Cisco Systems is now in the 10GBase-T business. On Monday, Februray 8, the switching-technology market leader joined server-technology provider Intel in announcing support for the twisted-pair flavor of 10-Gbit Ethernet within Cisco's Catalyst switch line. In a blog post, Cisco's Omar Sultan said the company will incorporate 10GBase-T into the Nexus product line next. Within that blog post is a video with demonstrations of the new 10GBase-T gear; that video was taken at Cisco Live Barcelona 2010, which took place January 25-28.
Shortly after the announcement, 10GBase-T PHY developer Aquantia announced it has entered full volume production of the AQ 1002, its flagship 10GBase-T PHY offering.
Executives from Cisco, Intel, and Panduit address and promote the 10GBase-T ecosystem in a video on Cisco's web site. In the video Jack Tison, Panduit's vice president of technology, discusses Category 6A cabling and its ability to support 10GBase-T. Also in that video, VP and general manager of Intel's LAN access division Tom Swinford recognizes that cost, power, and availability have hindered 10GBase-T's adoption to this point. He explains that all three have been, and continue to be, addressed.
We previously covered the optimism of some 10GBase-T technology providers that these barriers were steadily coming down. It looks like market giants Cisco and Intel believe they have come down far enough to make 10GBase-T products marketable.
Or, perhaps, these two companies announcing their support for the technology is itself the elimination of a significant barrier.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
It's your turn (to blog for us)
True confession: As a teenager I watched ... no, not only did I watch, I enjoyed, some of the worst movies ever created. Gory, B-rate (at best) horror movies were my favorites. Like most who have witnessed these abominations of cinema, I saw them much more as comedy than anything else. The notion that these stories were supposed to frighten audiences was, well, comical.
One of my all-time favorites was Truth or Dare. No, not the one with Madonna. I never saw that one. This one isn't even worth describing, except for a single line from it that has stuck in my head for more than 20 years. At one point, as a group of people play the adolescent game that is the movie's namesake, a particularly disgrunted player says, "It's your turn. Your turn!" It was one of those things that took on a life of its own. The small group of us who watched the movie that day made, "It's your turn. Your turn!" part of our everyday lexicon.
Now that I have updated you on a part of my history that is more frightening (and probably more pathetic) than all those movies I saw, I tell you in a much more serious tone, it's your turn. Your turn to put your name and, importantly, your thoughts in this space we call The Cabling Blog.
Since we launched the blog in October, my colleague Matt Vincent and I have mixed facts, opinions, and some oddball stuff into this space. Hopefully you have found it educational, or at least entertaining. But we know what will make it an even more worthwhile destination for professionals in the cabling industry is the inclusion of peer-to-peer perspective on your challenges, accomplishments, and stories--good and bad--from the jobsite.
So we're inviting each of you to "audition" to be bloggers. Here are the ground rules.
1. Write about something that is important, from a technology and/or a business standpoint, to cabling industry professionals.
2. Don't try to use this space as an opportunity to sell your goods or services.
3. Likewise, this blog is neither the official nor the unofficial "Festivus Airing of Grievances" place from which you can heave your frustrations with a particular individual or organization. Opinions are good. Lawsuits, generally, are not.
4. Of course, our audience makes the ultimate choice. If your blog entries are popular, well-read, start a new craze, etc., you'll probably be asked to contribute regularly. Your reward for all this: Fame. Not so much fortune, necessarily, because this is a volunteer effort. But hey, fame isn't so bad, right?
Now it really is your turn. E-mail me to let me know you're interested in blogging for us.
One of my all-time favorites was Truth or Dare. No, not the one with Madonna. I never saw that one. This one isn't even worth describing, except for a single line from it that has stuck in my head for more than 20 years. At one point, as a group of people play the adolescent game that is the movie's namesake, a particularly disgrunted player says, "It's your turn. Your turn!" It was one of those things that took on a life of its own. The small group of us who watched the movie that day made, "It's your turn. Your turn!" part of our everyday lexicon.
Now that I have updated you on a part of my history that is more frightening (and probably more pathetic) than all those movies I saw, I tell you in a much more serious tone, it's your turn. Your turn to put your name and, importantly, your thoughts in this space we call The Cabling Blog.
Since we launched the blog in October, my colleague Matt Vincent and I have mixed facts, opinions, and some oddball stuff into this space. Hopefully you have found it educational, or at least entertaining. But we know what will make it an even more worthwhile destination for professionals in the cabling industry is the inclusion of peer-to-peer perspective on your challenges, accomplishments, and stories--good and bad--from the jobsite.
