Jan Wielenga
Marketing
Technology
Jan Wielenga
Marketing
Technology
Agenda
• What is a LAN?
• LAN Evolution, what is it used for and what are the key components ?
• Quality, Why is this important
• The decision: Cat 5e, Cat6, Cat6a, what why and when
• Shielded, why and when do we need it
• Planning options for office environments; wall trunking, floor boxes or.....
• Backbone, what technology options do we have
• The Better advantage; how we protect the end customer's investment
LAN, What is it all about …?
Channel
Permanent Link
What is a LAN used for ?
• A LAN offers a structured method of connecting any Computer to another Computer…..
• A LAN offers structured method of connecting any Device to another Device …..
• It is not just Computers Anymore…
It is not just web browsing and email anymore….
• “Client-Server”, “Hosted Services” and “Thin Clients”…
• Real-time computing:
• Voice over IP…
• Video Conferencing…
• Collaborative Working…
• Sarbanes Oxley = Real-time monitoring, storage & retrievability…
• Security, Heating & Cooling, Entry & Security Systems…
Cheap is not always Cheap…Financial impact of network down time…
Downtime affects all industries and is often linked to, or caused by, inferior physical networks…
Customer Return on Investment
Source: PowerLink Plus
7%
10%
22%
58% of your budget
Network Investment
10 Years
2 Years
Life Cycle
Approximately 7% of the average IT budget is spent on the physical layer – which supports the other 93%…
Increasing Performance and Reliability…Real World - Change of environment
Competitor’s Solution (Channel or Permanent link Warranty)
Fail
100%
98%
104%
98%
Pass
Better Solution (Component Warranty)
100%
Pass
120%120%120%
The Better approach:
• Component Design and Manufacturing exceeds specifications
Bit Errors… In a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) World…
Healthy TCPPacket
TCPBit Error
PacketRetransmit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8A B C D E F G H7 1 - 88%H I J K L M N O6 1 1 75%O O P Q R S T U5 1 2 62%U U U V W Z Y Z4 1 3 50%
Bit Errors, caused by inferior physical layer networks are hidden…They have a profound impact on performance and cost…
Bit Errors…In a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) World…
Healthy UDPPacket
Frame
“H_ll_ W_rld”
UDPBit Error
“Hello World”
UDP does not recover lost packets, data gets LOST!
Detrimental for Real_Time UDP Services such as VoIP, Video Conference etc.
Bit Errors…TCP and UDP combined
Overcoming Bit-Errors:
Over-specifying active equipment:“Wasted network resource (sometimes as high as 40%) leads to unnecessary investment and excessive cost of ownership”. (Sun Microsystems)
or
“Investment in Bit-Error Free physical layer networks, is a cost effective way to get the best out of your active equipment”.(ADC Krone in NCN)
In Summary:
• Bit-Errors in TCP leads to unnecessary loading…
• Retransmits leads to packet congestion and delays…
• Bit-Errors in UDP leads to information loss…
• Combined, it leads to slower applications and interrupted VoIP or Frozen Frames video
Zero Bit Error Warranty ensures that you do not have to over-specify active equipment.
Which Category for which application…
Category 5e (Class D)– 1GE up to 100m
Category 6 (Class E)– 1GE up to 100m
Suitable for:
• All standard office applications…
• Voice over IP
• Video conferencing
• Etc…
“According to the standards, there is no capability difference, however…”
In Practice…
6
Transmit
Receive
Distance
5e
Transmit
Receive
Cut off point where a Network Interface is able to decipher information
Category 6 has a 16x better SNR than Category 5e resulting in greater headroom margin and a reduced susceptibility to interference.
Decision factors…
• Category 5e still supports Gigabit applications
• Used for day to day applications like e-mail, web browsing etc.
• Category 5e is typically used as a minimum by:
» Schools, Small Enterprises, Local Government offices, Short Term Lease occupancy
• Category 6 offers an increased level of comfort
• Used for high end and mission critical applications like VoIP, video conferencing etc.
• Category 6 is typically used as a minimum by:
» Finance, Universities, Medium-Large Enterprises, Governments promoting importance of technology, Healthcare, Long Term occupancy
Cat 5e or Cat 6?The decision depends on the application…
Outlets, Floor boxes or….
• Not often aesthetically pleasing…
• Never in the right place…
• Trailing Patch Cords are a Trip Hazard…
• Floorboxes with broken lids often cause injuries…
• Mixing power with data…
• Good quality floorboxes don’t come cheap…
MiniPods
• Always in the right place…
• Flexible…
• Many office furniture solutions have ‘hiding’ and fixing features…
• Strict segregation between power and data…
• If strategically planned, port shortage is never an issue…
• Country independent
• Applications (secured, unsecured) networks can be segregated
• Hidden when not in use…
MiniPods, maximum flexibility…
Category 6a
• Capability:
• 10 Gigabits/second
• Application
• Primarily not for LANs but data centres
• Used in LANs for specific applications:
• Financial sector, trade floors
• Research and Education, Research Labs
• Broadcast and Entertainment, Animation suites (offline rendering)
• Up to 90 mtr backbones
Better was the first to offer 10 Gig over UTPand is successfully deployed globally
Shielded or Unshielded LANs
U/UTP (UTP)
F/UTP (FTP)
SF/UTP (S-FTP)
S/FTP (S-STP (PiMF))
Shielded or Unshielded LANs
• Dramatically reduced Alien Crosstalk
• There is no performance difference (standards)
• Often driven by local standards and practices
• Shielded is preferred when external interference is likely
• Industrial Espionage may also be a consideration
“To shield or not to shield…”
The decision depends on the environment…
Back Bone options: Copper
• A backbone within a building does not always has to fibre…
• 10G copper between floors and other building areas can be used.
• Within the standards, the permanent link should not exceed 90 meter
• The ports on active equipments needs to be able to handle 10G
Using Copper in the backbone can be a cost effective approach…
Future proofing a Fibre Backbone?Consider a blown fibre approach…
• OM3 today but don’t know what is required tomorrow?
• Making the wrong decision now may be costly and disrupting in the long run…
• Optical interface prices are already in decline…
• Initial deployment; Plan for additional spare tubes, making migration and expansions easier
Blown fibre solutions can be very effectivein the long run…
Conclusion
• LANs these days connect any device with any device…
• Zero Bit Errors, ensures the Real-Time application experience…
• Component Compliance, headroom ensures network performance, even if the environment changes…
• Shielded or Unshielded, there is no right or wrongonly inappropriate application…
• CAT5e, CAT6 or CAT6a, the purpose dictates…
• MiniPods, the solution to many headaches and other injuries…
• Copper can be used for backbones…
• Future proofing Fibre backbones, consider blownsolutions…
We are helping you to succeed…