Network Infrastructure Blog

Siemon is pleased to announce a new webinar that explains how low loss versions of Siemon fiber connectivity can help data center managers contend with today’s shrinking optical loss budgets while supporting multiple mated pairs for flexible high-speed fiber channels. This latest webinar titled, The Need for Low Loss Multifiber Connectivity in Today’s Data Center, will be presented by Carrie Higbie, Siemon’s Global Director of Data Center Solutions and Services, and will take place on May 15, 2014 at 1 p.m. EDT.

The Need for Low Loss Fiber in the Data Center

Optical insertion loss budgets have become one of the top concerns among data center managers, especially in today’s large virtualized server environments with new switch fabric architectures and higher speeds that result in longer-distance fiber backbone channels using MPO connectivity for networking and storage area network (SAN) applications. With these more stringent insertion loss requirements, standard loss MPO connectors significantly limit the number of mated connections that can be deployed in a fiber channel. This has created the need for low loss fiber connectivity that can support multiple mated connections for flexibility and manageability over a wide range of distances and configurations while providing data center managers with sufficient loss headroom for deploying the latest high-speed fiber applications.

“There are many trends happening in the data center environment such as higher speeds, new non-blocking designs and software defined networking that benefit from the use of cross connects,” says Higbie. “With cross connects requiring more passive connection points within a channel, low loss fiber connectivity is the key to staying within loss budgets-especially in higher speed Ethernet and Fibre Channel applications that have more stringent loss requirements than ever before.”

In addition to providing guidance on the number and type of low loss connections allowed for a variety of applications and configurations, this webinar will also provide a Q&A portion for participants to interact with the presenter. To register for the free May 15th webinar, The Need for Low Loss Multifiber Connectivity in the Data Center, visit: Siemon Webinars. Anyone who registers for the event will gain first access to the Siemon white paper of the same name. All Siemon webinars are also archived for participants to select and review previously recorded sessions at any time.

In less than a decade, remote powering technology has revolutionized the look and feel of the IT world. Many IT managers aren’t aware that remote power delivery produces temperature rise in cable bundles and electrical arcing damage to connector contacts. Heat rise within bundles has the potential to cause higher bit errors because insertion loss is directly proportionate to temperature. In extreme environments, temperature rise and contact arcing can cause irreversible damage to cable and connectors. Fortunately, the proper selection of network cabling can completely eliminate these risks.

Video Demonstration:

Siemon shielded category 6A and category 7A cabling systems provides the following advantages that ensure a “future-proof” cabling infrastructure capable of supporting remote powering technology for a wide range of topologies and operating environments:

• Siemon’s Z-MAX® and TERA® connecting hardware has been independently certified to comply with IEC 60512-99-001, which ensures that critical contact seating surfaces are not damaged from the arc that occurs when plugs and jacks are unmated under remote powering current loads
• This arc poses no risk to humans, arcing creates an electrical breakdown of gases in the surrounding environment that results in corrosion and pitting damage on the plated contact surface at the arcing location. Note that in the Siemon contact design any potential damage due to arcing will occur well away from the final contact mating position.

Learn more in Siemon’s Tech Brief: “Siemon Advantages using Shielded Cabling Systems to Power Remote Network Devices”

Download PDF

When floor space in the data center is limited, look upward.  Look towards the space between the top of the cabinet and the bottom of ladder racks and cable trays.  Look towards Siemon’s Cable Tray Rack.

Designed to mount directly to overhead ladder rack or cable tray, Siemon’s Cable Tray Rack delivers 4U of easily installed and accessible 19” rack mount space above cabinets and racks without consuming additional floor space, making it ideal for use as a Zone Distribution Area (ZDA) or Equipment Distribution Area (EDA) in data centers.

Used with copper patch panels or fiber enclosures, the cable tray rack can increase cabling density, improve cable routing, simplify moves, adds and changes and provide pre-cabled connectivity for rapid deployment of new cabinets, racks and equipment.

More Cable Tray Rack Benefits:

• Improved Thermal Efficiency ­- Helps improve airflow by managing patching fields and cabling above cabinets and racks, minimizing obstruction of equipment cooling features.
• Rapid Data Center Deployment -­ Can be used in conjunction with Siemon’s pre-terminated copper and fiber solutions to reduce installation time
• Open Compatibility -­ The cable tray rack mount solution attaches to all common overhead cable tray and ladder rack systems, including Siemon’s RouteIT system.

Mounting Option Examples

The unique design can be mounted below, flush or above cable tray in both parallel and perpendicular configurations.

Learn more about Siemon’s Cable Tray Rack and other Data Center Infrastructure innovations.

With four new ISO/IEC and TIA cabling projects under development, it is more confusing than ever to cross reference the two group’s cabling and component specifications.  This short primer should help.

In ISO/IEC Standards, structured cabling components (e.g. cables, connecting hardware, and patch cords) are characterized by a performance “category” and are mated to form a permanent link or channel that is described by a performance “class”.  In TIA Standards, components and cabling are both characterized by a performance “category”.  ISO/IEC and TIA equivalent grades of cabling, arranged in order of increasingly more stringent transmission performance, are shown below.

Note that ISO/IEC class I/category 8.1 and TIA category 8 will not be electrical supersets of ISO/IEC class F_A/category 7_A.

Are you ready for 40 Gigabit Ethernet?

In a recent TechTarget article, David Jacobs argues that even smaller data centers and network backbones will undoubtedly require 40GbE.

The factors contributing to this trend include:

• Faster processors and increasing server computing capability
• Increasing virtualization usage and traffic from each server
• Applications, such as big data, with multiple components on multiple racks
• Mobile devices connected via 802.11n, 802.11ac or 4G putting pressure on backbones and data centers
• Convergence of network and storage data

As 10GbE takes hold, the network must be upgraded. Jacobs points out the result:  “Upstream links to the core and to other aggregation devices must then be upgraded to 40 GbE or, in some networks, to 100 GbE.”

When preparing for the next generation data center, look towards Siemon Data Center Solutions to help you build the data center infrastructure ready for today and built for the future.