Data Center eBook Efficient Physical Infrastructure

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D a t a C e n t e r  E  E-- B o o k Deploying, Managing and Securing an Efficient Physical Infrastructure

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Table of Contents 10GBASE-T for Broad 10Gigabit Adoption in the Data Center......................... Center........................................... .................................... ................................4 ..............4 Considerations for Overall SLAʼs for Co-location and Cloud Facility Owners Owners and Hosting Providers...12 Data Centers Strategies and Considerations for Co-Location and Cloud Tenants Tenants ............. ..................19 .....19 Data Centers - Point to Point vs. Structured Cabling Cabling............ ......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... ...............25 ..25 Data Center Cooling Best Practices..................... Practices.................................. .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... .....................33 ........33 Intelligence at the Physical Layer ............ ......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... ......................... ......................... .....................44 ........44

Appendix............................ Appendix............... .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... ........................ ...................48 ........48

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10GBASE-T 10GBase-T for Broad 10Gigabit Adoption in the Data Center

Contributors: Carl G. Hansen, Intel Carrie Higbie, Siemon

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10 Gigabit Ethernet: Drivers for Adoption

 The gr  Th grow owin ing g us use of of virt virtual alizat ization in dat data a cen centers to addr addre ess the ne need to to redu reduce ce IT co cos sts has has cau aus sed man any y administrators administ rators to take take a serious look at at 10G 10G b Ethernet Ethernet (10 (10G G bE) as a way to reduce the the complexi plexities ties they they face when using using th the e existing 1G 1G b Ethernet Ethernet (1G (1G bE) infrast infrastruct ructures ures.. Th The e server consolidation consolidation associat associated with wi th vir irtu tualalization iz ation has had signifi significant cant impact impact on network network I/ O because they combi bine ne the the network needs of several several physical machines and the other background services, such as live migration, over the Ethernet network onto a single machine.

 Tog oge ether wi witth tre ren nds such as unif ifie ied d netwo work rkin ing, g, the ab abil ilit ity y to use a sin singl gle e Ethern rne et netwo work rk for bo botth da datta an and storag st orage e traffi traffic, c, are are increasing I/ O demands to to the the point where a 1G 1G bE network can be a bott bottleneck and a source of complexity complexity in the data center. center. The move to to im implement unifi unified ed networ networking king requir requires es rethinki hinking ng of data data center cent er networks. networks. W hile 1G 1 GbE connectio connections ns mig ight ht be able able to handle the the bandwidth bandwi dth requirem requirement ents of a single traffic type, they do not have adequate bandwidth for multiple traffic types during peak periods. This creates a need for multiple 1GbE connections.

Moving to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) addresses these network problems by providing more bandwidth and simplifies the network infrastructure by consolidating multiple gigabit ports into a single 10 gigabit connection. Data Center Administrators have a number of 10GbE interfaces to choose from including CX4, SFP+ Fiber, SFP+ Direct Attach Attach Copper Copper (DAC (DAC), and 10G 10GBASE-T BASE-T. Toda oday y, most most are choosing either 10GbE 10G bE Optical O ptical or or SFP+DAC DAC.. However, limitations with each of these interfaces have kept them from being broadly deployed across the data center.

Fiber connections are not cost-effective for broad deployment, and SFP+ DAC is limited by its seven meter reach, and requires requires a complete complete infrastruct infrastructure ure upgra upgrade. de. CX4 is is an older technology that does not meet high density requirem requirements ents.. For 10G 10 G BAS BASE-T E-T, the percep perception tion to da date te has been that it requi required red too much power and was too costly for broad broad deploymen deployments ts.. Th These ese concerns are being bei ng address addressed ed with wi th th the e latest manufacturing processes that are signifi significantly cantly reducing both both the the power and the cost of 10G 10G BASE-T.

W id idespread espread deploym deployment requires a cost cost--effect effective ive solutio solution n that that is backward backward com compatibl patible e and has the flexibili flexibility ty capable capa ble of reaching reaching the maj ajori ority ty of swi switch tches es and servers servers in the the data center. center. Th This is white white pap paper er looks at what is driving choices for deploying 10GbE and how 10GBASE-T will lead to broader deployment, including its integration te gration into server moth otherboard erboards. s. It It also outlines the the advantages of 10G 10GBASE-T BASE-T in the data center center,, includi including ng improved bandwidth, greater flexibility, and infrastructure simplification, ease of migration, and cost reduction.

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The Need for 10 Gigabit Ethernet

A variety of technological advancements and trends are driving the increasing need for 10GbE in the data center. For instance, the widespread availability of multi-core processors and multi-socket platforms is boosting server performance. Th That at performance allows allows custom omers ers to to host more appli applications cations on a single server resulting resulting in multiple multiple applilications app cations competing competing for a fini finite te number of I/ O resou resources rces on the the server server.. Cus ustom tomers are also using virtualization virtualiz ation to consolidate consolid ate mult ultip iple le servers onto a single phys physica icall server, server, reducing their equipment equipment and power power costs. costs. Servers using using the latest Intel® Xeon® processors can support server consolidation ratios of up to fifteen to one .

However, server consolidation and virtualization have a significant impact on a server’s network bandwidth requirement requirem ents, s, as as the the I/ O needs of several several servers now need to be met met by a single physical physical server’s network resources.. To match the increase in network sources network I/ O demand, IT has has scaled their their network network by doubling, doubli ng, tripling, tripling, or even quadrupling quadrupli ng the the number of gig gigabi abitt Ethernet connect connectio ions ns per server. server. Th This is model model has has led to increased networki networking ng complexity, as it requires additional Ethernet adapters, network cables and switch ports.

 The tra  Th ran nsit itio ion n to unif ifie ied d ne netwo work rkin ing g add adds s to the in inc cre reas asin ing g de deman and d for for hig igh h ba ban ndw dwid idtth netwo work rkin ing. g. IT de depa part rtments are moving moving to unifi unified ed networking networking to help simpli simplify fy network network infrast infrastruct ructure ure by converging converging LAN and SAN SA N traffic, including includi ng iSCSI, iSC SI, N AS, and and FCoE FCoE for a single Ethernet Ethernet data center center protocol. Th This is convergence does simpli plify fy the the net net-work but sig signifi nificantly cantly increases net network work I/ O demand by enabling enabling multiple multiple traffic traffic types to share a single single Etherne Ethernett fabric.

Continuing down the GbE path is not sustainable, as the added complexity, power demands, and cost of additional G bE adapters adapters wil willl not allow custom customers to scale to meet current and future future I/ O demands. Simply put, scaling scaling GbE G bE to meet these demands significantly increases the cost and complexity of the network. Moving to 10GbE addresses the increased bandwidth needs while greatly simplifying the network and lowering power consumption by replacing multiple gigabit connections with a single or dual port 10GbE connection.

1 Source: Results have been estimated based on internal Intel analysis and are a re provided provid ed for informational i nformational purposes only. Any difference di fference in system hardwa hardware re or soft-  ware design or configuration may affect actual performance.

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Media Options for 10 Gigabit Ethernet

Despite indust industry conse consensu nsus s regarding regardi ng the the move to to 10G 10GbE, bE, th the e broad broad deploym deployment of 10G 10GbE bE has been limited, limited, due to a number of factors. Understanding this dynamic requires an examination at the pros and cons of current 10GbE media options.

10GbE Media Options

 The chal  Th alle len nge IT man anag age ers fac ace e wi witth 10Gb 10GbE E currently is that eac ach h of the current op opttio ion ns has a do down wns sid ide e, wh whe ether in terms of cost, power consumption, or reach.

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10GBASE-CX4

10GBASE-CX4 was an early favorite for 10GbE deployments, however its adoption was limited by the bulky and expensive cables, and its reach is limited to 15 meters. The size of the CX4 connector prohibited higher switch densities densit ies required for for large large scale deploym deployment ent.. Larger dia diam met eter er cables cables are purchased purchased in in fixed lengths resu resulting lting in challenges challenges to to manage manage cable cable slack. Path Pathways ways and spaces may may not be suffici sufficient ent to handle the the larger cables. cables. SFP+ SFP+’s support for both fiber optic optic cables cables and DAC make it a better better (more flexible) flexible) solutio solution n than than CX4. CX4. SFP+ is ramping today, but has limitations that will prevent this media from moving to every server. 10GBASE-SR (SFP+ Fiber) Fiber is i s great for latency latency and dist distance (up to 300 300 met eters) ers),, but but it is expensive. expensive. Fiber offers low power power consumption, but the cost of laying fiber networking everywhere in the data center is prohibitive due largel la rgely y to to the cost of the the electronics. electronics. The fi fiber ber electronics electroni cs can be 4-5 times more expensive than their copper counterparts meaning that ongoing active maintenance, typically based on original equipment purchase pri price, ce, is also more expensive. expensive. W here a copper connectio connection n is readily readily availabl available e in a server, server, moving to fiber fiber creates the need need to purchase not only only the fiber switch switch port, but also a fiber fi ber N IC for the server. 10GBASE-SFP+ DAC DAC is a lower cost alternative to fiber, but it can only reach 7 meters and it is not backward compatible ib le with existing existing GbE GbE switches. switches. DAC requires the purchase purchase of an adapter card and requires a new top of rack rack (ToR) swi switch tch topo opolog logy. y. The cab cables les are much much more expensive expensive than structured structured copper copper channels, and cannot be field terminated. Th This is makes makes DAC a more expensive expensive alternative alternative to 10G 10GBASE-T.  Th  T he ad adop opttio ion n of DAC for for LOM will will be be lo low w sin inc ce it do doe es not hav ave e the fle lex xib ibil ilit ity y an and d re reac ach h of BASE ASE--T.

10GBASE-T

10G BASE-T offers the 10G the most flexib flexibilility ity,, is the lowest cost media ty type, pe, and is i s backward backward compatible with wi th existing existing 1GbE 1G bE networks networks.. REACH Like all all BASE-T implem plement entations, ations, 10 10G G BASE-T works for length lengths s up to 100 10 0 met eters, ers, giving gi ving IT managers managers a far-greater level level of flexibi flexibilility ty in connecting connecting devices devices in the the data cente center. r. With W ith flexibili flexibility ty in reach, 10GBASE-T can accommodate either top of the rack, middle of row, or end of the row network topologies. topologi es. Th This is gives gi ves IT managers the most flexibility flexibility in server placem placement since it will will work work with with existexisting structured cabling systems.

For higher grade cabling plants (category 6A and above) 10GBASE-T operates in low power mode (also known as data data center center mod ode) e) on channels under under 30 30m. This equates to a further pow power er savings savings per port port over the the longer 100m 10 0m mode. Data centers centers can create any-toany-to-all patching zones z ones to to ass assure ure less th than an 30m 30m channels channels to realiz realize this this savings.

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Backward Backw ard Compatibility Compatibility

Because 10GBASE-T is backward-compatible with 1000BASE-T, it can be deployed in existing 1GbE switch infrastructures in data centers that are cabled with CAT6, CAT6A or above cabling, allowing IT to keep costs down while offering an easy migration path to 10GbE. Power  Th  T he chal alle len nge wi witth 10GB 10GBASE ASE--T is that the ear arly ly ph phy ysic ical al la lay yer in interf rfac ace e ch chip ips s (PHY HYs s) hav ave e co con nsumed too much po powe werr for widespread wi despread adoption. adoption. The sam same e was true true when when gigabi gigabitt Et Etherne hernett products were released. Th The e original original gi gigabi gabitt chips were roughly 6.5 6. 5 Watt W atts/ s/ port. W ith process improvements, chips chips improved improved from one generatio generation n to to the next. The resulting su lting GbE GbE ports are now under under 1W / port. Th The e sam same e has has proven tru true e for 10GBASE-T 10G BASE-T. Th The e good news with 10GBASE10G BASE T is that these PHY HYs s be ben nefit gr gre eatly fr from om the la lattest man anu ufa fact cturin ing g pr proc oce esses. PHY HYs s ar are e Moo Moore re’s ’s Law fri rie endl dly y, and and the newer process technologi technologies es will will cont continue inue to reduce both the the power and cost cost of the latest latest 10G 10G BASE-T PHYs.

W hen 10 10G G BASEBASE-T T adapters adapters were first first introduce roduced d in in 2008 2008,, they required required 25w of power for a single port. port. Power has been reduced in successive successive generations generations of using using newer and small aller er process process tech technolog nologies. ies. Th The e latest 10 10G G BASE-T ada adapters pters require only 10w per port. Furt Further her improve improvem ment ents s wil willl reduce power even even more. By 20 2011 11,, power power will drop drop below 5 watts per port making 10GBASE-T suitable for motherboard integration and high density switches. Latency

Depending on packet siz size, e, late latency ncy for 1000BA 100 0BASESE-T T ranges fromsu sub-m b-micro icrosecond second to over 12 micro microseconds seconds.. 10 10G G BASE T ra ran nge ges s fr from om ju jus st ov ove er 2 micr icros ose eco con nds to le les ss than 4 mic icro ros seco con nds ds,, a much nar arro rowe werr la lattency ra ran nge ge.. For Ethernet packet sizes of 512B or larger, 10GBASE-T’s overall throughout offers an advantage over 1000BASE-T. Latency for 10G 10 G BAS BASEE-T T is more more than 3 times lower than 1000 1000BASE-T BASE-T at larger larger packet packet siz sizes. es. Only O nly the the most la laten tentt sensitive applications such as HPC or high frequency trading systems would notice any latency.

 The in  Th inc cre rem mental 2 mic icrros ose eco con nd la lattency of 10GB 10GBASE ASE--T is of no con ons sequ que ence to mos ostt users. For the la larrge majo ajori ritty of enterprise applications that have been operating for years with 1000BASE-T latency, 10GBASE-T latency only gets better. Many LA LAN products purposely purposely add small am amount ounts s of latency to reduce power consu consum mption or CPU C PU overhead. A com com-mon LA LAN featu feature re is int interrupt errupt moderatio oderation. n. Enabled by default, default, this this feature ty typi picall cally y adds ~10 ~100 0 microseconds of latency in order order to allow allow int interrupt errupts s to to be coalesced coalesced and greatly reduce the the CPU burden. burden. For many users users this this trade-off trade-off provides provides an overall positive benefit. Cost

As power metrics have dropped dramatically over the last three generations, cost has followed a similar downward curve.. First curve First--generat generation ion 10G 10 G BASEBASE-T T ada adapte pters rs cost cost $1 $100 000 0 per port. Today’ oday’s s third-gen hird-generation eration dual-port dual-port 10 10G G BASEBASE-T T adapters are less less than $400 per port. port. In 2011, 2011, 10 10G G BASEBASE-T T will be designed as LAN on Motherboard Motherboard (LO M) and will be included in in the the price of the the server. server. By utili utilizi zing ng the the new new resident 10 10G GBASE-T LO M modules, users users will see a signifisigni ficant savings over the purchase price of more expensive SFP+ DAC and fiber optic adapters and will be able to free up and I/ O slot in the the server server.

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Data Center Network Architecture Options for 10 Gigabit Ethernet

 The char  Th artt be belo low w lis listts the typi pica call da datta center netwo work rk ar arc chit ite ectures ap appl plic icab able le to the var ario iou us 10GbE technol olog ogie ies s.  Th  T he tab able le cle lear arly ly show ows s 10GB 10GBASE ASE--T tech chn nol olog ogy y pr prov ovid ide es gr gre eater de des sig ign n fle lex xib ibil ilit ity y than it its s two co copp ppe er cou coun nterparts.

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THE FUTURE OF 10GBASE-T  TInttel sees br  TIn broa oad d de depl ploy oym ment of 10GbE in the for orm m of 10GB 10GBAS ASE E-T. In In 2010 fi fibe berr repr pre esents 44% of the 10GbE ph phy ysic ical al medi dia a in data centers, but this percentage with continue to drop to approximately 12% by 2013. Direct-attach connections will grow over the next few years to 44% by 2013 with large deployments in IP Data Centers and for High Performance Computing. 10GBASE-T will grow from only 4% of physical media in 2010 to 44% in 2013 and eventually becoming the predominate media choice

10GBASE-T as LOM Sever Sev er OEMs O EMs will will standardize standardize on BASE-T BASE-T as the media of choice for broadly broadly deploying deploying 10G 10GbE bE for rack and tower servers servers.. 10G 10 GBASE-T provid provides es the most flexibi flexibilility ty in perform performance ance and reach. O EMs can can create a single single moth otherboar erboard d design to suppor supportt G bE, 10G 10G bE, and and any distance up up to 100 100 mete meters. rs. 1G 1GBASE-T BASE-T is the the incumbent in the vast maj ajori ority ty of data data cente centers rs toda today y, and and 10GBASE-T is the natural next step. Conclusion Broad deploym deployment ent on 10G 10GBASE-T BASE-T wil willl sim simpli plify fy data center infrastructu infrastructures, res, making making it easier to manag manage e server server connectivity while delivering deli vering the the bandwidth bandwidth needed for heavily heavily virtualized virtualiz ed servers servers and I/ O -intens intensive ive applications. appli cations. As A s volum volumes rise, prices pri ces wi willll continue to fall, and new silicon processes have lowered power and thermal values. These advances make 10GBASE-T suitable for integration inte gration on server moth otherboards. erboards. Th This is level of inte integration, gration, known as LAN on Moth M otherboard erboard (LO M) will will lead to mainstream adoption of 10GbE for all server types in the data center.

Source: Intel Market Forecast

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H o s t e d , O u ts t s o u r c e d , a n d C lo l o u d D a t a C e n te te r s Considerations for Overall SLAʼs for Facility Owners and Hosting Providers Hosted and Outsourced Facility Definitions

Hosted data centers, both outsourced/managed and co-location varieties, provide a unique benefit for some customers through capital savings, employee savings and in some cases an extension extension of in-house expertise. Traditionally Traditionally,, these facilities faciliti es were thought of as more SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) Enterprise ) customers. However, many Global 500 companies have primary, secondary or ancillary data centers in outsourced locations. Likewise, co-location co-locati on data centers are becoming increasingly popular for application hosting such as web hosting and SaaS (Software as a Service), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) in Cloud computing. These models allow multiple customers to share redundant telecommunications services and facilities while their equipment is colocated in a space provided by their service provider.. In-house bandwidth provider bandwidth may be freed up at a companyʼs primary site for other corporate applications.

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Hosted and outsourced/managed data centers are

centers that use alternative energy sources such as wind

growing rapidly for both companiesʼ primary and hot site

and solar.

(failover ready) data centers, redundant sites and for small to medium enterpris enterprises. es. Similar Similarly, ly, outsourced data center

There are however, additional sources of revenue for

services are on the rise and allow a company to outsource outsourc e

owners that have have traditionally traditionally been been overlooked. overlooked. These

data center operations and locations, saving large capital

include packets passed, credits for power saving

requirements for items like generators, UPS/Power

measures within tenant cages, lease of physical cabinets

conditioning systems and air handling units. As data

and cabling (both of which can be reused from one tenant

center services increase, many providers can supply one or all of these models depending on a tenants needs. The

to the next) and monitoring of physical cabling changes for compliance and/or security along with traditional

various combinations of hosted/co-location and cloud

network monitoring.

services available from hosting providers are blending terms and services.

For new spaces, a co-location owner can greatly mitigate issues over time with proper space planning. By having at

Considerations for the Hosted/Cloud Facilities Owner

least one area of preconfigured cages (cabinets and preinstalled cabling), the dynamic nature in that area and

The challenges for a hosted or cloud facility owner are

the resulting problems are diminished. This allows a

similar to the user considerations mentioned above, but

center to better control airflow. Cabling can be leased as

for different reasons. reasons. While most facilities are built with

part of the area along with the cabinets, switch ports, etc.

the expectation of full occupancy, the reconfiguration of

This allows the cabinets to be move-in ready for quicker

occupancy due to attrition and customer changes can

occupancy.

present the owner owner with unique challenges. challenges. The dynamic

provide increased revenue as the space does not need to

nature of a tenant-based data center exacerbates

be reconfigured for each new tenant. This area can also

problems such as cable abatement (removal of

be used by more transient short term tenants that need

abandoned cable), increasing power demand and cooling

space while their new data center or redundant site is

issues.

built.

