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BISBEE’S BUZZ Happy Holidays and goodbye to
2007. The year ahead offers real business improvement, in spite of soaring oil
prices, falling stock market values, and a terrible slump in the residential
market. The productivity of Plan ahead. Get the resources
to stay up to date and maximize your competitive edge. There are some
outstanding publications available to fill your library, keep you current, and
educate your staff. We recommend: Electrical Contractor
Magazine www.ecmag.com Cabling Installation &
Maintenance Magazine www.cablinginstall.com
Cabling Networking Systems
Magazine www.cnsmagazine.com Communications News
Magazine www.comnews.com Cabling Business Magazine www.cablingbusiness.com The Electrical Distributor
Magazine www.tedmag.com Also make sure you visit www.mikeholt.com
for all the news on the National Electric Code. Sign up for his newsletter,
it's free. And if you want to understand
your customers better, add these to your subscription list: Building Operating Management
http://www.facilitiesnet.com/ Buildings Magazine www.buildings.com
As the economy struggles from
neutral into forward gear, we suggest you consider membership in the following
organizations: BICSI - this is a MUST www.bicsi.org NECA - National Assoc of Electrical Contractors www.necanet.org FOA – The Fiber Optic Association Inc. - The Professional
Society of Fiber Optics www.thefoa.org ACUTA - Assoc of Communications Technology Professionals in
Higher Education www.acuta.org CABA - Continental Automated Building Association www.caba.org BOMA* - Building Owners & Managers Association
International www.boma.org NAIOP* - National Assoc of Industrial and Office Properties
www.naiop.org * These commercial real
estate organizations control more than 15 billion square feet of office space
in the If you have filled your
Christmas stocking with the above listed values, you will be better prepared to
capture the opportunities that will develop in 2008. Go forth and be profitable.
Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your friends at wireville.com
Remember: Safety is too important to ignore. But that’s just my opinion, Frank Bisbee Register Today For The 2008 BICSI Winter Conference Look for your copy of the
Conference Final Announcement that was sent with this month’s BICSI News. In the Final Announcement you
will receive important conference information, a Conference Registration form,
seminar details, a Golf Registration form and information about hotel
reservations, rental cars and much more. Visit the official conference Web site
for additional information as well as the official conference blog for the most
up-to-date information available. BICSI Courses: Don’t forget to register
early for courses taking place before and after the Winter Conference. Take
advantage of this great opportunity to advance your project management skills
or to elevate your design status. Installation and design courses and exams are
taking place around the conference for your convenience. Click here for the
Training and Exam schedule. New to this conference: Don’t miss this unique
opportunity to attend a panel discussion of “Future Trends-of-the-Industry.”
Panel members include John Adams, Tony Whaley and Chris Diminico with moderator
Don Nelson. The panel will address current trends in the key ITS areas of
outside plant, networks and wireless. The forum will be open so that all
conference attendees can share meaningful and beneficial discussions. Join us
for this new format that will offer expert views and a discussion of key industry
areas. Visit the conference schedule for more information. www.bicsi.org
From One Kind Act to Worldwide Giving: BICSI Cares—The
Charitable Foundation of BICSI BICSI Cares has partnered
with Healing the Children of Florida/Georgia,
Inc. to help provide funds for children in need. At the annual BICSI Winter
Conference in January all donations will be collected and presented to Healing
the Children to help the organization fulfill its mission of providing donated
healthcare to children in need. This mission is accomplished
through three distinct programs.
Without such a committed
organization like Healing the Children, thousands would not receive needed
medical attention. Success Story Meet Julian Castellanos a 2-year-old boy with Retinoblastoma (tumor of the
eyes). Julian is from Through
many phone calls and letters Healing the Children was able to acquire donated
treatment for Julian at the Mayo Clinic in While
at the 2008 BICSI Winter Conference, please stop by the BICSI Cares booth to
learn more about Healing the Children of Florida/Georgia, Inc. Donations can be
made at the booth, by calling +1 813.979.1991 or 800.242.7405 (USA/Canada toll
free), or by visiting www.bicsi.org. Please
help today — a child is waiting. Twelve New Concentrates For Low-Smoke PVC Plenum Compounds Are RoHS-Compliant And Include Two Altogether New Colors With the
introduction of a range of RoHS-compliant concentrates for use with FireGuard®
and other low-smoke PVC plenum compounds, Teknor Color Company now offers
RoHS-compliant colors spanning the entire spectrum of the most widely used wire
and cable polymers, the company announced today. The new range of
concentrates includes ten counterparts to non-RoHS-compliant colors offered for
FireGuard compounds, plus two—rose and aqua—not previously available. Both old
and new concentrates have the same low-smoke PVC carrier resins, and there are
no appreciable differences between the new concentrates and the earlier
formulations in terms of use levels and performance, according to Anne Upton,
wire and cable market manager. “Teknor Color
Company has formulated the new FireGuard concentrates with pigments that comply
with RoHS regulations yet provide the same coloring efficiency and electrical
performance obtained with standard concentrates,” said In addition to
Aqua and Rose, the new colors for FireGuard and other standard low-flame,
low-smoke plenum compounds include Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Grey, Orange,
Purple, Red, White, and Yellow. FireGuard
low-flame, low-smoke PVC compounds are manufactured by Teknor Apex’s Vinyl
Division, an affiliate of Teknor Color. They meet or exceed all applicable UL
requirements pertaining to applications in copper and fiber optic plenum cables
used in commercial buildings. The Vinyl Division also produces Apex® PVC wire
and cable compounds, used in virtually every type of wire and cable
application.: www.teknorcolor.com. ADC Adds Field Liaison Enhancement To PACE Program ADC (NASDAQ:ADCT) (www.adc.com)
announced today the introduction of a field liaison support element to its
Professional Architects, Consultants and Engineers (PACE) Program to increase the
support of PACE members serving current and prospective ADC enterprise and
service provider customers. As field liaisons to contractors and designers
across the "Over the past year, we
have consistently heard from our 900 plus members about a real need for another
level of support in serving their customers. Enhancing the PACE Program with
field liaisons demonstrates our commitment as a complete solutions provider and
partner for our participants," said David Yanish, PACE program manager at
ADC. "While a primary goal of this enhancement is to provide access to
more training and tools across a broad scope of technologies and topics, it
also will promote more collaboration with the consultant community, a group of
important market influencers on the customers that we collectively serve."