So we're inviting each of you to "audition" to be bloggers. Here are the ground rules.
1. Write about something that is important, from a technology and/or a business standpoint, to cabling industry professionals.
2. Don't try to use this space as an opportunity to sell your goods or services.
3. Likewise, this blog is neither the official nor the unofficial "Festivus Airing of Grievances" place from which you can heave your frustrations with a particular individual or organization. Opinions are good. Lawsuits, generally, are not.
4. Of course, our audience makes the ultimate choice. If your blog entries are popular, well-read, start a new craze, etc., you'll probably be asked to contribute regularly. Your reward for all this: Fame. Not so much fortune, necessarily, because this is a volunteer effort. But hey, fame isn't so bad, right?
Now it really is your turn. E-mail me to let me know you're interested in blogging for us.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Yahoo! getting nearly $10M government grant for its New York data center
We told you elsewhere about HP's $7.4 million grant from the United States Department of Energy to develop an energy-efficient modular data center. HP's was the third-largest grant given by the DOE on January 6. That day the DOE announced a total of $47 million in grants to improve efficiency in information technology and telecommunications systems.
The largest grant given that day, more than $9.9 million, went to Yahoo! for the design and engineering of a passive cooling architecture in its under-construction data center in Lockport, NY. It has been reported that the data center will cost around $150 million to build. Lockport is near Niagara Falls and the data center's power will be generated by the Falls.
Here's how the DOE described the effort when announcing the grant.
That's all I have for now. Yahoo! did not immediately respond to my request for more information about the data center or its passive-cooling architecture. Perhaps you have more detail on this than I do. If so, please share what you know with us all.
The largest grant given that day, more than $9.9 million, went to Yahoo! for the design and engineering of a passive cooling architecture in its under-construction data center in Lockport, NY. It has been reported that the data center will cost around $150 million to build. Lockport is near Niagara Falls and the data center's power will be generated by the Falls.
Here's how the DOE described the effort when announcing the grant.
The integrated building design, including the building's shape and orientation and the alignment of the servers within the building, allows the data center to use outside ambient air for cooling 99 percent of the year. The relatively low initial cost to build, compatibility with current server and network models, and efficient use of power and water are all key featrues that make this data center a highly compatible and replicable design innovation for the data center industry.
That's all I have for now. Yahoo! did not immediately respond to my request for more information about the data center or its passive-cooling architecture. Perhaps you have more detail on this than I do. If so, please share what you know with us all.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Weird Wired News: Student charged with assault after chewing cable
The Harrison Daily Times in Harrison, AR reports that cabling installers working inside a school building during school hours escaped harm when a student grabbed a cable (presumably a twisted-pair construction) from the ceiling, stripped back the wires - with his teeth, evidently - and stuck the stripped cable into an electrical outlet.
The kid's in legal trouble because of what could have happened to an installer, or anyone else, who might have grabbed the other end of the cable.
Of other note, according to the newspaper report, the installation crew will go ahead and use the chewed cable as planned. Once installed and tested they'll determine whether or not the chewing-and-plugging incident adversely affected the cable's performance.
If the cable doesn't work, replacement will reportedly cost the district (and earn the contractor) $450.
Easy for me to say, I know, but it sounds like a good idea to avoid installing cabling inside a school when the students are also in the building.
The kid's in legal trouble because of what could have happened to an installer, or anyone else, who might have grabbed the other end of the cable.
Of other note, according to the newspaper report, the installation crew will go ahead and use the chewed cable as planned. Once installed and tested they'll determine whether or not the chewing-and-plugging incident adversely affected the cable's performance.
If the cable doesn't work, replacement will reportedly cost the district (and earn the contractor) $450.
Easy for me to say, I know, but it sounds like a good idea to avoid installing cabling inside a school when the students are also in the building.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
TIA-942 Data Center Cabling standard set for revision
In the second half of 2009, members of the Telecommunications Industry Association's TR-42.1 Commercial Building Cabling Subcommittee began working on a revision of the TIA-942 Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers. TIA-942 was published in 2005 and, according to ANSI guidelines, the standard must be revised, affirmed, or rescinded in five years. At its August 6, 2009 meeting, TR-42.1 unanimously approved the creation of a project to revise the standard. The revision will ultimately be published as TIA-942A.