Data centers that have been in operation for several years y ears

If factory terminated and tested trunking cable assemblies

have seen power bills increase and cooling needs change

arenʼt used, it is important to use quality cabling so that

- all under fixed contract pricing with their end-user, tenant

the cable plant does not impact im pact Service Level Agreements

customers. The dynamic nature nature of the raised floor area

(SLAs). Both TIA 942 and ISO 24764 recommend a

from one tenant to the next compounds issues. Some co-

minimum of category 6A/Class EA cabling. The minimum

location owners signed fixed long-term contracts and find

grade of fiber is OM3 for multimode. multimode. Singlemode is also

themselves trying to recoup revenue shortfalls from one

acceptable for longer distances and may be used for

cage by adjusting new tenant contracts. Renegotiating

shorter distances, although the singlemode electronics will

contracts carries some risk and may lead to termination

be higher priced.

This rapidly deployed tenancy area will

of a long-term contract. Owners must insist on quality installation companies if Contracts that are based on power per square foot plus a

they allow tenants to manage their own cabling work. An

per square foot lease fee are the least effective if the

owner may want to maintain a list of approved or certified

power number is based on average wattage and the

installers. One bad installer in one cage can compromise compromise

contract does not have inflationary clauses to cover rising

other users throughout the facility. Approved installers

electricity costs. Power usage metering can be written

provide the owner with an additional control over

into contracts, however in some areas this requires

pathways and spaces. Further, owners want to insist on

special permission from either the power company or

high performing standards-based and fully tested

governing regulatory committees committees as it may be deemed as

structured cabling systems within the backbone networks

reselling power. As environmental considerations gain momentum, additional focus is being placed on data

and cages. Higher performing systems can provide a technical and marketing advantage over other owners that

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 While co-location owners historically stop their services at While

deployment of customer areas. These trunks can be

the backbone, distributed switching via a centralized

reused and leased from tenant to tenant increasing

cabling plant and patching area can provide significant

revenue and enabling near instant occupation.

power savings through lower switch counts, enhanced pathway control and decreased risk of downtime during

Facility owners are typically under some type of SLA

reconfigurations. All the while, the additional network

requirements. SLAʼs can be for performance, uptime, and

distribution services provide increased revenue for the co-

services. There are some network network errors that are caused

location owner. owner. Managed and leased cabling ports can

by poorly performing or underperforming cabling plants.

be an additional revenue stream.

Selecting high performing quality cabling solutions is only partial protection. protection. The quality of the installation installation company

Understanding that some tenants will have specific

is key for pathways, spaces, performance and error free

requirements, a combination of preconfigured and non-

operation. Cabling has historically been an afterthought or

preconfigured cages cages may be required. For more dynamic

deemed to be the tenantʼs tenantʼs decision. decision. By taking control of

non-preconfigured non-preconfig ured areas, trunking assemblies, which are

the cabling in hosted spaces, the building owner removes

factory terminated and tested, allow the owner to offer

the cabling issues that can cause SLA violations, pathway

various cabling performance options, such as category 6

problems, and ensure proper recycling of obsolete cabling.

or 6A UTP, 6A shielded or category 7A fully shielded, to best suit the end-userʼs needs. The owner can lease

While network monitoring can pinpoint ports that cause bit

these high performing cabling channels and, on the

errors and retransmission, determining if the cause is

greener side, the cabling can be reused from one tenant

cabling related can be difficult.

Noise is harder to

to the next, eliminating on site waste and promoting

troubleshoot as it is intermittent.

Testing the cable

recycling.

requires that a circuit is down for the period of testing, but may be necessary when SLAs are in dispute. While

Whether pre-cabled or cabled upon move in, owner leased

intermittent retransmissions are relatively benign in normal

or customer installed, category 6A or higher copper and

data retrieval, poorly performing cabling can make this

OM3/OM4 fiber or better should should be used.

Higher

intermittent issue more constant. This can slow down

minimum

transmissions, or in the case of voice and video, can

recommended standards, allows for higher speed

become audible audible and visible. In short, cabling is roughly

applications while providing backwards compatibility to

3-5% of the overall network spend, but that 3-5% can keep

lower speed technologies.

the remaining 95-97% from functioning properly and

performing

cabling

conforms

to

the

Category 6A/Class EA,

7/Class F and 7A/Class 7A/Clas s FA allow short reach reac h (lower power

efficiently.

mode) for 10GBASE-T communications under 30m for an additional power savings to the owner. owner. Category 7/7A and

Modularized Deployment for the Co-location/Hosted

class F/FA also provides the most noise immunity and

Facilities Owner

meets strict government TEMPEST/EMSEC emissions

Hosted and co-location facilities lend themselves well to

tests, meaning they are suitable for use in highly classified

modular POD-type scalable build outs. It is rare that these

networks alongside fiber. fiber. Installing the highest performing

centers are built with full occupancy on day one unless

cabling up front will result in longer cabling lifecycles thus

there is a sizeable anchor tenant/tenants. tenant/tenants. Spatial planning

reducing the total cost of ownership and maximizing return retur n

for tenant considerations can sometimes be problematic

on investment.

due to varied size, power and rack space required by customers. These facilities are generally an open floor

For non-configured areas, the backbone can be distributed

plan to start.

into zones. The zone distribution area area can be connected connected

manner allows the owner to divide space in parcels while

to pods or modular units within a space. This modular

addressing hot/cold aisle requirements, cabling, and most

approach allows customers to move equipment into their

importantly scalability and versatility within the floor plan

areas one pod at a time. Preterminat Preterminated ed copper and fiber

space. In a typical scenario, the space is allocated allocated based

trunking cables are easily configured to known lengths allowing the location owner to have stock on hand for rapid

on cage layouts. layouts. The rows can be further further subdivided for for smaller tenants, or cage walls can be removed for larger

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Configuring spaces in a cookie cutter

 

Cloud facilities are generally highly occupied day one. A

For space planning, an owner typically defines zones

modularized design approach in these environments

within the open space. Due to deeper equipment, a

allows rows of cabinets to be deployed in a cookie cutter

minimum of 3 feet (800 mm) should be allowed in all

fashion. A structured cabling system that is pre-configured

aisles, or slider cage doors should be installed that will

within cabinets, or ready for connection to banks of

provide full access. If that is not possible, deeper

cabinets allows the owner to have a highly agile design

equipment should be housed in the cabinets in front of the

that accommodates a wide variety of equipment changes

sliding doors so that cage walls donʼt block access. A

without the need to run additional cabling channels in the

facility owned and operated cage can provide facility wide

future. There are two ways to deploy a modularized cloud or co-location data center. The first entails pre-cabling

networking, monitoring and connectivity services to other cages via preconfigured, pre-cabled, cabinets allowing

cabinets and rows to a centralized patching area. The

servers to be moved in and plugged in on demand. The

second involves pre-cabling to zones within the data

cabinets and networking services become part of the

center. Once the zones are cabled, the addition of rows of

tenant lease.

cabinets within the zone becomes a matter of moving in the new populated cabinets, and connecting them via

To allow for a variety of customer size requirements, a set

patch cords to the zone cabling distribution area. One

of caged areas can be provided with 2-4 preconfigured

common complaint with high density centers, such as

cabinets for smaller tenants. tenants. By preplanning the the spaces,

clouds, is that equipment is often moved in with little to no

cages do not need to move, pathways and spaces are

notice. By pre-cabling the data center to a centralized

predefined and airflow can be optimized in hot/cold aisles.

patching area or to zones, the reactionary and often

In reality, there may be tenants that move into i nto one of these

expensive last minute rush is eliminated.

areas that do not need to fill the cabinets cabinets provided. Some

If a centralized patching area is used, equipment changes

facilities allow for subleasing subleasing within within cages. cages. This allows underutilized cabinets to be occupied by another tenant

become a patch cord or fiber jumper change, allowing

as long as access to the area is supervised and cabinets

rapid deployment. In a central patching (any to all)

have

configuration, copper and/or fiber patch panels are

combinations and/or key locks. Even in a tenant designed

provided in the central patching area that corresponds to

space it is common for a cabinet or partial cabinet to go

patch panels in each cabinet. Connections to switching,

unused. The benefit over time in pre-configured areas is

servers, SAN, etc., are achieved via patch cords rather

that the floor will remain r emain unchanged from one tenant to the

than having to run new channels as new cabinets are

next.

segmented

security

access

via

different

deployed. Another area with 8-10 cabinets is preconfigured for The Need for Space Planning

medium size tenants. And another section/area is left blank for those

tenants that

require

their own

One historical problem in open non-configured spaces has

configuration. The layout of that area should be completed completed

been the varied customer configuration requirements and

by the building owner to assure that hot aisle/cold aisle

the need to fit as many customers into the floor space as

planning is consistent throughout the floor area.

possible. As with any data center, growth without planning can cause serious issues in a co-location/shared space. One cageʼs equipment running perpendicular to another cage can cause undesirable hot air to be introduced into cold aisle of adjacent adjacent spaces. Haphazard and inconsistent inconsistent cabling practices can block air flow. Improper use of perforated tiles can cause loss of static pressure at the far sides of the space. In short, in a hosted space that is not properly planned, problems can arise quickly.

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01 02 03

ZONE

04

1

MD A

S WI WI TC TC HE HE S

S WI WI TC TC HE HE S

MD A

ZONE

05

2

06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 MDA

32

ZONE

33

3

SWITCHES

SWITCHES

MDA

ZONE

4

34

   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I                  

   J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H   I                                      A    A    A    A    A    A    A    A    A

Figure 1 – Sample space plan 

In the sample space plan above, we see caged areas of various sizes. Cage walls are static, cabling is centralized, and air flow is optimized. By providing varied numbers of cabinets cabinets within each cage, the floor plan can accommodate a variety of tenants. Tenants can occupy one or more cages depending on needs. For smaller tenants, individual cabinets or smaller spaces can be leased providing room for growth. The static cage configuration provides provides a significant cost savings over time. Centralized patching may be provided for the entire floor or in each zone with connections to core services. This keeps cable lengths shorter, shorter, less expensive, and easier to manage.. The above plan takes advantage of Siemonʼs VersaPOD VersaPOD cabinet line. The VersaPOD is available with a variety of integrated Zero U vertical patch panels (VPP) for support of copper and fiber patching. The VPP's supply up to 12U of patching and cable management in the front and/or rear vertical space between two bayed cabinets without consuming critical horizontal mounting space. By utilizing the vertical space adjacent to the vertical mounting rails, the VPP's provides ideal patching proximity to active equipment, minimizing patch cord runs and slack congestion. Zero-U vertical patching areas can also be used to mount PDU's to service the equipment mounted in the adjacent 45 U of horizontal mounting space. This increases versatility and eliminates cabling obstructions and swing arms within equipment areas which can block air flow from the equipment. The Zero-U patching and cable management management channels further free up horizontal rack mount space and provides better managed and controlled pathways. The highly perforated (71%) doors allow greater airflow into equipment whether it be from an underfloor system or if cooling is supplemented by an in row cooling unit. To increase heat egress, optional fans can be installed in the top of the cabinets.

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Figure 2 - Swing-arm cable managers issues vs. VersaPOD Zero-U  vertical patching channels 

Cabinets in all areas should be outfitted with blanking panels that can be removed/moved as equipment is installed. An overall cooling plan must include intra-cage support. Blanking panels can have a significant impact on cooling expenses. Likewise, brush guards where cabling penetrations pass through floor tiles can help to maintain static pressure under the raised floor. IIM (Intelligent Infrastructure Infrastructure Management)

By using a central patching area or zone patching areas, Intelligent Infrastructure Management can be deployed in a very cost effective manner. It is understood that the equipment that moves in and out of cabinets will vary over time regardless if there is one continuous tenant or several changing tenants. The connections in the central patching area are monitored dynamically and in real time by analyzers that monitor continuity via a 9th pin on the patch cords and fiber jumpers. Because the software can see the equipment at the end of each channel via SNMP, it really doesnʼt matter what that the equipment is or if it changes. Using Cross Connections in a Central patching area eliminates the need for sensor strips str ips that attach to active equipment in each cabinet. Without a cross connect, sensor strips must be replaced as equipment changes either due to failure, upgrade, replacement replacement or new deployment. As new equipment is introduced into the market, there may be a void in time between equipment deployment and the corresponding sensor strip being available. With IIM, moves, adds and changes are logged for date and time (necessary for most compliance requirements), and can be accompanied by photographs of the person making the change if the central patching area/zone is outfitted with either cameras or video equipment. For companies that have requirements for HIPAA, Sox, CFR-11, and other data

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Figure 3 - IIM in cross-connect  configuration 

protection laws, this audit trail maintains networking documentation. documentation.

For the facility owner, this software will also allow visibility into switch ports that are patched but not passing traffic. traffic. This enables better asset/port utilization reducing the need to add equipment and the resulting additional power consumption. Because the cabling channel is added to overall troubleshooting, it becomes much easier to identify and locate equipment for repair. The faster reaction times for troubleshooting can increase SLA performance while providing necessary audit trails. A premium may also be charged for Intelligent Infrastructure Infrastructur e monitoring.

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H o s t e d , O u ts t s o u r c e d , a n d C lo u d D a t a C e n te te r s Strategies and Considerations for Co-Location Tenants Hosted and Outsourced Facility Definitions

Hosted data centers, both outsourced/managed and co-location varieties, provide a unique benefit for some customers through capital savings, employee savings and in some cases an extension of in-house expertise. expertise . Traditionally, these facilities have been thought of as more SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) customers. custom ers. However, many Global 500 companies have primary, secondary or ancillary data centers in outsourced outsourced locations. Likewise, co-location data centers centers are becoming increasingly popular for application hosting such as web hosting and SaaS (Software as a Service), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) in Cloud computing. These models allow multiple customers to share redundant telecommunications telecommunica tions services and facilities while their equipment is colocated in a space provided by their service provider. In house bandwidth may be freed up at a companyʼs primary site for other corporate applications. applications.

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Hosted and outsourced/managed data centers are grow-

commodate smaller computing computing needs. As a co-location

ing rapidly for both companiesʼ primary and hot site

owner,, division of space is a prime consideration. owner consideration. While

(failover ready) data centers, redundant sites and for small

these environments tend to be fluid, critical infrastructures

to medium enterprises. enterprises. Similarly outsourced data data center

(cabling, cages, power and cooling) that can remain un-

services are on the rise and allow a company to outsource

changed provide advantages to the the owner and tenants tenants

data center operations, locations, saving large capital re-

alike. There are very few few existing outsourced locations

quirements for items like generators and UPS/Power con-

that have not felt some pain over time as tenants move in

ditioning systems and air handling units. As data center

and out leaving cabling messes in pathways that can be

services increase, many providers can supply one or all of these models depending on a tenants needs.

detrimental to air flow and cooling. Likewise, changing cabinet locations affects airflow directions, and equipment power loads can create hotspots and have adverse affects from one cage to another. Moving cage walls can render

Outsourced Data Centers

some spaces unusable. unusable. Reconfiguratio Reconfiguration n of each space space In an outsourced data center, the tenant basically rents

from tenant to tenant can be costly over time.

some combination of space, talent and facilities from a larger facility provider for all or part of their corporate

In a hosted only data center, a tenant leases square

applications application s and data center operations. There are sev-

feet/meters of space and services including security, fa-

eral pricing options including per port, per square foot, and

cilities (power and cooling), telecommunications and

for power consumed, but in general a combination thereof.

backup systems such as UPSʼs and generators. In a

With power costs and demand on the rise, most newer

hosted space, a tenant generally uses their own resources

contracts include a fee that is assessed when a tenantʼs

for equipment maintenance, patch management, infra-

kilowatt threshold is exceeded, or by power supplied.

structure, etc. Co-location scenarios scenarios can be an attractive

In the latter case, a tenant typically pays for more power

option for redundant hot (instant failover) or cold (manual

than they need as power is averaged across the square

failover) spare sites, in the interim during a consolidatio consolidation n

footage of the tenant space.

or new build, when primary data center site space has reached capacity, or when resources such as power, cool-

Outsourced data centers are an attractive option for

ing, and space are at capacity. Similarly, if major up-

companies that have a myriad of platforms and applica-

grades are going to occur at a main end-user site (i.e. new

tions alleviating the need for constant multivendor train-

chillers, reconfigured or new space) a temporary hosted or

ing and upgrades, patches, hardware changes, software

outsourced site may provide a solution. The dividing lines

platform changes, changes, etc. In a typical company environment environment

between co-location and hosted sites are becoming in-

that has migrated from mainframe type applications to

creasingly blurred as operators are beginning to offer

several server platforms just the cost and time for training

blended services based on customer needs.

can be a manpower manpower and financial drain. drain. As outsourced (managed) data centers have the needed expertise on

While some companies choose to build operate and main-

s

.

tain their own data centers, there is a large segment of

A company utilizing this type of model will see a shift in

companies that either wholly or partially partial ly take advantage of

employee responsibilities responsibilities from IT/upgrade tasks to more

hosted/outsourced facilities.

fruitful and beneficial tasks. Outsourced data centers may

choose to house a main facility and perhaps itʼs redun-

be for a sole tenant or multi-tenant, and in the case of the

dant counterpart counterpart in their own buildings. However as op-

latter will share the same concerns as the co-location

erations grow or new countries are added to the

facilities below.

companyʼs portfolio, a hosted/managed facility may serve

i

t

e

Global companies may

well on an interim basis until it is cost justified to add anCo-location Facilities

other data center center of their own. Small to medium enterenterprises which have a harder time attracting and keeping

Co-location facilities are typically divided into cages, cab-

talented IT staff can in some cases, have a much better

inet space or in some cases, subdivided cabinets to ac-

data center and support by utilizing already trained talent

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Cloud Facilities

Hosted Space Evaluation for Tenants

Cloud computing is a new buzzword that is all encom-

When evaluating outsourced space security is a prime

passing, and can be either IaaS, SaaS, PaaS, or a com-

consideration. Security should include biometrics, es-

bination thereof. thereof. In most cloud scenarios, an end user user is

corted access, after hours access, concrete barriers, and

renting space, bandwidth or computing power on an on

video surveillance at a minimum. Some spaces utilize

demand, as needed basis. Each cloud provider has a set

cages to section off equipment with each tenant having

of tools that allow them to interface with the hardware in-

the ability to access only their cage. However, should mul-

stalled within their their site. Some of their software software is propri-

tiple tenants occupy the same floor; it may be possible to

etary, and there are still some security concerns, but as these facilities and their applications mature, they can offer

access another tenantʼs equipment either under the raised floor or over the top of the cage. This may make the space

valuable resources to companies.

undesirable if personal/confidential information is stored on the servers housed within the cages. Escorted access

Cloud provider offerings may be in co-location facilities,

for service personnel and company employees provides

managed facilities, or housed in provider owned facilities.

an extra level of assurance that data will remain uncom-

Clouds can also reside in private corporate data centers or

promised in these spaces.

as a hybrid combination of public (in a cloud facility) and private (company (company owned). Clouds can be thought of as clusters of services that are not location dependant to provide processing, storage and/or a combination of these offerings. An example of cloud computing is Amazonʼs EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) Cloud) platform. This service allows rapid proprovisioning of computing and storage needs on demand. For instance, if a customer needs to provision a new server, the server is already there in one of Amazonʼs facilities.. The customer does not need to justify, purchase, cilities configure, power and maintain the server. If a customer only needs the server for a short period of time, it can be commissioned and decommissioned on demand for temporary computing needs. One primary advantage of public cloud computing is that when temporary cloud resources are no longer needed, the bill goes to zero. Public cloud resources are billed on a per use, as needed basis. This allows companies to have burstable resources without having to build networks that support peak loads, but rather build to support baseline or average loads. loads. Public and private clouds allow applications to burst into the cloud when needed and return to normal when w hen peak loads are no longer required. If a customer is looking at any of the above solutions,

VersaPOD Zero-U Vertical Patch Panel 

Service Level Agreements (SLAʼs), reliability and confidence in security are the largest factors in the decision making process. It is not as easy to manage what you donʼt control. Further, end users must trust that the sites are well maintained so that good service doesnʼt turn into a loss of service over time.