Resources that the PACE field
liaisons will provide include: -- ADC system engineer
participation in site visits with PACE members to match customer needs with the
applicable technologies -- Technology, product and
application training, such as the emergence of 10G Ethernet and datacenter
consolidation -- Rich content, including
industry standards updates, whitepapers and application notes Launched in Feb. 2006, the
industry-leading PACE Program is designed to inform, support and nurture ADC's
relationships with consultants and designers. Other major elements of ADC's
PACE Program include: ongoing subject-matter expertise, simple and concise
content delivery, portal navigation and dedicated partner support and easily
accessible and simple design and proposal tools. "As we have said since
introducing PACE, we deeply value our relationships with the consultants who
are serving our industry and want to inform and support them as much as
possible," said Yanish. "ADC is pleased to leverage our systems
engineering team to provide industry professionals with additional PACE program
resources to draw upon." The PACE program includes
information and support for ADC's TrueNet Structured Cabling System and
OmniReach FTTX Infrastructure Solutions. To register for the PACE
Program visit www.adc.com/partners or e-mail pace@adc.com. There
is no cost or obligation to participate. www.adc.com. Anixter International Inc. Announces Share Repurchase Program Anixter
International Inc. (NYSE: AXE - News) announced a share
repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to 1 million of
its outstanding shares with the exact volume and timing dependent on market
conditions. Anixter noted that all previously announced share repurchase
programs had been completed prior to the end of the first quarter of 2007. Anixter currently
has approximately 37.5 million shares outstanding. 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 $1 billion in inventory, 3) 221 warehouses with
more than 5.5 million square feet of space, and 4) locations in 250 cities in
49 countries. Founded in 1957 and headquartered near CI & M Magazine An insider’s take on cable-removal requirements Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know.
You’re sick of having to read my rants about abandoned cable. What do I think,
I’m going to advocate cleaning up the planet so I can win next year’s Nobel
Peace Prize, emulating Internet inventor Al Gore? I’ll freely admit to climbing
on the abandoned-cable soapbox time and again, and see no reason to apologize
for it. So get ready (or get flipping the page), because here I go again. Not long after I wrote an
article in our July issue entitled “Abandoned cable removal a dogged challenge
for all,” (p. xx), I received a call from a well-recognized veteran of our
industry. This gentleman had just read my article and paid particular attention
to the following line: “One potential reason for such unpredictable enforcement
could be the sometimes-confounding wording within the NEC in which abandoned cable is referenced.” He suggested I might
want to get in touch with a gentleman named Phil Janeway, who chairs BICSI’s
Codes Committee. The caller also suggested it might be in my best interest to
get in touch with Phil before he read the article and got in touch with me. Mr.
Janeway, I was informed, would not use the word “confounding” to describe those
parts of the National Electrical Code
that deal with abandoned cable. Shortly thereafter I had the
opportunity to speak to Phil Janeway, and discovered the assessment I was given
was absolutely true. He does not believe the abandoned-cable-removal
requirements are vague, nor do they provide loopholes that would allow building
owners to keep in place cable that will never again be put to any practical
use. As a member of the National Fire Protection Association group that
developed the original abandoned-cable requirements, he explained to me that
those requirements were perfected over three NEC revision cycles before they were finally included in the
document. At three years per cycle, that’s as much as nine years of work. In
that time, he explained, the wording was examined, re-examined, re-re-examined,
re-re-re … you get the picture. It was pondered exhaustively. Then he gave me his
perspective on how to determine whether or not a cable fits the definition of
“abandoned.” And, believe it or not, I had never heard it put this way before.
Rather than telling me when/if/why a cable not currently in use would have to
be removed from a building, he
explained to me the circumstances under which such a cable can stay in a building. Quite simply, it has
to meet two requirements. 1) It must be terminated at both ends. 2) It must be
tagged for future use. End of story. No need for debate about a cable that’s
terminated on one end but not the other. No getting away with tagging an
unterminated cable for future use just so you don’t have to rip it out. As a person who has been
guilty of treating NEC requirements
for abandoned-cable removal like they’re the tax code, I found it enlightening
to hear the thoughts of one of the men who helped craft those requirements.
Hopefully you find it interesting too. Patrick McLaughlin Reprinted with full permission of CI & M
Magazine – Nov 2007 www.cable-install.com
6A’s final hurdle: Testing, but not the kind you think Committee members optimistically look at December as a
potential publish date. Patrick McLaughlin is chief
editor of Cabling Installation &
Maintenance. If all goes according to plan,
the final chapter of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA;
www.tiaonline.org) standardization of Augmented Category 6 (Category 6A)
specifications will be written before this calendar year ends. The group has
its sites set on a meeting the second week of December, at which all
outstanding issues may be resolved and the standard approved for publication. “The standard is in great
shape,” says Val Rybinski, global sales engineer with The Siemon Company and
chair of the TIA’s TR-42.7 Telecommunications Copper Cabling Systems Committee.
“The transmission numbers have been firm for a long time; they have not changed
in two years,” she adds. In addition to establishing link and channel
performance requirements, TIA standards also specify the performance of
components within those systems. And it’s some of those component
specifications—for connecting hardware in particular—that TR-42.7 must finalize
before the standard is complete. From a standards-process
viewpoint, the only part of the standard that is still under review—and
therefore still has the potential to change—is the procedure for measuring
connecting-hardware component compliance. “We froze the entire body of the
document except a few minor technical changes,” related to the component-measurement
procedure, Rybinski states. So it is safe to say the link and channel
specifications are indeed final, as they have been for two years. The most recent
category-rated TIA specification, Category 6, specified performance levels to
250 MHz. Category 6A doubles that frequency to 500 MHz, which is in sync with
the maximum frequency of the “We can make measurements
with a certain amount of inaccuracy—say 1 dB for example,” Rybinski continues.
“What we’d like to do in the standard is get that inaccuracy reduced, and the
way to do that is to develop better test fixturing. We believe the new
measurement fixture made specifically for connecting hardware will allow us to
make very accurate measurements.” Effectively isolating a
connector and measuring that connector’s performance presents numerous
challenges from technical and practical standpoints, and TR-42.7 formed a task
group—headed by the committee’s co-chair Sterling Vaden—to develop and refine a
test fixture for the purpose. Among the technical challenges the group has
faced are maintaining good impedance around 100 ohms at 500 MHz, and one of the
biggest practical challenge is isolating the twisted pairs from the measurement.
Historically, the characteristics of the test leads used in the process have
been subject to change during the testing process, due at least in some part to
the leads’ movement while testing is underway. The fixture recently developed
and currently being used by the test-fixture task group keeps the test leads
very precisely located, thereby allowing them to be subtracted from the
measurement and allowing as pure a connector measurement as possible. The next step, one that is
set to be taken as this article is going to press, is a series of round-robin
testing in which multiple manufacturers’ connectors are tested using a single
fixture. Hugo Draye, product manager for certification products with Fluke
Networks (www.flukenetworks.com), points out that such testing is critical to
arguably the most important characteristics of standard-compliant products:
interoperability and backward compatibility. “Manufacturers of connecting
hardware are ready to conduct round-robin testing of each component,” he
states. “That happens late in the standards process,” he adds, confirming that
the group is close to a final document. “At some point jacks and plugs need to
be defined as components. Link and channel performance reports must be based on
individual components.” Draye recalls that similar
challenges faced Category 6, when early pre-standard plugs and jacks were not
interoperable among vendors, nor necessarily backward-compatible with
lower-category hardware. Back then, technology progressed and connecting-hardware
manufacturers refined their components to perform within the TIA-established
parameters that would ensure both interoperability and backward compatibility.