Minutes from TR-42.1's final meeting of 2009, which took place November 5, indicate the TIA-942A standard will include a number of changes and additions, several of which will focus on energy efficiency.
The TR-42.1 Subcommittee meets next on Thursday, February 4. We will track the developments of the TIA-942A specification and keep you updated on specifics as they emerge.
Minutes from TR-42.1's final meeting of 2009, which took place November 5, indicate the TIA-942A standard will include a number of changes and additions, several of which will focus on energy efficiency.
The TR-42.1 Subcommittee meets next on Thursday, February 4. We will track the developments of the TIA-942A specification and keep you updated on specifics as they emerge.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Jew a worthy choice for achievement award
Congratulations to Jonathan Jew, winner of this year's Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in the Telecommunications Industry. That's essentially a 'lifetime achievement award' given annually by the industry's educational association, BICSI. The association honored Jew and several others with awards on Wednesday night, January 20 as part of its annual awards banquet in Orlando, FL.
Unfortunately for me I was on my way home, somewhere between Orlando and New Hampshire and most likely tens of thousands of feet in the air, at the time Jew received his award that night. I'm remiss that I didn't shake his hand and congratulate him personally.
Here's what BICSI had to say about him when it announced him as the award winner. "Jew has devoted countless hours of volunteer time, effort, and expertise that have resulted in immeasurable benefits to BICSI members and ITS professionals globally. He has been a subject matter expert contributor to numerous BICSI manuals and has acted as a co-chair, vice-chair, editor, and a project lead on many standards and working groups."
From a professional standpoint I can echo BICSI's praise of, and appreciation for, Jonathan Jew and his selfless efforts. Cabling Installation & Maintenance has benefitted from articles he has either written or been quoted in on such topics as the TIA-942 data center standard, The TIA/EIA-606 series of labeling and administration standards, and other data center issues such as humidity and electrostatic discharge.
From a personal standpoint, I can't overstate my appreciation for how willing Jew has been to contribute his time and expertise to these articles and other information products. Recently, he made a presentation during a webcast on TIA standards. He nonchalantly told me he would put his presentation together while he was on his way to an ISO standards meeting in China. I smacked my forehead in appreciative awe; Jonathan Jew went about his business as usual.
Jonathan Jew is one of many individuals who travel the country and the world constructing standards that govern the design, installation, and maintenance practices for structured cabling systems. But one thing that separates him from so many of his standards-making colleagues is that he is not employed by a manufacturer that sells products in the cabling market. He is a principal of J&M Consultants, a data center design firm based in San Francisco. As far as I can tell, he makes these efforts on his own time and his own dime. As he's helping to create North American and global standards, there are no long-term dollar signs for him in the form of thousands of his company's products being sold into the market as a result of the standard being published. He does the work because it will benefit the industry as a whole.
The world seems to have gone from "What-have-you-done-for-me-lately?" to "What-are-you-doing-for-me-right-now? (And-what's-taking-you-so-long?)" For anyone reading this blog, there's a chance that Jonathan Jew is doing something right now that will be to your benefit. Remember, if you're reading this in the middle of the night, a global standards meeting could be happening right now somewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. And even if Jonathan Jew isn't doing something right now, this very second, for you ... I can just about guarantee that he has done something lately - very recently - for you.
Just as I'm remiss not to have seen Jonathan receive his award from BICSI on January 20, I feel a little foolish not to have nominated him for that award in the first place. I just selfishly call or email him when I'm looking for information on a topic. (What can you do for me right now?) His response is almost always immediate, and is always insightful.
Congratulations to Jonathan Jew, a very worthy recipient of the 2010 Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in the Telecommunications Industry.
Unfortunately for me I was on my way home, somewhere between Orlando and New Hampshire and most likely tens of thousands of feet in the air, at the time Jew received his award that night. I'm remiss that I didn't shake his hand and congratulate him personally.
Here's what BICSI had to say about him when it announced him as the award winner. "Jew has devoted countless hours of volunteer time, effort, and expertise that have resulted in immeasurable benefits to BICSI members and ITS professionals globally. He has been a subject matter expert contributor to numerous BICSI manuals and has acted as a co-chair, vice-chair, editor, and a project lead on many standards and working groups."
From a professional standpoint I can echo BICSI's praise of, and appreciation for, Jonathan Jew and his selfless efforts. Cabling Installation & Maintenance has benefitted from articles he has either written or been quoted in on such topics as the TIA-942 data center standard, The TIA/EIA-606 series of labeling and administration standards, and other data center issues such as humidity and electrostatic discharge.
