
An advanced Cabling
Installation System (CIS) from Beast Cabling Systems, Inc. recently enhanced
the installation process for The Mercury Group, a leading contractor providing
installation of network communications systems for a variety of customers.
CIS is an innovative system
of components designed to bring systemization and control to the various tasks
required to properly install network cabling. CIS enables proper bend radius,
separation, organization, metering, and labeling of cables for consistent,
efficient installations that conserve time and material, reduce errors, and
enhance industry best practices for overall better network performance.
“We’re always looking for
innovative ways to stay ahead of the competition while maximizing the
efficiency and accuracy of every project,” says Gary Berlin, Vice President of
Operations for The Mercury Group. “When we researched CIS, Beast Cabling
Systems came to our location, introduced the system, and provided excellent
training.”
The Mercury Group recently
deployed the CIS while cabling a large broadcasting company, realizing a
significant increase in efficiency. “We installed cabling on one floor using
traditional methods, and then we deployed CIS on the next floor. We saw a 35%
labor savings with CIS,” says
The Beast Cabling Systems CIS
offers a system for easily and properly identifying and labeling cables during
installation to reduce errors and provide the foundation for a fully and
properly labeled infrastructure. The Wirewolf™ component mounts in front of the
Beast Cabling Systems CIS, and once cables have been pulled to stations, the
equipment side of the cables are sorted to the left and right through holes in
the Wirewolf’s Plexiglas panel that correspond to rack layouts. Contractors
using the Wirewolf report saving 18 hours of labor for every 300 cables pulled.
“The process of pulling cable
normally includes back-feeding disorganized batches of cable to the closet
where you face the time-consuming task of sorting cables for termination. CIS
allows you to quickly sort those cables for termination in the closet right
after you pull them,” says Greg Bramham, Vice President of Business Development
for Beast Cabling Systems.
Pleased with the results and
customer service, The Mercury Group purchased three CIS systems for use on
other large cabling installations, including a high school, major college
campus, and large Coast Guard academy.
“The support from Beast
Cabling Systems has been second to none. They help us make sure that we’re
using the system to its fullest capacity through training, site visits, and
constant support,” says
About The Mercury Group
The Mercury Group has over 25
years experience providing a wide range of copper, fiber, and wireless
communications system installation, ongoing maintenance, professional
consulting services and product implementations for end users, equipment
manufacturers, and electrical and general contractors. As a BICSI Premier
Contractor, The Mercury Group maintains rigorous quality standards and best practices.
For more information, visit www.mercury-group.com.
About Beast Cabling Systems
Headquartered in
The Cabling Industry As An Example
Each month this year we have
devoted at least one article to the topic of data centers; this month’s article
focuses on the keynote address delivered at the most recent Data Center World
conference (see p. 35). While that article extensively discusses keynoter
Christian Belady’s insistence that efficiency metrics are in the long-term
future for data center managers, it’s worth noting that Belady also discussed
the expected emergence of standardization in the data center industry.
“Standardization will create
a plug-and-play environment,” said Belady, who is a professional engineer and a
distinguished technologist on the staff at HP (www.hp.com). Later in his
remarks, he noted that industry consortium The Green Grid
(www.thegreengrid.org), in addition to its efforts to quantify efficiency, is
trying to achieve some level of interoperability among data center components.
In those
regards—standardization, plug-and-play deployment, and interoperability—the
forward-thinkers in the data center industry could do well to examine the path
the cabling industry has followed for nearly two decades. It could be said that
the structured cabling industry was anything but “structured” before users of
twisted-pair systems began specifying those products by certain Levels.
Initially disruptive and proprietary, Anixter’s (www.anixter.com) Levels
program eventually became, almost verbatim, the category system by which
twisted-pair systems originally were specified under the auspices of the TIA
(www.tiaonline.org).
So was born the set of
standards that still paves the way for the development, marketing,
specification, and use of structured cabling systems. While data center
managers look forward to a day when their systems can interoperate, those in
the cabling trade take for granted that Vendor A’s Category 6 patch cord will
plug into Vendor B’s Category 6 patch panel for a connection that delivers
Category 6 performance. All because the TIA’s TR-42 Engineering Committee has
continued to come through on the promise to create interoperable twisted-pair
cabling specifications.
The framework in place for
the creation of cabling standards has already entered the realm of data
centers, evidenced by the TIA’s development of its 942 standard specifically
related to telecommunications infrastructure for the data center. Sure, I have
been critical of the manner in which the TIA’s cabling standards come to
fruition, including the political inner workings of some of the groups that
ultimately produce those specifications. But at the same time, it is difficult
to dispute the notion that these standards, as a collective group, have
established a performance baseline that cabling-system users can rely upon,
particularly to support specific Ethernet protocols.
With that in mind, the
cabling industry could actually serve as something of an example to leaders in
the data center industry in their aspirations to create standardized
specifications. As the article on page 35 makes clear, data center managers
have serious and significant energy-consumption issues to contend with, to the
point where the United States Congress directed the nation’s Environmental Protection
Agency to study data centers’ power consumption. Kind of makes alien crosstalk
look like child’s play. Nonetheless, the effort to make data centers capable of
plug-and-play deployment is somewhere on that industry’s collective agenda, and
to them I submit the TIA cabling standard-creation process as an example of the
successes and the trappings inherent in such an effort.
One of Belady’s cautionary
comments was that standardization ultimately will lead to commoditization among
data center equipment; he cited the personal-computer industry, saying we
should not be surprised to see the data center industry follow the PC’s path. I
contend that despite some claims to the contrary, cabling has not become a
commodity market. Despite the fact that every cable, connector, or full system
of a given category must by definition meet specific electrical-performance
criteria, the engineering and, yes, the marketing staffs of our industry’s
suppliers have differentiated their product sets enough that we cannot say a
cable is a cable is a cable (or a connector is a connector is a connector).
We are in fact in a dynamic
and vibrant industry today; we have years of standards-based performance
assurances to count on, coupled with a constantly improving product set. Sure,
it can be frustrating to sort through the myriad product choices and even more
frustrating to wait out the standards-creation process. But I suggest it’s
better than the alternative. Plus, we don’t have Congress breathing down our
necks to see what we’re up to.
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
Chief Editor
patrick@pennwell.com
Reprinted with full
permission of CI & M Magazine – www.cable-install.com
Rich Promoted Director Of Business Development For Leviton’s Government Services Program
Leviton Manufacturing Company
is pleased to announce the promotion of Chuck Rich to the position of Business
Development Director for its Government Business Development Program. In his
new post Rich will spearhead sales of the company’s voice and data networking
solutions to U.S. Government and military installations. He will also oversee joint sales with the
Government’s network of certified contractors and system integrators. Rich
brings to his new position more than 17 years of experience assessing,
specifying and recommending products and solutions for military information and
communication systems.
Rich began his career with
Leviton in 2004 as National Business Development Manager for Government
Business, where he managed the sale of voice, data and connectivity solutions.
Prior to joining Leviton he served as a military communications (MILCOM)
systems advisor in end-user requirements and assessments for
Rich holds a BS in Industrial
Engineering from the
Anixter Inc. Takes The LEED With Green-Building Certification
Anixter's Alsip Distribution Facility
Becomes the Largest Distribution Facility in the
Anixter Inc., the
world's leading distributor of communication products, electrical and
electronic wire & cable and a leading distributor of fasteners and other
small parts ("C" Class inventory components) to Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs), announced that its distribution facility in
LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) for New Construction and Major Renovations is a green
building rating system that was designed to guide and distinguish high-performance
commercial and institutional projects, including manufacturing plants,
laboratories and other building types. LEED gives building owners and operators
the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their
buildings' performance. LEED promotes a whole- building approach to
sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and
environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy
efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
"Anixter pursued USGBC's LEED
certification because we wanted to provide employees with a healthy,
employee-friendly work environment in addition to being a good corporate
citizen," said Jay Zwart, Anixter Senior Vice President -- Operations.
The
The building itself was built with steel
that is 100 percent recycled content. Its ventilation system has zero air
pressure so that when a door is open there is little or no exchange of air or
outside pollution. The air management system, during the warm months, cools the
interior at night and helps maintain the temperature during the day without the
aid of air conditioning. The LEED-certified facility is not only helping save
the environment but is helping save money as well. Energy costs are close to 25
percent less than what was being spent in the previous building.
"The LEED guidelines made possible a
well-designed, environmentally- conscious workplace that has improved morale
and productivity which ultimately results in lower operating costs for our
company, and superior service for our customers," said Zwart.
Anixter has taken its responsibility to
the environment even further by creating offers through our READY!(sm)
Deployment Services program that will help our customers meet their LEED
requirements. More information is available about READY! Deployment Services on
our Web site at http://www.anixter.com.
By Paul Barker
Three years ago at the
National Electrical Contractors Association’s VDV/IBS Conference in
Soon after its arrival,
Henkels & McCoy, a privately held engineering, network development and
construction firm with headquarters in Blue Bell, Pa., issued an advisory in
which it noted that electricians, inspectors and low voltage contractors will
use NEC Codebook 2002 for installation and inspections, while lawyers and
insurance companies use it to determine criminal liability and/or financial
responsibility resulting from a catastrophic event. The NEC defines abandoned
cable as installed communications cable that is not terminated at both ends at
a connector or other equipment and not identified “For Future Use” with a tag.
Bisbee, for one, applauded
the move. “The accumulation of miles and miles of cabling left in the ceilings
and walls of facilities has become a major concern for life safety over the
past years,” he said in his presentation to NECA delegates.
“Cables that are abandoned in
ceilings, riser systems and air handling systems are a source for fueling fire,
smoke and sub-lethal toxic fumes that can incapacitate. In addition, PVC
jackets tend to break down over time. This decomposition process is accelerated
by exposure to increased temperatures and humidity.”
In
As one industry watcher who
asked not to be identified concluded recently, people die from inhaling toxic
gasses, not smoke. He also waded into the FT-4 vs. FT-6 debate saying that none
of the proponents of the more expensive FT-6 discuss toxicity, only smoke.
There are, he added, a lot of myths and half-truths on this subject.
Toxicity testing needed
Dunn Harvey, a veteran
telecommunications consultant based in Laval, Que., agrees that the real
problem is toxicity and not smoke by itself.
“In most cases (except fog) smoke will contain
numerous toxic gasses. In all cases of fire, carbon monoxide is generated. This
is extremely lethal and it is next to impossible to prevent it in any fire and
it does not depend on cable having FT-4 or FT-6 rating.”
“Since the real problem is
toxicity, until someone finds a way to test for toxicity and eliminate the
toxicity, there will not be a real answer to people dying from inhaling gasses
and smoke.”
"In Nova
Scotia if you install data cable, first off you must have a license, secondly,
you need a permit and third, it will be inspected," says Graham, a master
electrician by trade. "The province has rules in their Electrical
code that I love, one of them being that every third tie wrap must be
non-combustible and the cable bundle must have a separate attachment.
"Unfortunately,
we don't have the same rules in other provinces. As an example, we have a
network cabling apprenticeship program in
Bisbee,
meanwhile, says that when it comes to abandoned cable as a health hazard there
is no question that the situation in
Toxic nightmare
“First of all, the plenum
issue in the
“Calling it a fire hazard is
a neat way to try and hide the really big problem. The real problem is how many
thousands and thousands of pounds of lead in those jackets are sluffing off in
the air system? The thermal plastics containing LEAD stabilizers used in most
cables are a problem, nobody’s recycling it.”
“What we have is a toxic
nightmare. It’s like saying the reason we are taking the asbestos out is
because of the fire hazard. That’s where we are right now. You can call it what
ever you want to call it, it’s the law of the land in this country and many
others that have adopted the National Electrical Code.”
“In the cabling business, one
of the components used in the stabilizer was lead. It was cheap, it was
effective and it allowed the cable to last longer under heat and humidity. It
also allowed the machines to run faster when they were extruding it.”
“Now, about 90% of all that
cable installed the air systems are jacketed with materials that have high
concentrations of lead -- anywhere from 7-10%. Even at 1%, which would be many,
many times over what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is saying
exposure limits are, we are looking at more than 10,000 parts per million.”
When it comes to abandoned
cable, meanwhile, Robert Horne, co-founder of the Attain Group, an
“If it is not used, it should
be pulled out,” he says. “It’s the same as leaving old wood and paper around
that could catch fire. It’s an extra fuel that is not needed. The bottom line
is this: You have a fuel load in the ceiling and if it’s abandoned, remove it.
“As far as the toxicity of
the cable is concerned, the National Fire Code allows for an FT-6 and FT-4
rating. If a code change was to occur that says it must be this type of cable,
of course we would abide by it, but until that time, I would not advise anyone
to change to low smoke, specialty cable that is very expensive.
Subhead: Few firms pull cable
out
“If it is that much of an
issue then I would say the legislators and the people who make the changes to
the code, should be making those changes. Why would I advise them to spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars more for the wrong type of cable? It’s just a
complete waste of money.”
If there is any doubt, Horne
turns to a codes specialist in order to get a proper interpretation of the
building and fire codes currently in existence.
Ross McCubbin, founder of
Amik Technology, an IT consulting firm based in
“Sometimes companies will
move in and try and re-use cabling, but more often than not when they move and
especially rental properties they tend to cut the wire across the cross-connect
they had and away they go, which can render it useless for the next guy,” he
says. “It means there is a whole bunch of PVC and FEP cabling out there.
“As those cables sit there,
they are breaking down. A lot of it is generated by the decomposition of the
jacket and it’s blowing around in the air spaces and eventually down on the
people.”
So what is it going to take
to solve the abandoned cable crisis? McCubbin for one, advocates a combination
of increased education and legislation. “Education can go a long way,” he says.
“Ideally, there should be a level playing field from a code and quality control
perspective.”
Reprinted with full
permission of CNS magazine – www.cnsmagazine.com
www.communicationplanning.com www.wireville.com
KITCO Fiber Optics Names New Distributor
KITCO Fiber Optics is please
to announce that it has appointed Norfolk Wire & Electronics as a
distributor of KITCO’s commercial products. KITCO and Norfolk Wire &
Electronics have a long association together as KITCO was originally a division
of Norfolk Wire in the early 1990’s. Geoff Clark, President and CEO of
KITCO, stated: “With 8 locations in
According to Ron Hurley,
Norfolk Wire’s original founder, “We are proud to have the opportunity to
provide KITCO’s outstanding fiber optic products to our customers. As we
continue to expand our business, we look to KITCO for their expertise in
product development and training. I am especially excited about their new
products and the ability to develop custom fiber optic kits for our customers.”
About
About KITCO Fiber Optics:
KITCO is a leading provider of fiber optic connectorization products, training
and consulting services to the military and commercial communications
industry. We specialize in the design and fabrication of fiber optic
tools, tool kits and custom cable assemblies; producing private label kits for
a number of major connector manufacturers and selling our own broad line of
commercial and military products. We develop curriculum and provide
commercial and military training worldwide, and serve as the U.S. Navy’s sole
shipboard fiber optic trainer. Our highly skilled field services team can
respond to your fiber optic requirements anytime, anywhere – rapidly providing
the best solutions for overcoming system problems or delays. www.kitcofo.com
The New Urbanism: The Feng Shui Of Community Planning
Carlini’s Comments, MidwestBusiness.com’s oldest column, runs
every Wednesday. Its mission is to offer the common man’s view on
business and technology issues while questioning the leadership and visions of “pseudo”
experts.
Should community planners
start changing their approach to municipal planning and status quo
infrastructures? You’d better really understand the market first, warns James
Carlini.
Last week, I attended the Killer App Expo on municipal
broadband as a guest of Graham Richard – the mayor of
- The need to have a rebirth of the American
municipality,
- The need to create a solid platform for economic
development through network infrastructure, and
- The need to bring new business concepts like Six
Sigma into everyday municipal operations.
In addition to his speech,
another keynote speaker was Andres Duany. He focused
on the need to reevaluate the way municipal planning is approached
architecturally.
New Urbanism
Duany is one of the founders
of the architectural movement of the new urbanism concept in community
planning.
I liked some of his
statements. For example, he said: “Cities should be designed like a suit or a
pen.” When calculating open space and other municipal plan requirements, he
also said: “Bean counting is passing for planning.” He is also against
“suburban sprawl” and has some real issues with the decline of neighborhoods.
He also focused on putting a
mixture of houses on a street, making sure people can walk to some of their
destinations and creating a “neighborhood feel” rather than a
drive-to-everywhere subdivision.
Duany talked about bringing
everyone together and recreating the neighborhood. Instead, since the end of
World War II, suburban subdivisions and track houses have created more of a
buffer zone of economically divided households. These include the cheap
townhouse developments, the mid-range single family homes and the expensive
sprawling estate homes.
He also pointed out the trend
of some people looking for more housing solutions that are “green” (good for
the environment). His argument is that creating these types of community models
are “morally superior” and would have an effect on a certain element of buyers.
Duany also pointed out that any city without a downtown area will lose its
young.
There were many points Duany
brought up that made sense about designing communities with more of a
neighborhood feel to them. Still, he did not sell me 100 percent.
When you look at the
realities of what’s selling on the market, the secluded miniature mansions that
cost millions of dollars (which he discounted as not being good) seem to be
doing much better than the “affordable row houses and townhouses” that are in
so many urban and suburban settings.
Reality: New Urbanism
Lacks Universal Appeal
The rules and approaches that
are laid out in new urbanism are like the rules in classic music composition.
Those who have studied music
know the tonic chord should follow the dominant chord and all the other classic
composition rules that lay out the approach for writing a “classical piece”.
The same structured approach is found in elements of architecture. Classic
rules dictate the structure and final outcome of the piece or the building or
neighborhood in architecture.
Some great composers (like
Richard Strauss) came along and broke all the classic rules in music
composition.
Many others followed in jazz
and other forms of music. Some consumers have never gotten past classical
music. While the vast majority of people have gone so far beyond classical
music, it does not appeal to them for a myriad of reasons. The same can be said
of many other “traditions of structure” including architecture and classical
community planning.