With Category 6A, TIA is on the threshold of finalizing the means for measuring
connectors’ ability to perform within those parameters. Somewhat ironically, it has
been another form of Category 6A testing—alien crosstalk and the means of field
testing for it—that has generated about 99% of the pre-standard buzz. On that
topic, Rybinski offers two facts that may surprise many. 1) Everything related
to field-testing procedures for Category 6A have been closed. The
specifications are complete. 2) Standards have never made field testing
mandatory. Category 6A is no exception. To that end, Draye observes,
“The TIA and IEEE have said, ‘Here’s how you measure, here are limit lines, et
cetera.’ The standards clearly define what to measure and how to do it to
ensure valid results. But they do not address the sampling method.” In other words, the standards
are silent and users are left to make their own decisions about testing all,
some or no Category 6A circuits for alien crosstalk. As Rybinski pointed out,
this is nothing new. Reprinted with full
permission of CI & M Magazine – Nov 2007 www.cable-install.com The verdict is in: Fiber-to-the-desk The Bob Ballard, RCDD is owner of
BDI DataLynk, LLC (www.bdidatalynk.com). As the demand for bandwidth
increases, so should the common-sense approach to installing fiber-to-the-desk.
But there are still those who need convincing on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
As we all know and have been taught since we were wee wire pullers, fiber is
always more expensive than copper. This myth has recently been proven false in
many projects throughout the country. Unfortunately, some of our
network-design-engineer partners are still using the old cut-and-paste method
of network design, and seldom offer the end user the option of installing
fiber-to-the-desk. Sadly, these same engineers are still specifying 62.5-micron
fiber when they should, in fact, be calling out 50-micron fiber for new
multimode installations. In 2004, I had the
opportunity to speak at 11 luncheons given by various design firms in the
Houston and In early 2005, while teaching
a Certified Fiber Optics Technician course at the The fiber decision Once the technicians had
completed the class and had good, solid, up-to-date information, they were able
to convey their fiber-optic networking ideas back to the It just made good sense for
the taxpayers and the U.S. Courts, Texas Division facilities. They had been
pulling and repulling category unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) copper cables for
years just to keep up with the demand for bandwidth from the courthouses. From
Category 3 to Category 5e, they had it all. In fact, they were about to
purchase new switches and routers for their entire network across all seven
cities in the district. Further, the entire network cabling infrastructure was
going to need replacement again. Once they realized that
fiber-to-the-desk was a valid option, they began to research the cost involved
for both scenarios—copper versus fiber—not only from a cabling standpoint, but
also from a cost-per-port standpoint. Some questions, therefore, had to be
answered. What was the total cost for switches if they ran copper? What would
be the total cost of switches and media converters if they installed fiber? How
did the cost of fiber cabling compare to that of copper? Finally, if they
installed copper, how long would it be before they would eventually be
installing fiber? Additionally, they knew, based on their available budget, if
they were going to put this new network in place, they were going to have to
install it themselves. I have seen network
technology standards change dramatically over the past 15 years, from 10-Mbits
to 100-Mbits to 1-Gbit and now 10-Gbits/sec. Every time the speed increases,
the copper manufacturers come out with a new solution to meet the demands. The
U.S. Courts, South Texas Division technicians have been installing and
re-installing these solutions for years. As a result, organizations attempting
to keep up with these standards are forced to spend hundreds of thousands of
dollars every three to five years because the copper infrastructure will not
support the new technology being introduced. So the latest solution, meant
for 10-Gbit/sec networks, has copper manufacturers once again attempting to
meet the IEEE’s 802.3an 10GBase-T standard. But based on past history, I
believe it will not meet the next standard that comes along. It appears that
even if copper can meet the 10GBase-T requirements, this could very well be the
final “twist” for copper. Based on these facts, fiber would eventually be
installed in the U.S. Courts South Texas buildings in three to five years. Self-installed network In addition to being tasked
with purchasing new switches and routers, the technicians’ responsibility
included trying to convince U.S. Courts management that fiber-to-the-desk was
in the best interest of the court and the taxpayers, and that they were capable
of installing it themselves after the training they had received. The ultimate decision turned
out to be simple, based on the facts. It was just as cost effective to install
fiber-to-the-desk as copper, considering that it would be installed in their
building within three to five years anyway. With fiber, their network would
have maximum bandwidth capabilities with no electromagnetic
interference/radio-frequency interference and no alien crosstalk; it would be
more reliable and secure than a copper network. More importantly, as new
technologies are introduced, they would only need to purchase the electronics,
instead of both electronics and cabling infrastructure to meet the demand. The decision to do the job
themselves was an easy one. Whoever said that installing, terminating, and
testing fiber was more difficult than installing, terminating, and testing UTP
copper should reconsider, because terminating SC anaerobic connectors is a
breeze. Also, the cost of two SC singlemode connectors was less than one of the
10GBase-T-capable 8-pin modular connectors they had initially considered. The
entire project consists of about 8,000 hand terminations. Personally, I would
much rather be installing 8,000 anaerobic SCs than 8,000 RJ-45-style UTP
connectors. The anaerobic SCs have no worries about separating eight different
color-coded wires during termination, no worries about maintaining this twist
or that twist, no worries about punching down too hard or not hard enough, and
no worries about extra testing for alien crosstalk—or any other crosstalk for
that matter. The technicians used a basic power source and light meter to test
their fiber segments to ensure they were within the recommended loss budget of
the electronics. Only a few SC fiber connectors had to be reterminated. The decision to use
50/125-µm, OM3 laser-optimized fiber also was simple. The user needed a product
that would offer a final solution to cabling-upgrade issues that have plagued
all information-technology managers since the early days of networking. The
ever-increasing demand for more bandwidth, the need for security, and the
demand for network reliability made fiber-to-the-desk the best solution. In virtually all cases, the
ability to upgrade a fiber network is quite simply a matter of changing a
switch or network interface card. In reality, the formula for fiber-to-the-desk
is simple: Install it, test it, and forget it. Because the active
telecommunications room (TR) as we know it goes away, there is no need for
heating/ventilation/air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment, air ducts, primary
power, secondary power, secure access, thermostats, lights, uninterruptible
power supplies, grounding, and switches. Plus, consider that many active TRs
consume roughly 2% of a building’s annual power budget. One has to consider that
building space is at a premium as well. The TR is much smaller when
fiber-to-the-desk is deployed. Considering the real-estate
and TR-related issues detailed above, fiber-to-the-desk provides a
cost-effective solution that is ready for future applications with almost
limitless bandwidth capabilities. Also, if there was any doubt about whether or
not one is getting full network speed to the desk continuously, fiber provides
a comfort level that copper does not. Yesterday and tomorrow While contemplating the need
for a fiber-to-the-desk solution, the court division not only considered the
ever-changing bandwidth demands of the present, but also those of the future.