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Personnel working in adjacent spaces may also provide a risk to equipment and services where pathways cross

Ineffective cooling units may create not only cooling prob-

caged environments. Intelligent Infrastructure Manage-

lems, but if not serviced regularly may cause excessive vi-

ment solutions, such as Siemonʼs MapIT G2 system, pro-

bration or other harmful effects. It is important to ascertain

vide real time monitoring of connections to critical

how often the unit filters are changed, how failover hap-

equipment, an audit trail of moves, adds and changes, and

pens, service schedules, etc.

an extra level of troubleshoo troubleshooting ting support. While these factors may not apply to all situations, certainly where critical

Pathways and spaces within the data center should be

and sensitive information is being stored this additional

properly managed. There should be a standard within the

level can ease troubleshooting and provide assurances for the physical infrastructure. infrastructure. Intelligent infrastructure infrastructure man-

facility for cabling placed in air spaces or overhead. It is worth checking to see what cable management policies

agement can be implemented for either the hosted facility

are practiced and enforced, not just written. Improperly

backbone operations, inside cages for customer connec-

placed copper and fiber, either overhead or under floor,

tions, or both. Due to the real time physical connection connection

and overfilled pathways can create air flow and cooling is-

monitoring, accidental or unauthorized disconnects can

sues either in your area or adjacent cages over which you

trigger alarms and escalations assuring that services are

do not have control.

restored in a timely manner. A tenant should be allowed to use their preferred cabling Maintenance of the facility and its equipment is also a fac-

and installation company provided that the installation

tor. Determining how often generators are tested, tested, UPS

company adheres adheres to centerʼs pathway pathway rules. If the space

systems are tested and failover mechanisms are tested is

owner requires the use of their own installation company,

critical. The same is true for fire suppression suppression and detecdetec-

you will want a listing of credentials and test results upon

tion systems. The data center center service provider should should be able to provide you with reports from cooling and PDU

completion of the work. As some facility owners owners do not see cabling as critical to core services, installations may

units and explain their processes and procedures for test-

be done by the least expensive bidder using the least ex-

ing and auditing all systems as well as their disaster re-

pensive components which may not provide high quality

covery plans. The power systems systems should have enough

installation and/or sufficient performance margins which

capacity to support all circuits and power demands in-

can create issues and finger pointing with SLAs. Copper

cluding planned growth for the entire floor..

and Fiber trunking assemblies are an excellent choice in these spaces as links are factory terminated and tested

It is in a customerʼs and siteʼs best interests to utilize

and can be reused should a tenant relocate. Trunking ca-

power supplies that provide power usage monitoring, not

bles also offer an easy cabling upgrade path as they can

 just power output monitoring. monitoring. Without usage usage monitoring,

be quickly removed and replaced with higher category

a tenant may be paying for more power than they use.

trunking cable assemblies of the same length. For exam-

Power utilization management also helps with provision-

ple, Siemonʼs Z-MAX Trunks are available in category 6

ing. Power systems that are over capacity may not be

and category 6A shielded and unshielded and any of these

able to provide enough power in the event of a failure

assemblies can be used within the Z-MAX 24 or 48-port

when redundant equipment powers up. If a user is paying

1U shielded patch panels, allowing cabling to be upgraded

based on port connections and/or power utilization, a risk

without changing the patch panel.

assessment should should performed. This assures that equipequipment that does not require redundancy for critical cri tical business

It is important to ensure that enterprise and campus cop-

operations does not consume more power and network

per and fiber cabling systems outside of the data center

than necessary. As environmental considerations gain

are robust and certified to the specified category. Some

focus, additional importance is being placed on centers

Cloud providers are requiring customers to have their en-

that use alternative energy sources such as wind and

terprise and campus cabling systems tested, certified and

solar.

even upgraded to a higher performance category to eliminate the possibility that SLA problems are not caused out-

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Future growth should also be considered. In some facili-

equipment, cabinets, pathways and telecommunicatio telecommunications ns

ties it may be difficult or impossible to provide growth into

circuits, the centerʼs maintenance plan should include a

adjacent spaces resulting in a tenantʼs equipment being

simple check for voltage transients through the bond-

located on multiple floors in multiple cages. This can have

ing/earthing/grounding

an adverse effect on higher speed applications that may

sharing the single ground reference with other tenants.

system

since

you

will

be

have distance limitations which can result in cage reconfiguration, additional and/or more expensive equipment

Ecological planning and options are becoming increas-

costs.

ingly important to end end users. Customers are demanding demanding

Growth potential in adjacent spaces may also create air-

sustainable energy, better performing equipment, ISO 14001 certification and RoHS compliance from their ven-

flow and cooling issues in your space. space. This is particularly

dors, and in some cases LEED, BREAM, Green Star and

problematic if adjacent cages do not conform to hot aisle,

other Green building certifications depending on the coun-

cold aisle configurations that remain consistent throughout

try location. A service provider should be able to provide

the floor. floor. If the hot aisle, cold aisle arrangements arrangements are not

documentation for a tenant to determine if the site con-

maintained throughout all spaces, a companyʼs equipment

forms to environmenta environmentall sustainability expectations. expectations.

may suffer from the heat exhausted into their space from nearby cages. cages. The best centers centers will have proper proper space

Finally, space evaluation should include a check to be

and growth planning in place.

sure that all of the telecommunications services are available that you currently use, or that there are suitable al-

Many data centers today are moving towards shielded ca-

ternatives.. This includes link speed, redundancy, carrier ternatives

bling systems due to noise immunity, security concerns

and protocol requirements, available IP addresses, and

and the robust performance of these cabling systems. As networking application speeds increase to 10 Gigabit Eth-

critical circuit monitoring.

ernet and beyond, they are more susceptible to external

Some end-users are moving to co-location facilities strictly

noise such as alien crosstalk. External noise is eliminated

due to lower power costs in some areas of the country,

with a category 7A shielded cabling system and because

and some are moving due to increased bandwidth needs

of its noise immunity, can provide twice the data capacity

or better power and carrier infrastructures being available,

as an unshielded cabling system in support of 10GBASE-

while others are moving just to get away from their current

T. Likewise, category 6A shielded systems eliminate noise

mess. With all things considered, an outsourced space space

concerns and are more popular than their UTP counter-

may be a good solution either permanently or in the

parts. As co-location facilities increase temperatures to

interim.

save energy, tenants need to evaluate the length derating

services, this may be an extra benefit to free up company

of their cabling systems. Hotter air provided to equipment

personnel. Either way, the above guidelines should be

means hotter air exhausted from equipment. Increased air

considered when evaluating use of outsourcing space and

intake temperatures are supported by active equipment.

services. If needed, Simeon Simeon can provide additional additional infor-

In the rear of cabinets where the hotter air is exhausted,

mation and assistance with your outsourcing plans.

With some facilities providing administrative

is typically where cabling is routed. routed. The derating factor for unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling is 2x greater than for shielded systems. Increasing temperatures provides a significant cost savings to the tenant and the facility facil ity owner. Whether planning a shielded system or not, there is a requirement for bonding/earthing connections for your

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Additional Cloud Considerations for the End User

Business continuity continuity depends on the reliability of the services you place in the cloud. While an email outage is unfortunate and disruptive, database disruptions can cause serious business harm. As an end user, you will want to ask pointed questions about about the service, configurations, SLAs, suppliers, suppliers, etc. While there is some level of confidentiality that cloud providers want to protect, they will be the custodians of whatever you chose to place in their cloud. A cloud provider should be able to provide you with a listing of suppliers, typical design configuration configuration in their facilities, and what their maintenance maintenance and monitoring procedures procedures are throughout throughout the facilities. If a Cloud provider is using outsourced space, then this same information information from their provider should also be provided. It may be advantageous to review a siteʼs SAS 70 (Statement on Auditing Standard 70). SAS 70 is a "Report on the Processing of Transactions by S

e

r

v

i

c

e

Organizations." Organization s." It provides prospective clients an assurance that the service organization has been thoroughly checked and deemed to have satisfactory controls and safeguards for hosting specific information or processing information. In several countries in Europe, due to data privacy laws, customer or any private data must reside in country. The cloud provider should be able to provision within a country and provide an assurance that the data will reside there. In country or not, security and monitoring is an important factor. It is also important to ascertain whether or not a provider is operating via industry standard-compliant infrastructures (defined as cabling, networking, networking, servers and software). Some providers are proprietary only meaning meaning that once applications are developed in that cloud, they may not be able to be ported to another cloud provider. Bandwidth upgrade plans should also be part of the evaluation. Some cloud providers are already built out for 40/100G Ethernet in the backbone and 10G Ethernet in the horizontal. horizontal. This means there will be less likelihood of downtime or reliance on other sites during upgrades. upgrades. In short, if they are going to control all or part of your data center, center, you want to be sure they are using the latest technologies from the start, and that the facility conforms to the latest industry standards.

Swing arm cable managers vs. VersaPOD Zero-U vertical cable management 

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D a t a C e n t e r C a b li l in g C o n s id i d e r a t io io n s : Point-to-Point vs Structured Cabling The old adage that history repeats itself is very true. If we donʼt learn from history, history, we are doomed to repeat it. Many data centers today are victims of historical point-to-point point-to-point cabling practices. Direct connections - "Point-to-Point" (i.e. from switches to servers, servers to storage, servers to other servers, etc.) are problematic and costly for a variety of reasons. In the best of data center ecosystems, a standards-based structured cabling system will provide functionality and scalability with the maximum available available options for current current and future equipment. equipment. While Top Top of Rack (ToR) and End of Row (EoR) equipment mounting options are now available, these should supplement, not replace, a structured cabling system. To ToR R and EoR equipment placement both rely heavily on point to point cables, typically fiber jumpers and either twinax copper assemblies or stranded patch cords to connect the network or storage equipment ports to servers.

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Data centers are evolving in a rather cyclical manner.

These standards were created out of need. Both data

When data centers (the original computer rooms) were

center standards have language stating that cabling

first built, computing services were provided via a

should be installed to accommodate growth over the life

mainframe (virtualized) (virtualized) environment. environment. End usersʼ dumb

of the data center. Moves, adds and changes for a sin-

terminals were connected via point to point with coax or

gle or a few runs are expensive compared to the same

bus cabling using twinax. twinax. Enter the PC and Intel Intel based

channels run as part of an overall multi-channel installa-

server platforms, and new connections were needed.

tion project. For the larger projects, the end end user real-

We have gone through several generations of possible cabling choices: coax (thicknet, thin net), category 3, 4, 5,

izes benefits from project pricing, economies of scale, and lower labor rates per channel. Single channels are

5e, 6. Now, the recommended 10 Gigabit capable

typically more expensive, as it is more expensive to send

copper choices for a data

personnel to run one

center

channel.

are

category

The risk of

6A, 7 and 7A channels, OM3 grade fiber for

downtime increases with

multimode

capable

and changes. Pathways

electronics and single

and spaces can be prop-

mode fiber for longer

erly planned and sized up

range

front, but can become un-

continual moves, adds

electronics.

ruly and overfilled with In some data centers,

additional channels being

samples of each of these systems can still be

added on a regular basis.

found under the raised

Data centers that have

floor or in overhead path-

issues with cable plant

ways, many of which

pathways typically suffer

originally were point-to-

from

point. Today however,

Growth

the “from” point and “to”

channels were added out

point are a mystery, myster y, mak-

of need without regard to

poor

planning.

and

new

ing cable abatement (removal of abandoned cable) prob-

pathways. In some cases, pathways do not accommo-

lematic at best. Compounding this problem was a lack of

date growth or maximum capacity over the life of the data

naming conventions. conventions. If the cables were labeled labeled at both

center. Overfilled pathways cause problems with airflow,

ends, the labeling may not make sense anymore. For in-

and in some cases cabling becomes deformed due to the

stance, a cable may be labeled “Unix Row, Cabinet 1.”

weight load, which can adversely affect transmission

Years later, the Unix row may have been replaced and

properties of the channel. This is particularly true in

new personnel may not know where the Unix row was.

point-to-point systems that have grown into spaghetti-like conditions over time. Likewise, data centers centers that have have

There are two standards for structured cabling systems in

not practiced cable abatement or removal of old cabling

a data center: TIA 942 and draft ISO 24764, the latter of

as newer, higher performing systems are installed

which is slated to publish in September, 2009.

experience the same disheveled pathways.

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Switch at top of cabinet, Point-to-Point servers Core Switch

Fiber to Core

Figure 1: Topo pof Rack View  - Point-t -to-P -PointConnectio ions

Copper Fiber

Rack1.

Rack2. - 3. (one blade dedicatedt dto onecabinet)

Figure1. Depicts a ToR patching sce-

and the likelihood of downtime. When

A greater problem occurs when the full

nario ports and serversbetween without aswitch structured cabling system. Rack 2 to Rack 3 connections are indicative of point-to-point serverto-switch connections, also without a structured system. system. While proponents proponents of these systems systems tout a decrease in cabling as a cost offset, further examination may negate such savings.

adding pathways and fire suppression systems andspaces, lighting may need to be moved to accommodate added overhead pathway systems. Floor voids may need to be increased and cabinets may need to be moved to allow new pathways to be routed in a non-obstructive manner for proper airflow.

If a central KVM switch is used, the centralized structured cabling system would need to co-exist anyway, albeit with less channels day one. Newer electronics electroni cs may have different channel minimum/maximum lengths resulting in the need for new channels. As electronics progress, the structured system may need to be added back to the data center to support future equipment choices, completely negating the savings.

Further examination highlights other disadvantages of ToR and Point-to Point methodologies beyond the limitations outlined previously. In either the Rack 1 or Rack 2 -> Rack 3 scenario above, switch ports are dedicated to servers within a particular cabinet. This can lead to an oversuboversubscription of ports. ports. Suppose rack/cabrack/cabinet 1 had the need for only 26 server connections for the entire rack. If a 48 port switch (ToR switching) or 48 port blade (point-to-point server to switch) is dedicated to the cabinet, this means that 22 additional ports are purchased and maintenance is being paid on those unused ports.

48 arewill used. Adding even one newports server require the purchase of another 48 port switch. In this case, assuming two network connections for the new server, an oversubscription of 46 ports will be added to the cabinet. Even in an idle state, these excess ports consume power. Two power supplies are added to the cabinet. Active maintenance and warranty costs are also associated with the additional switch and ports.

It will cost more to add the structured system later as pathways, spaces, and channels were not planned for and must be installed in a live environment increasing labor costs

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Many of these ToR technologies have limitations for cabling length. Maximum lengths range from 2-15m and are more expensive than a structured cabling channel. Short channel lengths may limit locations of equipment within the shorter cable range. With a structured cabling system, 10GBASE-T can be supported up to 100 meters of category 6A, 7 and 7A cabling and allows more options for equipment placement within the data center.

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Any-to-All Structured Cabling System The concept behind any-to-all is quite simple. Copper and fiber panels are installed in each cabinet which correspond to copper patch panels installed in a central patching area. All fiber is run to one section of cabinets/racks in that same central patching area. This allows any equipment to be installed and connected to any other piece of equipment via either a copper patch cord or a fiber jumper. The fixed portion of the channel remains unchanged. Pathways and spaces are planned up front to properly accommodate the cabling. While this method may require more cabling up front, it has significant advantages advantages over the life of the data center. center. These channels are passive and carry no reoccurring maintenance costs as realized with the addition of active electronics. If planned properly, structured cabling systems will last at least 10 years,supporting 2 or 3 generations of active electronics. electronics. The additional equipment equipment needed for a point-to-point system will require replacement/upgrade replacement/upgrade multiple times before the structured cabling system needs to be replaced. The equipment replacement costs, not including ongoing maintenance fees, will negate any up front savings from using less cabling in a point-to-point point-to-point system.

Figure 2: Racks/ Cabinets in inEquipment Rows - Central PatchingArea Example of Any-to-All Any-to-A ll Structured Cabl Cabling ing Blue Lines =Copper 

Control Patching Area

Red lines =Fiber, Primary Switch

Secondary Switch

Blade Server Cabinet

Primary Switch

Any-to-All Patching

From Primary Switch

From Servers

Any-to-All Patching

Central Fiber Distribution Any-to-All via Jumpers

The red lines (fiber connections) all arrive in the central patching area in one location. This allows any piece of equipment requiring a fiber connection to be connected to any other fiber equipment port. For instance, if a cabinet has a switch that requires a fiber connection for a SAN on day one, but needs to be changed to fiber switch connection at a later date, all that is required to connect the two ports is a fiber jumper change in the central patching area. The same is true for copper, although some data centers zone copper connections into smaller zones by function, or based on copper length and pathway requirements. As with the fiber, any copper port can be connected to any other copper port in the central patching area or within the zone. Cabling standards are written to support 2-3 generations of active electronics. An “any-to-all“ configuration assures that the fixed portion of the channels is run once and remains highly unchanged if higher performing fiber and copper cabling plants are used. As a result, there will be less contractor visits to the site for MAC work as the channels already exist. Faster deployment times for equipment will be realized as no no new cabling channels have to be run. They are simply connected via a patch cord. Predefined pathways pathways and spaces will not impact cooling airflow or become overfilled as they can be properly sized for the cabling installed. Bearing in mind that the standards recommend installation of cabling accommodating growth, not only will day-one connectivity needs be supported, but also anticipated future connectivity growth needs are already accounted for.

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With central patching, switch ports are not dedicated to cabinets that may not require them; therefore, active ports can be fully utilized as any port can be connected to any other port in the central patching area. Administration and documentation are enhanced as the patch panels are labeled (according to the standards) with the location at the opposite end of the channel. Patch cords and jumpers are easy to manage in cabinets rendering a more aesthetically pleasing appearance as cabinets will be tidier. In contrast, with point-to-point cabling, labeling is limited to a label attached to the end of a cable assembly. With a structured high performing copper and fiber cabling infrastructure, recycling of cabling is minimized as several generations of electronics can utilize the same channels. Being able to utilize all switch ports lowers the number of switches and power supplies. All of these help contribute to green factors

Figure 3: Point-t -to-P -Point Connectio ions Top of of the Rack view  view 

48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS *

*

 

28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE *

48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS 14 SERVERS *

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28 USED 20 SPARE

 

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

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28 USED 20 SPARE

 

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28 USED 20 SPARE

 

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28 USED 20 SPARE *

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT 48 PORT 48 PORT PATCH PATCH PATCH PANEL TO PANEL TO PANEL TO CENTRAL CENTRAL CENTRAL PATCHING PATCHING PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

POWERSUPPLY

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

CENTRAL PATCHING AREA

for a data center. To further explain the power supply and switch port impact, contrasting the point-to -point, ToR scenario in section 1, in an “any-to-all” scenario, the 48 ports that would normally be dedicated to a single cabinet (ToR) can now be divided up, on demand, to any of several cabinets via the central patching area. Where autonomous LAN segments are required, VLANs or address segmentation can be used to block visibility to other segments.

*

CENTRAL CORE CABINET FIBER2 PORTS TOEACH SWITCH (40PORTS TOTAL)

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

48 PORT 48 PORT PATCH PATCH PANEL TO PANEL TO CENTRAL CENTRAL PATCHING PATCHING

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

TWO EACH CHASSIS SWITCHES WITH 6-48 PORT BLADES *

*

*

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576 PORTS TOTAL 16 UNUSED PORTS

48 PORT PATCH PANEL TO CENTRAL PATCHING

POWER SUPPLY FIXED CHANNEL PATCH CORD/JUMPER

For example: In a data center with 20 server cabinets each housing 14 servers and requiring two

network connections each (560 total ports required) the port comparison is shown below. Note: Table assumes redundant power supplies and VLANs to segment primary and secondary networks. Counts will double if redundant switches are used.