Like any other product or
fashion, the new urbanism approach doesn’t appeal to the total market. The real
estate market is divided into many segments that require different amenities to
please different buyers. Many are focused on different key elements like status
and icons of achievement.
There are some who don’t want
to live in an urban setting. Other elements that change decisions to locate in
areas (like school quality, safety, property tax costs and overall
affordability) also impact a decision. There are some who want privacy and
exclusion from a neighborhood and will pay a premium for that choice.
Hybrids vs. Heavy
Horsepower
As for energy consumption, houses
and cars have a different appeal to many consumers.
It’s hard to get everyone to
look at a hybrid as their ultimate dream car and socially responsible
transportation goal when you have society and entertainment icons like Paris
Hilton and Jennifer Lopez driving heavy horsepower Bentley “drop-head coupes”
(the British phrase for convertibles).
Even government figures that
preach conservation, then hop into a limousine or private jet are viewed as
hypocrites by those that have no option but to run their big SUVs because they
cannot afford to buy a more fuel-efficient car at this time.
How can they preach “buy
yourself a small hybrid” while they use up more fuel in one cross-country
flight than what the average consumer will purchase in a couple years? Also,
Nascar won’t be changing to hybrids any time soon.
The consumer market is too
segmented. The message for success that is amplified in the media is not living
in a harmonically even, eco-friendly neighborhood as much as it is screaming
for go-for-broke ambiance and individualism.
That image of ambiance is
manifested in a huge house, couple 500-horsepower cars, a floating mansion,
items like Greg Norman’s $70 million mega yacht and other non-green play toys.
Trend setters and
architectural futurists like Duany attempt to say the “young generation” will
be more focused on green and will be socially conscious on energy. I totally
disagree. I say look at the north suburban high school parking lots where one
parent from a
If you don’t think young
consumers are brand conscious, talk to the parents who have to buy
super-expensive North Face jackets for them because they would be ostracized at
high school wearing anything less.
If anything, younger
consumers will be hyper-sensitive to availability of bandwidth, home theatres
and other high-bandwidth consumption amenities that have yet to be developed
before they ask if the water heater or furnace are “energy efficient” or
solar-powered.
Bandwidth Will Be Key
Homes that have fiber to
the home (FTTH) are already perceived to have a higher value, according to
one of the panelists who spoke at the conference. That value is rising. Add
$5,000 to the price if it has FTTH. Add $7,000 in 2008. In a couple years, it
will be: “You don’t have FTTH? Here is an offer for $20,000 less.” Worse, it
could be: “Sorry. We’re just not interested at any price.”
Maybe we should start
mandating high-speed connectivity as part of the building codes for new
construction.
From a state standpoint, in
return for a statewide franchise that some incumbents want (like in HB 1500 in
The connection to work will
be virtual as more people telecommute and don’t depend on transportation. The
green achievement will be facilitated more through connectivity than through
everyone buying a hybrid. If everyone can telecommute to work one or two days a
week, that is a huge reduction in their energy expenditures.
As for community planning,
the need to understand the market is key.
I believe Duarny has many
good ideas. I just don’t think all people buying houses will settle for the
same elements and amenities he proposes. More architects and city planners must
realize that the old real estate adage of importance has changed from
“location, location, location” to “location, location, connectivity”.
Carlinism: Rules are made to be broken. Those who break them
sometimes create much better end results than the theorists and traditionalists
who made the rules.
Check out Carlini’s blog
at CarlinisComments.com.
James Carlini is an
adjunct professor at Northwestern University. He is also
president of Carlini & Associates. Carlini can be
reached at james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or
773-370-1888.
Click here for
Carlini’s full biography.
Copyright 2007 Jim Carlini
NAED Announces 2007-2008 Board of Directors
The National Association of
Electrical Distributors (NAED) announces its new Board of Directors for
2007-2008. Led by the NAED chair, the Board of Directors is a dedicated group
of industry leaders who volunteer their time and efforts to improve the
association and the electrical distribution channel.
The 2007-2008 NAED Chair of
the Board is Tammy Miller, CEO of Border States Electric Supply in
Active in NAED, she has been
a member of the association’s Board of Directors for the past eight years and
was Western Region Vice President. She has chaired the NAED Finance Committee
and Special Pricing Authorization (SPA) Distributor Task Force. She also serves
on the Channel Advantage Partnership Council. The first woman to serve as NAED
chair, Miller’s new role became official at the conclusion of the 2007 Annual
Meeting, held May 5 – 9 in
“As NAED begins the year-long
celebration of its 100th anniversary, we can take great pride in the
association’s commitment to the success of our members and the distribution
channel,” Miller said. Her theme for the year is “Honor Tradition. Ignite
Innovation.”
“NAED is working on many
tremendous initiatives that will ignite innovation in our channel to help
members be more profitable over the next century. The association truly is the
bridge in our channel that can bring together distributors, manufacturers,
software providers, marketing groups and others to tackle the tough issues,”
she said.
Richard (Dick) Waterman,
executive vice president and CEO of International Electric Supply Corp. (IESC),
will be Chair-Elect. He will work closely with Miller to prepare for assuming
NAED board leadership in 2008 - 2009.
IESC is the holding company
formed after the Rexel Group’s recent acquisition of GE Supply. Based in
Members of the 2007 - 2008 NAED Board of Directors
are:
Tammy Miller, NAED Chair,
Richard (Dick) Waterman, NAED
Chair-Elect, Rexel Inc.,
John Duda, NAED Past Chair,
Butler Supply Inc.,
Daniel Gray, NAED Eastern
Region Vice President, Independent Electric Supply,
Glenn Goedecke, NAED South
Central Region Vice President, Mayer Electric Supply Co.,
Thomas Isenberg, NAED Western
Region Vice President, Western Extralite Co.,
Richard Williams, NAED
Eastern Region Vice President-Elect, Dominion Electric Supply Co. Inc.,
Arlington, Va.
Barry Boyer, NAED South
Central Region Vice President-Elect, Van Meter Industrial Inc.,
Jack Henderson, NAED Western
Region Vice President-Elect, Hunzicker Brothers Inc.,
David White, NAED Member at
Large, Shealy Electrical Wholesalers Inc.,
Robert Reynolds, Jr., NAED
Member at Large, Graybar Electric Company Inc.,
Joe Huffman, NAED Member at
Large, Consolidated Electrical Distributors Inc.,
Lawrence Stern, NAED Finance
Committee Chair, Standard Electric Supply Co.,
Jack Mumford, NAED Foundation
Chair, Western Region Sonepar
John Spoor, NAED Foundation Chair-Elect,
State Electric Supply Co.,
Larry Powers, NAED
Manufacturer Representative, Genlyte Group,
Todd Kumm, IDEA Vice Chair,
Dakota Supply Group,
Douglas Borchers, Your
Emerging Talent (YET) Chair, Dickman Supply, Inc.,
As the governing body of
NAED, the Board of Directors is accountable for the effective performance and
direction of the association, as well as communicating to the membership about
NAED’s activities and policies. Within the framework of the association’s
by-laws and policies, the Board of Directors determines measurements for
success, establishes policy imperatives, defines the organization’s vision for
the future, fulfills fiduciary obligations and serves as champions of the association.
NAED officers attend two NAED Board meetings a year and are encouraged to
attend all NAED Regional and Annual Meetings.
NAED is the trade association
for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking,
education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors
increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership represents
approximately 4,200 locations internationally.
New Fiber Inspection And Cleaning Tools Eliminate The #1 Cause Of Fiber Cable Failure
Fluke
Networks, provider of innovative Network SuperVision Solutionstm for the
testing, monitoring and analysis of enterprise and telecommunications networks,
announces the availability of a new miniature video microscope and fiber optic
cleaning kits. These new products improve performance and reliability of
fiber optic links.
"By
far, the most common problem I see with fiber links is end-face
contamination," said Larry Johnson, President of fiber training company
Light Brigade. "And the problem is getting worse. Contamination and
end face damage increases attenuation, reflectance and can cause damage.
With higher network data rates the fiber links are even less tolerant of signal
loss. Proper cleaning techniques are essential, and safe end-face
inspection is critical."
New
inspection, cleaning tools result in better network performance
To help users get the
best performance from fiber links, Fluke Networks is introducing the
FiberInspector Mini, an exceptionally portable video microscope that lets users
view both multimode and singlemode end-faces in crisp detail.
FiberInspector Mini completely protects the user from exposure to harmful laser
light.
Also new
is the Fiber Optic Cleaning Kit. One element of the kit is a Fiber Optic
Solvent Pen which uses a plastic-safe solvent with superior cleaning properties
to isopropyl alcohol. Also included are Fiber Optic Cleaning Card and a
Fiber Optic Cleaning Cube, both of which provide cleaning and wiping surfaces
that are safe to fiber end-faces, and two sizes of Fiber Optic Swabs for
cleaning inside fiber ports. The kit includes a rugged carrying case, and
all items are also sold separately.
New
online instructional video shows best practices for cleaning fiber end-faces
An animated, interactive demonstration showing proper use all of Fluke
Networks' fiber inspection and cleaning tools is available at www.flukenetworks.com/fibercare.
Following the best practices shown in this online video ensures effective
removal of all types of contaminants and avoids costly, unexpected network
downtime.
Product
availability
Fluke Networks' new
FiberInspector Mini and Fiber Optic Cleaning Kit products are available for
immediate delivery from Fluke Networks' sales partners worldwide.
About
Fluke Networks
Fluke Networks provides innovative solutions for the installation and
certification, testing, monitoring and analysis of copper, fiber and wireless
networks used by enterprises and telecommunications carriers. The company's
comprehensive line of Network SuperVisiontm Solutions provide network
installers, owners, and maintainers with superior vision, combining speed,
accuracy and ease of use to optimize network performance. Headquartered in
Integrated Zone Cabling Solution
Remember the Titans, a movie released in 2000, focused on student
integration in 1971 at
Today the real
The cabling system consists
of an extensive fiber optic backbone and distribution system from one server
room to multiple zone boxes. Fiber optic
cable is the perfect medium for the long runs to the zone boxes. From each zone box, copper horizontal cable
provides data and video applications. Voice cabling was separately homerun from
the server room directly to the outlets.
Designing to LEED
Designing and building the
new school, which is adjacent to the existing school, took a lot of
coordination between all the contractors -- from the general contractor, Hensel
Phelps Construction Company to the low-voltage wiring group, M.C.Dean,
Inc. The school consists of three floors
and three wings of classrooms, labs and administration, as well as open areas,
such as a central living laboratory. This facility also complies with the U.S.
Green Building Council’s LEED’s rating program to achieve valuable ecological
efficiencies, such as water and energy.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building
Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction, and operation of high performance “green buildings.” LEED gives
building owners the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact
on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach
to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and
environmental health: site development, water savings, energy efficiency,
materials selection and indoor environmental quality. In fact a new report, prepared by Capital E
(www.cap-e.com), “Greening America’s Schools Costs and Benefits” (October 2006)
documents the financial costs and benefits of green schools compared to
conventional schools and demonstrates that a “greening” school design provides
an extraordinarily cost-effective way to enhance student learning, reduce
health and operational costs and, ultimately, increase school quality and
competitiveness. For the
A 450,000-gallon underground
cistern was installed to collect rainwater from the building’s roof to store it
for toilet flushing, air-conditioning and irrigation. A roof garden cleanses roof-run-off before
draining to the storm sewer and provides a living laboratory for students.
While the adherence to the
LEED program will result in a more efficient water and energy usage, these
unique features created quite a challenge for planning cable pathways and
delivery of both the electrical and telecommunications services. Moseley Architects designed a zone cabling
environment, which allows all of the main data and voice termination to be
housed in one main server room (MDF). From there the data distribution cable,
or backbone, consisting of 12-strands of fiber optic cable, is pulled to the
zone boxes which are housed in the ceilings within the classrooms or
hallways.
Space efficiency with
Armored Cable
“The main design driver was
all about space efficiency, including honing the pathways to minimize the cable
bulk and eliminate intermediate termination closets,” states Douglas Stanley,
RCDD, Telecommunications Designer with M.C. Dean, Inc. (
“The original design included
the zone boxes fed by conduit occupied with standard 62.5 micron fiber optic
cables,” states Luigi Prezioso, Manager of the Telecommunications Group for
M.C. Dean, Inc. Protecting optical fiber
cables within the plenum space has traditionally meant using costly conduit or
innerduct. “By working with the City,
the architects, and Hensel Phelps, we went one step further to save even more
space and by specifying ArmorTek from Berk-Tek, which is an armored jacketed
cable, which totally eliminates the conduit, while providing excellent
protection of the fibers,” notes Prezioso.
“Additionally, armored fiber has been gaining popularity in riser and
plenum spaces due to its inherent qualities such as smaller size, extraordinary
strength, flexibility, easier and faster installation over conventional methods
– which includes installing a conduit and feeding the cable through it,” he
adds.
In addition to saving space,
the ArmorTek helped with the over all project schedule. It saved time by reducing the conduit
installation, in pulling the cable to each location as well as in the
termination procedures in the closet. “Like most installations, the contractor
likes the cabling to be installed from the top floor down. Since the third floor was scheduled to be
completed first and we didn’t want to slow up the schedule by having to wait on
the installation of the conduit, the ArmorTek was the perfect solution,” notes
Prezioso. “Obviously, the armored fiber
optic cable helped us simplify the schedule and conduct multiple activities
simultaneously, which allowed us to meet our deadline, but it also helped the
customer save real estate in the plenum areas,” he adds.
All fiber optic cable was
terminated into Ortronics’ OptiMo fiber cabinets in the one server room on the
second floor. “With armored cable, it can be pulled all the way into the rack,
stripped at the entrance of the fiber cabinet and safely terminated,” states
Rafael Rosa, Telecommunications Lead Technician for M.C. Dean, Inc.
Most of the ArmorTek was
pulled through the hallway drop ceilings and then fed into zone boxes, or
consolidation points, in the classrooms.
However, because the third floor had top side windows along the outer
hallways to provide natural light, the fiber distribution cabling had run
through the classroom ceilings. This had
to be carefully pre-planned so that it would not conflict with other
low-voltage cable services in the same space, such as lighting, audio/paging
and security applications. “Fiber
provides better immunity interferences such as EMI and other signal degradation
caused by close proximity to these cables,” adds
Zoning out
Although the original
TIA/EIA-568-A standard for telecommunications cabling specified direct runs from
the closet to the workstation outlets, the TSB75 supplement provided expanded
guidelines for horizontal cabling. The
TSB75 approved that a point of connect and disconnect could be allowed in the
open office between the telecommunications outlet and the telecommunications
closet. Zone cabling was originally made
popular as a flexible alternative to open offices. Since this addendum, the zone cabling concept
has become popular in other environments, such as schools and data centers, and
is not for just open offices anymore.
With zone cabling,
distribution cables (also called “feeder” cables) are run from the telecom
closet to a series of consolidation points to “feed” a cluster of
workstations. This layout eliminates
additional intermediate closets, as the termination field is located either in
the floor or in the ceiling’s zone boxes within 15 meters of the workstation
outlet. This topology also makes it
easier to make cable changes between the short runs from the consolidation
point to the outlet instead of throughout the entire horizontal run back to the
wiring closet. This cuts down on
installation time, labor and material costs and can result in significant cost
savings over the life of the cabling system.
Zone cabling was selected as
the ideal choice for T.C. Williams for both the space savings, by eliminating
closets, and due to the extended cable run lengths. “Since the design included horizontal distribution runs from the server
room to the data outlet that were well beyond the allowable 90-meter limitation
that industry standards set for copper cable, we used fiber,” states
Stanley. “With fiber, we could extend
the runs up to 300 meters, if needed,” he adds.
Therefore, instead of having
multiple closets with racks and multi-port patch panels taking up valuable
class, hallway or lab space, there were 141 consolidation boxes located in the
ceiling. One zone box could service one
to two classrooms, depending on the number of outlets needed. A typical classroom would require 7 data ports,
whereas lab and administration areas would require up to 40.
Connecting the dots
Each zone box measures 24” x
24” x14”, approximately the same size as a ceiling tile, and houses the active
and passive connectivity, and patching fields to convert the distribution of
services from fiber to copper Category 5e.
This includes a switch and an Ortronics Clarity5E 24-port copper patch
panel for the Category 5e cable.
“It’s as easy as connecting
the dots,” states Prezioso. “There are basically five rack spaces inside the
zone box. A bracket holds the switch,
which easily slides in front of the door.
The fiber cables are brought into the zone box to make fiber cable
termination simple. On the top is the
copper patch panel with cable managers to make the transition between the fiber
and the copper, neat and organized. Berk-Tek’s LANmark-350 Category 5e cable is
punched down in the back of the copper patch panel and goes directly to the
workstation outlet through a conduit in the wall,” he explains.
When added up, there are a
total of 3,384 SC fiber terminations, 1,602 total outlets and 2,377 Category 5e
jacks. The data system is a warranted
NetClear GT (enhanced Category 5e) system from Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand,
which guarantees the installation workmanship,and products for the entire
channel – from the patch panel to the Ortronics Clarity5E TracJackÒ workstation outlet.
“For the voice, we ran
separate homeruns of Berk-Tek’s Category 3 to each voice outlet, which totaled
35 miles of voice cabling,” states
Graduating Up
Because of the fiber backbone
and ease of accessibility to the zone boxes (or CPs), the horizontal cable can
easily be upgraded in the future for higher bandwidth applications, on an
as-needed basis. In addition, they can
eventually eliminate the Category 3 runs for voice and install VoIP over the
data cabling by simply adding the electronics
connecting through the CPs to the workstations.
“That’s the beauty of the zone cabling topology – to allow upgrades
without having to run cable through out the building. Minimum disruption is certainly a concern in
all educational facilities,” states Prezioso.
“Zone cabling eliminates
downtime by minimizing network disruption and thereby maintains maximum network
productivity,” adds
At this high school, and
throughout the Alexandria City Public Schools system, is a Technology Integration
Project (TIP) to increase student achievement through the full integration of
technology as a tool for learning. By
providing every student with a laptop computer, the school system has made
technology as accessible as all other tools for learning. To provide Internet access, the new
Like the film, which won awards
and accolades for the screenplay and actors, M.C. Dean, Inc. has been
recognized for their collaborative and innovative design ideas and efficient
cabling layout. Watch for the premiere
of this new school in Fall 2007.