Over the years they had installed several generations of UTP cabling, and
believed the time had come to install a longer-term solution. With an eye to
the future, the user decided to specify the latest OM3, 50/125-µm
laser-optimized multimode fiber to be used throughout the system at all U.S.
federal court house locations in Houston, McAllen, Laredo, Victoria, Corpus
Christi, Brownsville, and Galveston. OM3 fibers have the capability of
supporting higher transmission rates using lower-cost 850-nanomter
vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), standard 850-nm
light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or most any 1300-nm lasers on the market. For future bandwidth
considerations, the OM3 fiber, which costs around 16 cents per foot more than
standard 50-micron fiber, has the capability to support even higher data
transmission rates using parallel-optics transceiver arrays and/or coarse
wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM) technology. Consider this: If you had
10 OM3, 50-µm fibers, each with a throughput of 10-Gbits/sec, each could be
aggregated into a 100-Gbit/sec system. Further, if you had 2 OM3 fibers, each
carrying four wavelengths, via CWDM, at 12.5-Gbits/sec apiece, the result would
also be a 100-Gbit/sec system. Why not use singlemode fiber? The lasers cost
much more to manufacture and would drive the cost of networking electronics too
high for local area network (LAN)-based applications. Singlemode fiber is best
used for distances in excess of 550 meters. One potential concern in such
a fiber-to-the-desk installation is the high cost of plenum innerduct. In this
case, none was used. With the high tensile strength of new distribution and
riser-rated fiber cable, the use of plenum innerduct is an unnecessary expense
in many cases, including this one. The Installation support Many of the U.S. Courts
technical staff who installed the fiber cabling had little if any fiber-optics
experience. Senior U.S. Courts, South Texas Division personnel provided all
daily support and project supervisory functions at all sites. Registered Communications
Distribution Designers from BDI DataLynk are providing periodic visits to
inspect installation progress and offer assistance should problems occur during
the install. All installation,
termination, splicing, and testing is being done by U.S. Courts technical
support staff. Every technician and supervisor involved in the actual
installation at all seven locations received training from BDI DataLynk, which
provided Fiber Optics Assocation-sanctioned fiber-optics training. Although
fusion splicers were used for splicing pigtails to the 144-fiber backbone cable
serving every TR, this entire project is otherwise being completed with basic
fiber-optic tools and test equipment. The loss budget for the
low-cost, high-performance 1300-nm media converters used at each end of the
fiber segments is 11 dB. With a 3-dB aging (excess margin) built in at design
and additional specified losses allowed for cable, connectors, and splices, no
segment is approaching an attenuation level that would cause concern now or in
the future. Specifically, the U.S. Courts technicians are able to achieve an
average splice loss of 0.0 dB and a loss of less than 0.3 dB per connector pair
using the anaerobic three-step polishing process. Testing of the newly
installed fiber segments is being accomplished with an optical-loss test set.
Final segment testing and certification at both 850 and 1300 nm is being
accomplished using an industry-recognized, bidirectional cable certification
tester. The benefits and expectations
of this 2,000-plus-user fiber-to-the-desk installation will far exceed the
expectations of the U.S. Courts South Texas Division. The general public,
judges, clerks, staff, and network technicians will have fast access to
important files, unlimited video teleconferencing capabilities, uninterrupted
Voice over IP service, and day-to-day file sharing with tremendous bandwidth
capabilities in their new 10-Gbit/sec-capable fiber infrastructure. Using on-staff personnel;
low-cost, high-quality SC singlemode connectors; low-cost tools; basic
fiber-optic installation, termination, and testing techniques; the elimination
of legacy active TRs; and the elimination of costly plenum innerduct is
resulting in a low-cost, virtually maintenance-free, high-quality,
high-bandwidth fiber-to-the-desk network that will meet and exceed all current
network-bandwidth requirements, and I believe will meet and exceed all future
bandwidth requirements as well. Well-prepared for the future Even with the use of
temporary, low-cost media converters at each end of most fiber segments, the
installed cost-per-port fiber-to-the-desk installation was, in fact, a
cost-effective solution. The substantial overall savings allowed for the
purchase of new switches to add to the vast network of switchgear already installed.
Now instead of “mystery” Megs to the desk, the network is only limited by the
capabilities of the active components at each end—not crosstalk and other
maladies commonly associated with installed UTP copper networks. The U.S. Courts South Texas
Division IT team got all of the facts before they made the decision to properly
prepare their infrastructure for the future. They took the time to analyze the
big difference between actual cost per port versus installed cost per port. SIDEBAR More support for fiber-to-the-desk According to Andrew Oliviero,
chair of the Fiber Optics LAN Section of the Telecommunications Industry
Association (FOLS; www.fols.org), deploying fiber to the desk is not a new
idea; centralized cabling has been a standard-compliant architecture since
1997. “However,” says Oliviero, “many network designers have assumed that it’s
simply too expensive to install when compared to a copper-based network. It’s
not until designers take into consideration the benefits that fiber can offer
such as increased port utilization, higher bandwidth, and the ability to
eliminate or reduce the size of telecommunications rooms, that they begin to
see how fiber can be cost effective to install and offer them even greater
savings over the life of the network.” Oliviero points out that
while many people believe that fiber-to-the-desk would only work for very large
installations, such as the He adds that tools are
available to help network designers compare the installed first costs of
different standards-compliant architectures. “For example, the FOLS developed
its free Premises Cost Model to help network designers better understand the
tradeoffs of deploying different architectures,” he explains. “The Cost Model
allows users to put in the parameters of their own network, use their own
costs, and determine relative costs.” The Cost Model can be downloaded, free of
charge, by anyone who registers at the Web site
www.fols.org/resources/costmodel_reg.cfm. FOLS is committed to keeping
the Cost Model current with market conditions. The most recent version,
published in February 2007, includes the following.
“The installation in the U.S.
District Courts in The Fiber Optics LAN Section
of the TIA is a consortium of leading fiber-optic cable, component, and
electronics manufacturers. The FOLS focuses on educating end users and design
consultants about the technical advantages and affordability that optical
transmission can bring to local area networks and fiber-to-the-desk
applications. Liz Goldsmith is spokesperson for the FOLS. Member
companies of the FOLS include 3M; Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company; CommScope;
Corning; Draka Comteq; OFS; Ortronics/Legrand; Panduit; Sumitomo Electric
Lightwave; Superior Essex; and Tyco Electronics. Reprinted with full permission of CI & M Magazine
– Nov 2007 www.cable-install.com Energy Consumption An Overriding Issue Federal-government involvement is driving improved
practices for more-efficient operation. Patrick McLaughlin is chief
editor of Cabling Installation &
Maintenance. If anybody ever joked that it
would take an act of Congress to rein in the mushrooming amount of energy
consumption in data centers, the joking stopped on December 20, 2006, when the
109th United States Congress enacted Public Law 109-431: An Act to
Study and Promote the Use of Energy Efficient Computer Servers in the The EPA’s directive included
nine points to be studied and gave the agency 180 days in which to report back.