Number of Switches

Number of Power Supplies (redundant)

Total Ports

Oversubscribed ports

Point-to-Point (ToR)

20 (one 48 port switch per cabinet) 28 connections used per cab

40

960

400

Cent Ce ntra rall Any Any-t -too-Al Alll

2 chas chassi sis s bas based ed with 6 ea 48 port

4

576

16

blades

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Additional Power Requirements The real limitation limitati on to equipment services within a cabinet is power. Currentl Currently y in the US, the average power supplied to a 1 cabinet is roughly 6kW with a trend to move towards cabinets cabinets that have 18-20kW capacity. capacity. As switch ports reach full utilization, the power supplied to the cabinet may not be able to handle the load of a new server and additional switch. This may mean that new power is needed at the cabinet. A complete picture of the power required should be examined before adoption. adoption. It may not be possible from a facilities standpoint to provide enough additional power for two devices (4 power supplies in a redundant configuration). configuration). According to the Uptime Institute, one of their clients justified a $22 million investment for new blade servers which turned into $76 million after the necessary power and cooling capacity upgrade of $54 million which was required for them to run. 2 In “Improving Power Supply Efficiency, The Global Perspective” by Bob Mammano, Texas Instruments, “Today there are over 10 billion electronic power supplies in use worldwide, more than 3.1 billion just in the United States.” Increasing the average efficiency of these power supplies by just 10% would reduce lost power by 30 billion kWhrs/year, save approximately $3 billion per year which is equivalent to building 4 to 6 new generating plants.3 Having a greater number of power supplies (as in ToR) ToR) for switches and servers will make it more difficult to upgrade upgrade to more efficient power supplies supplies as they are introduced due to the high number of power supplies increasing replacement costs. In a collapsed scenario (central switching, central patching), fewer power supplies are needed and therefore cost less to upgrade. Virtualization is being implemented in many data centers to decrease the number of server power supplies and to increase the operating efficiency (kW/bytes processed or IT Productivity per Embedded Watt IT-PEW) ratios within equipment. Virtualization also reduces the number of servers and the "floor space" needed to support them. This also reduces the power load to cool the room. Increasing the number of power supplies (ToR) can negate virtualization savings. savings . Further, as servers are retired, retir ed, the number of needed switch ports decreases. In a ToR ToR configuration, configuration , this can increase the number of oversubscribed ports. In an any-to-all scenario dark fiber or non-energized copper cables may exist, but these are passive, require no power, have no reoccurring maintenance/warranty costs, and can be reused for other equipment in the future. The efficiency of the power supply is only one power factor. factor. To properly examine overall switch to server connections, percentage of processing load, efficiency of the power supply under various loads, required cooling, and voltage required for the overall communications must be factored into overall data center power and efficiency numbers. According to the Uptime Institute the cost to power and cool servers over the next 3 years will equal 1.5 times the price of the server hardware. Future projections extending extending out to 2012 show this multiplier increasing to almost 3 times even under best case assumptions, 22 times under worst case. 4 Every port, network, storage, storage , management, etc. contribute to the overall power requirements of a server. According to the US Government Data Center Energy study from Public Law 109-431 signed December 20, 2006, approximately 50% of data center power consumption is power and cooling, 29% is server consumption, and only 5% is attributed to networking equipment. The remainder is divided into storage storage (a highly variable factor), lighting lighting and other systems. From a networking stand point, looking at port consumption or power draw varies greatly between various architectures (i.e. (i .e. SFP+, 10GBASET and Fiber). Many of these reported power statistics from the manufacturers manufacturers do not show the entire switch consumption, consumption, but rather make a particular architecture sound sound attractive by only reporting power based on consumption consumption of an individual port, exclusive of the rest of the switch and the higher power server network interface card at the other end of the channel. For instance, a switch might report power consumption of less than 1 watt but the server NIC required can be 15-24 watts. According to Kevin Tolly of the Tolly Group, 5 “companies that are planning for power studies and including power efficiencies in their RFP documents have difficulties in analyzing the apples to oranges comparisons in response documents. This is because numbers can be reported in a variety of ways. There has been a lack of a standard test methodology methodology leading to our Common RFP project (www.commonrfp.com). (www.commonrfp.com).”” In testing at the Tolly Group, functionality in switching can vary power loads as some switches offload processing from the ASICs chips to CPU which will function at higher power. Edge switches (as those used in ToR configurations) process more instructions in CPU resulting in power spikes that may not be seen without proper testing. The goal of common RFP is to supply end users with some test methodologies to review and compare various architectures and manufacturers.

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The switch port power consumption is far less, in most cases, than the server NIC at the opposite end of the channel. There has been a shift in networking led by some vendors vendors for short point to point connections within the racks or near racks as shown in Figure 1. This shift is due in large part due to a need for 10GbE copper connections and a lack of mass manufactured low power 10GBASE-T counterparts using a structured system. The original 10GBASE-T chips had a power requirement requi rement of 10-17W per port irrespective irrespecti ve of the switch and server power requirements. This is rapidly changing as each new version of silicon manufacture manufactured d for 10GBASE-T is significantly lower power than the previous iteration. If point-to-point (currently lower power) are used for copper 10GbE communications, communications, coexistence with a structured any-to-all system allows new technologies such as lower power 10GBASE-T to be implemented simply by installing it and connecting it via a patch cord. End to end power and various power efficiency matrixes are provided by Tolly and The Uptime Institute amongst others. Vendor power studies may not provide a complete picture of what is required to implement the technology. Both of these groups address not only the power consumption of the device, but also the cooling required.

Figure3  Measured temperatures  below the floor and at  cabinet heights.

(illustrations provided by FloVENT)

Cooling Considerations Cooling requirements are critical considerations. considerations. Poor data center equipment layout choices choices can cut usability by 50%.4 Cooling requirements are often expressed as a function of power, but improper placement of equipment can wreak havoc on the best cooling plans. Point to point systems can land-lock equipment placement. In Figure 3 above, we can see measured temperatures below the floor and at half cabinet heights, respectively. The ability to place equipment where it makes most sense for power and cooling can save having to purchase additional PDU whips, and in some cases, supplemental or in row cooling for hot spots. In point-to-point configurations, configuration s, placement choices may be restricted to cabinets where open switch ports exist in order to avoid additional switch purchases rather than as part of the ecosystem decisions within the data center. This can lead to hot spots. Hot spots can have detrimental affects to neighboring equipment within that same cooling zone. Hot spots can be reduced with an any-to-all structured cabling system by allowing equipment to be placed where it makes the most sense for power and cooling instead of being land-locked by ToR restrictions. According to the Uptime Institute, the failure rate for equipment in the top 1/3 of the rack is 3 times greater than that of equipment at the lower 2/3ʼs. In a structured cabling system, the passive components (cabling) are placed in the upper position leaving the cooler spaces below below for the equipment. If a data center does not have enough cooling for equipment, placing the switches in a ToR position may cause them to fail prematurely due to heat as cold air supplied from under a raised floor will warm as it rises. In conclusion, while there are several instances where point-to-point Top of Rack or End of Row connections make sense, an overall study including total equipment cost, port utilization, maintenance and power cost over time should be undertaken including both facilities and networking to make the best overall decision. . 3 1

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Simeon has developed several products to assist data center personnel in developing highly scalable, flexible and easy to maintain systems to support various generations of equipment singularly or in conjunction with ToR of Rack systems. Siemonʼs VersaPOD is an excellent example of one such innovation.

The VersaPOD™ system utilizes a central Zero-U patching zone between bayed cabinets. This space allows for any combination of copper and fiber patching and 19-inch rackmount PDUʼs. Should the customer mount the switch in the top of one cabinet, the corner posts are recessed allowing cabinet to cabinet connections and allowing a switch to support multiple server cabinets increasing utilization of the switch switch ports. This can lower the number of switches required and save energy while providing versatile high density patching options for both copper and fiber. For information on other Simeon innovations including category 7A TERA, Z-MAX, category 6A UTP and shielded fiber plug and play and preterminated copper and fiber trunking solutions as well as Siemonʼs Data Center design assistance services, please visit: www.simeon.com or contact your local Simeon representat representative ive

Figure 4 VersaPO Vers aPOD™ D™

References: 1 2

3

DataCenter Dynamics, Data Center Trends US, 2008 Data Center Energy Efficiency and Productivity, Kenneth G. Brill, (www.uptimeinstitute.com) Power Supply Efficiency, The Global Perspective” by Bob Mammano, Texas Instruments

The Economic Meltdown of Mooreʼs Law, The Uptime Institute (www.uptimeinstitute.com) (www.uptimeinst itute.com) www.tolly.com and www.commonRFP.com 6 www.simeon.com/us/versapod and www.simeon.com 4 5

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Data Center Cooling Best Practices: -Maximizing power efficiency through smart planning and design By: Carrie Higbie

Simple mainframe data centers have grown to full fledged Data Centers with a myriad of servers, storage, ag e, swit switching and and routing routing options. options. As we continue continue to to add add equipm equipment to thes hese e “rooms” “rooms” we increase increase the heat generation while reaching peak capacity. In order to maximize cooling efficiency within Data Centers there are best practices provided by organizations such as ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers), which are followed or echoed in many of the industry dust ry stand standar ards. ds. W hi hile le some seem seem to be comm common sense, sense, others ar are e somet sometimes negl neglected. ected.

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Addressing Cabling and Pathways

First, and most simply, in order to increase chiller efficiency, it is mandatory to get rid of the old abandoned cabli cabling ng under under raised raised floors. W hil hile e cable abatem abatement is a code requirem requirement in some countries countries due to fuel loads, in all instances and all countries, it makes sense to remove blockages having an impact on air flow flow to to equipment equipment.. W hil hile e worki working ng on cab cable le abatement st strategies, rategies, it it is a great time to look at upgrade projects to higher performing cabling which can be either wholly or partially funded through recycling of older copper cable. W hile a properly designed under under floor cable cable plant will not cause cause cooling cooling inefficiencies, when the the under floor void is full of cable, a reverse vortex can be created causing the under floor void to pull airr from the roo ai room m rather th than an push push cool air air up to th the e equi equipm pment ent. W hen pa patthways and spac spaces es are properly designed, the cable trays can act as a baffle to help maintain the cold air in the cold aisles, or channel the air. Problems occur when there is little or no planning for pathways, They become over fil filled led as many years years of aba abandoned ndoned cable fills fills the pathways and air air voi voids. ds. O verfill verfilling ing pathways can also also cause perfo perform rmance ance issues. issues. In designing an an under under floor system, it it is cri critical tical to look look at ai airrflow, void space, cable capacity accommodating growth and other under floor systems such as power, chiller pipes, etc. In both TIA TIA-942 -942 and the pendi pending ng ISO 24 2476 764 4 data data center center standa standards, rds, it i t is recommended that that st structured cabling systems are used and designed accommodating growth so that revisiting the cabling and pathways will not be neces necessary sary for the the lifecycle lifecycle of th the e cable plant plant.. Th The e reasoning behind this this is to limit moves, adds and changes, which contribute to the spaghetti we see in many data centers toda oday y. In an ideal ideal env envir ironm onment ent,, the permanent lilink nk for the the channels are run between between al alll necessar necessary y cabinets and other central patching locations allowing moves adds and changes to be completed via patch patch cord changes instead instead of running running new links. Using the the hig highes hestt perfo perform rmiing copper cable cable plant available (currently 7A) assures a longer lifecycle and negates the need for a cable abatement project again in the foreseeable future.  The la  Th larrge ges st is iss sue wi witth cab able le ab abat atement is de dettermin inin ing g wh whic ich h cab able les s can saf afe ely be remov ove ed. This is compounded com pounded in in older da datta cent centers that that have more spaghet spaghetti ti than than struct structure ure under under the floor. O ne common practice is to upgrade existing copper and fiber cabling utilizing pre-terminated and tested trunking cables. Since cables are combined in a common sheath, once installed and all equipment is cut over to to the new syste system m, cab cables les that that are not in the the common sheath/ sheath/ bi binder nder are are easily easily ident i dentifi ified ed for removal oval.. In ab abatem atement proj projects ects,, trunk trunkiing cab cables les provi provide de th the e benefit of rapid rapid deplo deploym yment as the cables are factory terminated to custom lengths eliminating the need for time consuming and labor intensive field terminations.

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In some cases, companies move to opposite conveyance systems, i.e. under floor to overhead systems. If moving to an overhead system for abatement, the pathways should be run so that they do not bl block ock the natural rise rise of heat from th the e rear of cabi cabinet nets. s. It is impo important rtant to consult consult the proper structural and fire specialties to assure that the ceiling can handle the additional weight, holes for support rods and that port that the overhead system wi willll not obstruct th the e reach of fi fire re suppr suppression ession systems. Just as it is important to plan to accommodate growth under the floor, it is equally important in an overhead system to assure that there is enough room for layers of tray that may be required for overhead pathways. In order to determine whether an under floor system should be used, the largest factors to consider are the the amount amount of floor floor void, void, coo cooliling ng provided, provided, and and layout layout of the the room. room. For overhead syst systems, the the ceiling height, structural ability to hold mounting brackets, and placement of lighting and fire suppression are are the the key factors. factors. In both cases, it it is impor important tant to note note that that with toda oday’s y’s higher higher densi density requirements, several layers of trays may be needed in either or both locations. Running a com combi bination nation of overh overhead ead and and under under floor floor system systems may be necessary. Th The e past practices of running running day day one cable tray and/ or sizing siz ing cable cable tray based on previous previous diam diamet eters ers and densit density y requirements requirement s can be detri detrim mental to a dat data center’s center’s efficiency effici ency duri during ng periods periods of growth. Ant ntic iciipated growth must be accommodated in day one designs to assure that they will handle future capacity. Examination of the cabling pathways also includes addressing floor penetrations where the cabling enters cabinet cabinets, s, racks racks and wire wire manag anagers. ers. Th Thiinking back to the the old bus and tag days days in data centers, the standa andard rd was was to remove remove half a floor floor tile tile for airflo ai rflow. w. In many data centers centers toda today y, that half  a tile is still missing and there is nothing blocking the openings to maintain the static pressure under the data center floor. floor. W here the cable penetrati penetrations come through through the raised raised floor tiles tiles a product such as brush guards, air pillows or some other mechanism to stop the flow of air into undesirable spaces is paramount. W hen you consider that most of the the cable cable penetratio penetrations ns are in in the the hot ai aisle sle and not the the cold cold aisle, aisle, the th e loss of air ai r via these these spaces can negatively affect the overal overalll cooli cooling ng of a data center. center. In an under floor system, cable tray can act as a baffle to help channel the cold air into the cold aisles if  properly prop erly configured. configured. W hile some would prefer to to do away away with with un under der floor systems if these these systems are well designed and not allowed to grow unmanaged, they can provide excellent pathways for cabling.

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Cabli abling ng pathways pathways inside cabinets cabinets are also critical to proper ai airr flow. O lder cabinet cabinets are notoriously poor at cable management, in large part because that they were not designed to hold the higher concentratio concentration n of servers servers th that at are required today. O lder cabi cabinet nets were typically designed for 3 or 4 servers per cabinet when cabling and pathways were an afterthou te rthought ght.. N ewer cabinet cabinets s su such ch as the Simeon Ve VersaPO rsaPOD™ D™ were desig designed ned speci specific fical ally ly for data center cabling and equipment providing enhanced Zero-U patching and vertical and horizontal cable management assuring that the cabling has a dedicated without impacting pac ting equipment equipment ai airflo rflow. w. Th The e same can be said for extended extended depth wire manag managem ement for racks such as Siemon’s VPC-12. PO Ds are changing the PODs the face of data data centers centers.. Accordi ccording ng to to Carl Carl Claunch C launch of Gartne G artnerr as quoted in N etwork World… “A new com comput puting fabric fabric to to replace today' today's s blade servers servers and a "pod" "pod" approa approach ch to building building data data centers are two of the most disruptive technologies that will affect the enterprise data center in the next few years, Gartner said at its annual data center conference Wednesday. Data centers increasingly creasi ngly will will be built built in separa separate te zones or pods, rath rather er than than as one monol onolithic ithic struct structure, ure, Gar G artn tner er analyst Carl Claunch said in a presentation about the Top 10 disruptive technologies affecting the data center. Those zones or pods will be built in a fashion similar to the modular data centers sold in large shipping containers equipped with their own cooling systems. But data center pods don't have to be built within actual containers. The distinguishing features are that zones are built with different densities, reducing initial costs, and each pod or zone is self-contained with its own power feeds and cooling, cooli ng, Claunch C launch says says.. Cooli ooling ng costs are minim inimiz ized ed because because chillers are closer to heat sources; and there is additional flexibility because a pod can be upgraded or repaired without necessitating downtime in other zones, Claunch said.” Lastly, a clean clean data data center is a much bett better perform performer. er. Dus Dustt accumulation can can hold heat in in equipment, clog air filtration gear, and although not heat related, contribute to highly undesirable static.  Th  T here ar are e compan anie ies s that spe pec cial ialize ize in da datta ce center cle clean anin ing. g. This simple step sh shou ould ld be in inc clu lude ded d yearly and immediately after any cable abatement project. Inside the the cabinet cabinets, one essent essentia iall component component th that at is often often overlo overlooked oked is blanking blanking panels. Blanking panels should should be instal installed led in in all cabi cabinet nets where where there is no no equipment equipment.. Air flow flow is is typi ypical cally ly designed to move from front to back. If there are open spaces between equipment the air intakes on equipment can actu actual ally ly pull the heated heated air air from th the e rear of the cabinet cabinet for forwa ward. rd. Th The e same can be said said for spaces between between cabinet cabinets in a row. Ho Hott ai airr can be pulled to to the the front either hori horiz zontally (aroun (around d cabinets) or vertically (within a cabinet) supplying warmer than intended air to equipment which can result resu lt in failure. failure. In a recent st study udy of a data center with approxim approxi mately 150 150 cabi cabinet nets, s, an 11 degree temperature drop was realized in the cold aisles simply by installing blanking panels.

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Planning for Cooling

Hot aisle, cold aisle arrangements were made popular after the ASHRAE studied cooling issues within data cent centers ers.. ASHRAE Techn echnica icall Com C omm mitt ittee ee 9.9 9.9 charact characteriz erized ed and standardi standardized zed the recrec(1)) (1 ommendations.  T  Th his pr prac acttic ice e is recommende ded d for eit ith her pa pas ssiv ive e or ac acttiv ive e coo ooli lin ng or a com combi bin nation of the two. two. Th The e layout layout in Figure Figure 1 shows four rows of cabi cabinet nets s with the the center tiles between the outer out er rows represent representing a cold aisle aisle (cold air air depicte depicted d by the the blue arrows). And the the rear rear faces faces of  the th e cabinet cabinets s ar are e directed directed towar towards ds the hot hot aisles (warm (warmed air air depicted depicted by th the e red arrows). arrows). In the the past, past, companies arranged all cabinets facing the same direction to allow an esthetically pleasing showcase of equipm equipment ent.. Looks, however however,, can be more more than deceiving; th they ey can be completely completely disru disrupptive to airflow and equipment temperatures.

Figure 1: Passiv ive coolin ing, util tiliz izin ingairflow flowin inth theroom anddoorperfo forati tions.

In a passive cooling system, the data center airflow utilizes either perforated doors or intakes in the bottom of cabinets for cold air supply to equipment and perforated rear doors to allow the natural rise ri se of heated/ di discharged scharged air ai r from the rear of the the cabinet cabinets into into the the CRAC CRAC (Com (C omput puter er Room Room Air ConC onditioner) intake for cooling and reintroduction into the raised floor. Active cooling systems may be a combination of fans (to force cold air into the faces of cabinets or pull hot air out of the rear roof of cabinets), supplemental cooling systems such as in row coo cooli ng,active thng the e purposes of ed thisas this pathe paper, per,nu only paofssive pass ive cooling coolingInsyst emsto are addr address essed ed as the the torsling, for aetc. ctiveFor cooli cooling are as varied vari the mber solutions. order fully unders understand tand thefacthe capabilities of each, individual studies and modeling should be performed before any are impl plem ement ented. ed. ASHRA SHRAE E reco recom mmends pre-i pre-im mpl plem ement entati ation on CFD (Com (Computationa putationall Fluid Dynamics) mod od-eling for the various solutions.

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Figure 2: 2: Oneexa xample of  activ ivecoolin ingutil iliz izin ingfans to pull hot air th throughthe roof 

In order to determine the cooling needed, several factors must be known: - Type of equipment - Power draw of equipment - Placement of equipment - Powe Powerr densit density y (W/ (W/ m2 , W/ ft2) - Required computer area (m2, fftt2 ) “Computer room floor area totals in the data center would incorporate all of the computing equipment, required access for that equipment, egress paths, air-conditioning equipment, and power distributio tribut ion n units units (PDU’s). Th The e actual actual pow power er density density is defined defined as the the actual actual pow power er used used by the the computing equipment divided by the floor area occupied by the equipment plus any supporting space.” [2]  T  Th his can be de deffin ine ed by the fol ollo low win ing g for orm mula la:: Act ctual ual power dens density ity (W (W// ft 2) = Com omput puter er Power Consum Consumption (W ) / required com comput puter er area (ft 2)

W hite spa pace ce should should not be used used in the the calculat calculations for actual actual power power density. Th This is figure figure is important when pla planning nning a data center. center. 1U servers have have significantly signifi cantly different pow power er density density requirement ents s than Blade chassis, chassis, stora storage ge towers and mai ainframes nframes. Di Dist stri ribut butiion of this this equipm equipment wi willll change change the th e requirement requirements s of the the vari various ous areas of a dat data center. For inst instance if if a single single zone zone is selected selected for Blade servers with a greater power density, passive cooling may not provide adequate air temperatures.