Reprinted with full permission of CI
& M Magazinehttp://cim.pennnet.com/home.cfm
Graybar Joins NEMA’s Associate Member Program
The National Electrical
Manufacturers Association (NEMA) today announced that Graybar has joined its
new associate member program. The program is designed to increase the value of
membership within NEMA while making the organization more inclusive and
representative of the electrical manufacturing and standards community.
Graybar, a Fortune 500
company, specializes in supply chain management services and is a leading North
American distributor of high-quality components, equipment, and materials for
the electrical and telecommunications industries.
“NEMA has been collaborating
with Graybar for a number of years,” said NEMA President and Chief Executive
Officer Evan Gaddis. ”We welcome Graybar as a team player in the manufacturing
and distribution community.”
Established in 1925, Graybar
procures, warehouses, and delivers electrical, communications, and data
products, components, and related services. With more than $5 billion in
revenue (2006), Graybar employs nearly 8,000 men and women at more than 250
distribution centers throughout the
NEMA is the trade association
of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded in 1926 and
headquartered near
ACI Communications Corporation: Off To Another Record-Breaking 2007 year!
We have just completed the
structured cabling and wireless data & voice communication system for Dr.
Nicolitz’s
ACI Communications
Corporation has just been awarded
the structured cabling for the voice and data communications contract for Dr.
Bowden’s new
In addition to ACI’s
medical division, the automotive division is having another record breaking
year. We have just completed the new telephone systems for the Coggin Auto Mall
in
ACI’s rapidly growing wireless LAN division has recently
completed projects for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, The City of
Jacksonville, Flagler College, NOVA Southeastern University and the structured
cabling and fiber optics for The Energy Authority in downtown Jacksonville.
In addition to these, ACI
has just completed the installation and networking for Adamec’s Harley
Davidson’s three showrooms in Jacksonville on Baymeadows, Wells Rd. and
Atlantic Blvd. including Adamec’s new Super Center on Baymeadows and I-95.
ACI also houses a wireless division that offers a full
line of wireless accessories including the newest technologies from
Sprint/Nextel. We specialize in helping
business’ increase productivity and gain a significant edge in the marketplace
while simultaneously saving our customers on their overall communication costs.
ACI Communications
Corporation designs, markets and
supports a full range of voice and data communications networks and systems for
the enterprise market.
With a backlog of automotive dealerships and surgery centers in hand, awaiting new facilities in 2007, it looks like it will be another record breaking year for Jacksonville based ACI Communications Corporation. WWW.ACICOM.NET
By
Hugo Draye
There is an old expression,
which says the hardest part of communicating with another person is the final
few inches from the listener’s ear to the brain. In some respects, the same is
true for today’s network.
The data centre, the cabling
and all the other hardware may be state-of -the art. But the last link between
the network and the user is the lowly, often forgotten patch cord. And that
last link, the patch cord, is very often the weakest link.
At slower network speeds, the
patch cord may not have been a major contributor to overall performance.
But with networks running
10GBASE-T, 1000BASE-T and now 10GBASE-T, the quality and performance of every
part of the network, including the patch cords, takes on added importance. As
with other parts of the network, testing to standards can show which patch
cords perform and which will not. And surprisingly, many brand new, just out of
the bag patch cords do not (more on that a little later.)
The permanent link and the
channel: Before looking at the
testing process for patch cords, let’s review how the rest of the cabling is
tested. Most new or modified structured cable links undergo a documented
certification test of the permanent link.
As the name implies, the
permanent link is that portion of the cabling installed on a permanent basis.
The cable itself is hidden within walls, under floors and in ceilings, routed
in cable trays and conduit. The permanent link is certified from one wall plate
jack to the other.
It is possible to certify a
link that includes the patch cords on either end. This is called testing the
channel, and is performed less frequently than a permanent link test.
A proper channel test
requires that the actual patch cords that will be used every day are included
during the test.
Two-person test crew
These patch cords must be
left in position following the test. It requires channel test adapters on the
test equipment to remove measurement effects introduced by the mating of the
patch cord to the jack in the channel adapters. It also involves a two-person
test crew, one on each end of the link.
There is another way to test
the complete channel. A compliant permanent link plus a compliant patch cord
will result in a compliant channel. Since the installer most likely certified
the permanent link, the tenant or the network manager can add a set of tested
patch cords and be assured that the entire link will be compliant to the
performance level for which it was tested.
So what is the right way to
test patch cords? Do new patch cords need to be tested? What about patch cords
that come with test documentation? Or patch cords that are made on site?
There are accepted industry
standards that define patch cord tests. TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 spells out the limits
for the two most important test parameters for patch cords, Near End Cross Talk
(NEXT) and Return Loss (RL).
An up-to-date certification
tool designed to test patch cords can compare test results with acceptable
limits, but the operator should know a few things.
Patch cords tend to be very
short, typically under three metres. What happens near the ends is more severe,
more detectable and more impactful than the phenomena, which occurs in the
middle of the cable.
This means the quality of the
termination between the cable and the plug is absolutely essential to the patch
cord’s performance.
To properly test the patch
cord, all measurement interference from the test tool must be eliminated, while
every aspect of the patch cord must be included. This requires a dedicated
patch cord adapter on the tester that uses an ideal “reference jack” as defined
by standards.
This reference jack is the
same type used in permanent links, and is performance tested before and after
assembly in the adapter.
The goal is to have the
highest possible “Mated Connection Performance” between the eight exposed
conductors on the patch cord and the matching conductors in the test adapter.
Without this Mated Connection
Performance, RL and NEXT measurements will not be accurate.
This also explains why patch
cords cannot be tested with channel adapters on the test instrument. Channel
adapters are designed to discard the measurement effects of the jack, which is
exactly what must be tested when looking at a patch cord.
Channel adapters also test to
a standard, which assumes long length and multiple connections. The patch cord
standard assumes a very short length and no other connections. This means the
pass/fail limits for a patch cord are higher than that for the channel. If a
user tests a patch cord using channel adapters, a poor quality patch cord could
easily be identified as passing and installed in the system.
Note of caution
As noted above, new
installations are typically certified by the installer. The time to test the
patch cords is when the network manager starts connecting new devices to the
cabling.
A properly conducted patch
cord test requires only one operator, and the addition of affordable adapters
can turn an existing certification tool into a standards-compliant patch cord
tester.
But a note of caution is
required here. Today’s certification tools and adapters can test patch cords
for Cat 5e and Cat 6. As the standards for Cat 6A are not yet complete, there
is not viable way to field test patch cords to Cat 6a.
Cable manufacturers can test
their Cat 6A patch cords with their own connectors, but at this point, these
tests should be considered proprietary due to lack of a finished standard.
Earlier in this article
reference was made to some brand new, right out of the bag patch cords failing
to meet performance standards.
The test consisted of 149 new
patch cords purchased from 34 distributors, assembly houses, retail outlets and
catalogue outlets, all tested with a certification tool using patch cord test
adapters.
The results were surprising
and not encouraging. Category 5e tests revealed a 69.8% failure rate. Category
6 cord requirements are much more strict, and the data showed that 83% of Cat 6
cords tested did not meet the TIA requirements. These failure rates were
roughly equivalent across all purchase channels.
Category 6 failures were
predominately NEXT issues; however, many failed both NEXT and RL. No Cat 6
cords failed RL alone. Failed Category 5e cords had smaller failure margins,
with NEXT and RL problems more evenly distributed. Many failing cords exhibited
damaged or deformed cable, inconsistent assembly techniques, and too tightly
coiled packaging.
It was apparent that most
cord assemblers do not have the proper manufacturing processes or testing
capability to consistently produce compliant Cat 5e or Cat 6 cords.
One Cat 5e assembler had 100%
passing samples. They use high quality bulk cable and plugs, combined with good
handling, assembly, and packaging techniques.
Another assembler uses
similar techniques to produce Category 6 cords. It is possible to produce high
volume, fully compliant Category 5e and 6 patch cords if the proper cable,
plugs, assembly methods, and test gear is used.
Some people prefer to make
their own patch cords, and based on the data above, there appears to be some
reason to think that is a good idea. However, the data collected from Fluke
Networks’ tests shows that self-made patch cords generally have worse
performance than manufactured patch cords, and rarely justify the time,
materials and level of experience needed.
Patch cords are designed to
be made with stranded cable. This version of UTP is far more flexible than the
solid cable used in the permanent link. Do not make the mistake of using a
length of standard UTP and mating it with patch cord plugs.
The plug and crimp tool was
not designed to be used with solid wire, and the resulting connection will
likely fail a performance test. The cord itself will also be prone to
mechanical failure as the solid wire fatigues from flexing and eventually
cracks. If a handmade patch cord must be used, the safe approach is to test it.
Even though patch cords get
used, abused and overlooked, there are several things that can be done to make
strengthen this link:
- Make sure that all permanent links have been
certified. This is an essential part of every installed or modified link.
- Before attaching equipment to the permanent link,
test the patch cords.
- Patch cords should be tested using a
certification tool with patch cord adapters. Do not perform a channel test
on a patch cord.
- Test new patch cords. Some new cords are
susceptible to failure.
- Hand built cords are also prone to failure. If
they must be used, make sure they are tested
Hugo
Draye is Marketing Manager for Fluke Networks’ Certification Tools. With over
20 years of industry experience, Draye frequently lectures at industry seminars
and conferences and his articles appear regularly in the trade press. www.flukenetworks.com
Reprinted with full
permission of CNS Magazine – www.cnsmagazine.com
General Cable Acquires Global Offshore Cable Supplier
General Cable
Corporation (NYSE:BGC - News) announced today that it
has agreed to acquire Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke GmbH & Co. KG (NSW),
located in Nordenham, Germany from Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - News). The transaction is
expected to close Monday, April 30, 2007. NSW had revenues of approximately
$120 million in 2006.
"With
more than 100 years of experience, NSW has tremendous technical expertise
offering complete solutions for submarine cable systems including the
manufacturing, engineering, seabed mapping, project management, and
installation for the offshore communications, energy exploration, transmission,
distribution, and alternative energy markets," said Gregory B. Kenny,
President and Chief Executive Officer of General Cable. NSW is a leading global
supplier of offshore communications, power and control cables as well as aerial
cables for power utility communication and control networks. NSW has been in
operation since 1899 and is situated in an ideal location with a deep-sea pier
capable of loading cable laying ships directly from their production facility
on the North Sea in northern
NSW
is also a market leader for a variety of specialty products including
specialized high-end winding wire for high voltage motor applications and
specialty extrusions for various filtration and waste water treatment applications.
"General
Cable is very pleased to have the NSW team join our global organization. NSW's
highly regarded technology platform and brand name combined with General
Cable's vast array of complementary products, marketing and logistics strengths
will provide a more complete solution which will be sold globally to these
expanding markets," said Domingo Goenaga, President and Chief Executive
Officer, General Cable Europe.
With
nearly $3.7 billion of annual revenues and over 8,000 employees, General Cable
is a global leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and
distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for
the energy, industrial, and communications markets. Visit our website at www.generalcable.com.
BuildingGreen To Exhibit At "Growing Beyond Green," The 2007 AIA Convention
BuildingGreen to exhibit at "Growing Beyond
Green," the 2007 AIA Convention Editors Alex Wilson, Nadav Malin, and Jim
Newman are featured speakers
Booth 11110, American Institute of Architects
2007 National Convention and Design Exposition, May
3-5,
Visitors to this year's AIA Convention, "Growing
Beyond Green," will have an opportunity to talk to the people behind
BuildingGreen's information resources for green design at Booth 11110.
Architects and other design professionals can demo the
company's award-winning online resource, BuildingGreen Suite, which includes
full-issue archives of Environmental Building News, green building case
studies, and the GreenSpec® Directory, with information on more than 2,000
green building products.
Editors and members of BuildingGreen's staff will also
be speaking. Three talks take place on Thursday, May 3.
Alex Wilson, executive editor of Environmental
Building News, will be one of three speakers at a talk entitled
"Establishing a National Agenda for Green Building Research," 1:30 to
3 p.m. (TH13).
The discussion focuses on the national green building
research agenda developed by the
Green Building Council and the AIA Committee on the
Environment to bring attention to the most critical gaps in information needed
to advance sustainable design, construction, and operations.
Filling these gaps is essential for mainstream
adoption of green building practices and the advancement of building science
and innovation.
Mr. Wilson will also speak on "Sustainable Design
in the Post-Katrina Era," 6 to 7 p.m. (TH63).
This poses the question: How should sustainable
buildings be designed and built in disaster-prone areas? Presenters will report
on a series of charrettes held at the USGBC's Greenbuild Conference in November
2005.
Nadav Malin, vice president of BuildingGreen, editor
of Environmental Building News, and executive editor of GreenSource magazine,
will moderate a panel with other GreenSource editors on "Going Platinum:
Setting New Benchmarks for Architects," 4 to 5:30 p.m. (TH40) Panelists
will present four diverse case studies that prove that attaining a LEED
platinum rating is achievable on different types of projects-even when
conditions are less than perfect.
On Wednesday, May 2, Mr. Malin, who is also chair of
the Materials and Resources Technical Advisory Group for LEED, as well as a
LEED Faculty Member, will also present on Environmentally Preferable Materials
as part of the Public Architects Training Workshop, 10:30 a.m. to noon (WE21).
And on Friday, May 4, Jim Newman, director of online
services for BuildingGreen, together with Larry Strain, FAIA, and Scot Horst,
will present "Public Green Guideline Specifications: Bringing Your Green
Vision to Fruition on the Job Site,"
8:15 to 9:45 a.m. (FR19). Translating green ideas to
green buildings requires contract documents to guide construction. This seminar
presents new green guideline specifications available to designers and
specification writers.
BuildingGreen supports the AIA's commitment to sustainable
design through a collaborative arrangement that gives AIA members an immediate
30 percent discount on new and renewing individual subscriptions to
BuildingGreen Suite.
The online resource is available for individual,
firm- and campus-wide access. For information, go to www.buildinggreen.com/press/aia-bg.cfm
GreenSpec-listed products will be featured in booths
throughout the show floor. Look for the GreenSpec logo.
This year's AIA convention offers more 250 continuing
education programs, 60 tours, 40 events, and 800 companies exhibiting their
products and services. For information, go to www.aiaconvention.com
or contact AIA at 202-626-7300.
About BuildingGreen, Inc. www.BuildingGreen.com
BuildingGreen, Inc., are publishers of authoritative information on
environmentally responsible building design and construction, including the
leading monthly newsletter Environmental Building News, and the GreenSpec®
Directory with 2,000 green building product listings.
Comprehensive Line Of Surge Suppressors
Para Systems, Inc., a
leader in power technology with its line of Minuteman®
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems, announces a new line of surge
suppressors.
A total of ten new
products have been released and are available for immediate delivery.
The Minuteman surge
suppressors can be categorized into the following four classifications.
Rotating outlets –
Four of the new Minuteman surge suppressors have rotating outlets that are designed to alleviate the issue of
plugging a number of multiple transformer “blocks” into a power strip without
covering other outlets.
6-Rotating outlet
surge suppressor with coax and phone line protection.
8-Outlet/6-rotating
and 2 fixed outlets surge suppressor
10-Outlet/5-rotating and
5 fixed outlets surge suppressor with phone line protection 12-Outlet/8-rotating
outlet surge suppressor with coax and phone line protection
“Child safety” surge
suppressors – Designed to avoid shock from accidental contact with electrical
power. Two of the new products feature
outlets that require the sliding of a safety cover before a plug can be
inserted into the surge suppressor. This
reduces the possibility of a person inserting an object into an outlet. These
surge suppressors are ideal for schools, child care facilities and homes with
small children. One of the units also
has a connection to provide protection for a phone line. The units are:
·
7-Outlet surge
suppressor with “child safety” covers
·
7-Outlet surge
suppressor with “child safety” covers and phone line protection
·
Ruggedized surge
suppressors - Designed to operate in harsh environments.
·
Ruggedized 7-outlet
surge suppressor
Other
·
Single outlet wall
tap surge suppressor
·
3-Outlet wall tap
surge suppressor with coax protection
·
6-Outlet surge
suppressor “twin pack”
Additional major
features of the new surge suppressors include:
Wall mountable – all
of the new surge suppressors are wall mountable, thus saving desk and floor
space.
Telephone/Fax/Modem
Line Protection – Several of the new surge suppressors provide protection for
coax, phone lines, fax lines and modem lines.
RoHS Compliant –
Recognizing the need to promote environmental responsibility, Minuteman surge
suppression products are manufactured in accordance with RoHS guidelines.
Minuteman Support -
Para Systems includes full end-user support that includes toll-free technical
service from our headquarters in
Warranty – Each of
the Minuteman surge suppressors are covered with a warranty and connected
equipment protection.
For over 25 years,
Para Systems, Inc. has provided quality power products with excellent
personalized service and direct human response to all service and support
calls. Minuteman products pass extensive
quality control testing before being shipped to customers.
Low costs and unique
features make the Minuteman® surge suppressors a value leader in the
UPS industry, with end-user pricing between $7.00 and $60.00. The Minuteman®
surge suppressors are in stock and ready for immediate delivery.
Software Technology Integrates Data Center Design, Monitoring, Management
In support of what it’s calling an “enterprise software strategy for efficient
management of company-wide IT physical infrastructure,” APC (www.apcc.com) has
introduced InfraStruXure Central v4.0, a redesigned platform for the
integration and deployment of intelligent enterprise management applications.
The company says
InfraStruXure Central technology is designed to lower support costs and prevent
downtime through rapid problem resolution of physical and environmental
issues—including floor space, power, cooling, cabling, and threat protection.
“The data center of the future must be fully integrated, fully managed and
fully scalable,” says Dr. Phil London, APC’s vice president of Software
and Management Solutions, in explaining the software technology’s purpose.
“These are mandatory principles from concept to commissioning, from
operation to obsolescence.”