The EPA released a draft report in April before returning the full report a
130-page document formally titled “Report to Congress on Server and Data Center
Energy Efficiency,” dated August 2. In a press release, the EPA stated that its
report “shows that data centers in the Among the notable findings in
the report are the following.
The full report, an executive
summary of it, the EPA press release, and Public Law 109-431 are all available
at the Energy Star Web site, www.energystar.gov. Three levels of enhancement After detailing the reasons
it believe data center energy consumption will continue to grow rapidly over
the next five years as well as the implications of that increased consumption,
the EPA report turns it attention to opportunities for energy efficiency.
Specifically, the report defines and describes three scenarios—“improved
operation,” “best practice,” and “state of the art”—that can incrementally
increase efficiency. Improved operation efforts, which the EPA says require little or not capital investment,
include continuing the current trend toward server consolidation; eliminating
unused servers; adopting energy-efficient servers to a modest level; enabling
power management on all applicable servers; and assuming a modest decline in
energy use of enterprise storage equipment. Under this scenario, the EPA says
sites will gain a 30% improvement in infrastructure (power and cooling) energy
efficiency from improved airflow management. Best practice
efforts include the measures taken in the “improved operation” scenario, but
with moderate server consolidation, aggressive adoption of energy-efficient
servers, and assuming moderate storage consolidation. Additionally,
best-practice efforts call for implementing improved transformers and
uninterruptible power supplies; improved efficiency chillers, fans, and pumps;
as well as free cooling. Following these procedures will garner up to 70%
improvement in infrastructure energy efficiency, the report says. And state-of-the-art efforts include aggressive server and storage
consolidation, as well as enabling power management at the data center level of
applications, servers, and equipment for networking and storage. Those steps
plus direct liquid cooling and combined heat and power will yield up to 80%
improvement in infrastructure energy efficiency, the report states. The EPA stressed that these
descriptions are not comprehensive, but rather representative of a subset of
energy-efficiency strategies that could be employed. Practical implications for cabling Clearly, there is no
silver-bullet single action data center managers can take to improve their
systems’ energy efficiency. The interdependence of data center systems on one
another rings true in attempts at energy efficiency, in much the same way it
does with respect to data transmission. Dr. Robert Schmidt of IBM is
credited with first describing the data center as an ecosystem, and the
terminology has attracted many followers. “A data center is made up of
many components, including the room itself, the floor structure—raised or not
raised, pressurized or not pressurized—and cable routing, whether it is
overhead or underfloor,” says Herb Villa, technical manager with Rittal Corp.
(www.rittal.com). “Add to that the overall building systems like lighting,
security, enclosures, and the components in those enclosures. All of these
components and systems affect the performance of something else. “No data center component is
an island. All must be viewed as an entire system,” he continues. “None can be
completely valued independently.” To that end, he says, often data center sites
have different personnel in charge of different components. “Sometimes the
group responsible for the network cabling and switches is not the same group
that is responsible for the servers.” If all these systems are going to work
together, it is essential to get the personnel running them together, he
comments. Today, that’s often the case. “It used to be that when I would go to
a customer, I would talk to the IT personnel. Today, I talked to facilities
personnel—plumbing, electricians, and others. Everyone is on the same page much
earlier in the process than in the past.” “Overall we see four critical
areas of the data center: the entire infrastructure, network components,
storage components, and computing resources,” says Marc Naese, solutions
development manager with Panduit (www.panduit.com). “All four areas must
interoperate. We have developed our solutions to address specific issues in
each of those areas. On a room level, cooling supports the entire ecosystem. As
you get down to a rack or cabinet level, the needs change drastically.
Side-to-side versus front-to-back airflow is an example. “Before you can understand
your power or cooling requirements, you must know how many servers you are
going to deploy. From there, you can calculate what your requirements will be,
what the cabinets will look like, and how dense those cabinets will be.” Keep them separated “When you follow industry
understanding of best practices, everything that is done in the data center is
really designed to separate the supply air from the return air as much as
possible,” says Ian Seaton, technology marketing manager with Chatsworth
Products Inc. (www.chatsworth.com). That’s why, he explains, the
hot-aisle/cold-aisle setup was established. “It’s why you seal off access
cutouts, install blank tiles, and locate your cooling units in the hot aisles
so you prevent your return-air path from migrating into the cold-aisle space. “If you look at a data
center’s entire cooling system as an ecosystem, by virtue of maintaining
complete isolation between supply air and return air, you can allow the supply
air to be raised in temperature to equal the delivered air temperature. Most
want the equipment to see air between 68 and 77 degrees. To get that
temperature, your supply air is typically delivered in the 52- to 55-degree
range. Follow the line of your cooling system, and you’ll find the
chilled-water temperature coming off the condenser is in the low 40s. When you
eliminate mixing [of supply air and return air], you can raise your supply air
from 52 degrees to 72 degrees, in which case the chilled-water temperature can
be 60 degrees.” Adopting the
data-center-as-ecosystem concept may be necessary for managers to achieve the
energy efficiencies put forth in the EPA’s report to Congress. And while
cabling infrastructure, including racks and cabinets, might play only a small
part, the ecosystem mentality dictates that each part affects others. Reprinted with full permission of CI
& M Magazine – Nov 2007 www.cable-install.com Desktop labeling solution The RHINO 6500 desktop
labeling solution features printer and RHINO CONNECT software bundled together.