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In Table 1. IT Equipment Power consumption, it is obvious that one single solution may not address alll power al power needs needs unless unless th the e vari varied ed densities densities are in the the initial initial design. Data Cent Centers using prim primari arily ly legacy equipment equipment operate at power densities densities as low as 30W 30W / ft2 (~320 W/ W / m2) as compared to 2

m higher equipm ment which falls falls closer to the the 60 60--10 1000 00W W / ft (~ore 645 to tm oodern 1,075 W/ W / m2). processing equip Equipment

W/ ft2 Pow Power er Range Range (~ (~W/ m2)

3U Legacy Rack Server

525 – 735 (~5,645 – 7,900)

4U Legacy Rack Server

430 – 615 (~4,620 – 6,610)

1U Present Rack Server

805 – 2,695 (~8,655 – 28,980)

2U Present Rack Server

750 – 1,050 (8,065 – 11,290)

4U Present Rack Server

1,225 – 1,715 (13,170 – 18,440)

3U Blade Chassis

1,400 – 2, 2,000 (15,050 – 21,500)

7U Blade Chassis

1,200 – 2,300 (12,900 – 24 24,730)

Mainfframe (Lar Main arge ge Par arttit itio ion ned Se Serv rve er)

1,100 1,10 0 – 1,7 1,700 00 (11, (11,830 830 –18, –18,280 280))

Table1. ITEquipmentPowerConsumptio ion2

Power consum consumpt ptio ion n can be determ determined in several several ways ways.. N ot all will wi ll provide provide an accurate depiction depiction of power needs whic which h in turn would not provi provide de an adequate predi prediction ction of cooling cooli ng demand. Past practices utilized the nameplate rating which as defined by IEC 60950[7] clause 1.7 states “Equipment shall be provided with a power rated marking, the purpose of which is to specify a supply of  correct voltage voltage and frequency, and and of adequate current-carryi -carrying ng capaci capacity ty.” Th This is rating is a maxi axi-mumrating as as listed listed by the the manufactu anufacturer rer and very rarely will will ever be realiz realized. Util Utiliz izing ing this rating rating will cause oversizing of air conditioning systems and cause a waste in both cooling and money. Most equipment operates at 65-75% of this listing. The correct number to use is measured power consum su mption. If you will will be be incorpor incorporating ating new equipm equipment int nto o your data data center, equipm equipment manufacturers can provide you with this number.

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In addition to the Watts required for equipment, you will also need to determine other sources of heat to be cooled cooled in the the data cent center. Th Thiis includes lilight ghting, ing, humans, etc., APC has has developed a sim simple (3) (3 ) spreadsheet to assist with these equations:

Item

Data Required Heat O utput Calcu- Heat Output lation Subtotal

IT Equi Eq uip m ent

Tota lIT Loa d Po Pow w er in W atts

Sa m e a s Tota lIT Lo Lo a d Po Pow w er in W atts

________W atts

U PS w ith B a ttery

Pow er System Ra Rat ted Pow er in W a tts

(0 .0 4 x Pow er S ystem Ra Rat ting ) + (0 .0 5 x Tota lIT Lo Lo a d Po Pow w er er) )

________W atts

Po w er D istrib utio n

Pow er System Ra Rat ted Pow er in W a tts

(0 .0 1 x Pow er S ystem Ra Rat ting ) + (0 .0 2 x Tota lIT Lo Lo a d Po Pow w er er) )

________W atts

Lig hting

Floo r A rea in Sq S q ua uar re Feet Fe et 2 .0 x flo o r a rea (sq ft), or Sq uar uare e M eter ers s o r 2 1 .5 3 x flo o r a rea (sq m )

________W atts

Peo p le

M a x # of Per Personne sonnel lin D ata C enter

1 0 0 x M ax # o f personnel

________W atts

Tot To ta l

Subtotals from A bove

Sum of H eat O utputSubtotals

________W atts

Table2. DataCenterHeatSourceCalculati tionW nWorksheet(C (Courtesyof APC)

According to APC, cooling capacity is generally about 1.3% of your power load for data centers under un der 4,00 4, 000 0 square feet. feet. For larger larger dat data centers, centers, other factors factors may need to to be taken into account account such su ch as wa walls lls and roof surfaces exposed to outside outside air, air, windows, windows, etc. Bu Butt in general this wi willll give give a good indication of overall cooling needs for an average space. W ith that said said,, this is assu assum ming an overall cool cooling ing to floor rat ratio with with a simila similarr load load at each each cabi net.. Th cabinet The e quest questio ion n gets gets asked asked “What “W hat cool cooling ing can can your your cabinet cabi net su suppor pportt” The The vari variants ants are signific signi ficant. ant. Som Some e variant variants s to consider consider for cabi cabinet net coo cooliling ng include equipm equipment manufactu anufacturer rer recomrecommendations. Many blade blade manufactu anufacturers rers for instance instance do not recommend filli filling cabinet cabi nets with bla blades des due to cooli cooling ng and power power constrai constraint nts. s. Accord ccording ing to the the Uptime Uptime Institute, equipm equipment ent fai failures lures in the the top 1/ 1/ 3 of of a cabinet cabi net is roughly 3x greater greater than than at the lower portion of cabinet cabinets. This is due due in part to the the natural natural warm warming ing of air air as as heat heat rises. rises. In order to increase equipme equipment nt loa load d in high density areas, some form of suppl supplem emental coo cooliling ng may be required. required. Th That at does not mean that that you

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need to build in-row cooling into every single row, but rather evaluation for high density areas may makes sense. sense. The sam same e may be true for SAN SA N ar areas eas and other other hott hotter er equipm equipment. Percentage Percent age of door door perforation will will also also be a factor. factor. Accordi ccording ng to to the the Indust Industria riall Perforators Ass ssoociation, measured air velocity through perforated doors varies with the percentage of perforation.  Th  T he lo low wer the perf rfor orat atio ion n pe perrcentag age e, th the mor ore e impa pac ct to air airfflo low w in intto the cab abin ine et,as show own n in Fig ig-(4) ure 3. Siem Siemon’s on’s Vers VersaPO aPOD™ D™ doors have 71% O.A O .A perforation allowi allowing ng maxi axim mum ai airr flow from from cold aisle to hot aisle. 6

   )  .    C  .    W    S    E    H    C    N    I    (    S    S    O    L    E

10% O.A.

5

PRESSURE LOSS VS. IMPACT  VELOCITY FOR VARIOUS OPEN  AREA PERFORATED PLATES

15% O.A. 20% O.A.

Figure3: 3: PressureLossvs ImpactVelocity for Perfo foratedPlates

26% O.A.

4

30% O.A.

3

2

40% O.A.

   R    U    S    S    E 1    R    P

50% O.A. 63% O.A.

0 0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2400

UNIFORM IMPACT VELOCITY (fpm)

 There ar  Th are e suppl ple emental (ac acttiv ive e) coo ooli lin ng method ods s that can be ad adde ded d to cab abin ine ets to en enhan anc ce the air air-flow either forcing cool air into the cabinets or forcing hot air out. All of these cooling methodologies gi es rely on blanking blanking panels and other other st steps as out outlilined ned earlier earlier in this. this. Th There ere are also workarounds workarounds for legacy legacy equipm equipment ent that utililiz ize e side discharge heated heated ai airflow, rflow, su such ch as legacy Cisco® Cisco® 65 6509 09 and 6513 65 13 switches switches.. Th The e newer newer switch model odels s from Cisco use front to rear ai airflo rflow. w. In side air discharge scenarios, equipment should be isolated cabinet to cabinet so that heated air does not flow int into o the adjacent adjacent cab cabinet. inet. Som Some e data centers centers chose to place place this equipment equipment in open open racks. Th The e Simeon Simeon VersaPO VersaPOD D has intern internal al isolatio i solation n baffles or sid side e panels to assist wi with th th this is isolation.

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Effectiveness of Cooling

Effectiveness of cooling is a necessary test to assure that assumptions made during design are providing vidi ng the the benefits expected. expected. It can also also be a goo good d measurem measurement to det determ ermine the the efficiency efficiency of existing ist ing dat data centers centers and provide a roadm roadmap ap for remedia ediattion on a worst case/ first solved solved basis. Th The e “Greenes “G reeness” s” of a data data center utililiz zes two met metri rics: cs: 1. Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCIE) (a reciprocal of PUE below) is a function of total datta center power. Th da Thiis does not not just mean servers, servers, but but rather includes storage, storage, KVM switches,, moni switches monittors, cont control rol PC’s, PC ’s, moni monittori oring ng st statio ations, ns, etc. Added to the electronics electronics components are all supporting systems such as UPS, PDU’s, switch gear, pumps, cooling systtems, light sys lighting ing and and the the like. Th The e result resulting ing total divided divided by Total Facili Faci litty Power will will result in DC DCIE. Th This is is the the preferred met ethod hod used used by IBM®. A DCIE DC IE of 44% 44% means that for every 100 10 0 dolla dollars rs spent spent,, 44% 44% is actual actually ly used used by the the data center. Im Improvem provement ents s in efficiency efficiency can bring this number closer to the 100% ideal number. 2. Power Usage Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is another another calcula calculattio ion n used used by some some manufactu anufacturers. rers. Si Sim mply, DCIE DC IE = 1/ PUE where PUE = Total Facili Facility ty Power/ IT equipm equipment ent Power. In both cases, the the higher the DCIE percentage, the better the data center is on a green scale.  These numbe  Th berrs wil illl not, how howe ever, te tell you in indi div vid idu ual ally ly how effic icie ien nt a par parttic icu ula larr pie iec ce of equip ipm ment is on the the same scale. To determine this, this, you will will need to to monitor monitor power power at the the port for each piece piece of equipment equipment. N ew power supplies exist that all allow ow this this type type of monitoring. W hen pla planning nning for more energy efficient equipment, this can be an invaluable tool. Another way to measure effectiveness of cooling is to measure cold aisle air temperature throughout the faci facilility ty. Air is is ty typi pical cally ly measured every other other or every th thir ird d cabinet cabinet al along ong the the cold aisle. aisle. It is normal to see fluctuations in temperature in the hot aisles due to various equipment heat discharge tem te mpera perattures ures.. Bu Butt assu assuri ring ng that that cool air air su suppl pply y is a consist consistent ent te tem mpera peratture will will provide provide you wit with a clear indicat indication of how well air circulation and conditioning is working. working. It will also allow you to to plan where to put hotter equipment if supplemental cooling will not be introduced. W hen active cooli cooling ng is not an option, a data data center center will will see the the best consiste consistency ncy in air ai r tem temperatures by spacing the hottest equipment around the data center rather than concentrating it all in a single “hot spot spot” ” area. Planning is a necessary roadm roadmap for today’s hott hotter equip equipm ment. W hile it it may seem seem logical logi cal to have have a blade server server area, SAN area, et etc. c. In practice, it may be more efficient to have this equipment distributed throughout the data center. It is important to consult your various equipment manufacturers for recommendations.

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Regardless of the design methodologies one chooses to follow for their data center, Simeon has resources glo globa bally lly to help. help. For more inform informatio ation n on data center center best pra practices, ctices, copper copper and fiber cacabling bli ng syste system ms, or or the the VersaPO VersaPOD, D, plea please se visi visitt www.simeon.co www.simeon.com m or cont contact act your local loca l Sim Simeon representative.

References

(1)

The herm rmal Gu G uidelin idelines es for Dat Data a Proces Processing Env Environmen entts. At A tlanta: ASHR A SHRAE, AE, Inc Inc..

(2)

Air-Condit AirConditioning ioning Design Design for for Data Data Cen C entter erss-Accommodat odating ing Current CurrentLoads and and Planning Planning for the the Future; Christopher Kurkjian, PE, Jack Glass, PE, ASHRAE, Inc.

(3)

Calculating Tot otal al Cooling Requ Requiremen entts for Dat Data a Center ers s, APC, A PC, www.apc.com; http:/ / www www.apcm .apcmedia.com/ sales alesttools ools// N RAN -5T 5TE6HE_R E6HE_R2_EN 2_EN.pdf  .pdf 

(4)

Indu In dus strial Pe Perfo rforat rators Ass Associat ociation ion,, ht http:/ / www www.iper .iperf.or f.org/ g/ IP IPR RF_D F_DES ES.pdf  .pdf 

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PHYSICAL LAYER INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence at the Physical Layer Smart Cabling — Better Security

A

ny networ work k mana anager ger will wi ll tell you the importance of a fully docum document ented ed networ network. k. Th Thiis document entatio ation n should should include all all workst workstations, IP addresses addresses,, rout router er configurations, configurations, firewall firewall para param met eters, ers, etc. etc. Bu Butt this document entaation may fall fall short at the physica physicall layer la yer.. In particular, particular, older older networks networks that that have have gone through through many Moves M oves,, Adds A dds and Changes (MAC work) are not likely to have current documentation. In real time – during a crisis, this can mean the difference between quickly solving and wasting precious time locating the source of the problem

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Perhaps the best illustration is an example taken from a customer that had an issue with a errant device on the network. net work. To provide some background, the the com company pany had 5 buildings buildi ngs in the campus. A laptop laptop was creating a denia deniall of service service attack attack from fromth the e inside inside due to a virus. virus. Th The e switch would shutdow down n the the port, IT IT would go to the telecommunica unications tions area to determine the loc locatio ation n of the the misbehaving device. device. But when IT got to the physical location of the switch, the physical layer (largely undocumented) became an issue – because short short of traci tracing ng the the cable, th there ere was no way to find the loca location tion of the the laptop. Th They ey began tracing the cables only to find that the laptop was no longer there. The laptop user felt that his loss of connectivity connectivi ty wa was s due to a problem problem wi with th the net networ work. k. Each time time he wa was s disconnected, he moved to another location only to find that after a period of time, he would quickly lose his connection again. In this scenario scenario,, th the e switches switches were doing doing their their job j ob by by shutt shutting down down his port. port. Th The e user user was troubleshooting troubleshooting his own problems. problems. IT was having trouble trouble finding findi ng him to correct the problem.. .... and the cycle continued. continued. At one point, the user decided that it must have something to do with the equipment on that particular floor, and moved to to another flo floor. or. After bei being ng disconnect disconnected ed again, again, he decided decided that that it must be securi security ty settings for that that buil buildi ding. ng. He then then moved to another another building. building. And again, agai n, the the cycle continue continued. d. Roughly 5 hours later, the the laptop and and user user were found and the pro problems blems were corrected. corrected. For the IT staff, staff, this was was 5 hours of pure chaos! chaos! For the user, this was 5 hours of pure frustration. frustration. In other scenarios, compliance and overall network security can also be compromised at the physical layer. Most companies have some desks and cubicles that are largely unoccupied and used by more transient staff  members. Conference rooms wi with th avai availab lable le ports can also pose a risk. In many vertical vertical markets where where compliance is required, these open ports can cause a company to fail their audits unless they are shut down completely or a means exists to allow only certain users can gain access to the network through these connections.  Th  T he on only ly other op opttio ion n is to fi fire rewa wall ll these po port rts from the ac acttual netwo work rk,, wh whic ich h wo wou uld mean a re reco con nfi figu gurrat atio ion n each time that that an authoriz authorized ed network network user wanted wanted to utililiz ize e the the port. All of of these these risks and their remedies can be burdensome to an IT manager. In the data center and telecommunications areas, technicians provide an additional risk if they accidentally unplug something that that should should not be unplugg unplugged. ed. Suppo Suppose se the accidental accidental disconnect disconnect wa was s a VoI oIP P swi switch tch or a critical cri tical server. W hat if a piece pi ece of equipm equipment ent leaves a facili faci lity ty th that at contai ains ns critica criticall informatio information, n, as reported many times in the the news recently? How does does a networ network k mana anager ger know who has has accessed the networ work? k? W here did di d they they access th the e network? network? How is i s access access document ented? ed? And finally finally, how are moves moves,, adds adds and changes managed? THE INTELLIGENT ANSWER

Intelligent patching has been around for some time, however, the functionality has improved from the origi ori ginal nal releases. releases. In any of the scenari scenarios os above, an an intell intellig igent ent infr infrastruct astructure ure mana anagem gement ent system, such as ™ Siemon’s MapIT G2 would have allowed the network manager to right click on the offending device, view the th e entire channel and even loca locate te th the e device on a graphical graphical map. (See Fig Figure ure 1).

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Figure 1: G raphical Layout of Building W ith Out Outlet Locations

In the the figure above, above, you will will notice that th the e outlet outlet location is is clearly marked marked on the draw drawing. ing. By adding adding the the physicall layer, network ica network managers are no no longer limited limited to upper upper layer information information only. only. W hile knowing MA MAC adaddress, IP address and logon information is certainly helpful, should physical layer documentation be out of sync with the the actual actual infrastruct infrastructure, ure, finding finding problem devices devices can be a daunting. daunting. MapIT™ G2 intelligent patching bridges that gap. HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

 The system wo  Th work rks s thro rou ugh a co com mbin binat ation ion of sensor or--enab able led d har ardw dwar are e an and d sof ofttwa ware re.. O n the hardware side, MapIT G2 smart patch panels and fiber enclosures are configured with a sensor pad above each port. MapI MapIT T G 2 patch cords and jumpers jumpers have have a standard standard RJ RJ45 interface or a standar andard d fiber fiber connector connector,, and includes a “9th conductor” and contact pin designed to engage the sensor pad.  Th  T his ad addi dittio ion nal co con nnectio ion n al allo lows ws the system to de dettect an any y ph phy ysic ical al--la lay yer ch chan ange ges s in re real al time. Th This in info fo is fir irs st processed in the smart panels and fiber enclosures and displayed in an on-board graphic LCD for patch cord tracing, di diagnostics agnostics and technicia technician n guidance. A single, single, twisted-pai twisted-pairr cable cable channel channel connects connects the sm smart panel to a 1U MapIT G2 Master Control Panel, which can monitor up to 2880 ports, relaying the information to the central database running MapIT Im software.  The sof  Th ofttwa ware re is pu purrch chas ase ed on a pe per po port rt ba bas sis an and d is is wr writ ittten to wo work rk eit ith her as a st stan anda dalo lon ne ap appl plic icat atio ion n, or or ca can n be integrated with an existing existing network network manageme management nt packa package. ge. In an int integrated egrated configuration, configuration, a device and its i ts channel can be traced from within within a network manageme anagement nt packa package ge such such as HP OpenView. OpenView. A sim simple right right cli click ck on the device and the MapIT IM software can be launched showing an immediate trace of the physical cable.  Th  T he trac ace e in inc clu lude des s al alll th the in info form rmat atio ion n ab abou outt the chan ann nel incl inclu udi din ng pat patch cor ords ds,, whe where the chan ann nel te termin inat ate es, the number of connectors in the channel, and can show the physical location of the device on a CAD drawing.

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LAN/WAN

MapIT IM Server Master Control Panel

Switch

Work Area Outlets Smart Patch Panels

 The sof  Th ofttwa warre re read ads s the ob obje ject ctid ide entif ific icat atio ion n in inffor orm matio ion n for netwo work rk de dev vic ice es throu ough gh SNMP an and d ca can n al als so send SNM SN MP (including version 3) traps to to shut shut down ports ports based on user user defined param para met eters. ers. Th This is provides provides great benefit when when the the physica physicall layer layer is included. For instance, instance, if i f you wanted wanted to know know the the location of every PC on yourr network you network that that was runn running ing W indows 2000 20 00,, you could could have it displayed graphically graphically as well as in report format.  Th  T he Vir irttual W ir irin ing g Clos Close et (VWC) mod odu ule pr prov ovid ide es do doc cumentatio ion n on the tele leco com mmunic icat atio ion ns ra rac ck in incl clu udi din ng connectivity,, patch connectivity patch cord length, length, where where each each device is connected, connected, etc. It becomes a data dict dictio ionary nary for your your racks and/ and/ or cabine cabinetts. The benef benefit it of MapIT Ma pIT G 2 that it will track MAC MA C work without without hav having ing to update update spreadspreadsheet she ets s and document entation ation manually. It also includes a work order module module for work order order creation. Work orders can be dispatched, displayed onsite on smart anel displays and the changes made are automatically tracked, allowing a manager to know when the work was completed.  This can al  Th als so be in inttegr grat ated wi witth other securi ritty systems such as N etBotz® (owned by APC®) or video cameras. Based on user defined triggers, for instance when someone unplugs a VoIP switch, a camera can snap a picture, write it to the log, and as you would expect from management software, can provide alarms via email, cell, pager, com complete with escalation for unanswered unanswered alarm alarms. Cont ontacts acts can be placed placed on doors to rooms, cabinets, inet s, etc. As soon soon as the cont contact act is broken, the same logging loggi ng can occur including including a photo in the the log indicating i ndicating not only date and time ime,, but additionally additionally photographic/ photographic/ video evidence of the the culpri culprit. t. W hile these these are only a few of the the benefits benefits of MapIT Ma pIT G2, G2, as one can see see they they are sig signifi nificant. cant. If we go back to the examples at the beginning – in the campus scenario, a simple right click would have saved 5 hours of chasing down a user. N ot only would the the document entation ation be up to to date, allowi allowing ng the the network manager to know where that switch port terminated in the building, it could also have shown this graphi gra phical cally. ly. They very likely likely would have have go gott tten to the user before his frustrati frustration on star started ted and he moved the the first time. W here security security and compli compliance ance related issues issues are concerned, concerned, the additional additional document documentation and loggi logging ng abilabilities not only enhance a company’s security position, but also answer many of the compliance related requirement quirem ents s of docum documentation and and access logging. logging. Afte fterr all, all, most troubleshoot roubleshooting ing and inve i nvest stig igations ations start start with with who, what, where, when, why why and how. By adding adding the the physica physicall layer layer to to your overall management th the e answers to these questions are much easier and more thorough.