The company is developing an integrated suite of applications that will let IT
and data center professionals manage the entire lifecycle of their physical
infrastructure. The system architecture combines the outputs from an automated
data center design application with real-time monitoring and measuring
applications. It also features ITIL service management applications designed to
deliver previously unavailable integration and effectiveness in IT physical
infrastructure management.
At an estimated resale price of less than $10,000, the base configuration of
InfraStruXure Central v4.0 includes device management, alerting and reporting.
The system can scale from simple wiring closet monitoring to full
enterprise management of data centers and remote facilities, and supports most
manufacturers’ IT devices. Additional applications can provide
centralized environmental monitoring, video surveillance, rack and data center
access control, and ITIL-based Capacity and Change Management
“InfraStruXure Central v4.0
gives us a new level of visibility and control,” said Bill Hodges, director of
data center operations at Sisters of Mercy Health System in
Hodges adds, “With
InfraStruXure Central, we have the ability to establish and define our event alerting
structure that includes threshold setting, escalation intervals, and crisis
event reactionary time, allowing us to proactively resolve areas of risk or
address interruptions before they become service outages.”
By integrating data from the company’s design tools, APC says IT managers can
also compare what is actually happening
to what is supposed to happen. This design and operations data can then be fed
to a new capacity management application, called Capacity Manager. This
feature helps eliminate the guesswork of where to place a server with respect
to power, cooling, floor and rack space, and allows for management and tracking
of the workflow and movement of IT equipment. All information from the
change and capacity management applications is fed back to the database,
creating a closed-loop system, designed to ensure an updated, accurate model.
Offered as a no-charge service to InfrStruXure Central purchasers,
InfraStruXure Designer provides the most efficient data center layout
incorporating power and cooling, as well as floor and rack space. Its
intelligence enables a design to incorporate redundancy, model the loads of
thousands of different IT devices, as well as generate 3-D visual renderings.
Advanced power capacity and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling ensures
the physical infrastructure design avoids over-sizing, while providing the
flexibility of a scalable infrastructure to meet the current and future needs
of an IT department’s servers, storage and networking IT equipment.
APC’s
“With today’s high density computing, everything has become extremely complex.
It is now clear that the days of managing the data center by hand are over.”
Reprinted with permission of
CI & M Magazine – www.cable-install.com
NECA Convention Closes With Entertainer, Dana Carvey
Numerous entertaining
personalities will be on stage at the Masonic Auditorium, for the National
Electrical Contractors Association Convention Closing Celebration,, on October
8 – but they’ll all be embodied by one man. There’s a good reason why Dana
Carvey is called the “Master of Disguise” (also the name of his most recent
film.)
Carvey’s career began in Bay
area clubs shortly after he won the San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition
while a student at
It was there that the boyish
comedian created several memorable characters, including Church Lady (“Well,
isn’t that special?”), Hans of the Austrian body-building team Hans and Franz,
and Garth of Wayne’s World. It was also where he honed his skills as a mimic.
He has received widespread praise for his uncanny impersonations of a plethora
of politicos and celebs, including Bush (George Herbert Walker, George W. and
Barbara).
Following SNL, Dana Carvey
extended his role as “Garth” to co-star in the film version of “
However, these days he’s very
particular about where he performs and participates in the entertainment
industry only when it doesn’t compromise his time with his wife and sons. Thus,
the fact that Dana Carvey is spending time with NECA conventioneers is special,
indeed!
The National Electrical Contractors Association is the voice of the $100
billion industry responsible for lighting, power, and communication systems in
buildings and communities across the
Range Resources Picks SYSTIMAX(r) Solutions For Cabling In Fort Worth's Tandy Building
SYSTIMAX Solutions(TM) from CommScope (NYSE: CTV), the
worldwide leader in structured connectivity solutions, has contributed to a
cultural landmark with the recent completion of its installation for Fort
Worth, Texas-based Range Resources Corporation. KRK Technologies, a SYSTIMAX
Business Partner, designed and installed the
SYSTIMAX(r) GigaSPEED(r) XL copper solution that will
provide Range Resources' new offices in Fort Worth's City Place (formerly the
Tandy Center), with the power and speed it needs to support VoIP, large file transfers
and bandwidth-intensive applications.
After RadioShack Corporation moved out of
"When we outgrew our existing offices and made
the decision to move into
KRK Technologies installed 80,000 feet of the
GigaSPEED XL 2071 plenum copper cabling in the horizontal and 5,000 feet of the
GigaSPEED XL 2081 plenum cabling in the backbone. Both types meet the TIA/EIA
568-b.2-1 Category 6 and ISO/IEC Category 6 specifications and provide the
added performance margin required to support high-bandwidth applications -
perfect for Range Resources applications, which include reservoir and 3-D
seismic simulations.
"We wanted to make sure that Range Resources had
a sophisticated infrastructure and design that would support its more
bandwidth-intensive applications," said Mark Guajardo, RCDD - Operations
Manager for KRK Technologies. "SYSTIMAX Solutions is the leader in our
industry, and it just made perfect sense to use the GigaSPEED XL for this installation.
The solution will enable Range Resources to run its simulations and send and
share large image files that you'll find at any oil and gas company."
The Category 6 copper cabling will also support VoIP,
a quality valued by Range Resources as it has 650 employees in offices in
Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In addition, the end-to-end solution
will support network line speeds in excess of 1 GB/s for all of the 140
employees, on all five stories, in the Fort Worth office.
"SYSTIMAX Solutions has a long history of
providing top-quality, complete solutions that meet, and often exceed, industry
standards and specifications," Mark Peterson, senior vice president,
Enterprise Global Marketing, CommScope, said. "That's why our business
partners, like KRK Technologies, and our end-users, like Range Resources, know
they can turn to us for reliable solutions they can count on for years to come.
We are excited to be a part of this historic move, and we look forward to
continuing to support Range Resources in its endeavors."
About SYSTIMAX Solutions
SYSTIMAX Solutions from CommScope (NYSE: CTV) is a
worldwide leader in structured cabling systems and provides integrated
end-to-end connectivity solutions for video, voice, data and building
management applications in both wired and wireless enterprise networks.
SYSTIMAX Solutions supplies its high-performance and
market-leading range of products through a network of highly skilled
BusinessPartners. The product range includes the copper-based GigaSPEED X10D
and GigaSPEED XL Solutions, the fiber optic LazrSPEED(r) and TeraSPEED(TM)
Solutions and the iPatch(r) Real Time Infrastructure Management System. The
SYSTIMAX AirSPEED(TM) Solution adds a wireless option to the portfolio. Drawing
on their Bell Labs heritage, the people of SYSTIMAX Labs who have spearheaded
these innovations will continue to play an integral role in the future success
of SYSTIMAX Solutions. Currently the company's BusinessPartners install an
average of over 1,000 miles (1,600km) of SYSTIMAX cable every day in
approximately 130 countries worldwide. http://www.systimax.com
Some Straight Talk About Installer Training
By Bill Graham
As an electrician and
electrical contractor, entering the data communications field in the early
1990s was an exciting new endeavor. It would end up also being both rewarding
and frustrating.
Exciting because as an
electrician I had every qualification I could obtain in the electrical
construction and industrial field including being a master electrician and
licensed electrical contractor in Toronto, as well as holding licenses from
other provinces.
In 1993 I entered data
communications and more specifically fiber optics as a sideways move from the
electrical field.
I often joke that I spent the
first two years on the telephone as I gathered information on materials, tools
and methods, creating files on all these products and making good use of the
companies' 1-800 numbers and mail-in reply cards.
The
Rewards: I soon realized that
data communications installers and fiber optics installers in particular, were
generally being paid 20-50% more per hour than electricians.
A lot of work was piece
based, which paid installers extremely well.
At the same time, electricians went through four or more years of an
apprenticeship, passed rigid exams and were required to hold a license, and
with this came some liability.
The data communications
installer, at least at the time, needed no certification and often was on the
job with very meager experience -- and for this received much higher
compensation.
The
Frustration: My first awakening
into the data communications business occurred in 1994 when I attempted to buy
10 sets of tools to equip a fiber optic class. I faxed in the order to a
supplier and received no reply.
A few days later another
supplier called up and told me that if I wanted fiber optic tools and materials
I had to buy them through his company.
Imagine the surprise and
frustration I felt. I had been purchasing electrical materials, tools and
services for 25 years and had never been told whom I had to purchase from.
If that was not bad enough,
vendors started approaching me. They wanted me to be part of their certification
courses so that I could install their products.
I quickly realized that
data-communications was much different from the electrical industry.
I also found that the
certification from a vendor was considered very important to the customer and
also that this "vendor certification" meant the following: the
installed system (vendor A) must contain only their products. If I installed
another company's products I could lose (Vendor A) certification. If I did not
purchase a specific amount of product a year I could lose my (Vendor A)
certification.
In addition, a Vendor A
system was easy to sell to my customer because it had a "lifetime"
warranty rather than their competitor's only "15-year" warranty.
Now, the vendor did not
specify whether it was the customer's life, the system life or heaven forbid my
life that this time period applied to. But they did have inserted in the fine
print that any change made to the system by anyone other than them would void
all warranty.
In other words, if an
installer changed a pair of wires on a block, the warranty could be technically
void. And the most amazing thing to me was that they were able to sell this to
a customer.
The data communications
customer and installer are obviously subservient to the vendors and manufacturers.
And to the vendors and manufacturers this was an arrangement made in heaven.
As an electrician, had any
company said to me that their receptacle or switch could only be installed in
"their" box with "their" cover plate they would have been
laughed at. Materials are produced to interoperability standards to ensure that
they are compatible. And interoperability standards include all components in a
data communications system to ensure compatibility in the same way as they
would in an electrical or a plumbing system.
Had any company said that we
must take their training program to install their products and we would lose
this certification if we installed another company's products, again they would
have been laughed at by the electrical industry.
I can remember a couple of
instances over the past 30 years that this idea was floated within the
electrical industry, but it was a non-starter and quickly died. Generic
training for most skills has had a long and successful history worldwide.
Somehow at some point in
time, the data-communications industry users allowed communications equipment
manufacturers to tell them what was best for them, what they should buy and who
they should purchase from. It is time for customers and users to reclaim this
right. The result of this is many "total solutions" by manufacturers
that end up as the most expensive type of installation, with the most parts,
and not necessarily the best system.
The
Solution: Certification for
fiber optics installers began with my affiliation with the Fiber Optic
Association (www.foa.org) around the time it
was formed in 1997. Founded by Jim and Karen Hayes, the objective of the
association was to set certification standards within the industry and also be
non-vendor specific.
At last count, the FOA, which
is managed by a five-person board none of whom are part of the vendor
community, had upwards of 20,000 certified installers across North America and
the Caribbean.
An advisory board has a
minority number of vendors. While vendor control is not wanted or possible, the
input from them is needed and should be given freely. For the fiber optic
industry this has a proven history of success that has served the industry
well.
However, for the copper
industry there is still the same confusion. Nova Scotia and Ontario at least
have a "Network Cabling Specialist" designation and an apprenticeship
program.
In Nova Scotia, this program
is supported well with appropriate code changes, but in Ontario, the code
sections 60 and 54 were removed in 1983. The Electrical Safety Authority and
provincial politicians have not yet found the intestinal fortitude to reinstate
these sections, despite renewed fire and safety concerns from the insurance
industry, with large network systems in buildings installed without the
advantage of codes, standards or inspections.
The simple solution is for
government, vocational schools and industry to support a standardized training
program for structured cabling installers. This ideally would have vendor
support, but not control.
A new organization, and a
long awaited breath of fresh air to the industry, called the Structured Cabling
Association www.scausa.org/ (SCA) recently
hit the ground running as the industry's first "non-profit professional
society" focusing specifically on education, certification and standards.
This is modeled after the
Fiber Optic Association and, I feel, is the solution to the problem. Will we
see an immediate change? No, certainly not. It will take some time for people
to be trained and certified through this program. But it will come to be in
time. Customer acceptance is a prime requirement and this comes through
non-vendor specific customer education.
Venders must be willing to
support the training and certification efforts without strings attached and
some do a commendable job with this.
Unfortunately, others still
think a training institution is a threat to them or is competing with them and
will even have the gall to suggest that the training institution should
purchase their products to demonstrate in the classroom.
Vendors must readily support
the program with product support. Governments at all levels have a role to play
and must support this with community college programs as well as providing
adequate codes and standards for teachers and industrial instructors to teach
to.
Government has an obligation
to protect consumers by providing standards that are not vendor controlled.
Lastly, of course, is the
data communications installer who must realize that he or she is part of an
exciting, fast growing and lucrative field.
And that person must commit
to becoming knowledgeable and also certified in this skill all the while
committing to life-long learning to keep abreast of the flood of new products.
William Graham is an
electrical contractor, a certified fiber optic specialist in testing,
connectorizing and splicing through the Fiber Optic Association. He operates
Mississauga Training Consultants and can be reached at 905-785-8012 or via
e-mail at mrfiber@canada.com.
Reprinted with full permission of
CNS Magazine - www.cnsmagazine.com
Out of the Gate: Commscope Hits High
CommScope Inc., a
supplier of coaxial cable and other networking infrastructure, surged
immediately after the opening bell Friday after it boosted its sales outlook on
a robust first-quarter earnings report.
Shares
were up $5.55 or 12.2 percent, to $51 on the New York Stock Exchange in morning
trading, after touching an all-time high $52.25 at the open. The stock
previously traded as high as $45.97 in the past 52 weeks and is up 60 percent
in the same period.
The
company on Thursday after the closing bell said first-quarter earnings surged
more than threefold on robust demand across all its segments, and beat analyst
estimates on both sales and profit. CommScope also boosted its full-year
revenue expectations.
Robert
W. Baird & Co. analyst Kenneth W. Muth in a client note raised his rating
to "Outperform" from "Neutral" and lifted his target price
to $60 from $42.
"Management
has done a great job realigning manufacturing, expanding margins and ramping
EPS over the last 12 months, which appears sustainable," wrote Muth. www.commscope.com
Fluke Networks White Paper Series
With hot topics like VoIP and
MPLS, enterprises need to understand critical aspects to ensure a successful
deployment. The Fluke Networks White
Paper series can help you with overall knowledge as well as best practices for
making your deployment successful Our
new series of complimentary white papers is now available for download. All it
takes is a simple registration to download each pdf.
Avoid Three Common Pitfalls with VoIP Readiness
Assessments:
Enterprises and equipment
vendors are learning the value of a complete readiness assessment before
deploying VoIP across an organization. The assessments are a critical step to a
successful VoIP deployment, but many enterprises are hitting three common
pitfalls with various assessment approaches. This white paper will focus on how
to avoid the pitfalls of following a snapshot approach, believing synthetic
VoIP calls are sufficient and focusing on the assessment only and ignoring
post-deployment management. The paper will reinforce why readiness assessments
are key for a successful VoIP deployment while also highlighting best practices
to assist enterprises in successfully deploying VoIP. Download
Migrating to MPLS-based networks - Avoiding the
mistakes your peers have made:
Over the past several years,
few topics have gained as much attention as Multi-Protocol Label Switching
(MPLS). MPLS-based networks have been received as the new industry-leading
transport technology for enterprises across the world. Heralded as the next big
thing, MPLS-based transport penetration has been increasing substantially as
organizations begin the migration from existing frame relay, ATM or private
line (point-to-point circuits) networks. While MPLS-based networks have many
great features, there are also new pitfalls that can occur with Class of
Service and IP-based connectivity. This white paper will focus on how to avoid
potential serious issues when you deploy an MPLS-based solution. Download
Building an ROI - Application and Network Performance
Management:
Believing there are benefits
to improved network and application performance is not enough for most
organizations. The ability to quantify cost savings, improved productivity or
reduced risks is a critical component in justifying an investment in
application and network performance. This white paper will list eight key areas
where cost savings can be quantified. Each organization will have different
results and savings - some savings might be spread out evenly while others will
be skewed to only one or two criteria. Download
Migrating to an MPLS-Based/Private IP Network - Are
You Ready?:
With the increased reliance
on business-critical applications, enterprises are considering MPLS-based
private IP networks to improve performance with class of service prioritization
and any-to-any connectivity. This white
paper will provide an overview of the benefits associated with private IP
networks as well as the challenges that occur when networks go from Layer 2 to
Layer 3 based connectivity. Download
Building Intelligence Quotient Is An Assessment And Rating Tool And A Design Guidance Tool
An interview with Mr. Zimmer,
President of CABA
Sinclair:
What is the BIQ?
Zimmer:
Firstly, CABA’s Building
Intelligence Quotient is an assessment and rating tool. It evaluates a building
intelligence design against best practices and gives a rating. By doing that it
serves as a marketing tool that demonstrates the value of building intelligence.
Secondly,
the BIQ is a design guidance tool. By providing a description of building
improvement opportunities and links to information, it helps demystify the
implementation of intelligent building technologies and takes away some of the
fear of the unknown.
Sinclair:
Can you provide some
background on the tools development?
Zimmer:
The BIQ was conceived by
CABA’s Intelligent and Integrated Buildings Council (IIBC). Using CABA’s
Technology Roadmap for Intelligent Buildings and the Best Practices Guide for
Evaluating Intelligent Building Technologies, the IIBC task force developed a
list of intelligent building components grouped into four main categories:
Communications Systems, Automation and Security Systems and Building and
Facility Management Applications. As the next step, they hosted a
workshop with a number of industry experts representing most of the
stakeholders in the industry to refine the list and add weighting factors to
each category and each line item. This list has been refined over time
with input from many IIBC members.
Sinclair: Who uses the BIQ?
Zimmer:
Everyone that wants to
know how the automation systems in their building or buildings rate in terms of
their automation features, integration capabilities and their increased value
by being intelligent. Owners and developers with multiple properties use the
BIQ to assess and compare the building intelligence systems in their portfolio.
Sinclair: How does the BIQ determine building
intelligence?
Zimmer:
The BIQ determines building
intelligence by providing a baseline assessment of an existing building.