Built especially for the needs of electrical, datacom, security, and
construction markets, the RHINO 6500 features batch printing, which lets you
quickly download, print, and automatically cut large labeling jobs, such as for
preparing labeling kits for multiple-site cabling installations. Its PC connectivity
lets you create label files on your computer using the RHINO CONNECT software
or other Windows-compatible software (such as Excel) for direct printing to t
he 6500 or for downloading the filed for use at the job site. According to the
company, this feature is especially useful for electrical and panel assembly,
cable harness shops, or multi-building/site projects that require all labels to
be consistent and uniform. Other features of the 6500 include a library of more
than 250 categorized industry terms and symbols, as well as built-in memory to
store more than 1,000 custom labels, such as terms, symbols, graphics, and
logos. It is designed with features such as a large back-lit screen and
multiple label display, motorized auto-cutter, industrial casing with an
integrated protective bumper, and simplified label access, label cartridge size
sensor, automated label cartridge insertion/ejection system, and a QWERTY
keyboard. RHINO/DYMO www.rhinolabeling.com Reprinted with full permission of CI
& M Magazine – Nov 2007 www.cable-install.com BICSI Modernizes Credentialing Process, Launches The BICSI NxtGEN Program Due to changes in the
information transport systems (ITS) marketplace, BICSI is modernizing its
credentialing processes with the launch of the BICSI NxtGEN Program. BICSI
NxtGEN Program, formerly the Inverted Funnel Project (IFP), will elevate the
importance and recognition of existing Registered Communications Distribution
Designers (RCDDs), make the RCDD and Specialty programs more available to IT,
engineering and other professionals; and modernize the BICSI credentialing
programs and make them more consistent with how professionals are credentialed
today. In 2006, the BICSI Board of
Directors asked a number of BICSI members and volunteers to take a look at the
many changes that have occurred in the ITS industry since the inception of the
RCDD program; and make recommendations for enhancements. In June 2007, this
committee of members recommended that BICSI take a serious look at what the
organization can do to maintain its leadership role in ITS, which resulted in
an effort called the NxtGEN Program. “There is no denying that
many changes have occurred in the ITS industry since the inception of the RCDD
program,” said John Bakowski, RCDD/NTS/OSP/WD Specialist, BICSI President, in
his latest BICSI News article (November/December issue). “Shifts in the needs
of BICSI members, customers and other stakeholders have left gaps in the
publications, training and credentialing that we offer.” Although currently still in
the research and analysis stages, it is apparent that the BICSI NxtGEN Program
will enhance the BICSI credentialing and education programs. Currently, BICSI
credentialing has a linear path, where a person can enter the organization as
an Installer or Technician, and then must become an RCDD prior to being able to
obtain one of the three Specialty programs—Network Transport Systems, Wireless
Design and Outside Plant. BICSI NxtGEN evaluates the path of becoming an RCDD,
and reconfigures the path to match the needs of today’s information transport
systems professionals. New credentialing programs that complement BICSI’s
publications are also possible enhancements. “The NxtGEN program will
drive the BICSI Strategic Plan in building our credentialing and outreach
programs,” said Bakowski. “The ITS industry will benefit from the availability
of our venues on a more open basis, both locally and globally.” The BICSI NxtGEN Program and
the Committee’s findings will be presented to the BICSI Board of Directors in
December of this year, and if approved, presented to the membership in January
2008. Further research and analysis will take place prior to implementation. “Today marks the beginning of
the Next Generation (NxtGEN) of candidates BICSI welcomes to the
information transport systems industry,” said Ed Donelan, RCDD/NTS Specialist,
BICSI’s incoming President. “Tomorrow, we measure the success of more effective
access to our products and the way we help so many achieve their
knowledge-based goals.” ### BICSI is a professional
association supporting the information transport systems industry with
information, education and knowledge assessment for individuals and companies.
Headquartered in Bill Geary Named New Accu-Tech Vice President Of Sales
Accu-Tech will start 2008 with a bang. On January 1st,
fourteen year cabling distribution veteran Bill Geary will begin serving as
Accu-Tech's Vice President of Sales. Bill will be re-locating back to ACCU-TECH had a
strong 2007 and added many new companies to their “happy customer list”. Check
them out. ACCU-TECH has great service and competitive pricing. www.accu-tech.com BuildingGreen Announces 2007 Top-10 Green Building Products
Downloadable
Images of Top-10 Products View
Company Information for Top-10 Products “Our selections of the Top-10 Green Building Products
represent a wide range of product types in many different application areas,”
noted GreenSpec coeditor and BuildingGreen president Alex Wilson. Four
of BuildingGreen’s winning products this year save energy. Two products save
water. Three products are green in part because they are made from recycled or
recovered material; two because they avoid hazardous manufacturing or disposal
of materials, and one aids in the siting of solar energy systems. “Most of the
Top-10 products this year have multiple environmental attributes,” said BuildingGreen’s Top-10 product selections, as in
previous years, are drawn from new additions to the company’s GreenSpec
product directory. More than 200 product listings have been added to the GreenSpec
database during the past year. “New products seem to be appearing all the time,
making it a challenge for our staff to keep up,” said A big driver in the development of green products
continues to be the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which awards points for the
use of certain product types or for the energy or water savings that green
products can achieve. “Designers of LEED buildings are looking for green
products, and manufacturers are responding,” said The 2007 Top-10 Green Building Products are listed
below. More complete descriptions and contact information is provided on the
attached pages:
About GreenSpec Directory Award Recognizes CABA's Strong Commitment To Connected Home Research The Continental Automated Buildings Association earned
a top international industry accolade at the Net-atHome conference in CABA has been proactive over the last year in
providing opportunities for industry to collaboratively develop research
projects that advance the connected home space. Through its Internet Home
Alliance Research Council, CABA has led a cross-industry network of companies
to develop high-quality market research that can be used for future product
marketing and development related to the intelligent home sector. "The recognition we received at the Net-atHome
conference validates the strength of our new intensive industry research
undertakings," states Ronald J. Zimmer, CABA President & CEO. "It
is our intention to continue to develop and provide critical market data that
helps our association members in particular, and the industry at large, refine
their product portfolios." Recently, the organization's Research Council
completed research studies that examined: interactive TV; custom mobile
advertising; intelligent laundry solutions; the use of consumer electronics and
appliances in North American kitchens; and technology solutions that consumers
over the age of 50 want most to keep them safe, comfortable and living
independently in their own homes as they grow older. CABA also completed a segmentation study for the
industry, entitled the Connected Home Roadmap, which determined the consumer
profiles of those who buy digital lifestyle products and services. This report
assisted manufacturers and other vendors that cater directly to end-users to
identify resource requirements and potential investment opportunities. All of these studies are available for sale through
CABA's eStore. The organization also maintains a Connected Home
Council which initiates and reviews projects that relate to connected home and
multiple dwelling unit technologies and applications. The mandate of the
Council, made up of active CABA members, is to examine industry opportunities
that can accelerate the adoption of new technologies, consumer electronics and
broadband services within the fast-growing connected home market. "On the tenth anniversary of our Net-atHome
event, we felt it fitting to recognize the strong efforts CABA has made to grow
the connected home industry in North America and beyond," states Karine
Valin, Managing Director of Homega Research, the marketing and technology firm
that organizes the annual industry event. "The work of both CABA's Research
and Connected Home Councils are recognized through the industry alliance award
we have bestowed on the organization."