From a personal standpoint, I can't overstate my appreciation for how willing Jew has been to contribute his time and expertise to these articles and other information products. Recently, he made a presentation during a webcast on TIA standards. He nonchalantly told me he would put his presentation together while he was on his way to an ISO standards meeting in China. I smacked my forehead in appreciative awe; Jonathan Jew went about his business as usual.
Jonathan Jew is one of many individuals who travel the country and the world constructing standards that govern the design, installation, and maintenance practices for structured cabling systems. But one thing that separates him from so many of his standards-making colleagues is that he is not employed by a manufacturer that sells products in the cabling market. He is a principal of J&M Consultants, a data center design firm based in San Francisco. As far as I can tell, he makes these efforts on his own time and his own dime. As he's helping to create North American and global standards, there are no long-term dollar signs for him in the form of thousands of his company's products being sold into the market as a result of the standard being published. He does the work because it will benefit the industry as a whole.
The world seems to have gone from "What-have-you-done-for-me-lately?" to "What-are-you-doing-for-me-right-now? (And-what's-taking-you-so-long?)" For anyone reading this blog, there's a chance that Jonathan Jew is doing something right now that will be to your benefit. Remember, if you're reading this in the middle of the night, a global standards meeting could be happening right now somewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. And even if Jonathan Jew isn't doing something right now, this very second, for you ... I can just about guarantee that he has done something lately - very recently - for you.
Just as I'm remiss not to have seen Jonathan receive his award from BICSI on January 20, I feel a little foolish not to have nominated him for that award in the first place. I just selfishly call or email him when I'm looking for information on a topic. (What can you do for me right now?) His response is almost always immediate, and is always insightful.
Congratulations to Jonathan Jew, a very worthy recipient of the 2010 Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in the Telecommunications Industry.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Shielded-cabling discussion continues
The post a few weeks ago about tests comparing shielded and unshielded twisted-pair cabling systems' ability to handle 10-Gigabit Ethernet generated a bit of feedback in the way of emails and phone calls. One commenter pointed out that an article we published two-and-a-half years ago predicted that such tests would produce the results they did.
More recently, a quick trip around the internets revealed not one but two videos showing how quickly a shielded cable can be terminated - in each case less than a minute. Take a look at Tyco's video demonstration and/or Siemon's.
Meanwhile, my editorial in the December issue of Cabling Installation and Maintenance touched on the notion of running more than 10-Gbits/second on shielded twisted-pair cabling. First, some make-good housekeeping. In that editorial I neglected to mention that the in-the-works 40/100-Gbit Ethernet specifications within IEEE do indeed include a twinax copper-based solution. In one of the many instances in which my brain took a vacation while my body was working, I stated that the 40/100-G specs are fiber-only. D'Oh!
Moving ahead, if I possibly can, I promised more detail on the possibility of 40/100-G over shielded twisted-pair. This article from the January issue of our magazine provides some of that detail. As the article indicates, it looks like it could be a long road for proponents of an IEEE-produced 40/100-Gig-over-shielded-twisted-pair specification. From the looks of it, ensuring that a shielded cabling system can handle such throughput rates might be the lowest hurdle to overcome.
We'll continue to track what goes on with the possibility, and keep you informed.
More recently, a quick trip around the internets revealed not one but two videos showing how quickly a shielded cable can be terminated - in each case less than a minute. Take a look at Tyco's video demonstration and/or Siemon's.
Meanwhile, my editorial in the December issue of Cabling Installation and Maintenance touched on the notion of running more than 10-Gbits/second on shielded twisted-pair cabling. First, some make-good housekeeping. In that editorial I neglected to mention that the in-the-works 40/100-Gbit Ethernet specifications within IEEE do indeed include a twinax copper-based solution. In one of the many instances in which my brain took a vacation while my body was working, I stated that the 40/100-G specs are fiber-only. D'Oh!
Moving ahead, if I possibly can, I promised more detail on the possibility of 40/100-G over shielded twisted-pair. This article from the January issue of our magazine provides some of that detail. As the article indicates, it looks like it could be a long road for proponents of an IEEE-produced 40/100-Gig-over-shielded-twisted-pair specification. From the looks of it, ensuring that a shielded cabling system can handle such throughput rates might be the lowest hurdle to overcome.
We'll continue to track what goes on with the possibility, and keep you informed.
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