BIQ users are provided access to an online questionnaire. Once they
complete the questionnaire, the BIQ system instantly and automatically
generates a report with a total percentage score (Quotient) and building
automation highlights and areas for improvement. The assessment assigns
points in eight areas: systems overview, power distribution voice and data
systems, connectivity options, intelligent features, facility management
applications, degraded mode operation and building automation
environment.
The
assessment generates a report that gives valuable and timely feedback by
identifying strengths and weaknesses and recommending design and operational
improvements to the building. This is backed up by helpful online links
to building systems companies and other resources that can facilitate the
upgrades. The report generated by BIQ is not intended to be a replacement
for an engineering study but it is a way to ensure the user is aware of
technologies and how they may be integrated.
In
addition, as more and more buildings are BIQ verified, point scores will be
aggregated in an anonymous database, enabling users to analyze how their
building intelligence design performs in relation both to the median and to
buildings that are similar in terms of size, type and region.
Sinclair: How long is the learning curve?
Zimmer:
There isn't one—anyone
can be up and running in minutes. Once complete, the system issues an assessment
report along with recommendations for design improvements and resources for
making those improvements.
Sinclair: Why an online system?
Zimmer:
Because it is used
interactively online, the BIQ system enables you to change inputs in order to
keep your assessment up to date. It also allows for multiple users and is able
to compare the different properties in your portfolio. Best of all, it serves
as a virtual consultant, providing instant feedback on the intelligent building
design along with advice and resources for improvements.
Sinclair:
How does BIQ improve
intelligent building design and performance?
Zimmer:
In several ways, BIQ
paints a clear picture of your building intelligence performance against best
practices for design, installation and operation. It gives practical advice for
improvements, offers resources for making the upgrades, and provides additional
information on relevant strategies and technologies.
Sinclair: How does the BIQ system improve the
intelligence features of my building?
Zimmer:
The most critical
challenge in designing, building and operating intelligent building
technologies is the effective integration and interoperation of several
different building management technologies and other technologies. BIQ helps to
ensure that your building has the subsystems you need based on your functional
priorities. It then guides the design team to properly integrate the various
technologies. BIQ further increases the value of intelligent building
technologies by providing guidance on the use of communications for remote
monitoring, control and access.
Sinclair: How long can I use the BIQ assessment for a
given project?
Zimmer:
You can change inputs as
the building parameters change for up to one year after signing up, with an
option to extend. You can also purchase an annual unlimited usage license if
you have a large portfolio of buildings and you are a CABA member.
Sinclair:
Why should I obtain
third-party validation?
Zimmer:
By verifying that your
property has achieved the items in the self-assessment through an independent
third party, you add value and credibility—in the market, the community, and
among tenants.
Sinclair: What does the validation process entail?
Zimmer:
The building systems and
their interoperability will need to be demonstrated to an independent third
party professional that has been trained to visit the building and verify the
installation, operation and performance capabilities as described in the
reports generated by BIQ. These professionals may be engineers, system
integrators and technical experts in the building automation.
Sinclair: Is the BIQ system secure?
Zimmer:
With BIQ self-assessment,
project confidentiality and security are assured. Online data is confidential.
No other users will have access to it or to your benchmark results. This
information will be accessible to you and you alone. Verified data is collected
anonymously and used for statistical and benchmarking purposes, but no
information that could identify your company or building will be collected or
used for this analysis. You decide whether to identify your building and it’s
BIQ for the benefits to appraisers and if you want to seek certification.
Sinclair:
How much does the tool
cost?
Zimmer:
BIQ assessments apply to
individual buildings only. With multi-building complexes, such as
universities, you are required to submit each building within the facility on
an individual basis. Per building, a BIQ assessment costs $500 for the
first building, $450 for another subsequent nine buildings, and $400 if you are
assessing over 11 buildings. These rates apply if you are a CABA member.
Sinclair: Where can you access the tool?
Zimmer:
The tool can be accessed
through the CABA Web site at www.caba.org/biq.
Sinclair: Who developed the BIQ?
Zimmer:
A special BIQ Consortium
was chosen to develop the tool. It consists of ECD Energy and
Environment, IBI Group and Sustainable Resources Management Inc. The BIQ
was made easy to use on line by adopting the proven Green Globes Internet
platform that is also being used by BOMA Canada for their “Go Green” program.
Industry Veteran Malcolm Watson To Chair NAED’S 2008 Centennial Celebration Committee
To help celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) in
2008, NAED has named Malcolm Watson, past chairman of NAED and former president
of Watson Electric Supply, Lindale, Texas, as the honorary chair of the
association’s Centennial Celebration Committee. Watson served as chairman of
NAED in 1978; he has been a part of electrical distribution for over 50 years,
since his family-owned company was founded in 1947.
“I’m honored and humbled that
NAED has asked me to serve as the honorary chair of its Centennial Committee,”
Watson said. “The 100th anniversary will provide us with a unique opportunity
to move into the future by reflecting on our rich, shared history together as
an association. By understanding where we’ve been, we can evaluate where we are
today, and determine where we need to be in the future.”
In addition to Watson, all
other past and current chairs of NAED have been invited to participate in the
Centennial Committee. “I can’t think of a more dedicated group of people to
work with. They’ve cared and nurtured NAED through good and bad times, and I’m
looking forward to working with them,” Watson said.
Watson also encourages NAED
members to submit their ideas and input for the celebration plans through an
interactive online Web site at www.naed100.org.
“We’ve planned several
excellent initiatives to commemorate NAED’s Centennial year in 2008. On behalf
of the committee, I’d like to invite both distributors and manufacturers alike
to share your ideas and your stories with us and the NAED staff. This is one
way you can help lead the association into its second century,” Watson
explained.
NAED’s Centennial Celebration
will begin with the 2007-2008 regional conference season, culminating with the
2008 Annual Meeting. Mark your calendars now for these significant regional and
national events:
* Eastern Region Conference, Nov. 14-17,
2007, Hamilton, Bermuda
* Western Region Conference, Jan. 16-19,
2008, Phoenix, Ariz.
* South Central Region Conference, Feb.
20-23, 2008, Palm Desert, Calif.
* 2008 Annual Meeting, May 17-21, San
Francisco, Calif.
For additional information on
NAED’s 100th anniversary plans, contact Becky Burgess, NAED meetings and conference
director, at (888) 791-2512 or bburgess@naed.org.
NAED is the trade association
for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking,
education, research and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors
increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership represents
approximately 4,200 locations internationally. www.naed.org
By Rosie Lombardi
The race to the front door
has finally begun in earnest. The construction of that last mile needed for
broadband delivery of all of the Web's bounties to the home has been inching
along for years. While carriers worry about their build-out strategies, the
pressure is mounting. Consumers want more and more bandwidth-gobbling goodies:
HDTV, video streaming, digital music, interactive gaming.
So what will the impact be on the structured cabling sector when the
floodgates open?
Technology soothsayers have
been predicting a surge in demand for high-end broadband services for years.
However, a chicken and egg
situation has prevailed: carriers have dragged their feet about building big
pipes to homes, waiting for spikes in consumer demand to justify spend; but
without big pipes to deliver premium services, consumers are not interested in
paying more money.
Several trends indicate this
impasse will change dramatically in the near future. In the U.S., the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) has sounded the death-knell for analog
television, mandating a switch to digital broadcasting by 2009. “There is no
edict here in Canada, but we'll follow the U.S. market,” says Carmi Levy,
senior research analyst at London, Ont.-based Info-Tech Research Group.
Subhead: Bandwidth crunch
Industry insiders say this
will set the stage for mass adoption of HDTV, which in turn will spur demand
for more broadband access. Currently, cable leads in broadband delivery in
North America, and pressure is already reaching critical mass.
At the of Cable Telecommunications Engineers 's 2007
Emerging Technologies show held in Houston in January, cable companies said a
new bandwidth crunch is coming from the surge in HDTV, which requires almost
four times as much bandwidth as standard digital TV. Panelists also cited the
sudden rise of YouTube, which serves 120 million video streams per day and
draws more than 34 million users per month.
The crunch will continue to
intensify. In the U.S. for example, sales of large LCD televisions were spectacular
last Christmas, spiking at 297%t in unit sales on Black Friday, according to
consumer research by the NPD Group.
And these first-generation
models are evolving. “High-definition is defined as one million mega-pixels,
but the models coming out in 2007 have two million -- and the human eye can
detect 20 million,” says Richard Smith, the Moncton, N.B.-based director for
BICSI’s Canadian region.
Entertainment is a key driver
in demand for more bandwidth as a fundamental shift is underway, says Levy.
“We're moving from using the Web for simple surfing to using it as the basis
for a richer, interactive media experience. It is now the place where we spend
most of our free time, instead of television, radio or the movies. Consumers
are starting to see what convergence really means.”
Consumers also have pragmatic considerations as they grow
more educated about digital services, says Michael Cai, research analyst at
Parks Associates, a Dallas, Tex.-based research consultancy.
“There are certain applications they don't realize are
supported by broadband, for example, VoIP. They may not want to get broadband
but want VoIP to save money on voice services.”
Teleworking is a growing trend that also fuels demand. A
major shift is underway in the workplace as more and more people work from
home. In a 2006 survey conducted by Harris Interactive, 16% of hiring managers
said they would allow workers to telecommute.
Levy points out that Canada's economy is driven by SMB
enterprises, so home offices will take root sooner than in the U.S. “This is
how people will work in the future, and they'll need the infrastructure to
support that,” he says.
Interest in “smart” automated
buildings that connect home systems and appliances to a central control hub is
also on the rise. Often perceived as luxury technology, this area is becoming
more affordable. “Only .001% of consumers want this to turn on their hot tubs
remotely, but there are thousands of practical applications,” says Ron Zimmer,
president of CABA (Continental Automated Buildings Association), an
Ottawa-based industry organization that supports and
promotes smart building automation.
He says one
growing area that is providing hard-nosed incentives is home energy management.
People are feeling the pain of skyrocketing energy prices.
Levy agrees,
adding that, “this will probably be the first killer app in this space.
Consumers get it – this will save them money.” AT&T has already launched a
remote home-monitoring service this year to let users control home lighting and
appliances via live video for $10 per month.
Video streaming
is also starting to serve home purposes beyond entertainment. “The future is
security,” says Zimmer, pointing out that security cameras are relatively
inexpensive and more easily networked today. From checking up on baby to
letting the delivery guy into the house remotely from a home office, home
security cameras can save time and worry on a number of fronts, he says. Home
monitoring for the elderly is also starting up as more and more people
sandwiched between generations look for solutions in providing home care.
Demographic
change will also play a major role in spurring broadband. As Mike Capuano, a
senior marketing manager with Cisco Systems Inc. puts it, “There are more
consumers coming into world who need broadband than exiting it.”
Smith, meanwhile,
says the MTV generation is growing up on all this whiz-bang technology: “I look
at my 12-year-old daughter who MSNs dozens of friends while watching HDTV with
headphones on listening to iTunes -- and she's just one person in the house.
The hunger younger generations have to interact with friends, devices and
systems is not going to diminish. It never has in my lifetime.”
Subhead: Who will rule the waves?
While Canada
leads other G7 countries in broadband penetration, there is still a huge
untapped market. About 22% of Canadians have broadband, with cable modem access
leading over DSL by a slim margin, according to a 2006 OECD study.
What that means
is that telcos and cable companies are locked in a ferocious battle for
supremacy. “Whoever controls that last mile, controls the rules of the entire
game,” says Levy, pointing out utilities are also butting into this space with
broadband over power line (BPL) offerings. Wi-MAX, an untested but much-hyped
wireless technology with a range of about
30 miles, is also a contender.
Both telcos and cable
companies have fiber-optic backbones, but cabling to homes is largely
twisted-pair and coaxial, which are still good enough for most of today's
services. But bigger pipes will be needed to deliver future bandwidth-gobbling
applications. “If you look at bandwidth consumption, studies show it's almost
doubling every 24 months,” says Trevor Smith, program manager for FTTX
solutions at Eden Prairie, Minn.-based ADC Telecommunications Inc. “So if
carriers are planning a network to support 30 Mbps, they many find that's
obsolete in five years.”
Carriers face a strategic
dilemma, he says. They must guesstimate what their bandwidth requirements will
be for the next five to 30 years to attract customers, then decide what
strategy they'll adopt to build out their networks: extending their existing
copper and coaxial bases, laying fiber to the home (FTTH), or laying it
somewhere in-between to nearby nodes to edge closer to consumers.
But investors will cast a
baleful eye on infrastructure investments that won't show a return for many
years. While FTTH is the most future-proof option, it is also the one that is
most expensive and takes the longest to deploy, says Smith.
To complicate matters, the
CRTC is considering legislation that will force incumbent telcos to share their
fiber with cable companies and other competitors. Telcos have protested,
pointing out they'll have no incentive to expand their fiber infrastructure if
they cannot recoup their investments.
This is a worldwide issue,
says Joe Savage, president of the FTTH Council, an advocacy group based in
Portland, Ore. In the U.S., it was resolved by a Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) ruling that allows carriers who invest in new access
infrastructure to retain sole control -- which means other carriers will have
to duplicate fiber for home access instead of sharing one infrastructure.
“Verizon and other carriers said, hot dog, so fiber deployments are really
taking off in the U.S.,” says Savage.
In Canada, a similar boom may
occur depending on how the CRTC rules and other developments. “From the market
reports I've seen, I think the Canadian boom for FTTH is probably in the
2008-2010 timeframe,” says Smith.
Indoor plumbing
Smith says there is a
relationship between increased broadband and home networks. More broadband
piped into homes leads to more home network implementations to shuttle the
signals throughout the house.
Many families have two or
more home computers and televisions, and want the option to work or access
entertainment in any room.
Also, the concept of
networking is moving from the office to the home to enable families to share a
range of peripherals such as back-up servers, printers and cameras, says Levy.
Broadband sharing will be the driver for increased home network adoption as
multimedia applications become more widespread, according to a 2006 IDC study.
New home buyers are
expressing interest when developers present wired infrastructure as an option
at the construction phase, particularly if the costs are factored into the
mortgage, says BICSI president John Bakowski.
Info-Tech's Levy agrees. “I
see a strong business in the new home market – but not much in retrofitting,”
he says, pointing out these homeowners typically opt for Wi-Fi since it's much
cheaper and easier to install.
According to Frank Koditek, a
product marketing manager with Belden Inc., cabling for new homes is still
primarily copper.
Copper and coaxial can
deliver about the same amount of bandwidth as fiber, but only over short
distances of about 100 meters, he says. While the costs of the actual cabling
for copper and fiber are fairly close, the electronics and termination
equipment needed for fiber are more expensive.
But consumer awareness that
fiber is a better and more future-proof option is catching on, says Savage.
He says fiber received the
highest rating for quality in broadband delivery in a recent survey conducted
by Consumer Reports magazine. Fibered communities are more attractive to
homebuyers, and landlords can charge higher rents for fibered multi-dwelling
units.
Research shows that growth in
home wiring will be steady but not dramatic, says Cai. In the U.S., the number
of households with a data network increased from 2.5 million in 1998 to more
than 20 million in 2006. “Growth will be in new homes and wealthy people who
can afford retrofits. The majority either can't afford wiring or have
alternatives like Wi-Fi or BPL,” he says.
Fiber to the curb
Carrier and home network
build-up for broadband will have salutary effects on the structured wiring
sector, but also comes with some challenges for ITS specialists.
In the U.S., high-tech
installers are in great demand, particularly in the urban centres of the
North-east and South where carriers are focusing their efforts, says Bakowski.
But there is less activity in
the more sparsely populated North, which is similar to Canada. “I've noticed
cable companies are installing a lot of fiber to the curb in Canada, but fiber
for the last mile -- I can only see that happening in new sub-divisions in the
near future,” he says.
But he sees good prospects in
the home technology market. If people are going to pay more for HDTV and
premium services, they are going to want the best signals they can get via
high-performance home networks, he says.
For these installations,
consumers prefer to deal with only one specialist who does the entire job, says
Adam Welch, a manager at Everett, Wash.-based Fluke Networks, which provides
testing tools. But many are using electricians or security alarm installers who
may not necessarily have the right expertise.
To establish themselves as
the best providers in this space, installers need to upgrade their skills to
provide cradle-to-grave installations for triple-play data, voice and video
services. “They need to know all the design parameters that will give the
customer the optimum performance for what they're paying,” says Bakowski. This
means understanding all related technologies – copper, fiber, wireless and BPL,
evaluating the home's physical infrastructure and environment, and learning how
to troubleshoot problems.”
One key departure from an
installer's traditional approach is the need to understand electromagnetic (EM)
fields and how they can interfere with data flows, warns BICSI's Smith.
As more and more devices get
plugged into systems, current flows create more magnetic fields around
electrical conductors. “For example, a jack in the bedroom carrying both voice
and Web -- if those wires pass through a magnetic field created by some old
fridge motors, this will destroy the data signal,” he says. Installers can no
longer rely on physical elements they can see when they're installing wires;
they need to analyze and test the room's EM environment with tools.
Industry insiders say
accounts of botched installations are accumulating, as are stories of
sub-contractors who inadvertently cut through wiring after successful installs.
To protect installers, there
are tools that test and document to ensure the cabling performs to standards
and worked properly when installed. “So installers are protected from the
liability of others coming in and messing up their work,” says Welch.
Another issue is that many
existing computers are calibrated for slower speeds. When dealing with fiber
networks, installers must expect to spend time ensuring computers work at
higher speeds, as these will not magically adjust for broadband, says Savage.
“Verizon made a decision that technicians don't leave the house until the
computer operates at 10-15 Mbps,” he says, pointing out this means fiddling
with Windows, Ethernet cards and other network elements until the system
operates at the speed at which the access arrives.
Demand for skilled
installers, particularly good ones, will continue to grow, says Bakowski. “It's
an exciting time to be involved in this area, but five years from now there
will be new stuff so installers must keep up.”
Rosie Lombardi is a Toronto
based freelance writer. She can be reached at rosie.lombardi@hotmail.com.
Reprinted with full permission of CNS Magazine
www.cnsmagazine.com
Harger Lightning & Grounding Website
Harger Lightning &
Grounding proudly introduces the release of its new & improved Website at www.harger.com. Harger’s website provides
information and products to provide a total system solution to the protection
of any facility or site.