www.caba.org
Homega
Research Homega Research is a division of Sigma Consultants
specializing in technologies and services for the home such as home networks
and gateways, connected appliances, and integrated services. Please visit www.homega-research.com
for further information. Net-atHome Net-atHome is an annual industry forum organized by
Homega Research, a marketing and technology firm based in Sophia Antipolis,
France specializing in residential technologies. The event focuses on products
and services taking advantage of: home networking solutions, such as "home
gateways" connecting the home communication infrastructure to
external access networks; thus providing consumers with more attractive
functionalities and services for the widest range of applications, including
comfort, entertainment, remote control, security, energy management,
automation, and working from home. More information about the event can be
found at www.net-athome.com. CABA Annual General Meeting (AGM) – Dec. 6, 2007 As identified in the attached Official Notice, CABA's Annual General Meeting will be held
on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007, at Panasonic Corporation of North America, Join CABA's Chairman of the Board Martin Cullum, of Please contact the CABA office if there are any questions and also if you
wish to attend this important meeting. Yours sincerely, Ronald J. Zimmer, President & CEO CableLAN Products Moving To New Rhode Island Location CableLAN
Products, Inc. is pleased to announce that its The move will be
completed on Tuesday, November 13, 2007. Until the close of business on Friday,
November 9, CableLAN will continue to operate at its existing location at "After more
than 10 years at our Carrying a
complete inventory of network wiring products from premier brands, including
Hubbell Premise Wiring, Molex, Panduit and many more, we are uniquely equipped
to supply these products to our growing customer list. As a locally owned
business, we recognize the need to provide customized service to the area's
data communication installers." CableLAN Products
is a leading distributor of structured wiring solutions, providing high value
products, combining outstanding quality from major manufacturers, technical
support, fast delivery and competitive prices. Founded in 1994,
CableLAN Products has stocking branches in CNS Magazine Intelligent Cabling & The ITIL The migration toward the goal
of high availability, converged corporate networks is set to provide a
considerable challenge to those wishing to reap the undoubted business
benefits. By Tony Beam Corporate information
networks of the 21st century have become the core upon which
successful organizations are based and their competitive advantage derived. The critical nature of the
corporate network is beyond doubt and its importance as the primary source of
commercial activity and communication is growing exponentially. Consequently,
there is a rapidly growing demand for network infrastructures that offer levels
of IT service availability akin to those provided under a utility business
model. This demand has also been
fuelled by the trend toward the convergence of voice, data and video services,
to include non-traditional IT service systems (HVAC controls, Lighting
controls, IP security surveillance and access control systems), a move which
will only be possible if the near 100%, 24/7 service availability currently
enjoyed by voice networks is not compromised. The migration toward the goal
of high availability, converged corporate networks is set to provide a
considerable challenge to those wishing to reap the undoubted business
benefits. It will require system
downtime reductions in excess of 80% to achieve this goal, however, it is
extremely unlikely that improvements of this magnitude can be delivered by the
manual infrastructure management systems and processes in use today. If high availability,
converged networks are to become a reality, a fundamental change in network
infrastructure change control, configuration and problem management processes
is required. The realization that the 100%
availability of IT services will assume ever-greater significance has led to
the introduction of IT Service Management. Setting the benchmark for ‘best
practice’ in service management is ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library), which has
been adopted as the de-facto global standard. While past attempts at
service improvements were primarily focused on investments in technology, the
ITIL approach differs in that it defines the processes within the particular
services to be performed, thereby providing a ‘best practice’ framework for
continuous IT service delivery and management. Change management At the core of the ITIL
framework is the network configuration and change management processes. The accuracy
and quality of the information contained within the main configuration
management database (CMDB) is fundamental in ensuring the effectiveness,
efficiency and quality of all associated IT Service Management processes,
particularly in complex environments. Similarly, the management of
changes to this information is also critical as the network manager must know
the exact implications of carrying out any changes before they take place.
Avoiding the potential for a ‘butterfly effect’ to develop as a result of a
poorly executed change or problem resolution is essential if 100% service
availability is to be maintained. Creating such systems and
processes based upon a traditionally managed cabling infrastructure is an
impossible task, as the connectivity and asset information contained within
traditional tools and documentation processes, being manually maintained, is
inevitably inaccurate, outdated and therefore cannot be integrated into the
core CMDB. This creates a large degree of uncertainty concerning the physical
location and associated connectivity and accountability of network devices. It
also severely limits the quality of IT service delivery and management. By adopting the correct
“intelligent cabling management system,” which involves both hardware and
software tools as a key part of their cabling strategy, organizations can
create a platform capable of addressing these problems, providing a 100%
accurate, real-time, trusted source of connectivity and asset information that
can be integrated within the core CMDB and consequently, the associated IT
Service Management tools and processes. Any physical changes to the
network configuration are automatically updated and reflected across all
management processes, aiding communication between organizational work-streams
and co-ordinating events. Market acceptance growing Intelligent cabling
infrastructure management systems have been on the market in excess of five
years from a number of different manufacturers. Most importantly, they have
experienced continuance improvements both in hardware and software plus overall
reduction in price and ease of installation. Now it is possible to say
that reliable, cost-effective systems are on the market, which meet the needs
and requirements of an effective cabling infrastructure management system to
support IT services. Market acceptance over the
past five years has been mixed depending upon the industry and the customer
location. No doubt the industry that has accepted the intelligent cabling
infrastructure systems has been the financial industry closely followed by any
customer data or call centre locations. Other industries where
adoption is strong are communications and media providers, health care and
government institutions. Oddly enough the deployment
of intelligent cabling systems have seen the greatest adoption in what would be
considered the “developing countries” such as India, Middle East, Eastern
Europe, Mexico and Russia. The country of exception would be the In The primary reason that
adoption has been slow here and in the First and foremost the
customer needs to insure that the system supports their IT service practices
and provides them the information that they need 24 hours, 7 days a week and
that the process ensures 100% accuracy of the information. The software along with the
hardware must provide an automated, accurate, real-time physical layer
management system. This combined system should
proactively respond to changes in connectivity and intelligently record your
cabling system and its devices with accurate documentation. It should offer an
integrated work order system, which can use the compiled information to provide
automated design and change recommendations as well as monitoring the work
order progress, therefore eliminating time-consuming, often paper laden manual
work order processes. From the hardware
prospective, the customer needs to be assured that the system fully supports
all the various cabling solutions available to include unshielded and shielded
twisted-pair, and fiber optics to include 62.5, laser-optimized 50 and
single-mode in the various connector types (Duplex SC, MT-RJ, and Duplex LC). Especially for data and call
centre applications the system should support the plug-and-play solutions
involving MPO for fiber optics and MRJ21 for copper. The hardware should be easy
to install and most significantly not only support cross-connect applications
(between patch panels), but also interconnect applications (between patch panel
and switch). Of significant importance is
that the hardware system needs to be self-discovering of connectivity in the
case of power, system or network outages so that information remains accurate
and up-to-date. Additionally, it should
support massive connective changes but not requiring patch cords to be removed
sequentially or having to follow blinking LED lights, which would require
mandatory use of a work order system. It
needs to allow multiple technicians to work at the same time and to remove, add
and change patch cords in whatever way is most efficient for business
continuity. Information alerts The hardware system should be
