Despite WiFi, cabling still growing in importance

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 11/27/2006 12:41 PM | Life

Zatni Arbi, Contributor, Jakarta

With everybody talking so excitedly about mobility and wireless connectivity, it is easy to think that the days of copper cables are numbered.

In any case, don't we all hate the ugly, dust-collecting cables that hang across the ceiling and drop down the walls in our offices?

If we could buy a wireless network access point, wouldn't we use our cutters to get rid of those damned cables? Therefore, will the era of cables be soon pass?

Systimax, now a subsidiary of CommScope, certainly does not think so. This company, which is said to be the world's leading structured connectivity solutions (SCS) provider, has five main manufacturing plants in various locations around the world: Omaha and Claremont, U.S.; Bray, Ireland; Brisbane, Australia, and Jaguariuna, Brazil.

All are busy churning out different types of twisted cables and terrestrial fiber-optic cable, testifying that cables are still alive and kicking.

Earlier this month I was invited to visit Systimax' Bray facility, which brought me for the second time in my life to the country I love most: Ireland.

The plant, which specializes on making Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Ethernet cable, is highly automated. Even the packing of their products into shipping cartons was done by machines.

We, the journalists, were all impressed by the small number of people working in the plant.

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To the question whether wireless technologies will replace cables, Systimax will correctly say that each of the infrastructure types has its own place.

There are certain situations in which wireless technologies -- despite the fact that their speed continues to improve -- will never be able to replace twisted and fiber-optic cables. If this seems hard to accept in a world that is moving fast to wireless, IDC has reported that last year a 250 million new Ethernet switch ports were shipped worldwide. That is still a staggering amount of Ethernet gear.

Systimax makes high-quality twisted-pair cables that we mostly know as the Ethernet cables. It also makes RJ-45 connectors that you plug into the back of your notebook or the Network Interface Card (NIC) of your desktop computer. It also designs, develops and manufactures various types of patches.

The Ethernet connection has evolved a lot since the day Robert Metcalfe invented it 34 years ago. First, there was the familiar 10Base-T, which delivered data at the speed of 10 Mbps.

It is still widely used today.

Then there was 100Base-T, which worked at 100 Mbps and was called Fast Ethernet.

Then 1000Base-T came along, and you can easily guess its speed.

Understandably, it was called Gigabit Ethernet. Last June, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) ratified the 10000Base-T, which gives 10 Gbps. The standard is known as IEEE 802.3an.

Compare the 10 Gbps data-transmission rate of 10GBase-T with the fastest wireless connection that you can get today -- which is still in the megabits-per-second range -- and you'll immediately see why wireless connection will not replace cable soon.

Wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX, are sufficient for the ""last mile"" connection, but for an entire campus or a multistory office building we will still need cable for the backbone.

Twenty years down the road, as applications get richer and richer, we may even need a 10GBase-T to be plugged into our computer.

Of course, the types of copper cable used for these standards are not the same.

""Today, we generally use three types of cable,"" explained TC Tan, a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Systimax Solutions, in his presentation at the Executive Briefing Center in Bray. ""We have Category 5e, 6 and 6A -- usually called CAT5e, CAT6 and CAT6A cables.""

CAT6A is what Systimax is pushing in the market at the moment. Its researchers and scientists have been active participants in the development of the standard.

Used in 10GBase-T cable, it can still provide connectivity at a distance of 100 meters. If you use CAT6 only, you can cover perhaps only one-third of the distance.

At a glance, CAT6 and CAT6A cable may look the same, but CAT6A has a heavier gauge and tighter twist to further minimize electromagnetic interference, and a different arrangement inside the jacket.

Besides copper Ethernet cable, Systimax also manufactures terrestrial fiber-optic cables. Fiber-optic Ethernet cable is more expensive, of course, but it can be used over a much larger distance than copper-based Ethernet cable.

Meanwhile, for those applications where wireless technology is the preferred choice, Systimax also offers their own solution, which they call AirSPEED.

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One thing that I learned during the presentations at the Bray center was that cabling should ideally be incorporated very early each time a new building is designed.

The reason is that changing the cabling structure once it has been put in place can be very expensive. How often do you see people tearing down walls and partitions after they decide to move their networked equipment?

Each time walls and ceilings have to be cut open in what is called a ""forklift operation"", business operations are likely to be disrupted.

Incorporating the structured cabling design is also increasingly important in line with the popularity of the Intelligent Building concept.

TC Tan talks about the Fourth Utility. If the first three utilities are water, electricity and ventilation/air conditioning, then the fourth is structured cabling.

Furthermore, cabling has also changed ""Triple Play"" into ""Quadruple Play."" If the former brings voice, broadband data access and high definition video into our building, the latter will add a Building Automation System (BAS) that includes applications such as security surveillance, security access control, fire alarm systems, lighting and other energy control.

""Regulations are emerging that require companies to pay attention to the environmental impact that they are creating,"" explained Tan. These regulations are a result of the concern with climatic changes and global warming.

That is good news to Systimax, of course. Because, typically, the life cycle of cabling is 20 years -- much longer than the life cycle of computers -- the company cannot really rely on people having to replace their network cables.

Now, with the growing need for BAS, they can expect continued strong demand for their cabling products.

Nonetheless, businesses should not take cabling too lightly. A lot of problems have arisen because of poorly designed cabling.

Systimax recommends that a company should be prepared to allocate 10 percent to 15 percent of its infrastructure expenditure on cabling. The CAT6A should also be considered as the minimum standard for future infrastructure.

The company does not help design the cabling structure for its customers. It only provides specifications and guidelines such as the required distance between two cable runs inside the wall.

""If the installer consistently follows our guidelines, we can guarantee that the cables will give the level of performance that we promise,"" assured Tan.

Systimax has been growing steadily over the past few years. It boasts that, every day, 1,600 kilometers of its cable are installed in some 120 countries.

The trip to Bray was a refresher course on network physical layer for me. It also reminded me that ""old-fashioned"" copper cable is still essential.

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