The website includes Harger’s
New Master Equipment Catalog that was released early in 2007. The Technical
Assistance section has been expanded to include Specifications for Structural
LP System, Wireless Communication Site LP & Grounding System, Signal
Reference Grid System and Grounding & Bonding for Communications System
(ANSI-J-STD-607-A). Downloadable details for grounding, exothermics and
lightning protection have been added. The Lightning Risk Assessment Calculator
allows the user to perform a risk assessment based on the NFPA 780-2004
edition. In the Library Section, you can view and download brochures, line
cards and presentations. See what Training Programs are offered by Harger.
Locate a Harger Stocking Distributor or Factory Representative in your area,
and so much more.
Harger Lightning &
Grounding is a leading manufacturer of lightning protection and grounding
equipment, as well as exothermic welding materials for the communications and
electrical industries. Harger also provides design and engineering services and
specializes in offering total systems solutions for their customers. Let Harger
apply its systemic approach to total system protection to provide you the most
cost effective solution to protect your personnel and equipment against the
effects of electrical transients. www.harger.com.
Anixter International Inc. Announces The Acquisition Of Eurofast
Anixter
International Inc. (NYSE: AXE - News), the world's leading
distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire &
cable and a leading distributor of fasteners and other small parts
("C" Class inventory components) to Original Equipment Manufacturers
("OEMs"), today announced that it had acquired all of the outstanding
shares of Eurofast SAS ("Eurofast") from Lisi SA.
Collegien, France-based Eurofast is an
aerospace fastener distributor that will complement Anixter's product offering
with a broad array of valued-added services and inventory management programs
to Original Equipment Manufacturers ("OEMs") in the aerospace and
defense industries. For 2007, Eurofast is expected to generate sales of
approximately $22 million. Anixter is paying approximately $27 million in cash,
for all of the outstanding shares of Eurofast.
Commenting on the acquisition, Bob Grubbs,
President and CEO of Anixter, said, "We are pleased to have acquired
Eurofast and the excellent team of people involved at the company. This
acquisition is another step in the geographic expansion of our OEM Supply
business through the addition of important customers primarily within France in
an end market where we have little penetration today within Europe. Given our
stated goal of building on our current strategic platform to drive future
organic sales growth, this acquisition is a nice addition to our existing
business," said Grubbs.
About Anixter
Anixter International is the world's
leading distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire
& cable and a leading distributor of fasteners and other small parts
("C" Class inventory components) to Original Equipment Manufacturers.
The company adds value to the distribution process by providing its customers
access to 1) innovative inventory management programs, 2) more than 325,000
products and over $900 million in inventory, 3) 220 warehouses with more than
5.5 million square feet of space, and 4) locations in 247 cities in 49
countries. Founded in 1957 and headquartered near Chicago, Anixter trades on
The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AXE.
About Lisi
Lisi is a worldwide leading fastener and
assembly components manufacturer in the automotive, aerospace and cosmetics
markets. Lisi is headquartered in France and listed on Euronext (CAC Mid 100;
ISIN: FR 0000050353).
Safe Harbor Statement
The statements in this news release that
use such words as "believe," "expect," "intend,"
"anticipate," "contemplate," "estimate,"
"plan," "project," "should," "may," or
similar expressions are forward-looking statements. They are subject to a
number of factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ
materially from what is indicated here. These factors include general economic
conditions, technology changes, changes in supplier or customer relationships,
commodity price fluctuations, exchange rate fluctuations, new or changed
competitors and risks associated with integration of recently acquired
companies. Please see the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings
for more information. http://www.anixter.com
Inside the numbers: 10-GbE cost comparisons
Patrick McLaughlin is chief
editor of Cabling Installation &
Maintenance.
As a technical undertaking,
10GBase-T is an accomplishment of significant proportions. The engineering
efforts required to create a protocol for transmitting 10 billion bits of data
per second on eight copper wires are worthy of celebration and marvel. For professionals
in the cabling industry, however, it is doubtful that those contemplating
10-Gigabit Ethernet deployment have used the word “marvelous” to describe the
deliberations and considerations that have gone into selecting which flavor
(10GBase-T or 10GBase-SX) of the protocol to deploy. And some users who have
settled on 10GBase-T have found the option of using unshielded or shielded
twisted-pair cabling a source of consternation.
In the 10GbE ecosystem,
technical issues raise cost questions, which give reason for deeper
consideration of the financial investments involved. Logical questions arising
from cost analysis involve the long-term technical benefits of deploying 10GbE;
the cycle completes itself and starts over again.
Today cabling-system vendors
provide full assurance that their twisted-pair solutions accommodate 10GBase-T
transmission—even though the Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA;
www.tiaonline.org) full set of Category 6A specifications is not yet finalized.
With the first 10GBase-T-compliant networking products hitting the market,
these cabling vendors are getting their first opportunities to prove those
claims.
Meanwhile, fiber-based 10GbE
systems have been available and deployed for some period of time. The truism we
have all heard is even with the use of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers,
the cost of optoelectronics equipment (i.e. fiber-based networking equipment)
so far exceeds that of copper-based electronics, holding out for the
introduction of copper-based systems is the most cost-effective move a user can
make. And this author, for one, typically takes that statement at face value.
Just how much of a value is
10GBase-T over 10GBase-SX? And even if 10GBase-T proves to be the financially
advantageous option, how should a user make the decision about whether to
operate the protocol on shielded or unshielded cabling? With those questions
lingering, or put another way, fueling the 10GbE ecosystem, Cabling Installation & Maintenance
magazine sought out three cabling-system providers, each of which offers
multimode fiber, unshielded twisted-pair, and shielded twisted-pair solutions.
With some vendors rather adamantly advocating one medium over the others for
10GbE transmission, we invited ADC (www.adc.com); CommScope (www.commscope.com),
which offers the Uniprise and Systimax brands; and Tyco Electronics/AMP
Netconnect (www.ampnetconnect.com) to participate in a Q&A-style discussion
about the technical and, significantly, the financial considerations that users
face when 10GbE is in their future.
Speaking for ADC in this
discussion is John Schmidt, senior product manager for structured cabling.
Representing CommScope is Matt Brown, global data center solutions manager.
Brian Davis, global product manager, represents Tyco Electronics.
Please note that in providing
these individuals’ answers to the questions posed, they had the option of
answering or not answering any question. Also, when more than one individual
answered a question the same or essentially the same, Cabling Installation & Maintenance has chosen to provide a
single response.
Q: On a “1x/1.5x/2x”-type basis, generally
what are the installed-cost figures for 100-meter, 4-connector channel Category
6A UTP, Category 6A foiled/unshielded twisted-pair (F/UTP), and laser-optimized
50-micron multimode fiber cabling systems?
Davis:
Category 6A F/UTP and multimode fiber are 1x; Category 6A UTP is 1.1x.
Brown:
Fiber-cable prices have remained stable during the past few years, while copper
raw material prices have driven the cost of UTP and F/UTP cabling up. Based on
UTP as 1x, F/UTP installed links will be 1.15x and laser-optimized fiber links
will be 1.75x.
Q: Can you provide similar information
about the cost of 1-Gig network equipment (network interface cards [NICs], LAN
cards), comparing 1000Base-T with 1000Base-SX?
Schmidt:
According to Intel pricing, 1000Base-T NICs are $145 while 1000Base-SX NICs are
$510. And Cisco prices 1000Base-T small-form-pluggables (SFPs) at $315 while
1000Base-SX SFPs are $380. On the NIC side, 1000Base-SX will be approximately
3.5 more expensive than 1000Base-T. Keep in mind that 1000Base-T NIC ports have
astronomically higher volume than 1000Base-SX. For switch ports, which have
higher 1000Base-SX volume, the cost is much closer, with 1000Base-SX having
only a 20% premium over 1000Base-T ports.
Brown:
1000Base-T and 1000Base-SX NICs have both fallen dramatically over the past two
years. They are between 20% and 35% of their 2005 price. The price gap between
-T and -SX has narrowed from 4x in 2005 to 3x today.
Q: Do you have any insight into what the
market might expect, in terms of a cost difference between -T and -SX, when a
full complement of 10GBase-T networking equipment is available?
Brown:
Estimates at IEEE have historically predicted 10GBase-T prices will be 40% of
10GBase-SX prices. We believe the biggest hurdle for 10GBase-T is the
electronics power requirement. The most efficient NICs on the market have power
consumptions <6 Watts, while fiber-based 10G NICs are readily available
between 2 and 4 Watts.
Schmidt: Two
NIC vendors, Tehuti Networks and Chelsio Communications, have announced
product. Chelsio’s 10GBase-T NIC is priced at $1,995. Neterion’s 10GBase-CX4
NIC is $1,095, while its 10GBase-SR NIC is $1,995 and its 10GBase-LR NIC is
$2,895. 10GBase-T NICs are currently about the same price as 10GBase-SR, as
they have just been introduced and have low volume. It is expected that by 2009
the relative cost between 10GBase-SR and 10GBase-T will be 4x, with 10GBase-T
NICs sub-$200 and 10GBase-SR around $800.
Q: Given the economics of optical
networking, users may be tempted to dismiss it out of hand for channels of
100-meter distances or less. But are there circumstances under which fiber can
be the best overall choice in systems ≤100 meters?
Davis: There
are several reasons to deploy fiber in horizontal links less than 100 meters,
including the following seven scenarios.
- Cabling runs through or is exposed to high
radio-frequency interference/electromagnetic interference (RFI/EMI) noise
areas.
- Cabling runs through or is exposed to
high-voltage areas—there are no induced voltages on all-dielectric fiber
cable.
- Restricted pathway space, including but not
limited to small conduits, small bulkhead openings, and fire barriers.
- Cabling runs through or is exposed to
high-temperature areas.
- 10GbE-capable runs are needed today.
- Secure areas with concerns about
transmitted/radiated signals.
- Limited termination space for highest-density
connectivity.
Brown: Fiber
has its strongest play when density is a major concern, as in the storage area
network (SAN) environment. This relatively short-distance application is
dominated by fiber cabling due to density concerns as well as the potential for
fiber to upgrade to 100-gigabit and beyond. Fiber makes sense below 100 meters
when density and a clear upgrade path to next-generation speeds are major
concerns.
Schmidt:
Absolutely. In particular, laser-optimized multimode fiber is an ideal medium
for shorter-distance transmission for the following situations.
- Fibre Channel transmission in SANs.
- Highly secure network connections, due to fiber’s
high degree of difficulty to tap or monitor.
- Very high density network connections that
require small cable diameters.
- Sub-100-mter lengths that are expected to be
100-Gigabit Ethernet in the future.
It is expected that
100-Gigabit Ethernet will have a 100-meter distance limitation on
laser-optimized multimode fiber.
Q: When planning 10GBase-T-capable
twisted-pair systems, end users face complicated decisions about cable types
and those types’ characteristics. Assuming we are talking about a
four-connector channel in a “friendly” environment (no excessive external noise
sources or extreme bends along the pathway), does your organization recommend
one medium over another?
Schmidt:
Unshielded twisted-pair Augmented Category 6, for the following reasons.
- UTP Category 6A is available in the smallest
diameter that will support 10GBase-T—0.275 in. versus 0.285 in. in F/UTP
cables—which will improve conduit-fill ratios by allowing more cables to
fit in a given-size conduit.
- UTP Category 6A is the lowest-cost medium that
will support 10GBase-T, accounting for all factors including component
cost, installation cost, troubleshooting, and testing.
- UTP Category 6A is designed to meet and exceed
all the electrical requirements set forth by the IEEE, ISO, and TIA to
support 10GBase-T without resorting to shielding.
- In 2006, more than 6.2 billion feet of
category-rated cable was installed in the United States; of that, less
than 1.5% was F/UTP, according to market-research firm BSRIA
(www.bsria.co.uk). As a result, there is very little installation,
troubleshooting, and maintenance experience with F/UTP cabling in the
United States—precisely why the vast majority will continue to use UTP
cabling.
F/UTP and S/FTP cabling
certainly has its place within the network; it will provide superior
external-noise suppression for installations near high noise sources, such as
radio or microwave transmitters. However, standard noise from common sources,
and certainly alien crosstalk, can be more than adequately eliminated by UTP
Category 6A. So for 98.5% of installations in the United States, UTP cabling is
going to be a more economical choice that does not sacrifice performance.
Brown: We
recommend TIA Category 6A, ISO Class EA compliant UTP cable. F/UTP
solutions have several drawbacks beyond their 15% price premium. When using UTP
cabling, the installer does not need to implement the additional bonding and
grounding steps that are required with F/UTP cables. There is additional time
and cost associated with terminating the shield and drain wire on F/UTP
cabling. Due to the sensitivity of this operation to installer technique,
between 5% and 20% of terminations need to be re-worked to properly ground
them. The possibility of the foil tape folding or kinking can give F/UTP cables
a larger bend radius than UTP cables. F/UTP cables typically have 2-inch bend
radii (similar to coaxial cables), compared to typical UTP bend radii of 1
inch. Ease of cable routing and dressing are critical in today’s dense
connectivity environments, such as the data center. While F/UTP cables are
smaller than some UTP cables, the density advantages of F/UTP are small and do
not justify the increased cost and difficulty of installation. If density is a
critical concern, then fiber is preferred.
Davis: For
10GBase-T-capable twisted-pair systems, Tyco Electronics recommends a Category
6A F/UTP system. From a performance perspective, shielded technology eliminates
the effects of alien crosstalk—the most dominant and critical additional
parameter for 10GBase-T. From an installation point of view our jack greatly
simplifies installation and ensures consistent high-performance terminations.
This jack is designed to handle heavier-gauge conductors and makes it easy to
maintain pair twist—even with the tighter pair twist of Category 6A cables.
There is no need to field test a shielded installation for alien crosstalk,
whereas an unshielded solution requires hours of additional testing for 100%
coverage, or a “sampling” test procedure, which reduces the time investment by
sacrificing 100% verification.
Cost model allows you to make your own calculations
The TIA’s Fiber Optics LAN
Section (FOLS; www.fols.org) provides on its Web site a cost model that allows
users to compare the costs associated with deploying the cabling infrastructure
and network hardware for protocols including Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
Cost-model users must register before beginning, but the registration and use
of the model is free. FOLS has updated the pricing data in its cost model
periodically, and the model allows users to input their own numbers as well.
The participants in this article—ADC, CommScope, and Tyco Electronics—are all
FOLS members.
Reprinted with full
permission of CI & M Magazine – www.cable-install.com
Yotta280 Provides Fortune 500-level Online Data Storage Services To Small & Medium-sized Businesses Nationwide
Yotta280, Inc. is bringing
YottaVault, a completely secure, automated and affordable managed backup
service that stores valuable business data off-site for safe keeping and rapid
retrieval to Small and Medium-sized businesses nationwide. A solution
previously reserved for Fortune-500 companies; YottaVault is an affordable, convenient and smart choice for all
organizations. Yotta280 is the first large scale data protection company to
locate its headquarters and vault infrastructure in Jacksonville, FL.
The Computer Security
Institute has found that most companies spend between 1% to 5% of their IT
budget on information security- a direct result of the staggering losses
associated with information security breaches, theft, hardware failures and
data retrieval disasters.
“YottaVault is leading-edge information protection technology and will
change the landscape of how SMB’s and SME’s protect their valuable data assets
for many years to come. Explosive data growth in all size businesses and ever
changing compliance regulations will drive the need for our service to
incredible heights.” said Terry Fields, President.
YottaVault is a unique
alternative to traditional backup methods, replacing conventional one dimensional
tape based systems with a fully automated disk-to-disk off-site solution. YottaVault provides centralized, unattended
and encrypted backups for branch offices, file servers, workstations, laptops
and database servers with instant online restore functionality. Backups can be
automatically performed as scheduled or continuously as data is created.
Backup data is transferred to
one of Yotta280’s world-class facilities via a high speed internet connection.
The protected data can be easily and quickly restored from the customer’s place
of business. Yotta280’s facility offers 30-day standalone electrical power, can
withstand 154 mph winds and rains from a category 5 hurricane; guaranteeing
availability and peace of mind.
Additional information can be
found by calling (904) 674-2110 or visiting www.yotta280.com
Check Out What’s New For Cabling Business Magazine’s July 2007 Issue!
Check out what’s new for Cabling Business Magazine’s July 2007
issue! Packed full of hot new products, timely industry columns and of course,
the latest technology news you’ve come to expect every month!
Features:
- Building out the Network From Start to Finish
By Charles M. Fleckenstein
- Universities Prepare for Network Updates
By Kevin Tanzillo
- Making
the Leap From Manual to Computerized Estimating
- By Brian Royer
- Petco Cages New CCTV System
By Dan O’Connell
- What’s New in the Firestopping World?
By Steve Paulov
Industry Expert Columns:
- The
Leadership Link By New Commons
- Reel
Time By Berk-Tek, A Nexans Company
- Testing
the Experts By Fluke Networks
- Engineering
and Design Professionals
Hot Products:
Fiber Cleaning and Inspection Tools, Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture, Termination
Tools, Stainless Steel Faceplates, Labels for Wires
and Cables, Printers, Snap-in Connector Systems, Fiber Optics,
Structured Cabling System Installations, Cable Trays, Dome
Cameras, CCTV Surveillance Cameras, Video Communication Systems and
much, much more!
As always readers can log on
to the magazine Web site at www.cablingbusiness.com and download the latest
issue online! Be sure not to miss out! www.cablingbusiness.com
NAED Announces Tammy Miller as 2007-2008 Chair Of The Board
The 2007-2008 NAED Chair of
the Board is Tammy Miller, CEO of Border States Electric Supply in Fargo, N.D.
Miller has been CEO of Border States, the nation’s 14th-largest electrical
distributor, since January 2006. She previously served as the company’s
president, executive vice president, CFO and southwest region general manager.
Active in NAED, she has been
a member of the association’s Board of Directors for the past eight years and
was Western Region Vice President. She has chaired the NAED Finance Committee
and Special Pricing Authorization (SPA) Distributor Task Force. She also serves
on the Channel Advantage Partnership Council. The first woman to serve as NAED
chair, Miller’s new role became official at the conclusion of the 2007 Annual
Meeting, held May 5 – 9 in Washington, D.C.