For a demonstration of MapIT G2 intelligent patching that provides the full capabilities of the system, please contact your Sim Simeon sales represent representative. Isn’t it titime to to docum document and monitor all of your network?

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Appendix

Screened and Shielded Cabling ............ ......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................49 ..........49 IEEE 802.3 at PoE Plus Operating Efficiency ............ ......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... ...............64 ..64

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Screened and Shielded Cabling  – Noise Immunity Immunity,, Grounding, and and the Antenna Myth Screened and shielded Screened shielded twistedtwisted-pai pairr copper cabling cabli ng has been around for quite quite awhile. A globa globall standard standard in i n the the 1980s, 1980s, varieties of screened and shielded have remained a mainstay in some markets, while many others migrated largely to unshielded (UTP) cables. Recently, Recent ly, however, the ratification ratification of the the 10G 10G BASE-T st standard andard for 10G 10Gb/ b/ s Ethernet over copper cabli cabling ng has reestabli reestablishe shed d the commercial viability of screened and shielded systems and fueled greater adoption of these systems in previously UTP centric markets. In this competitive landscape, many confusing and often contradictory messages are finding their way to the marketplace, challenging lengi ng both cabling cabli ng experts and end-users end-users alike. alike. Th This is white whitepa paper per addresses addresses the most common questio ions, ns, issues and misconceptions regarding screened and shielded cabling: CHAPT CHAP TER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . .INTRODUCTION .INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OF SHIELDING CHAPT CHAP TER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . .BALANCED .BALANCED TRANSMISSION CHAPT CHAP TER 3 . . . . . . . . . . . .FUNDAMENTALS .FUNDAMENTALS OF NOISE INTERFERENCE CHAPT CHAP TER 4 . . . . . . . . . . . .GROUND .GROUND LOOPS CHAPT CHAP TER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . .DESIGN .DESIGN OF SCREENS AND SHIELDS CHAPT CHAP TER 6 . . . . . . . . . . . .GROUNDING .GROUNDING OF CABLING SYSTEMS CHAPT CHAP TER 7 . . . . . . . . . . . .THE .THE ANTENNA MYTH CHAPT CHAP TER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . .THE .THE GROUND LOOP MYTH CHAPT CHAP TER 9 . . . . . . . . . . . .WHY .WHY USE SCREENED/ FULLY-SHIELD Y-SHIELDED ED CABLING

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CHAPTER 1: Introduction and History of Shielding In the the 1980 19 80’s, ’s, LAN cabl cabling ing emerged emerged to support the the first comput puter er networks networks beginning beginning to appear in in the the commercia erciall buildi building ng space. Th These ese fir first st net networks works were typic ypicall ally y supsup-

FIGURE 1: IBM. TYPE 1 CABLE

ported by IBM Token Ring transmission, which was standardized as IEEE 802.5 in 1985 19 85.. Cabl abling ing for the Token Ring network consisted consisted of “IBM Type Type 1” cable cable mated mated to unique herm hermaphrod aphroditic itic connectors. IBM Type Type 1 cable cable consists consists of 2 loosely twi twist sted, ed, foil foil shielded, sh ielded, 150 150 ohm ohm pai pairs rs su surroun rrounded ded by an ove overall rall braid brai d as shown shown in figure 1. This media was an optim optimum choice for for the su suppor pportt of first generation generation LAN topologi topologies es for several reasons. Its design took advantage of the twisted-pair transmission protocol’s ability to maximize distance (Token Ring served distances up to 100 meters) and data rates using cost effective transceivers. In additio addition, n, the foi foils ls and braid brai d improved crosstalk crosstalk and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance to levels that could not yet be realized by early generation twisted-pair design and manufacturing capability. N ot surprisingl surprisingly y, a handful of buildings buildings are stil stilll supported by this robust cabl cabling ing type today. By 1990, 199 0, LAN indust industry ry experts were beginning to recognize recognize the the performance and reliabililitty that reliabi that switched switched Ethernet Ethernet provid provided ed over Token Ring. Ring. Concurrently, twisted-pair twisted-pair design and manufacturing capabilities had progressed to the point where individual foils were no longer required to provide internal crosstalk isolation and overall shields were not necessary to provide immunity against outside noise sources in the 10BASE T and and 100B 100BASE ASE--T ban bands of of opera operattion ion.. The publ publica icattion of of both both th the 10BASE 10BASE--T appl applic icat ation ion in 1990 and and the the firs first edit edition AN SI/ EIA/ TIA-568 gene generic ric cabling cabli ng standard in 199 1 991, 1, in conjunct conjunction ion wit wi th the the lower lower cost ass associated ociated with with unsh unshielded ielded twisted-pair twist ed-pair (UTP (UTP)) cabling, cabling, fir firm mly establ established ished UTP cabling cabli ng as the media of choice choi ce for new LAN network designs designs at that time time.. 15 years later later, as as Ethernet app applilicatio cation n technolo technology gy has evolved to to 10G 10 G bps transmit rates, a marked resurgence in the specification specifi cation of screened and fully-shielded fully-shielded twist twisted-pair ed-pair cabli cabling ng syste system ms has occurred. Th This is guidebook guidebook addresse addresses s the the practical benefits of screens and shields and how they can enhance the performance of traditional UTP cabling designs intended to suppor su pportt high bandwid bandwidtth transm transmission. It also dispels di spels common myt yths hs and misconceptions misconceptions regarding regardi ng the behavior behavior of screens and shields.

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CHAPTER 2: Balanced Transmission  The be  Th ben nefit of spe pec cif ify yin ing g ba bala lan nce ced d twi wis sted-pa pair ir cab ablin ling g for da datta tra ran nsmis iss sio ion n is cl cle ear arly ly de dem mon ons strat ate ed by examin inin ing g the type pes s of  signals signal s that are present present in buildi building ng enviro environm nment ents. s. Electrical signals signals can propag propagate ate in either either comm common mode or different di fferentia iall (i.e. (i. e. “bala “ba lanced”) nced”) mode. Com omm mon mode describes descri bes a sig signal nal scheme between between two conductors conductors where the the voltag voltage e propaga propagates tes in phase phase and is is referenced referenced to to ground. Examples of comm common mode transmission include include dc circuits circuits,, buildi building ng power, cable cable TV, HV HVAC circuits, and security security devic devices. es. Electromagnetic noise noise induced from di dist sturbers urbers such such as motors, transform transformers, fluorescent fluorescent lilights, ghts, and R F sources sources,, propagates also propagates propag in com monwith mode. Virtually everytwisted-pair every signal and signal disturber dist urber type ty pe inforth the e buildi building ng environment inates common mode, one notable exception: cabling is optimized balanced or different di fferentia iall mode transm transmission. Differential mode transmission refers refers to to two signals signals that have have equal magnitudes, magnitudes, but are 180º 18 0º out of phase, and that prop propaga agatte over two conductors of a twistedtwisted-pai pair. r. In a balanced balanced circuit, circuit, two sig signals nals are referenced referenced to each other other rather than one sig signal nal being being referenced referenced to ground. Th There ere is no ground connectio ion n in a balanced balanced circuit ci rcuit and, as as a result, these types of circuits are inherently immune to interference from most common mode noise disturbers. In theory, theory, common mode noise noise couples onto each conductor of a perfectly perfectly balanced balanced twisted-pai twisted-pairr equally. Diff Different erentia iall mode transceivers detect the difference in peak-to-peak magnitude between the two signals on a twisted-pair by performing a subtraction operation. operation. In a perfectly balanced balanced cabli cabling ng syste system m, the induced common mode signal signal would appear a ppear as as two two equal voltages that are simply subtracted out by the transceiver, thereby resulting in perfect noise immunity. In the real world, however, twisted-pair cables are not perfectly balanced and their limitations must be understood by applilication app cation developers and syste system m specifi specifiers ers ali alike. ke. TIA and ISO / IEC com committ ittees ees take ext extrem reme care in specifyi specifying ng balance balance parameters such as TCL (transverse conversion loss), TCTL (transverse converse transfer loss) and ELTCTL (equal level transverse converse vers e transfer transfer loss) loss) in their their standards for higher grade grade (i.e. (i. e. cate categor gory y 6 and a nd above) struct ructured ured cabling. cabli ng. By exam examini ining ng the the performance limits for these parameters and noting when they start to approach the noise isolation tolerance required by various Ethernet applications, it becomes clear that the practical operating bandwidth defined by acceptable levels of common mode noise noise immunity due to balance balance is approxi approxim mately 30 MHz M Hz.. W hil hile e this provides provides more than than suffi suffici cient ent noi noise se immunity for applications such as 100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T, Shannon capacity modeling demonstrates that this level provid pro vides es no headroom headroom to the mini inim mum 10 10G G BAS BASE-T E-T noi noise se immunity requirements requirements.. Fortunately, the the use use of shiel shieldi ding ng signifi signi ficantly cantly improves noise immunity, doubles the available Shannon capacity, and substantially increases practical operating bandwidths for future applications. An effect of degraded twisted-pair signal balance above 30 MHz is modal conversion, which occurs when differential mode signals sig nals convert convert to comm common mode signal signals s and vice versa. The conversion can ca n adversely im impa pact ct noise immunity from th the e environment, as well as contribute to crosstalk between pairs and balanced cables and must be minimized whenever possible. possibl e. Shieldi Shielding ng can decrease the the potent potentia iall for modal conversion by lim li miting noise noi se coupled onto onto the twist twisted-pair ed-pair from from th the e environment.

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CHAPTER 3: Fun Funda dam ment ental als s of N oi oise se Inte Interference rference All appl applica ications tions require positive signal-to-n signal-to-noise oise (SN R) margi margins ns to to transmit with wi thin in alloca a llocatted bit bi t error rate (BER (BER) levels. levels.  This mean  Th ans s that the dat data a sign signal al be bein ing g tra tran nsmit ittted must be of gr great ate er mag agn nit itu ude than al alll of the com combin bine ed nois noise e dis distturbe bers rs coupled onto the transmission line (i.e. the structured cabling). As shown in figure 2, noise can be coupled onto twisted-pair cabling in any or all of three ways: 1. Differential noise (Vd): Noi N oise se induced from an adjacent adjacent twi wist sted-pair ed-pair or balanced balanced cable cable 2. Environmental noise (Ve): Noi N oise se induced by an external electromagnetic field 3. Ground loop noise (Vg): Noi N oise se induced by a difference in potentia iall between conduct conductor or ends

FIGURE 2: LAN NOISE SOURCES

l

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Different applications have varying sensitivity to interference from these noise sources depending upon their capabilities. For example, the 10GBASE-T application is commonly recognized to be extremely sensitive to alien crosstalk (differential mode cable-to-cable coupling) because its digital signal processing (DSP) capability electronically cancels internal pair-to-pair crosstalk within each channel. Unlike pair-to-pair crosstalk, alien crosstalk cannot be cancelled by DSP. Conversely, since the magnitude of alien crosstalk is very small compared to the magnitude of pair-to-pair crosstalk, the presence of alien crosstalk minimally impacts the performance of other applications, such as 100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T that employ partial or no crosstalk cancelling algorithms. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) describes both a system’s susceptibility to interference from (immunity) and potential to dist di sturb urb (emissions) outside outside sources and is i s an im important indicator indicator of a system system’s abi abilility ty to co-e co-exist xist with other other electronic/ elect electric rical al devices. N oi oise se immunity and emissi issions ons performance is recipro reciprocal cal,, meani meaning ng that that th the e cabling cabli ng syste system m’s abili abi lity ty to mai aintain ntain immunity to interference is is proportio proportional nal to the the syst system em’s potential to radia radiate. te. Interesting ingly, ly, while while much unnecessary unnecessary empha phasis sis is placed on immunity considerations, it is an understood fact that structured cabling systems do not radiate or interfere with other equipment or systems in the telecommunications environment! Differentiall noise dist Differentia disturbers: urbers: Alilien en crosstalk crosstalk and internal internal pair-t pair-to-pair o-pair crosst crosstalk are examples examples of different differentia iall mode noise dist disturbers urbers that must be mini inim miz ized ed through through proper proper cabli cabling ng system systemdesi design. gn. Susceptibi Susceptibilility ty to interference from di differentia fferentiall mode sources is dependent upon system balance and can be improved by isolating or separating conductors that are interfering with each other. Cabling with improved balance (i.e. category 6 and above) exhibits better internal crosstalk and alien crosstalk performance. Since no cable perfectly such using dielectric to category separate 6A conductors or using foiltotohave isolate conduct orsisare used to used tobalanced, further improve further imstrategies prove crosst alkas perfor perform mance. Formaterial example, 6 A F/ UTP cabling cabli ng ismetal proven substantially superior alien crosstalk performance than category 6A UTP cabling because its overall foil construction reduces alien ali en crosst crosstalk coupling coupling to to virtually zero. Cate ategor gory y 7 S/ FT FTP P is proven to have have subst substantially superior pairpai r-tto-pair and and alien alien crosst crosstalk alk performance than any category 6A cabling design because its individual foiled twisted-pair construction reduces pair-to-pair and alien ali en crosstalk crosstalk coupling to virtually zero. zero. Th These ese superior crosstalk crosstalk levels could not be achieved solely solely through compli pliant ant balance performance.

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Environmental Environment al noise noi se di dist sturbers: urbers: Environm Environment ental al noise noi se is electrom electromag agnet netiic noise that that is comprised of mag agnet netiic fields fields (H) generate gene rated d by induct inductive ive coupling (ex (express pressed in in A/ A/ m) and electric fields fields (E) generat generated ed by capaci capacittive coupling (ex (express pressed in in V/ m). Magnetic field coupling occurs at low frequencies (i.e. 50Hz or 60 Hz) where the balance of the cabling system is more than suffici su fficient ent to ensure ensure immunit unity y, which means means that that its impact can be ignored for all all ty types pes of balanced balanced cabli cabling. ng. Elect Electric ric fields, however,, can ever can produce common mod ode e voltag voltages es on ba bala lanced nced cables cables depending dependi ng on their their frequency frequency.. The mag agnitude nitude of the the voltag voltage e induced can be modeled assuming that the cabling system is susceptible to interference in the same manner as a loop antenna [1]. For ease of analysis, equation (1) represents a simplified loop antenna model that is appropriate for evaluating the impact on the electric field generated due to various interfering noise source bandwidths as well as the dist di stance ance relationship of of the the twi twist sted-pairs to the the ground plane. N ote that a more detailed model, which speciall specially y includes the the incidence angle of the electric fields, is required to accurately calculate actual coupled noise voltage. Ve = 2πAE

(1)

λ

W he here: re: λ is the wavelength of the interfering noise source A = the area of the loop formed by the disturbed length of the cabling conductor ( l ) suspended an average height (h) above the ground plane E = the electric field intensity of the interfering source

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 The wa  Th wav vele len ngth, λ, of the the interfering interfering source source can range anywhere anywhere from 50 500, 0,00 000m 0m for a 60 60 Hz signal to shorte shorterr than than 1m 1m for RF signals in the 10 100 0 MHz M Hz and higher higher band. Th The e electric electric field fi eld strengt strength h density density varies depending upon the the disturber, disturber, is dependent upon proximity to the source, and is normally reduced to null levels at a distance of .3m from the source.  Th  T he equ equat ation ion de dem mon ons stra rattes th that a 60 Hz sign ignal al re result lts s in an ele elect ctri ric c fie field dis distturb rban ance ce that ca can n on only be be meas asu ure red d in th the thousandt th ousandths hs of mV range, while while sources operating in in the the MHz range can generate a fairly fai rly large large electric electric field fi eld dist disturbance. urbance. For reference, 3V/ reference, 3V/ m is considered to be a reasonabl reasonable e approxim approximation of the average elect electric ric field field present present in a light light indust industria rial/ l/ commercia erciall enviro environm nment and 10V/ 10 V/ m is considered to be a reasonable approxi approxim mation of the the average average electric field present in an industrial environment.  The one  Th one vari variab able le th that impa pact cts th the mag magn nit itu ude of th the volt voltag age e coupl couple ed by th the ele electric field field is the the loop loop ar are ea, A, that is calculated by multiplying the disturbed length of the cabling (l ) by the the average average height height (h) from th the e gro ground und pla plane. ne. Th The e crosscro ss-sectiona sectionall view in i n figure figure 3 depicts depi cts the common mode currents that are generated generated by an electric field. fi eld. It is these these currents that induce unwanted signals on the outermost conductive element of the cabling (i.e. the conductors themselves in a UTP environment or the overall screen/ shield in in a screened/ screened/ fully-s fully-shielded hielded environment environment). W hat becomes readily appa apparent rent is that that the the common mode impedance, as determined by the distance (h) to the ground plane, is not very well controlled in UTP environment environme nts. s. Th This is im impeda pedance nce is dependent upon upon factors factors such such as distance from met etal allilic c raceways, raceways, met etal allilic c structu structures res surrounding the pairs, the use of non-metallic raceways, and termination location. Conversely, this common mode impedance is well defined and controlled in in screene screened/ d/ fully-s fully-shielded hielded cabli cabling ng enviro environm nment ents s since since the the screen screen and/ or shield acts as the the ground plane. Average approximat approximatio ions ns for (h) can range anywhere from 0.1 to 1 meter for UTP cabling, but are significantly nifi cantly more constrai constrained ned (i.e. (i.e. less less th than an 0.0 0.001 01m m) for screened screened and fullyfully-shielded shielded cabli cabling. ng. Th This is means means that that screene screened d and fullyshielded cabling theoretically offers 100 to 1,000 times the immunity protection from electric field disturbances than UTP cabling does!

FIGURE 3: COMMON MODE CURRENTS

It is important to remember that the overall susceptibility of twisted-pair cables to electric field disturbance is dependent upon both the balance performance of the the cabling and and the the presence presence of a screen or shield. shield. Well bala balanced nced (i.e. cate category gory 6 and above) cables cab les should should be immune to electrom electromag agnet netiic interference up up to 30 M Hz Hz.. The presence of a shiel shield d or screen is necess nece ssar ary y to avoid elect electrom romagnet agnetic ic inte interference rference at higher frequencies, frequencies, which which is is an especially especially critical critical consideration for nextgeneration applica applications. tions. For example, it i t is reasonable to model that an emergi erging ng application appli cation using using DSP techniques techniques wi willll require a mini inim mum SN SNR R of 20 dB at 10 100M 0MHz Hz.. Since the the mini inim mum isola isolation tion yielded by balance alone is also 20 dB dB at 100 MHz, the addition of a screen or shield is necessary to ensure that this application has sufficient noise immunity headroom for operation.

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CHAPTER 4: Ground Loops Ground loops develop when there is more than one ground connection and the difference in common mode voltage potentia potent iall at th these ese gro ground und connections introd introduces uces (generates) noi noise se on the cab cabliling ng as shown in figure figure 4. It is a misconception that common mode noise from ground loops can only appear on screens and shields; this noise regularly appears on the the twi twist sted-pairs as well. well. O ne key key point point abo about ut th the e voltage voltage generated by ground loops loops is that that its waveform waveform is directly di rectly related to the the profile of the the building building AC power. In the the US, the the primary primary noise noise frequen frequency cy is 60 Hz H z and and its related harmonic, harm onic, which is is often often referred referred to as AC “hum”. In other other regions of the the world, th the e primary noise frequency frequency is 50 Hz Hz and a nd its related harmonic. FIGURE 4: INTRODUCTION OF GROUND LOOPS

Chassis/Cabinet/Rack

Work Area Equipment Shielding

Signal Source

V S

Group Loop Current

Telcom Room

Work Area

V g Ground Potential Difference - Ground Loop Source

Note:  Shield Note:  At

grounded at the TR. the WA there is a ground path to shield due to the equipment chassis or cabinet.