fully-integrated with the software system to provide the technician in the
telecommunications closet with the information and alerts necessary for them to
perform their assigned work actions. It should also provide them access to
their assigned work actions, both connectivity and general. It should provide the
technician with immediate positive or negative feedback on performing
connectivity changes, such as good or bad audible tones. Finally, it should
immediately feed into the software database connectivity changes, specifically
the completion of work actions, as well as provide the technician the ability
to input the completion or issues associated with general work actions. The software in conjunction
with the hardware needs to provide the following: Real-Time Monitoring -- this
automates the process of discovering, documenting, monitoring, and managing the
physical network’s connections and its devices. Location Based IP-Device
Discover -- the system needs to not only discover IP-devices attached to the
network and their status but also correlate that to the connectivity database
to provide its physical location. Flexible Alert System -- the
ability to send out alerts to designated individuals based on a flexible filter
system based on such items as location, time, authorized or unauthorized changes. Comprehensive and Flexible
Work Order System – the ability to assign access rights and privileges as
determined by the administrator allowing authorized users to select proposed
moves of workstations, phones, printers or other equipment. Moves can be
performed singly or in bulk, as in departmental relocation. The system should
automatically generate auto-routing, and a step-by-step work order and
schedule, which can be accepted or revised by the user. Tasks should be able to
be divided and distributed between various supervisors and technicians. Work
orders should include connectivity traces, wiring closet diagrams and floor
plans. Detailed Reports -- the
software needs to provide a library of detailed reports of cable, port and
asset utilization and physical configurations. These reports are invaluable to
network administrators and asset managers. The adoption and
implementation of an intelligent cabling and infrastructure management system
can insure the optimization of ITIL processes and the resulting improvements in
work-stream productivity and efficiency, ensuring organizations that automate
and integrate the management of the physical layer as an integral part of the
IT Service Management platform, will attain the goal of continuous service delivery
and maximize the return (ROI) on their IT investments. Tony Beam is the product
management director for AMPTRAC Connectivity Management System from AMP
NETCONNECT, a division of Tyco Electronics. Security For All There
has been a three-fold increase in the number of threats to systems since 2005,
which is directly attributable to the proliferation of devices such as smart
phones, personal digital assistants and handheld computers. By
Martin Slofstra Whether
it is cabling professionals, IT departments or senior executives, network
security has become everybody's business for it has never been more
complicated. There are networks that are or need to be secure, protecting your
network from hackers, viruses and worms, and other threats to your data. There
are also networks used for security, which may include video surveillance and
are used to protect a premise or for detecting intruders. And
there are the people involved in the security in the organization, from cabling
professionals, to IT departments, to telecom specialists, to those in business
units. Everybody seems to have a stake in network security and everybody has a
role to play. And
it is not hard to see why. In the days of converged networks, companies must
rethink everything from their cabling infrastructure to their software systems. "The
fact is that all networks are converging on an IP platform," says Francis
Richard, a structured cabling specialist at Cerco Cable Inc., a value-added
distributor of cable products based in Sometimes
this can create problems. An IT department, for example, may focus on different
requirements than a facilities manager, and it behooves all organizations to
view security requirements in the context of the overall business strategy,
balancing present and future network needs with overall goals. Richard
notes that inter-departmental conflicts and IT may look at short-term solutions
because the typical application lasts only a few years, and that tends to be
their frame of reference. In other words, the application dictates the type of
cabling that is used, and in some cases, a temporary solution is put in place. Differing opinions A
cabling expert, however, may look at the infrastructure from a 10-to-20-year
horizon, and that can create a difference in opinion. In
defense of the IT department, however, the application is only one part of the
security equation. "There isn't necessarily one right or wrong
answer," says Stephen Ibaraki, a Vancouver-based IT consultant and
president of the Canadian Information Processing Society. Important questions
need to be asked involving business domain, model and environment; applications
and infrastructure; value of the information; risk analysis for a security
breach; security processes and technology that are in place including
sufficient training, the triad of people, process, and technology; doing a more
formal security assessment using one of the available tools such as MSAT; and
much more, he says. "At
minimum, it's good to seek out a variety of opinions from the IT professional
community which are a key source of security information," says Without
question though, the cabling experts and the IT departments need to combine
their efforts. The concept of security has migrated from upper layer security
to include a real focus on physical layer security. Users are securing their
data by first securing their cabling, and that is a good foundational place to
start. Then they need to work their way up. Curry
says organizations need to see network security in a wider context. “I have a
network security problem is seldom the starting point, it's I need to improve
my uptime or regulatory compliance,” he says. Explaining it in those terms or
as part of a business case -- whether it is increasing your uptime or
regulatory compliance -- will have a
better chance of getting everybody in the organization on board. Security
was once a separate function with IT working on it isolation, but regulatory
compliance is the catalyst to getting on the business agenda. Yet
roadblocks also exist. Curry cautions a lack of interoperability between
different vendors equipment could inhibit the user's ability to manage the
security function although the advent of standards will make this work. There
is some question whether traditional enterprise-class security products can
meet the demands of the largest IP networks in the world, and whether IP
actually makes them more vulnerable than ever before. "Is
IP more secure than non-IP? "The jury is still out on that," says
CA's Curry. "IP is a simple redundant protocol with a tremendous upside.
It's attractive because it's cheaper, it's everywhere and it's very simplicity.
But that same ubiquity makes it subject to attacks everywhere. It's a
trade-off." According
to results of a global survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and
commissioned by AT&T of 395 executives across the world and including The
report also alludes to another trend. More and more executives are paying
attention to network security issues. "Without question, 9-11 catapulted
the security issue to front and center for executives," says Steven
Taylor, vice-president of sales for AT&T Global Services Canada, and the
effects will be lasting. Although Canadian organizations tend towards a
business-as-usual stance, there is a global dimension to network security that
cannot be overlooked: Most threats to the network, whether it's hacker activity
or virus-writers, or freak weather conditions or a terrorist attack, can occur
anywhere, and Part
of the problem may be a lack of clear definition of network security. The trend
overwhelmingly has been to define computer security broadly, and
service-providers often include business continuity and disaster recovery, and
the capability to move to off-site back-up network as part of their offerings. Executives
seeking to get a good sense of how their networks stack up from a security
perspective may want to consider getting "a full-blown security
audit" which evaluates all the facilities, processes and the security
tools it has its disposal. Then
there is also the issue of cost. While most organizations realize they must go
to converged networks, it may require a large up front investment and there is
always the issue of legacy systems which can pulling security professionals
into two different directions. "For corporations trying to manage these
concerns, security raises significant issues of resource allocation," says
David Denault, general manager of AT&T Global Services Canada. Ongoing training
critical "The
increasing number of applications running across the network drives cost, and
security personnel require a high level of expertise and ongoing
training." Michael
Murphy, vice-president and general manager of Symantec ( He
acknowledges the high level of executive awareness, and lots of available
product, but where organizations struggle is in the areas of implementation and
lack of resources. "Corporations understand the risks, but they are also
trying to do more with less. We have spent a lot on hardware and software and
now we need to implement," he says, "which includes how to integrate
it all and make it work together." Meanwhile, networks continue to grow wildly. There is the core, there is the perimeter and remote locations, and nowadays there is also wire |