“As NAED begins the year-long
celebration of its 100th anniversary, we can take great pride in the
association’s commitment to the success of our members and the distribution
channel,” Miller said. Her theme for the year is “Honor Tradition. Ignite
Innovation.”
“NAED is working on many
tremendous initiatives that will ignite innovation in our channel to help
members be more profitable over the next century. The association truly is the
bridge in our channel that can bring together distributors, manufacturers,
software providers, marketing groups and others to tackle the tough issues,”
she said. www.naed.org
Hitachi Announces New Directors
Hitachi, Ltd.
(NYSE:HIT - News; TOKYO:6501 - News) announced new directors
in accordance with a decision taken at a meeting of Nominating Committee
convened today, and is subject to approval at Hitachi's Ordinary General
Meeting of Shareholders in June 2007.
1.
Director Candidates (Proposed at Hitachi's Ordinary General Meeting of
Shareholders in June 2007) ((1) New)
(Chairman
of the Board)
Etsuhiko
Shoyama, currently Chairman of the Board
(Director)
Kazuo
Furukawa, currently Director; Representative Executive Officer, President
Yagi
Yoshiki, currently Director
Tadamichi
Sakiyama, currently Director
(1)
Toyoaki Nakamura, currently Representative Executive Officer, Senior Vice
President and Executive Officer, General Manager of Finance Department I
(Outside
Director)
(1)
Yoshie Ota, currently Advisor, Japan Institute of Workers' Evolution
(1)
Mitsuo Ohashi, currently Chairman of the Board, Showa Denko K.K.
(1)
Akihiko Nomiyama, currently Special Advisor, NIPPON MINING HOLDINGS, INC.
(1)
Kenji Miyahara, currently Chairman of the Board, Sumitomo Corporation
Tohru
Motobayashi, currently Outside Director; Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto
(Director)
(1)
Takeo Ueno, currently President, Hitachi Via Mechanics, Ltd.
Isao
Uchigasaki, currently Director; Director and Chairman of the Board, Hitachi
Chemical Co., Ltd.
(1)
Michihiro Honda, currently Chairman of the Board, Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
Each
committee is scheduled to be composed of the following members (Chairman
underlined)
· Nominating Committee:
Etsuhiko
Shoyama, Yoshie Ota, Mitsuo Ohashi, Tohru Motobayashi, Kazuo Furukawa
· Audit Committee:
Yoshiki
Yagi, Yoshie Ota, Akihiko Nomiyama, Kenji Miyahara, Tadamichi Sakiyama
· Compensation Committee:
Etsuhiko
Shoyama, Akihiko Nomiyama, Kenji Miyahara, Tohru Motobayashi, Kazuo Furukawa
2.
Resigning Directors
Takashi
Miyoshi, currently Director
Ginko
Sato, currently Outside Director; Honorary President, Japan Association for the
Advancement of Working Women
Hiromichi
Seya, currently Outside Director; Senior Corporate Advisor, Asahi Glass Co.,
Ltd.
Takashi
Kawamura, currently Director; Director and Chairman of the Board, Hitachi
Software Engineering Co., Ltd.
Yoshiro
Kuwata, currently Director; Director and Chairman of the Board, Hitachi High-Technologies
Corporation
Masayoshi
Hanabusa, currently Director; Chairman of the Board, Hitachi Capital
Corporation
Ryuichi
Seguchi, currently Director; Chairman Emeritus, Hitachi Construction Machinery
Co., Ltd.
3.
Biography of New Director Candidates
Toyoaki
Nakamura
1.
Date of Birth : August 3, 1952
2.
Education
March, 1975
: Graduated from Faculty of
Economics,
Keio University
3.
Business Experience
January, 2006 : General Manager of Finance Department I,
Hitachi,
Ltd.
April, 2005
: Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Financial
Officer of Hitachi Data
Systems Solutions Holding
Corporation
April, 2004
: Chief Financial Officer of
Hitachi Data Systems
Solutions Holding
Corporation
April, 2002
: General Manager of Finance
Division, Information &
Telecommunication Systems
Group
April, 2001
: General Manager of Finance
Division, System
Solutions Group
June, 2000
: Deputy General Manager of
Finance
& Distribution Systems
Group
June, 1998
: Senior Manager of Finance
Department,
Semiconductor Division
April, 1975
: Joined Hitachi, Ltd.
Yoshie
Ota
1.
Date of Birth : September 1, 1942
2.
Education
March 1966
: Graduated from Faculty of
Economics,
Keio University
3.
Business Experience
July 2005
: Advisor, Japan Institute of
Workers' Evolution
July
1998 : Chairman, Japan Institute of Workers'
Evolution
June 1995
: Director-General, Women's
Bureau, Ministry of
Labor
June 1994
: Director-General, Minister's
Secretariat,
Ministry of Labor
December 1991 : Vice Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture
April 1966
: Joined Ministry of Labor
Mitsuo
Ohashi
1.
Date of Birth : January 18, 1936
2.
Education
March 1959
: Graduated from Faculty of
Economics,
Keio University
3.
Business Experience
March 2007
: Chairman of the Board, Showa
Denko K.K.
January 2005
: Representative Director
and Chairman of the Board
of Directors,
Showa Denko K.K.
March 1997
: Representative Director and
President (CEO),
Showa Denko K.K.
March 1995
: Senior Managing Director, Showa
Denko K.K.
March 1993
: Managing Director, Showa Denko
K.K.
March 1989
: Director;
General Manager, Corporate
Planning Department,
Showa Denko K.K.
May 1988
: General Manager, Corporate
Planning Department,
Showa Denko K.K.
March 1985
: General Manager,
Petrochemicals Control
Department,
Showa Denko K.K.
December 1961 : Joined Showa Denko K.K.
March 1959
: Joined the Mitsui Bank Limited
Akihiko
Nomiyama
1.
Date of Birth : June 15, 1934
2.
Education
March 1957
: Graduated from Faculty of Law,
the University of Tokyo
3.
Business Experience
June 2006
: Special Advisor, NIPPON MINING
HOLDINGS, INC.
June 2003
: Chairman of the Board,
NIPPON MINING HOLDINGS,
INC.
September 2002: President and CEO,
NIPPON MINING HOLDINGS,
INC.
April 2002
: Chairman of the Board,
JAPAN ENERGY CORPORATION
June 2000
: Chairman of the Board,
President and CEO,
JAPAN ENERGY CORPORATION
June 1996
: President and CEO,
JAPAN ENERGY CORPORATION
June 1994
: Senior Managing Director,
General Manager of Tokyo
Branch Office,
JAPAN ENERGY CORPORATION
December 1993 : Managing Director,
General Manager of
Corporate Planning Group,
JAPAN ENERGY CORPORATION
December 1992 : Managing Director,
General Manager of
Corporate Planning Group,
NIKKO KYODO CO., LTD.
July 1989
: Managing Director,
NIPPON MINING CO., LTD.
July 1984
: Director,
Deputy General Manager of
Petroleum Group
NIPPON MINING CO., LTD.
July 1981
: General Manager of
Administrative Department,
Petroleum Group, NIPPON
MINING CO., LTD.
April 1957
: Joined NIPPON MINING CO., LTD.
Kenji
Miyahara
1.
Date of Birth : November 5, 1935
2.
Education
March 1958
: Graduated from, Faculty of Law,
Kyoto University
3.
Business Experience
June 2001
: Chairman of the Board, Sumitomo
Corporation
June 1996
: President and Chief Executive
Officer,
Sumitomo Corporation
June 1995
: Executive Vice President,
Sumitomo Corporation
June 1993
: Senior Managing Director,
Sumitomo Corporation
June 1990
: Managing Director, Sumitomo
Corporation President
and Chief Executive
Officer, Sumitomo Corporation
of America
June 1988
: Director, General Manager, Iron
& Steel Import &
Export Division Sumitomo
Corporation
June 1986
: Director, Deputy General
Manager, Iron & Steel
Import & Export Division Sumitomo
Corporation
April 1958
: Joined Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha,
Ltd.
Takeo
Ueno
1.
Date of Birth : February 9, 1942
2.
Education
March 1964
: Graduated from Faculty of Law,
Hitotsubashi University
3.
Business Experience
June 2001
: President, Hitachi Via
Mechanics, Ltd.
April 2000
: Deputy General Manager, Sales
Management Division
April 1999
: Corporate Officer,
General Manager, Materials
Department
May 1995
: General Manager, Materials
Department
August 1987
: Deputy General Manager,
Materials Department
December 1983 : General Manager,
Material Division of
Hitachi Works
April 1964
: Joined Hitachi, Ltd.
Michihiro
Honda
1.
Date of Birth : October 13, 1942
2.
Education
March 1965
: Graduated from Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering,
Shizuoka University
3.
Business Experience
June 2006
: Chairman of the Board, Hitachi
Metals, Ltd.
June 2003
: President, Chief Executive
Officer & Director,
Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
June 2000
: President & Representative
Director,
Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
June 1999
: Executive Managing Director
& Representative
Director, Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
June 1995
: Member of the Board of
Directors,
Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
April 1993 General Manager of Yasugi Works,
Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
April 1965
: Joined Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi,
Ltd., (NYSE:HIT - News; TOKYO:6501 - News), headquartered in
Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately
356,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2005 (ended March 31, 2006) consolidated
sales totaled 9,464 billion yen ($80.9 billion). The company offers a wide
range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information
systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products,
materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit
the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
Seen And Heard At Data Center World
To help network cabling
managers seamlessly leverage existing copper electronics with high-density
fiber-optics, Transition Networks
(www.transition.com) Gigabit Ethernet media conversion technology has been
added to Corning Cable Systems’
(www.corningcablesystems.com) portfolio of Plug & Play Universal System
products.
The media conversion module
features 12 RJ-45 copper ports on the front and two 12-fiber MTP connector
ports at the rear. Up to two modules can be placed in the 1U Media Converter
Housing, offering 24-copper-port density, and up to eight modules can be placed
into the 4U housing for 96-copper-port density.
“Large data centers have a
continuous need to upgrade their networks to ensure the effective transport and
quality of high volumes of data,” says Bill Schultz, vice president of
marketing at Transition Networks. “Corning leads the market and is offering a
portfolio of solutions that feature high-density ribbon cabling and MTP
connector-based trunking for space-saving and convenient fiber deployment. The
addition of our media conversion technology to the Plug & Play Universal
Systems line offers more versatility to help organizations optimize the
connectivity infrastructure in their data centers.”
The addition of the media
converter module to Corning’s product portfolio “allows customers to gain all
the benefits of a pre-terminated, modular solution, while using the low-cost
legacy copper electronics that are available today,” says Doug Winders, vice
president of sales and marketing for Corning Cable Systems Private Networks.
Power, cooling and management
solutions provider American Power
Conversion (APC; www.apcc.com) is teaming with IBM (www.ibm.com) to provide a new global service product offered
by IBM’s site and facilities services unit.
The Scalable Modular Data
Center is designed for rapidly deploying a pre-engineered 500- or
1,000-square-foot data center. IBM will offer its customers pre-configured
American Power Conversion InfraStruXure solutions, including perimeter or InRow
cooling, and NetBotz physical threat monitoring. InfraStruXure integrates
power, cooling, racks, management, security and environmental solutions. The
Scalable Modular Data Center will utilize IBM’s resources for assessments,
project management integration, and ongoing solutions-related maintenance
contracts.
“From our experience in
marketing products to small- and medium-sized businesses, we designed this
solution specifically to meet the customer’s need for flexible infrastructure
that can install in virtually any environment, and still support the
cost-effective addition of components as a business grows,” says Rob Johnson,
APC’s president and chief executive officer.
Reprinted with full
permission of CI & M Magazine – www.cable-install.com
Anixter to Host: 'The IP Connected Enterprise' Seminar Series
Anixter Inc.
(NYSE: AXE - News), the world's leading
distributor of communication products, electrical and electronic wire &
cable and a leading distributor of fasteners and other small parts
("C" Class inventory components) to Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs), will host its annual National Seminar Series for the 8th consecutive
year. The IP Connected Enterprise will be conducted in 16 cities across the US
between May and November of 2007. Some of Anixter's top technical experts will
address the challenges and solutions associated with the increasing stress put
on network infrastructures as more and more building systems are converging
onto one IP network.
Attendees
are invited to a day of exploring emerging trends within the industry, new
technologies and the issues behind the worldwide movement towards the IP
Connected Enterprise. These seminars will educate attendees on the concept of
developing a "utility grade" building infrastructure, designed and
installed to enable Ethernet connectivity of all possible building systems to a
single IP network. In addition, Anixter's featured manufacturers will be on
hand to display their latest products and solutions in a mini tradeshow
setting.
These
seminars are open to anyone interested in learning the latest products,
technologies, and standards that exist today, and the many issues concerning
the design, build and maintenance of a modern building infrastructure,
including the need for a robust and reliable cabling infrastructure. IT
Managers, Facility Directors, IS/LAN Managers, Architects, Consultants, Engineers,
Security Managers, Directors and Integrators are invited to participate.
Registration begins at 11:30 AM and the event includes a complimentary lunch
buffet. There is no cost associated with the seminar; however, space is
limited. Each seminar will conclude with a free raffle drawing at 4:00 PM.
BICSI and National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) continuing
education credits will be available to interested attendees.
Daily Agenda
11:30am
1:00pm Registration
Exhibits Open
Buffet Lunch
1:00pm
2:00pm Presentation: Exploring
Issues
Associated with
Migration to
Intelligent
Information
Networks
2:00pm
2:15pm Break
Exhibits Open
2:15pm
3:15pm Presentation:
Infrastructure
Solutions for the IP
Connected
Enterprise
3:15pm
4:00pm Exhibits Open
Raffle Drawing
The
IP Connected Enterprise seminars are currently scheduled for the
following
cities:
11-May-07 Houston, TX
17-May-07 San Ramon, CA
7-Jun-07 Des Moines, IA
21-Jun-07 Philadelphia, PA
28-Jun-07 Adelphi, MD
12-Jul-07 Columbus, OH
26-Jul-07 White Plains, NY
9-Aug-07 Indianapolis, IN
23-Aug-07 Novi, MI
6-Sep-07 Cincinnati, OH
20-Sep-07 Dallas, TX
4-Oct-07 Seattle, WA
11-Oct-07 Charlotte, NC
25-Oct-07 Memphis, TN
1-Nov-07 Phoenix, AZ
15-Nov-07 San Antonio, TX
To
view the schedule, register for a seminar in your area, or simply get more information
and updates, visit the Anixter Web site at anixter.com/events or contact Mary
Cathlin Sullivan at 224-521-4181.
About Anixter
Anixter International is the world's leading distributor of communication products,
electrical and electronic wire & cable and a leading distributor of
fasteners and other small parts ("C" Class inventory components) to
Original Equipment Manufacturers. The company adds value to the distribution
process by providing its customers access to 1) innovative inventory management
programs, 2) more than 350,000 products and over $900 million in inventory, 3)
220 warehouses with more than 5.5 million square feet of space, and 4)
locations in 247 cities in 49 countries. Founded in 1957 and headquartered near
Chicago, Anixter trades on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AXE. www.anixter.com
SIOR Foundation Contributes $10,000 To BOMA Energy Efficiency (BEEP) Program
The SIOR Foundation (SIORF),
a non-profit foundation, independent of the Society of Industrial and Office
REALTORS®, that provides financial support for activities that expand knowledge
within and beyond the commercial real estate industry, has been named a
Champion sponsor by the Building Owners and Manager Association (BOMA)
International for their $10,000 contribution to the groundbreaking BOMA Energy
Efficiency Program (BEEP).
The BEEP program, which
offers cutting-edge energy savings solutions through a series of Webinars, was
developed by the BOMA Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency ENERGY STAR® program. A critical component to the BEEP
program is benchmarking energy performance through the EPA’s Portfolio Manager.
“More and more building
owners and managers are making energy efficiency a priority and the BEEP
educational series provides the tools to make it happen,” said Gary Wood, RPA,
chair of the BOMA Foundation. “This generous contribution by Champion Sponsor
SIOR Foundation will help us build on the success of BEEP as participants take
the next step and benchmark their energy performance through the EPA’s
Portfolio Manager. Through benchmarking, we can show lawmakers that incentives
and voluntary programs like BEEP are the most effective ways to reduce energy
consumption.”
“We are proud to support
BEEP, a program that has revolutionized the way our industry tackles energy
consumption,” said David Zimmer, SIOR, SIORF President. “SIORF is committed to
help bring the energy efficiency strategies offered in the BEEP seminars to an
even broader audience. We look forward to working with BOMA International to
help building owners and managers reduce emissions and save on energy costs
while providing healthier work environments for tenants.”
Upcoming courses include:
BEEP: Valuing Energy
Enhancement Projects & Financial Returns, August 16, 2007
Building an Energy Awareness
Program, October 18, 2007
BOMA International was
recently named a 2007 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for BEEP. The award was given in the Excellence in
Program Delivery in the Commercial and Industrial category. BOMA International
is the first real estate association to receive the Partner of the Year award.
www.boma.org/TrainingAndEducation/BEEP/.
For more information on
SIORF, please visit www.siorfoundation.org
The Building Owners and
Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international federation of
more than 90 local associations and affiliated organizations. BOMA’s
16,500-plus members own or manage more than 9 billion square feet of commercial
properties in North America and throughout the world. The mission of BOMA International is to
enhance the human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real
estate industry through advocacy, education, research, standards and
information. Founded in 1907, BOMA International
celebrates 100 years of commercial real estate in 2007. www.boma.org
Leviton Expands Fiber Raceway System Offering
Leviton Voice & Data is
pleased to announce several new additions to their Fiber Raceway product line
that will allow customers to tailor the Fiber Raceway system to their specific
application.
Our Fiber Raceway System is
now available in two new colors: black and orange, has several new accessories,
and has expanded mounting hardware options. Customers may now specify sizes and
colors for Fiber Raceway Systems: 2”x
2”, 2”x 4”, 4”x 4”, 4” x 8” or 4” x 12” – in yellow, gray, orange, or black.