Since each twist twisteded-pai pairr is is connected connected to a bal balun un transform transformer er and com comm mon mode mode noise noi se rejection circuitry circuitry at both the the NIC N IC and network equipment ends, differences in the turns ratios and common mode ground impedances can result in common mode noise. noi se. Th The e mag agnitude nitude of the the induced noise noi se on the twi twist sted-pai ed-pairs rs can be reduced, but not eli elim mina inated, ted, through the the use use of common mode terminations, chokes, and filters within the equipment. G round loops induce induced d on the screen screen// shield typically typically occur because of a di differen fference ce in pot potent entia iall between the ground connection connectio n at the telecom telecomm munica unications tions grounding groundi ng busbar (TGB) (TGB) and the the buildi building ng ground ground connection provid provided ed through through the net net-work wor k equipment chassi chassis s at the wor work k area end of the cab cabliling. ng. N ote that it is not mand andator atory y for equipm equipment manufac anufactu turers rers to to provide provid e a low low im impedance buildi building ng ground path path from th the e shield shielded ed RJ45 RJ45 ja jack ck through through the the equip equipm ment chassis. Som Somet etime imes s the the chassis is isolated from the building ground with a protective RC circuit and, in other cases, the shielded RJ45 jack is completely isolated from the chassis ground.

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 TIA an  TIA and d IS ISO O st stan anda darrds id ide entif ify y the threshol old d wh whe en an exce ces ssiv ive e gr grou oun nd lo loop op de dev velo lops ps as wh whe en the di difffe fere ren nce in po pottential be be-tween the voltage measured at the shield at the work area end of the cabling and the voltage measured at the ground wire of  the electri electrical cal out outlet let used used to supply power power to the workstation exceeds 1.0 1.0 Vrms. Vrms. This difference difference in potentia potentiall should be measured and corrected in the field to ensure proper network equipment operation, but values in excess of 1.0 Vrms are very rarely found in count countries, su such ch as the the US, th that at have carefully designed and and specified specifi ed buildi building ng and grounding grounding system systems. Furt Furtherm hermore, since the common mode voltage induced by ground loops is low frequency (i.e. 50 Hz or 60 Hz and their harmonic), the balance performance of the cabling plant by itself is sufficient to ensure immunity regardless of the actual voltage magnitude.

CHAPTER 5: Design of Screens and Shields Shielding offers the benefits of significantly improved pair-to-pair crosstalk performance, alien crosstalk performance, and noise immunity that cannot be match atched ed by any other other cabling design design strategy. Category 6A and lower rate rated d F/ UTP cables are construct ructed ed with with an overall foil foil su surrounding rrounding four twisted-pairs twisted-pairs as shown sh own in figure 5. Cate ategory gory 7 and higher rated rated S/ FT FTP P cables are cons consttructed with an overall braid surrounding four individually foil shielded pairs as shown in figure fig ure 6. O ptional drain drai n wi wires res are som somet etime imes s provid provided. ed. Shielding materials are selected for their ability to maximize immunity to electric field disturbance by their capability to reflect the incoming wave, their absorption propertties, and their proper their abili abi lity ty to provid provide e a low im impedance signal path. As a rule, more conductive shielding materials yield greater amounts of incoming signal reflection. Solid aluminum foil is the preferred shielding media for telecommunications cabling because it provides 100% coverage against high frequency (i.e. greater than 100 MHz) leakage, as well as low electrical resistance resist ance when properly connected connected to ground. Th The e thicknes thickness s of the the foil shield is is influenced infl uenced by the the skin skin effect of the the interferi interfering ng noise currents. currents. Skin effect is the the phenomenon where the depth of penetration of the noise current decreases as frequency frequen cy increases. Typica ypicall foil foil thickness thicknesses es are 1.5 1. 5 mil mils s (0. (0.03 038mm 8mm) to to 2.0 2. 0 mil mils s (0.051mm) to match the maximum penetration depth of a 30 MHz signal.  Th  T his de des sig ign n ap appr proa oach ch ensure res s that hig igh her frequ que ency sig ign nal als s wi will ll not be ab able le to pa pas ss through the foil shield. Lower frequency signals will not interfere with the twistedpairs as a result of their good balance performance. Braids and drain wires add strength to cable assemblies and further decrease the end-to-end electrical resistance of the shield when the cabling system is properly connected to ground.

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FIGURE 5: F/UTP CONSTRUCTION

FIGURE 6: S/FTP CONSTRUCTION

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CHAPTER 6: Grounding and Cabling Systems AN SI-J-ST SI-J-STDD-60 607-A-20 7-A-2002 02 defines the the building buildi ng telecommunications grounding and bonding bonding infrast i nfrastruct ructure ure that that originate origi nates s at the service servic e equipment (pow (power) er) ground and extends throughout the buildi building. It is impor important tant to recogniz recognize that that the infrast infrastructure ructure ap ap-plies pli es to to both both UTP UTP and screened/ fullyfully-shielded shielded cabli cabling ng systems. Th The e Standard mandates mandates that: that: 1. The telecommunications main grounding busbar (TMGB) is bonded to the main building service ground. Actual methods, materials and appropriate specifications for each of the components in the telecommunications grounding and bonding system vary according to system and network size, capacity and local codes. 2. If used, telecommunications grounding busbars (TGB’s) are bonded to the TMGB via the telecommunications bonding backbone backbone.. 3. All racks and metallic pathways are connected to the TMGB or TGB. 4. The cabling plant and telecommunications equipment are grounded to equipment racks or adjacent metallic pathways.  TIA an  TIA and d IS ISO O st stan anda dard rds s pr prov ovid ide e on one e ad addi dittio ion nal step for the gr grou oun ndi din ng of scr cre eened an and d shie ield lde ed ca cabl blin ing g systems. Spe pec cif ific ical ally ly, clause claus e 4.6 of AN A N SI/ TIA IA--56 568-B 8-B.1 .1 and clause clause 11.3 11.3 of ISO/ ISO / IEC 118 11801 01:2 :200 002 2 state state that the cable shield shield shall shall be bonded to the the  TGB  T GB in the tele lec communic icat atio ion ns roo oom m an and d that gr grou oun ndi din ng at the wo worrk ar are ea may be ac acc compl plis ish hed throu ough gh the equ quip ipm ment po powe werr connectio connect ion. n. Th This is procedure procedure is int i ntended ended to suppor supportt the the optimum config configuration uration of one one ground connectio connection n to mini inim miz ize e the the appearance of ground loops, pearance loops, but but recogni recognizes zes that that mult ultip iple le ground connectio connections ns may be prese present nt alo along ng the the cabling. cabli ng. Since the possibility that grounding at the work area through the equipment may occur was considered when the grounding and bonding recommendations specifi specified ed in AN SI-J-ST SI-J-STDD-60 607-A-20 7-A-2002 02 were developed, developed, there is no need need to to specificall specifically y avoid grounding grounding the the screened/ screen ed/ shielded system system at the the end user's PC or device. device. It is impor portant tant to note note th the e difference between a ground ground connection connection and a screen/ shield connection. A ground ground connectio connection n bonds the th e screened/ screened/ shielded cabli cabling ng syst system to the TG B or TM TMG B, while while a screened/ screened/ shield connectio connection n mai aint ntai ains ns elect electric rical al cont continuinuation of the cable screen/ shield through the screened/ screened/ shielded telecommunication connectors along the full full lengt length h of cabli cabling. ng. Part of the function of the screen or shield is to provide a low impedance ground path for noise currents that are induced on the th e shieldi shielding ng material. Com ompli pliance ance to to the the TIA and ISO specifica specificattio ions ns for the the para param met eters ers of cable and connecting hardware transfer impedance and coupling attenuation ensures that a low impedance path is maintained through all screen screened/ ed/ shielded connection point poi nts s in the cabling cabling system. For optim optimum ali alien en crosstalk and and noise im immunity performance, shield continuity should be maintained throughout the end to end cabling system The use of UTP patch cords in screened/ screen ed/ shielded cabling cabling systems should should be avoided. It is suggested that building end-users perform a validation to ensure that screened and shielded cabling systems are properly properl y ground to to the the TG TG B or TMG B. A recom recommended inspectio inspection n plan is to: to: 1. Visually inspect to verify verify that that all equipmentracks/ cabi cabinet nets/ met etalli allic c pathways are bonded to the the TG TGB or TGMB TGM B using using a 6 AWG AW G condu conduct ctor. or. 2. Visually inspect to verify that that all screened/ shielded patch panels are bonded to the TGB or TG TG MB using using a 6 AWG AW G conductor. 3. Perform a DC resist resistance ance test test to ensu ensure re that that each panel and rack/ cabi cabinet net grounding connect connectio ion n exhib exhibits its a DC reresistance measurement of <1 Ω bet between ween the bonding point poi nt of the the panel/ rack and the TG B or TM TM G B. (Note: (N ote: some local/ local/ regio regional nal standar standards ds specify a maxi axim mum DC resistance of <5 Ω at this location.) 4. Document th the e visual inspect inspectio ion, n, DC te test st resu results lts,, and all all oth other er appli applicabl cable e copper/ copper/ fib fiber er test test resu results lts..

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CHAPTER 7: T  Th he An Anttenna My Mytth It is a common myth myth that screens and shields shields can behave behave as antennas because they they are long long lengths lengths of metal al.. The fear is that screens and shields can “attract” signals that are in the environment or radiate signals that appear on the th e twi twist sted-pairs. ed-pairs. Th The e fact is that both screens screens and shield shields s and the copp copper er balanced balanced twisted-pairs twisted-pairs in i n a UTP cable cable willll behave wi behave as an antenna to some degree. The di difference fference is that, that, as as demonstrate onstrated d by the simpli simplifi fied ed loop loop antenna model, the noise that couples onto the screen or shield is actually 100 to 1,000 times smaller in mag agnitude nitude than than the noi noise se that is coupled coupled onto an unshielded twisted-pai twisted-pairr in the same same enviro environm nment ent.. This is due to to the internal pairs’ well-defined and controlled common mode impedance to the ground plane that is provided provid ed by the the screen/ screen/ shield. Follow Following ing is i s an analysis of the the two two types of signal signal dist disturbers urbers that can affect th the e noise immunity performance of balanced twisted-pair cabling: those below 30 MHz and those above 30 MHz. At frequencies frequencies below 30 MHz Hz,, noise currents from the enviro environm nment can penetrate penetrate the the screen/ screen/ shield and and affect the the twisted-pai twistedpairs. rs. How However ever,, the simplif simplified ied loop loop ant a ntenna enna model shows that th the e mag agnitude nitude of these these signa signals ls is substantially smaller (and mostly attenuated due to the absorption loss of the aluminum foil), meaning that unshielded shield ed twisted-pairs twisted-pairs in the same envir environm onment are actually actually subjected subjected to much a higher electric electric field fi eld strength. strength. The good news is that the balance performance of the cable itself is sufficient up to 30 MHz to ensure minimum susceptibilility ceptibi ty to dist di sturbance urbance from thes hese e noise sources regard regardless less of the the presence presence of an an overall screen/ shield.

FIGURE 7: UTP VS. F/UTP SUSCEPTIBILITY

At frequencies above 30 MHz, noise currents from the environment cannot penetrate the the screen/ shield due due to to skin effect effects s and th the e int internal ernal twist twisteded-pai pairs rs are fully im i mmune to int interference. erference. Unfortun Unfortunately ately, bal balance ance perform performance is is no longer sufficient to ensure adequate noise immunity for UTP cabling at these higher hig her frequencies. This can have an ad adverse verse impact on the cab cabliling ng system system’s abilility abi ty to mai aint ntai ain n the the SNR SN R levels required required by by applic applications ations emplo ploying ying DSP technology.  The pot  Th pote ential for for a cab cable le to beh behav ave e as as an an an antenna can can be be ex expe peri rim mental ally ly verified by arranging two balanced cables in series, injecting a signal into one cable to emulate a transmit antenna across a swept frequency range, and measuring the interference on an adjacent cable to emulate a receiving an2

* Data provided courtesy of NEXANS/Berk-Tek 

tenna[ Aspotent a ent ruleia thuint thum b: the hig higher herAthe th frequency of the noise source, source, the greater].the pot ialof l for im nterference. erference. se shown shown in figure figure 7,noi these coupling coupli ng between two UTP cables (shown in black) is a minimum of 40 dB worse than the interactio interact ion n between two properly grounded F/ UTP cabl cables es (sh (shown own in blue). It should be noted that 40 dB of margin corresponds to 100 times less voltage coupling, thus thus confirm confirming ing the the modeled predictions. Clearly, the UTP cable is radiating and receiving (i.e. behaving like an antenna) subst su bstantiall antially y more than the the F/ UTP cable!

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A second antenna myth is related to the inaccurate belief that common mode signals appearing on a screen or shield can only be dissipated through th rough a low low im impedance ground pat path. Th The e fear is is that that an ungrounded ungrounded screen will radiate signals that are “bouncing back and forth” and “building up” over th the e screen/ screen/ shield. Th The e fact is that that,, left ungrounded, ungrounded, a screen/ shield will will stil stilll subst substantial antially ly attenu attenuate ate hig higher her frequency frequency sig signals nals because of the low-pass filter formed by its resistance, distributed shunt capacitance paci tance,, and and series series inductance. inductance. Th The e effects of leaving both ends ends of a foil foi l twisted-pair cable ungrounded can also be verified using the previous previo us experi experim ment ental al met method. hod. As shown in fi figure gure 8, the coupli coupling ng between two UTP cables (shown in black) is still a minimum of 20 dB worse than th an the interaction interaction between between two ungrounded ungrounded F/ UTP cables (shown (shown in in blue). It should should be noted that that 20 dB dB of marg argin in corresponds corresponds to to 10 times less less voltage coupling. Eve Even n under under worst-case, ungrounded conditions, conditions, the the UTP cable cabl e behaves more like li ke an antenna antenna than the the F/ UTP cable!

FIGURE 8: UTP VS. UNGROUNDED F/UTP SUSCEPTIBILITY

* Data provided courtesy of NEXANS/Berk-Tek 

M odel odeled ed and experim experi ment ental al resu results lts clea clearly rly dispel di spel the the antenna antenna myth yth.. It is a fact that that screens screens and shields offer subst su bstantiall antially y improved improved noise noise immunity com compared pared to unsh unshield ielded ed construct constructio ions ns above 30 MHz Hz.. .... eve even n when improperly grounded.

CHAPTER 8: T  Th he Gro Grou und Loop My Mytth It is a comm common myth that gro ground und loops loops only appear appear on screened and shielded shielded cabli cabling ng systems. The fear is is that ground loops loops resulting resulting from a difference difference in voltage voltage pote potent ntia iall between a screen/ screen/ shielded cabli cabling ng syst system’s ground connections connectio ns cause excessive excessive common mode current currents s that that can adversely adversely affect data transmissi transmission. on. The fac factt is that both screens and shields and the balanced twisted-pairs in a UTP cable are affected by differences in voltage potential at the ends of the channel.  The di  Th diffference in the tra ran nsfo form rmer com common mod ode e termin inat atio ion n impe peda dan nce at the NIC and and th the netwo work rk equ quip ipm ment naturally naturall y results results in common mode noise noise current bei being ng induced on each twi wist sted-pai ed-pair. r. G roundi rounding ng of the the screened/ screene d/ shielded sys syste tem m in multipl multiple e locations locations can can also also result in comm common mode mode noise noi se current induced on the screen/ shield. How However ever,, these these common mode noise currents currents do not aff affect ect da data ta transmissio ission n beca because, use, regardless of their voltage magnitude, their waveform is always associated with the profile of the building AC power (i.e. (i.e. 50 Hz or 60 Hz Hz). ). Due to the excellent excellent bal balance ance of the the cabling cabli ng at low frequencies, frequencies, com common mode currents induced onto the twisted-pair either directly from equipment impedance differentials or coupled from a screen// shield are screen are simply simply subtracted subtracted out by the transceiver as part part of the differential trans transm mission alg algori orith thm m.

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CHAPTER 9: W hy us use e Scree Screene ned/ d/ Fu Fullylly-Shielded Shielded Cabli Cabling ng  Th  T he pe perf rfor orm man anc ce be ben nefit its s of usin ing g scr cre eened an and d fu full lly y-shie ield lde ed systems ar are e numero rou us an and d in inc clu lude de:: 1. Reduced pair-to-pair crosstalk in fully-shielded designs 2. crosstalk screened and fully-shielded designs 3. Reduced Screenedalien category 6A in cable diameters are generally smaller than 6A UTP cables allowing greater pathway fill/ utilization 4. Substantially improved noise immunity at all frequencies and especially above 30 MHz when cable balance starts to significantly degrade 5. Significantly increased Shannon capacity for future applications

CONCLUSIONS Achievable SN R margi argin n is dependent upon the the combi bined ned properties of cabli cabling ng balance balance and the common mode and di differfferentia ent iall mode mode noise noise immunit unity y provided by screens screens and shields. Appli pplications cations rely on positive SNR SN R margi argin n to to ensure ensure proper sigsignal transmission and mini inim mum BER BER.. W ith the emergence of 10G 10 GBA BASE-T SE-T, it’s it’s beco becom me clear that the noi noise se isola solation tion provided provided by good good bala balance nce alone is is just barely su suffici fficient ent to support transm transmission objectives. objectives. Th The e alien ali en crosstalk and and noise im immunit unity y benefits provided by F/ UTP and S/ FT FTP P cabling cabli ng designs have been been demonstrated to to offer alm almost ost double the Shannon capacity capacity and this perform performance advantage advantage has caught the atten attention tion of appli applicati cation on developers developers and system system speci specifi fiers. ers. It’s often sai said d that that the telecom te lecomm munications industry industry has come full full circle ci rcle in in the the specification specification of its preferred media ty type. pe. In actuality, actuality, today’s screened screened and fullyfully-shielded shielded cabli cabling ng systems represent represent a fusio fusion n of best features features of the the last two two generat generatio ions ns of LA LAN cabl cabling: ing: excellent bal bal-ance to protect against low frequency interference and shielding to protect against high frequency interference.