A new Outlet Trumpet Fitting
for the 4” x 12” system allows fiber cabling to exit easily from the end of
raceway and down to the cabinet or rack. A new In-line Vertical Drop Fitting
for the 4” x 12” system lets fiber cabling drop directly below the raceway,
while still allowing free flow for ongoing fibers. A new End Support Fitting
provides a way to permanently attach the 4” x 4” raceway transitioning from the
overhead mounting system down to the top of a cabinet.
The mounting hardware now
available for the Fiber Raceway System includes a new Ladder Rack Mount Kit
designed for the 4”, 8”, and 12” wide systems to attach on to 1 ½” or 2” ladder
racks. In addition, a new Heavy Duty Ladder Rack Mount Kit is designed to
support heavier cables installed in the raceway, such as copper cabling. Both
of these new mounting kits will allow customers to install the Leviton Fiber
Raceway System on top of existing ladder racks in order to maximize space
already allocated for their cabling patchways. www.leviton.com
Leviton Voice & Data is
pleased to announce several new additions to their Fiber Raceway product line
that will allow customers to tailor the Fiber Raceway system to their specific
application.
Our Fiber Raceway System is
now available in two new colors: black and orange, has several new accessories,
and has expanded mounting hardware options. Customers may now specify sizes and
colors for Fiber Raceway Systems: 2”x
2”, 2”x 4”, 4”x 4”, 4” x 8” or 4” x 12” – in yellow, gray, orange, or black.
A new Outlet Trumpet Fitting
for the 4” x 12” system allows fiber cabling to exit easily from the end of
raceway and down to the cabinet or rack. A new In-line Vertical Drop Fitting
for the 4” x 12” system lets fiber cabling drop directly below the raceway,
while still allowing free flow for ongoing fibers. A new End Support Fitting
provides a way to permanently attach the 4” x 4” raceway transitioning from the
overhead mounting system down to the top of a cabinet.
The mounting hardware now
available for the Fiber Raceway System includes a new Ladder Rack Mount Kit
designed for the 4”, 8”, and 12” wide systems to attach on to 1 ½” or 2” ladder
racks. In addition, a new Heavy Duty Ladder Rack Mount Kit is designed to
support heavier cables installed in the raceway, such as copper cabling. Both
of these new mounting kits will allow customers to install the Leviton Fiber
Raceway System on top of existing ladder racks in order to maximize space
already allocated for their cabling patchways. www.leviton.com
NECA Convention Offers Integrated Building Solutions
Recent NECA studies,
conducted by Renaissance Research, NYC, confirm the growth in electrical
construction firms offering a full scope of services including datacom
networking, security, fire and life safety, access control, home automation,
and more. Recently, more end-users look
to electrical contractors to provide one-stop service for all their traditional
and specialty wiring needs. The 2007
National Electrical Contractors Association annual convention has expanded its
educational offerings to include an integrated building systems track,October
5-8 in San Francisco.
Topics include:
-Today’s Estimators Estimating with Tomorrow’s Technology
-Fundamentals of Flame-Resistant Clothing for Protection from Fire & Electrical
Hazards
-”LED”: The Next Generation of Lighting Technology
-Opportunities in the Ever changing Electronic Security Industry
-Today’s Lighting Controls for Home Automation
-The Latest in Lamps and Ballasts
-Discharge of Lamp & Ballast Systems and Energy Savings Devices
-Using the UL White Book can Increase Your Bottom Line
-Design/Build Estimating
-Energy Efficient Advancements in Sports Lighting
-Industry Certification for Medium Voltage Cable Splicing
NECA invites all electrical
and specialty contractors to attend the NECA trade show. Admission includes
these and other technical education sessions. Over 280 companies in over 600
exhibit booths will showcase the latest products and services offering
solutions for traditional electrical, integrated building systems, lighting,
and renewable energy needs.
The National Electrical Contractors Association is the voice of the $100
billion industry responsible for lighting, power, and communication systems in
buildings and communities across the United States. NECA’s national office and
120 local chapters advance the electrical contracting industry through
advocacy, education, research, and standards development. NECA celebrated its
100th anniversary in 2001. For more information, visit "http://www.necanet.org". For complete
convention and trade show details visit www.necaconvention.org
KITCO Fiber Optics Names New Manager Of Military Fiber Optic Systems
KITCO Fiber Optics has named
Ron Knight as the company’s new Manager of Military Fiber Optic Systems.
Mr. Knight recently retired from the US Navy following more than 20 years of
distinguished service in Joint Military Operations, Missile Defense Programs,
Homeland Security, and Tactical Air Control Systems. His last assignment
was as Global War On Terrorism Director/Learning Program Director at the Center
for Surface Combat Systems in Dahlgren, VA. In his new role Mr. Knight
will be responsible for representing KITCO Fiber Optics in military systems and
programs within the shipboard, aviation and Homeland Security markets.
KITCO Fiber Optics is a
leading provider of fiber optic connectorization products, training and consulting
services to the military and commercial communications industry. We
specialize in the design and fabrication of fiber optic tools, tool kits and
custom cable assemblies; producing private label kits for a number of major
connector manufacturers and selling our own broad line of commercial and
military products. We develop curriculum and provide commercial and
military training worldwide, and serve as the U.S. Navy’s sole shipboard fiber
optic trainer. Our highly skilled field services team can respond to your
fiber optic requirements anytime, anywhere – rapidly providing the best
solutions for overcoming system problems or delays. www.kitcofo.com
Dan Hogan Of Panasonic Appointed To CABA Board Of Directors
CABA is pleased
to announce the appointment of Dan Hogan of Panasonic to the CABA Board of
Directors.
By joining CABA's
Board, Hogan has joined an elite group of industry leaders who promote advanced
technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North America and
throughout the world.
Dan Hogan is
President of the Panasonic Home & Environment Company, a subsidary designed
to expand the range of products and services Panasonic offers to homebuilders,
residential renovation contractors and their suppliers.
Previously, he
was Director of Panasonic Boston Laboratory, the only pure hardware coporate
R&D lab maintained by Matsushita Group outside of Japan. The lab's core
competence is lasers and optics; with special emphasis on ultrashort pulse
laser processing and micro-optics design and fabrication.
Hogan received
his BS from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and his Ph.D. in
Experimental Physics from Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Ronald J. Zimmer, CABA
President & CEO commented: “I am delighted to welcome Dan Hogan to CABA and
I know that his breadth of experience will be invaluable in achieving our
strategic objectives.” www.caba.org
Belden Makes Its Name Change Official
Belden (NYSE: BDC - News) announced that it has changed its corporate
name to Belden Inc. The Company had been known as Belden CDT Inc. since the
2004 merger involving Belden Inc. and Cable Design Technologies Corporation.
The Company's ticker symbol will remain BDC.
John Stroup, President and Chief Executive
Officer, said, "I am delighted we are now making the name change official.
Belden is both a strong product brand and a powerful, well-recognized corporate
identity. The new Belden branding that we launched in 2006, with the associated
tagline Sending All the Right SignalsTM, signifies a change in our business
focus: from 'cable' to 'signal transmission solutions.' A solutions approach
brings more value to our customers and more opportunity for us as a company. It
gives us more control over our destiny and challenges us to think more broadly
about our markets."
The name change took place today through a
transaction that merged a wholly owned subsidiary into the parent company, an
action which under Delaware law permits the parent company to change its name.
Belden's Board of Directors today approved the action, and the Company filed
the necessary certificate today in Delaware.
The Board also declared a regular dividend
of five cents per share payable on July 5, 2007, to all shareholders of record
as of June 8, 2007.
About Belden
Belden is a leader in the design,
manufacture, and marketing of signal transmission solutions for data networking
and a wide range of specialty electronics markets including entertainment,
industrial, security and aerospace applications
http://www.belden.com.
Accu-Tech Corporation Opens Stocking Location In Chicago
On June 25th
Accu-Tech Corporation opens the doors to its 27th stocking location
with their Chicago Area Branch. Not
since Kevin Butler stormed onto the scene as the kicker for the Super Bowl XX
Champion Bears, has The Windy City seen this much action from the State of
Georgia. Accu-Tech looks forward to
servicing Chicago and the Metro Area with their communication cabling product
needs. The Chicago Area branch will be
located at 1109 Windham PKWY, Romeoville, IL
60446. Please stop by and visit
with Branch Manager Frank Jinks. www.accu-tech.com.
States Need To Be More "Connectivity Conscious"
By James Carlini • 05/02/07
Having a good infrastructure
has always been important to the economic growth of a municipality as well as a
state. The infrastructure has traditionally been viewed as transportation -
rail, waterways, and air as well as highways, water, and power (electricity).
Today, the definition of infrastructure must also include network
infrastructure and the ability to have broadband connectivity to compete
globally.
Just as you would not locate your company on some back road that is far away
from the expressway, the airport, the train, and other infrastructure, you
would not want to be connected to the information superhighway through some
dial-up line or even DSL. You need something greater. Strategic decisions for
locating businesses are influenced by the availability and quality of network
infrastructure. Those that don't understand this are living in the
horse-and-buggy era.
Which states are poised for economic growth?
What are the current answers to the questions that were posed in a 2004 Survey
of the California
Public Utilities Commission that was concerned with the overall broadband
policies and practices in the United States?
Have states moved forward from their positions in 2004 or have they actually
slid backwards?
Some have limited or even restricted municipal deployment of broadband services
since then, and I would conclude that this has been a step backwards in trying
to create a positive environment for economic growth.
The California PUC survey had some excellent questions. The results of this
survey provided a very quick and concise overview of what states were leaders
and which were laggards in understanding the need to include a state-of-the-art
network infrastructure as part of the platform for future economic growth.
This survey is something that ALL states should answer on an annual basis
because the environment is changing rapidly as more states become aware of the
need for broadband deployment for economic development.
From a corporate standpoint, reviewing the answers from this type of survey
would definitely sway companies planning new facilities to locate in one state
or another.
• Some of the questions that seem to be void of any state oversight were:
• Does the state set rates for broadband services?
• Does the state set broadband service quality?
• Does the state have expedited rights-of-way policies?
• Does the state have a definition for “advanced services”?
In the past, states would rely heavily on input from the incumbent carriers for
their regulatory framework regarding telecommunications. Outside objective
expertise was not sought out because of the cozy environments that regulators
had with incumbents.
Today, we have to break away from that influence because it does not have the
state's best interest in mind, but it is not an easy task. In some cases, more
lobbyists and pseudo-research firms have been used to promote the incumbents'
views and restrictions on municipal broadband endeavors. More restrictions have
resulted and competition has been nullified.
Eroding tax base
Downsizing, outsourcing, and off-shoring in various corporations have
contributed to substantial shifts in some states' tax base, which is why some
states are in the red by billions of dollars. Some legislators are unaware of
the problem or just do not want to recognize and tackle it.
Legislatures have not adjusted their spending programs or created some
safeguards to redevelop or replace industries that are in decline or that have
left the state. Relying on a horse-and-buggy taxing approach will not solve the
issues created in the Information Age.
With banks, manufacturers, and financial-service institutions looking at
mergers and buyouts, the changing of locations and the consolidation and
closing of offices and data centers and other corporate facilities is a reality
that can shift what was once a stable tax base.
No state or municipality can take for granted that they will always have an
industry or key company that provided jobs, tax revenues, and a stable economy.
They must create and foster an environment that provides a solid
infrastructure, which in today's economy includes a network infrastructure. If
they do this, they will always attract and maintain a diverse pool of viable
companies.
CARLINI-ISM: Those states that create and foster a positive platform for
network infrastructure are going to capture businesses from the states that
don't.
Recent articles by James Carlini
• James Carlini: Mega-Metro
Center may go beyond Chicago and Wisconsin
• James Carlini:
Chicago-Milwaukee "mega-metro" infrastructure improvements are
critical
• James Carlini: H-1B jobs:
Where is the shortage of skilled workers?
• James Carlini: Proposed
telecom bill would have “Katrina” impact
• James Carlini: Lack of
connectivity is real estate's hidden time bomb
• James Carlini: State video
franchises vs. universal service: Grasping the total picture
James Carlini is an adjunct
professor at Northwestern University, and is president of Carlini &
Associates. He can be reached at james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or 773-370-1888.
Check out his blog at http://www.carliniscomments.com.
COPYRIGHT (c) 2007 James Carlini, All Rights Reserved
Convention Presents A Labor Relations Town Hall Meeting
Responding to requests for
more labor relations content during the annual convention, NECA will present a
general session meeting, in a town hall format, on Sunday, October 7, 2007 in
San Francisco. This unique setting will allow NECA and IBEW leaders to focus on
the concerns and issues shaping the electrical construction labor market today. Microphones will be positioned in the aisles
to encourage an open dialogue, with the speakers. Panel participants include John Grau, NECA
CEO, Ed Hill, IBEW International President, and Geary Higgins, NECA Vice
President, Labor Relations.
Mark Breslin, Exeutive Director, Engineering and Utility Contractors
Association will moderate the town hall meeting. Mark Breslin has served for 22 years as the
Executive Director of EUCA, a multi-employer bargaining group representing
hundreds of firms in California. During this time, he has been chief
negotiator, arbitration specialist and contractor advocate, negotiating over
100 master agreements.
Known for his blunt and uncompromising style, Breslin has made presentations on labor-management relations to over 100,000 labor, management and rank-and-file union members across the U.S. and Canada. He has trained thousands of union and management representatives on business development and market share recovery strategies, and he works with nearly every major international union and dozens of employer associations throughout North America. Breslin is the author of Organize or Die, published in 2003.
The National Electrical
Contractors Association is the voice of the $100 billion industry responsible
for lighting, power, and communication systems in buildings and communities
across the United States. NECA’s national office and 120 local chapters advance
the electrical contracting industry through advocacy, education, research, and
standards development. NECA celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2001. For more
information, visit "http://www.necanet.org".
For complete NECA convention and trade show details visit www.necaconvention.org
AFCOM In The News – Data Center World®
AFCOM, the leading
association supporting the data center industry, held its Spring Data Center
World® Conference & Expo in Las Vegas in late March.
Testimony to AFCOM’s growth,
and the demand for continuing education within data center industry, the
conference set new records for overall attendance. More than 1,000 AFCOM members convened for
five days of learning, networking and relaxation, representing a 30 percent
increase in attendance compared to the last time AFCOM met in Las Vegas two
years ago.
Members and guests came from
24 countries and throughout the United States to participate in 70 education
and product information sessions across five tracks: Data Center Management, Security, Best
Practices, Disaster Recovery and Facilities Management. A record 176 exhibitors
displayed their power and cooling equipment, software, security and disaster
recovery solutions, and the latest in servers, mainframes and clean products.
Five new AFCOM chapters were
chartered during the Peer Connection Luncheon, an increase from seven to 24 in
the past three years. AFCOM has experienced tremendous growth over the past few
years. Membership has increased more than 60 percent, and in 2006, Tradeshow Week named the Data Center
World Expo one of the 50 fastest growing trade shows.
AFCOM Pres. Jill Eckhaus
welcomed attendees prior to the keynote address and referred to them as the
gatekeepers of the world. “Collectively, you protect the public from things
like identity theft and lost medical records. If you fail to keep your data
center up and running with continuous availability, your organization can lose
millions of dollars,” Eckhaus said.
“AFCOM’s mission is to keep
its members informed, provide valuable content and services and stay true to
its more than 3,500 members. I believe it is this continuity that has allowed
the organization to continue to grow over the years. The face of the data
center changes every five years; it is our goal to make sure our members are
prepared for those changes,” Eckhaus said.
“Getting the most out of your
data center and why does it matter?” was the subject of the keynote address
presented by Christian Belady, distinguished technologist for Hewlett-Packard
Corp.
“How do you know whether you are running an
efficient data center operation? What’s the metric?” Belady asked. “The most
important thing for all of us in the industry to do is come up with a way to
measure data center efficiency. How else will you know when someone says they
have a new technology that will improve your efficiency?”
Belady sees the industry at a
crossroads. “Are we ready to jump ahead and put the right resources to work on
the problem the right way using new technologies that are emerging? It’s
absolutely critical,” he said. How well you navigate these trends and integrate
them will determine your TCO and ultimately your ROI. How well you do this is
what will differentiate who will be making money and who will be losing money,
he said.
The Fall 2007 Data Center
World Conference & Expo is Sept. 16–19 at the Gaylord Texan Resort &
Convention Center in Dallas. For more information, go to www.datacenterworld.com. www.afcom.com
RHINO Professional Labeling Tools Expands Regional Sales Team
RHINO Professional Labeling Tools is proud to announce that Craig Robinson has been promoted to the
position of Eastern Regional Sales Manager. Mr. Robinson joined RHINO in
September, 2006 as the Florida Sales Manager, and quickly established RHINO in
the State by significantly increasing sales and awareness in the short time he
was in that role.
“RHINO’s business is exploding,” stated Ernie Racenet, Global Business Unit
Director of RHINO. “Our Award winning RHINO product line and the new RHINO 6000
and RHINO 101 products are fueling the growth of this business and expanding
the overall labeling category. RHINO is quickly becoming a powerful brand
that users specify. Craig’s experience with distributors, sales agencies
and end users has been a tremendous asset to RHINO and our customers in
“As a BiCSi RCDD (Registered Certified Distribution Designer),” says Keith
Smith, also an RCDD and Strategic Account Manager with RHINO, “Craig’s
credentials offer the expertise needed by the datacom world. Cable and
infrastructure labeling needs the guidance offered by TIA trained experts.
Craig’s overall knowledge and experience will prove to be invaluable to
the cabling environment.”
“Craig’s promotion marks the beginning of a sales expansion effort for RHINO –
one that will grow our brand further in existing and even new markets,”
continued Racenet. “We are excited for the new opportunity Craig has in front
of him and are confident his skills and drive will be up to the task.”
Prior to joining RHINO, Robinson held various sales and project
management positions at Norfolk Wire & Cable, CommScope, Milcom and TexCom.
REMEMBER TO RECYCLE, REDUCE AND REUSE