BIBLIOGRAPHY  [1] B. Lord, Lord, P. P. Kish Ki sh,, and J. J . Walli W alling, ng, N ordx/ CDT, “Balance Measurem Measurements of UTP UTP Connecting Hardware”, Hardware”, 199 1996 6 [2] M. Pelt, Alcatel Cabling Systems, “Cable to Cable Coupling”, 1997 [3] M. Pelt, D. Hess, Alcatel Cabling Systems, “The Relationship between EMC Performance and Applications”, 1998 [4] Alcatel Cabling Systems, “The Impact of Cabling Installation Practices on High Speed Performance”, 1999 [5] L. Halme and R. Kyoten, “Background and Introduction to EM screening (Shielding) Behaviors and Measurements of Coaxial and Symmetrical Cables, Cable Assemblies, and Connectors”, IEE Colloquium on Screening Effectiveness Measurements (Ref. No. 1998/ 452), pag page es 8/ 11-8/ 8/ 7, 1998 [6] S. Ham Hamada, ada, T. Kawashima, J. O chu chura, ra, M. Maki, Y. Shimosh oshio, io, and M. M . Toku okuda, da, “Influe “Influence nce of BalanceBalance-Unbalance Unbalance ConverConversion Factor on Radiated Emission Characteristics of Balanced Cables”, IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 1, pages 31-36, 2001 [7] M. Maki, S. Hamada, M. Tokuda, Y. Shimoshio, and H. Koga, “Immunity of Communications Systems using a Balanced Cable”, IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 1, pages 37-42, 2001

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DEFINITIONS absorption loss lo ss:: Signal loss in a metallic media due to impedance losses and heating of the material alien cr crosst osstalk alk:: Undesired differential mode signal coupling between balanced twisted-pair cables balance: T  Th he re rela lattio ion nship be bettwe wee en the di diffferential sig ign nal an and d com common mod ode e sig ign nal als s on a twi wis sted-pa pair ir common mode: Signals that are in phase and are measured referenced to ground differential different ial mode: Signals that are 180º out of phase and measured referenced to each other electromagnetic compatibility: T  Th he ab abil ilit ity y of a system to re reje ject ct in intterf rfe ere ren nce fro rom m noi ois se sou ourrce ces s (immunit ity y) an and d op ope erate without interfering with other devices or equipment (emissions) equal level transverse conversion transfer loss: T  Th he rat atio io of the meas asu ure red d co com mmon mod ode e vol olttag age e on a pair pair re rellative to a differential mode voltage applied on another pair and normalized to be independent of length fully-shielded: A cons consttruction, appli applicable cable to category category 7 and 7A 7A cabli cabling, ng, wher where e each twist twisteded-pair pair is enclosed enclosed wit within an individual foil screen and the screened twisted-pairs are enclosed within an overall braid or foil ground loop: A difference in voltage potential between two ground termination points that results in an induced common mode noise current modal conversion: Undesired conversion of differential mode signal to common mode signal and vice versa that results from poor balance screen: A metallic covering consisting of a longitudinally applied aluminum foil tape screened: A construction, applicable to category 6A and lower-rated cabling, where an assembly of twisted-pairs is enclosed within an overall metal foil. Shannon capacity model: A calculation to compute the maximum theoretical amount of error-free digital data that can be transmitted over an analog communications channel within a specified transmitter bandwidth and power spectrum and in the presence presence of known noise (Gauss (G aussia ian) n) interference interference shield: A metallic covering consisting of an aluminum braid shielded: See fullyfully-shielded shielded transfer impedance: A measure of shield effectiveness transverse conversion loss: T  Th he rat atio io of the meas asu ure red d co com mmon mod ode e vol olttag age e on a pa pair ir rela lattiv ive e to a di diffferentia iall mod ode e voltage applied on the same pair transverse conversion transfer loss: T  Th he ra rattio of of the meas asu ure red d com common mod ode e vol olttag age e on a pair pair rela lattiv ive e to a di diffferential mode voltage applied on another pair

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ACRONYMS BER: Bit error rate DSP: Digital signal processing ELTCL: Equal level transverse conversion transfer loss EMC: Elect Electrom romagnetic agnetic com compatibi patibilility ty F/ UT UTP: P: Foil unshielded twisted-pair (applicable to category 6A and lower-rated cabling) IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers LAN: Local area network NIC: N et etwork work int interface erface card S/ FTP: Shielded foil twisted-pair (applicable to category 7 and 7A cabling) SNR: Signal-to-noise margin TCL: T  Tra ran nsvers rse e co con nvers rsio ion n lo los ss TGB: Tele lec communic icat atio ion ns gr grou oun ndi din ng bu bus sba barr TGMB: Tele leco com mmunic icat atio ion ns main gr grou oun ndi din ng bu busba barr UTP: Unshielded twisted-pair (applicable to category 6A and lower-rated cabling) Vrms: Volts, root mean square

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PoE PLUS OPERATING EFFICIENCY 

IEEE 802.3at PoE Plus Operating Efficiency: How to Keep a Hot Application Application Running Cool

T

he development of the pending PoE Plus standards brings to light a significant new challenge in delivering power over a structured cabling system. The higher power delivered by PoE Plus devices causes a temperature rise within the cabling which can negatively impact system performance.  Th  T he in inffor orm matio ion n in this pa pape perr wil willl all allow ow read ade ers to be be be bettter equ equip ippe ped d to mak ake e PoE Plu lus s-re read ady y ca cabl blin ing g ch choi oic ces that will support reduced current-induced temperature rise and minimize the risk of degraded physical and electrical performance due to elevated temperature. HIGHLIGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS:

• Althou lthough gh safe for humans, the 600m 600mA currents associ associated ated with the the PoE Plus Plus application appli cation generate heat heat in the installed cabling plant. • Excessive temperature rise in the cabling plant cannot be tested or mitigated in the field • Excessive temperature rise in the cabling plant can result in an increase in insertion loss and premature aging of jacketing materials. • Choosing media with improved heat dissipation performance can minimize the risks associated with excessive temperature rise. • Category C ategory 6A 6A F/ UTP cabling cabling syste system ms dissipate almost almost 50 50% % more heat th than an category 5e 5e cabling. cabli ng. • Category 7A S/ FT FTP P cabling cabli ng syste system ms dissipate dissipate at least 60 60% % more heat than category 5e 5e cabling. cabling. • It is reasonable to anticipate that category 6A and higher-rated cabling will be the targeted media for the support of tomorrow’s high performance telecommunications powering applications.

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MARKET OVERVIEW:  Th  T he al allu lure re of de depl ploy oyin ing g po powe werr co con ncu curr rre ent with da datta ov ove er tele leco com mmunic icat ation ions s ca cabl blin ing g is unde den niab iable le..  Th  T he be ben nefit its s of IE IEE EE 802 802.3a .3af  f 1 Power over Ethernet (PoE) equipment include simplified infrastructure management, lowered power consumption, reduced operational costs in the case of applications such as voice over internet protocol (VoIP), and even improved safety safet y due to to separation separation from th the e building’ building’s s mai ain n AC power ring. ri ng. Market research research indicates indi cates th that at the the PoE market is on the the cusp cusp of signifi significant cant growth growth and the numbers are im impressive! Accor ccordi ding ng to the market researc research h firm firm Ven Ventu ture re Develop Developm ment Corp orpora oration tion2, approxim appro ximately ately 47 million million PoE-enabled switch ports ports were shipped shipped in i n 2007 2007.. Looking forward, forward, the firm expects PoE-enabled switch

portyear shipments the 2012. to grow at almost double the rate of overall Ethernet port shipments and reach more than 130 million ports by W ith it’s capabili capabi lity ty to deliver up to 12.9 12 .95 5 watt wa tts (W) (W) to to the the powered device (PD) at a safe nominal 48 volts di direct rect current (VDC) over TIA cate category gory 3/ 3 / ISO class C and higher higher rated rated struct ructure ured d cabling, cabling, IEEE 802.3 802 .3af af PoE, (soon to to be known as “T “Type ype 1”) systems can easily support devices such as: • IP-based voice and video transmission equipment, • IP-based network security cameras, • W ireless acces access s points points (WAPs (WAPs), ), • Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag readers, • Buildi Building ng automatio ation n system systems (e.g. (e.g. the therm rmostats ostats,, smoke detect detectors, ors, al alarm arm system systems, security access, access, ind indust ustri rial al clocks// tim clocks imek ekeepe eepers, rs, and a nd badge ba dge readers), • Print servers, and bar code scanners INTRODUCING PoE PLUS:

In 2005, IEEE recognized an opportunity to enhance the capabilities of power sourcing equipment (PSEs) to deliver even more power to potentially support devices such as: • Laptop computers • Thin clients (typically running web browsers or remote desktop software applications) • Secu Security rity cameras with with Pan/ Tilt/ Zoom capabi capabilities lities • Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) • Biometric sensors • WiMAX3 transceivers providing wireless data over long distances (e.g. point-to-point links and mobile cellular access), and high volumes of other devices that require additional power In support of this need, the IEEE 802.3at4 task force initiated specification of a PoE Plus or “Type 2” system that can deliver up up to 29.5 29. 5 watt watts to to the the powered device device (PD) at a safe nom nominal 53 5 3 VDC over legacy TIA TIA cate category gory 5/ 5/ ISO class D:1 D:199 995 5 and higher rated struct ructured ured cabling cabli ng (note (note that, that, for new install installations, ations, cabli cabling ng should should meet or exceed TIA TIA category 5e/ ISO class D:2002 D:20 02 requirement ents). s). Type 2 classification classification requirem requirement ents are anticipa anticipatted to to publish as IEEE 802.3 802.3 at in mid-20 id-2009 09.. Refer to table 1 for a detailed comparison of the capabilities of Type 1 (PoE) and Type 2 (PoE Plus) systems. Type 1 - PoE

Type 2 – PoE Plus

Minimum Category of Cabling

Category 3/Class C

Maximum Power Available to the PD Minimum Power at the PSE Output Allowed PSE Output Voltage Nominal PSE Output Voltage Maximum DC Cable Current Maximum Ambient Operating Temperature Installation Constraints

12.95 W 15.4 W 44 – 57 VDC 48 VDC 350 mA per pair 60º C None

Category 5/Class D:1995 with DC loop resistance < 25 Ω 29.5 W 30 W 50 – 57 V 53 VDC 600 mA per pair 50º C Maximum 5kW delivered power per cable bundle

TABLE 1: Overview of PoE and PoE Plus system specifications

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POE PLUS CHALLENGES:  Th  T he de develo lopm pment of the pe pendi din ng PoE PoE Plu lus s re requ quir ire ements bro brou ugh ghtt to Figure 1: Temperature Rise vs Current light a significant new challenge in the specification of power 100-Cable Bundles 20 Cat 5e delivery deli very over st structu ructured red cabli cabling. ng. For the the first tim time, e, due to to the the Cat 6 15 higher power delivered by Type 2 PSE devices, IEEE needed to unCat 6A F/UTP derstand the temperature rise 10 within the cabling caused by ap5 Sidebar No. 1 plied currents and subsequently 0 specify the PoE Plus application 200 400 600 800 1000 TEMPERATURE TE MPERATURE DE-RATIN G operating environment in such a Applied Current per Pair (mA) O F UTP VERS VERSUS US F/ F/ UTP AN D way as to ensure that proper caCategory 5e S/ FTP CABLING SYST SYSTEMS: EMS: Category 6 bling system transmission It is well known that insertion loss increases Category 6A UTP (signals (signa ls attenuate more) as as the ambi bient ent performance perform ance is mai aint ntai ained. ned. In temperature in the cabling environment inorder to move forward, IEEE encreases. To address this issue, both TIA and lilist sted ed the assistance assistance of the the TIA and and ISO cabl cabling ing st standard andards s developme development nt bodies to charISO specif specify y a temperature dependent de-rating factor factor for use in determini ining ng the acterize the current carrying capacity of various categories of twisted-pair cables.

After extensive study and significant data collection, TIA was able to develop profiles of  temperature rise versus applied current per pair for category 5e, 6, and 6A cables con-

length that the maximum horiz horizontal ontal cable distance should be reduced by to ensure compliance with specified channel insertion loss limits limits at temperatures above above ambient (20 ºC).

figured in 100-cable bundlesupon as shown in Figure . Interestingly, these profiles were created primarily based analysis of 1the performance of unshielded twistedtwist ed-pai pairr (UTP) cabl cables. es. Th They ey were later corroborate corroborated d by data data subm submitt itted ed to the the ISO committee. As expected, since category category 5e cables cables have the smal allest lest conductor diameter, they also have the worst heat dissipation performance and exhibit the greatestt temperature rise due to applied greates appli ed current. N ote that category category 5 cabl cables es were exexcluded from the study since category 5 cabling is no longer recommended by TIA for new install inst allations. ations. IEEE adop adoptted the baseline profile for category 5e cables as representative of the worst-case current carrying capacity for cables supporting the PoE Plus application.

W hat is not well known is that the de-rating adjustment that is made for UTP cabling allows for a much greater increase in insertion loss (0.4% increase perºC from 20ºC to 40ºC and 0.6% increase per ºC from 40ºC 40 ºC to 60ºC) 60 ºC) than the de-rating rating adjustm adjustment thatis specified specified for F/ UTP and S/ FTP systems (0.2% increase perºC from from20ºC 20ºC to 60ºC). 60 ºC).  Th  T his mean ans s that F/ UTP and S/ FTP cab cablin ling systems have more stable transmissi ission on performance at elevated temperatures and are more suited to support applications appli cations such as PoE Plus than UTP cabling cabling systems.

Additional TIA guidance recommended that a maximum temperature increase of 10ºC, up to an absolute maximum temperature of 60ºC, would be an acceptable operating environment for cabling supporting PoE Plus applied current levels. In consideration consideration of th this is input i nput, IEEE chose to to reduce the maxi axim mumte tem mperature for Type Type 2 operatio operation n to 50ºC, 50ºC, which elimina elim inated ted the need need for complicated complicated power power de-rating at elevated tempera peratu tures. res. N ext, IEEE had to id identify entify a maxi axim mum DC cable cabl e current that would not create a temperature rise in excess of 10ºC 10ºC.. An analysis of th the e worst case category category 5e current carrying capacity profile led IEEE PoE Plus system specifiers to target 600 mA as the maximum DC cable current for Type 2 devices, which, according to the TIA profile, results in a 7.2ºC rise in cable temperature. Although this temperature rise is less than the maximum 10ºC value recommended, it provides valuable system headroom that helps to offset additional increases in insertion loss due to elevated temperatures (See sidebar No. 1) and mini inim miz ize e the the risk risk of premature premature aging of the jacket jacketing ing materials. O perating margi argin n against aga inst excess excessive ive temperature rise is especially critical because this condition cannot be ascertained in the field.

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DISPELLING THE HEAT DISSIPATION MYTH: Since metal has a higher conductivity than thermoplastic jacketing materials, a thermal model can be used to predict that screened and fully-shielded fully-shielded cables cables have bett better er heat di dissipa ssipation tion than than UTP cab cables. les. Si Siem emon’ on’s s da data ta subst substantia antiates tes the model and and clearly demonstrates that screened cables exhibit better heat dissipation than UTP cables and fully-screened cables have the best heat dissipation properties of all copper twisted-pair media types. Unfortunately, the  misconception that screened and fully-shielded systems will “trap” the heat generated by PoE and PoE  Plus applications applications still still ex ists in the industry industry today. toda y. This This notion is completely completely false fa lse and easily easil y dispelled dispelled by  models and laboratory data. MEDIA SELECTION: Interestingly, the PoE Plus application is targeted to be compatible with 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T, and 1000BASE-T, while compatibi com patibililitty with with 10GBASE-T 10G BASE-T is noted as not being precluded precluded by the new new Standard. Standard. Th Thus us,, in an an attem attempt to to operate operate over over the largest percen percenttage of the inst installed cabling cabling base base possible, possible, the pending pending 802. 80 2.3at 3at Standard Standard specifies ISO ‘1 ‘118 1801 01 class D:1 D:199 995 5 and TIA ‘568-B.2 category 5 compliant cabling systems having DC loop resistances less than or equal to 25 ohms as the minimum imu m grad grade e of cabli cabling ng capable capa ble of su suppor pporting ting PoE Plus. Plus. N ote that that thes these e are legacy grades of 100 MHz cabling; TIA recognizes ‘568-B.2 category 5e cabling and ISO recognizes class D:20 D:2002 02 cabli cabling ng for new new installations. W hile thes hese e objectives tive s represent represent good news for end-us users ers with an install alled ed base of category 5/ 5 / category 5e or clas class s D:199 D:1995/ 5/ clas class s D:2002 cabling, these cabling systems typically have poor heat dissipation properties and much better choices exist for those specifying new or 5

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retrofit cabling plants today.  To emphasiz ize e, specif ify yin ing g cab abllin ing g with better heatdis iss sip ipat atio ion n char ara acteris isttic ics s means that: • O perating temperature peratures s are less lilikely kely to to exceed 50ºC, 50ºC, • Certain comm common install installation ation practices, practices, such such as bundling, are less likely to impact overall te tem mperature rise, • Undesirable increases in insertion loss due to elevated temperatures will be minimized • The risk of premature aging of cabling jacket materials is reduced. Good heat dissipation performance exhibited by the cabling plant is especially critical since no methods exist today for monitoring temperature rise in an installation or mitigating a high-temperature environment. Historically, a comfortable level of  performance margin is considered to be 50% headroom to Standards-specified limits (this would be equivalent to 6 dB headroom for a transmissi ission on perfo perform rmance ance pa paramet rameter). Foll Followi owing ng th these ese gui guideli delines, nes, the solutions that offer the most desirable levels of heat dissipation headroom in support of the PoE Plus application are category 6A F/ UT UTP P and category category 7 A S/ FTP cab cabling ling syst systems. ems. In fact, category 7A S/ FT FTP P cabling cabli ng syste system ms dissipate at least 60 60% % more heat than category 5e cables! BEYOND PoE PLUS: W ith the the many functional and cost cost-s -saving avings s advantages associated associated with with th the e PoE Plus applic application, ation, it’s easy to predict predi ct that the the need to suppl supply y even more power power to the the PD is just just a few years years away. away. Fortunately Fortunately,, an an element of im impro proved ved heat di dissipa ssipation tion is is also the ability to support more current delivery within the IEEE maximum 10ºC temperature rise constraint. Figure 4 shows the maximum current that can be applied over different media types at 50ºC without exceeding maximum temperature rise constraints. Based upon their vastly superior current carrying ability, it’s a safe bet that category 6A and higher-rated cabling will be the targeted media for the support of tomorrow’s high performance telecommunications powering applications.

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DEFINITIONS:  Th  T he de dev velo lopm pment of the pe pen ndi din ng PoE Plu lus s requ quir ire ements br brou ough ghtt to li ligh ghtt a sig ign nif ific ican antt new chal alle len nge in the spe pec cif ific icat atio ion n of po powe werr delivery deli very over stru structu ctured red cabli cabling. ng. For the the first time time,, due to to the hig higher her power delivere deli vered d by Type Type 2 PSE devices, IEEE needed to to understand the temperature rise within the cabling caused by applied currents and subsequently specify the PoE Plus application operating operating environmen environmentt in such a way as to ensure that pro proper per cabli cabling ng system transmissi ission on perform performance ance is is mai aintained ntained.. In

order to order to move forward forward,, IEEE IEEE enli enlist sted ed the the assistance assistance of the TIA and and ISO cab cabliling ng standa standards rds development development bodies to characterize the current carrying capacity of various categories of twisted-pair cables. Insertion Loss: T  Th he de decr crea eas se in ampl plit itu ude an and d in intensit ity y of a signal (of oftten re refe ferr rre ed to as as attenuation ion)). Type 1: PoE delivery systems and devices Type 2: PoE Plus delivery systems and devices

ACRONYMS: º C:  . . . . . . . . . .Degrees Celsius A:  . . . . . . . . . . .Ampere or Amp, unit of current AC:  . . . . . . . . . .Alternating Current DC::  . . . . . . . . . .Direct Current DC dB::  . . . . . . . . . .Decibel dB IP::  . . . . . . . . . .Internet Protocol IP IPTV:  . . . . . . . .Internet Protocol Television kW:  . . . . . . . .Kilowatt MHz:  . . . . . . . .Megahertz PD:  . . . . . . . . . .Powered Device PD: PoE:  . . . . . . . . .Power over Ethernet, published IEEE 802.3af  PoE Plus:  . . . . .Power over Ethernet Plus, pending IEEE 802.3at PSE:  . . . . . . . . .Power Sourcing Equipment F/UT F/ UTP: P:  . . . . . . .Foil around Unshielded Twisted-Pair (applicable to category 6A and lower-rated cabling) IEEE:  . . . . . . . . .Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ISO:  . . . . . . . . .Int . Intern ernation ational al Standards Standards Organization m:  . . . . . . . . . .Meter mA:  . . . . . . . . .Milliampere or Milliamp, unit of current RFID:  . . . . . . . .Radio Frequency Identification S/ FTP:  . . . . . . .Shield around Foil Twisted-Pair (applicable to category 7 and 7 A cabling) TIA:  . . . . . . . . .Telecommunications Industry Association UTP:  . . . . . . . . .Unshielded Twisted-Pair VDC:  . . . . . . . .Volts, Direct Current VoIP:  . . . . . . . .Voice over Internet Protocol W:  . . . . . . . . . .Watt, unit of power WAP:  . . . . . . . .Wireless Access Point

REFE RENCES: REN CES:“IEEE Standard for Information technology: IEEE 802.3-2005, 1

 Tel ele eco com mmunica icattions an and d in info form rmation exc xch han ange ge be bettwe wee en systems - Loc ocal al an and d metro ropo polit litan ar area ea netwo work rks - Sp Spe eci cific fic requirements Part 3: Carri Carrier er sense multiple access with collision colli sion detection (CSMA (C SMA// CD) access met method hod and phys p hysical layer specifications”, Sect Section ion Two, Clause C lause 33 (incorporates the content of IEEE Std 802.3af-2003), December 2005 Venture Deployment Corporation (ww w.vdc-corp.com), “Power Over Ethernet (PoE) (PoE):: Global Market Demand Analysis, Third Edition”, March 2008 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, Inc. IEEE 802.3at, “IEEE Standard for Information technology:  Tel ele eco com mmunica icattions an and d in info form rmation exc xch han ange ge be bettwe wee en systems - Loc ocal al an and d metro ropo polit litan ar area ea netwo work rks - Sp Spe eci cific fic requirements Part 3: Carri Carrier er Sense Multiple Access A ccess with Collision Colli sion Detection Detection (CSMA/ (CSM A/ CD) Access A ccess Method Method and Physical Layer Specifications Specifica tions Amendm Amendment: Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) Power via Media Dependent Interface (MDI) Enhancements”, pending publication ISO/ IEC 118 11801, 01, 1st edition, edition, “Information technology: Generic cabling for customer premises”, 1995 ANSI/ AN SI/ TIA/ EIA-568 EIA-568-B.2, -B.2, “Commercial “Commercial Building Telecommunic elecommunications ations Cabling Standard Standard Part 2: Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling Components”, May 2001 ISO/ IEC 118 11801, 01, 2nd edition, “Information technology: 2

3

4

5

6

7

Generic cabling for customer premises”, 2002

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