Cabling Installation & Maintenance articles from March 2008

Cabling Installation & Maintenance archives from March 2008

Man bites dog.(Editorial)
March 1, 2008... Not long ago, I read Stephen King's Cell. It's a white-knuckle, 500-page answer to a question that only King would ask: "What would happen if the use of our cell phones made us all crazy--really, really crazy?" In an apocalyptic scene early in...

Banking on intelligence to ease controlled growth: intelligent physical-layer management systems allow remote-management capabilities for a New Hampshire bank and its 18 branch locations.(design)(Mascoma Savings Bank)
March 1, 2008... Mascoma Savings Bank (MSB) serves New Hampshire and Vermont's Upper Valley area through the corporate headquarters in Lebanon, NH and 18 branch locations. Formed in 1899, MSB is a mutually owned financial services company that manages more than...

TIA labeling standard marked for changes: some may think it more tedious at first, but in the long run, revised labeling for data centers could prove to be a huge troubleshooting time-saver.(installation)
March 1, 2008... A properly labeled and documented network is a task that most installers loathe and many still avoid when possible. But changes are on the way that, while at first may appear to make labeling more tedious, in the end will save data center...

Juiced applications impact PoE+ specifications: whether it's for fiber-to-the-home or a WLAN, the biggest difference between pending PoE Plus specifications and PoE is the amount of power that can be sent to each powered device.(technology)
March 1, 2008... The belief, long held by many, that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was the single driver of Power over Ethernet (PoE) specifications, is not historically accurate. Some may be surprised to hear that WLANs played a significant role in the...

With blades front and center, efficiency is common objective: blade servers, including those with marketing slogans of "out with wires," heavily impact wiring and wire management.(data center)
March 1, 2008... When was the last time you heard about a sprawling data center in which components were well spaced out, heat generation was under control, and management did not have to give a second thought to power-supply issues? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Major universities graduating to 802.11n before standardization: well-recognized institutions are rolling out the wireless technology far ahead of the specifications' planned finalization.(wireless)
March 1, 2008... A good year before the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE; www.ieee.org) will have the I's dotted and T's crossed on its 802.11n set of specifications for high-speed wireless local area networking (WLAN), manufacturers of...

Fluke Networks leaders share BICSI's Harry Pfister Award for lifetime achievement.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Bob Jensen recieves and award)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Hugo Draye, Fluke Networks' (www. flukenetworks.com) datacom cabling product manager, and Bob Jensen, the company's standards and technology development manager, received the 2008 Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in the Telecommunications...

Company projects widespread adoption of 10-Gbit Ethernet.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(SolarFlare Communications)
March 1, 2008... George Zimmerman and Steve Pope, CTOs at 10-Gbit Ethernet (10GbE) silicon solutions provider Solarflare Communications (www. solarflare.com), are predicting widespread adoption of 10GbE in data centers and enterprises this year to support...

New structured cabling association seeking multi-faceted cooperation.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Communications Cable and Connectivity Association)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Formed to bring together leaders of cable and connectivity companies, including manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers, the newly-formed Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA) seeks to become a collaborative resource for...

Santa Cruz, CA--The University of California at Santa Cruz is partnering with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives to connect the campus to the statewide California Research and Education Network fiber-optic network.(Short runs ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... SANTA CRUZ, CA -- The University of California at Santa Cruz is partnering with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives to connect the campus to the statewide California Research and Education Network fiber-optic network. Installation...

Houston, TX--intelligent home solutions provider IntelliHome (www.Intellihomeinc.com) is working on a new subdivision in Brazoria County, TX where each home will have a pre-determined structured wiring package.(Short runs ...)(IntelliHome, inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... HOUSTON, TX -- Intelligent home solutions provider IntelliHome (www.Intellihomeinc.com) is working on a new subdivision in Brazoria County, TX where each home will have a pre-determined structured wiring package. "These developments are well...

King of Prussia, PA--Weintraub Telecomm, LLC (www.weitel.com), which designs, deploys, and manages voice, video, and data networks for telecom companies and selected commercial customers, plans to acquire Phoenix, AZ-based Jensen Communications Corp. (www.jencomcorp.com), which provides CATV design, drafting, and mapping services that help customers build, rebuild, or upgrade documentation of their outside plant.(Short runs ...)(Pennsylvania, United States)(Arizona, United States)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... KING OF PRUSSIA, PA -- Weintraub Telecomm, LLC (www.weitel. com), which designs, deploys, and manages voice, video, and data networks for telecom companies and selected commercial customers, plans to acquire Phoenix, AZ-based Jensen...

Dublin, Ireland--"WiMAX Business Plan and Business Planning Tool" has been introduced by Research and Markets (www. researchandmarkets.com).(Short runs ...)
March 1, 2008... DUBLIN, IRELAND -- "WiMAX Business Plan and Business Planning Tool" has been introduced by Research and Markets (www. researchandmarkets.com). The 70-page report is designed to enable intelligent WiMAX investment and deployment, and includes an...

Chatsworth, Corning team up for cable management solution.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Chatsworth Products Inc. and Corning Cable Systems have teamed up to produce the cpi fiber management system)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Addressing the challenges of high-density installations, where a large volume of optical-fiber cables and patch cords must be managed in cabinets storing modular switches, Chatsworth Products (CPI; www.chatsworth....

Multitasking data center fiber patching system to debut.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Belden Corp.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... In April, Belden (www.belden.com) plans to unveil a new fiber patching system designed to support increased deployment of optical fiber cabling in the data center. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The FiberExpress Ultra Patch Panel System, built...

Sealed OSP closure.(New Products)(outside plants)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The LG-350-AC sealed dome closure is designed for aerial or underground drop access installation where a sealed closure is required by limited space. More than 25% smaller than the LG-350, the AC closure is especially suited for small hand-hole...

4-radio WAP.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... The Power over Ethernet-driven XtraThin wireless access point (WAP), incorporating four IEEE 802.11 radios, provides four simultaneous, non-overlapping channels at every location for a quadrupling of local capacity and bandwidth. These WAPs...

Adjustable racks, cable management.(New Products)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Adjustable Rail QuadraRack and Server Rack feature adjustable depth, rear-mounting rails, rack-unit marked front mounting rails, enhanced cable manage ment, and grounding and bonding. These 4-post frames allow the front-to-rear mounting depth...

Fiber-to-SAN system.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... LANscape Pretium Integrated Solutions are pre-engineered optical-cabling components designed for compatibility between data center cabling and system equipment. The U-Space system features optical harnesses mapped directly to line cards, with...

Handheld test set.(New Products)(Expo, inc. has designed AXS-200/360 handheld fiber certification test set )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The AXS-200/360 handheld fiber certification test set is designed for premises networks, offering up to three single-mode wavelengths (1310, 1550, and 1490 or 1625 nm) on one port, or four wavelengths (850/1300 nm and 1310/1550 nm) on two...

RoHS-compliant PDU.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... This line of RollS-compliant basic and metered power distribution units (PDUs) is certified to UL-60950-1, with 39 models available in 120-and 208-volt, and 208-volt 3-phase configurations for 15, 20, 30, 50, and 60 amps. Designed with "True...

High-load floor box.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... The FLH20-1 high-load-capacity floor box is designed for ballrooms and convention centers where heavy equipment and portable stages are used. It is designed to meet H20 load ratings by using a heat-treated aluminum cover with an integrated...

Row-level PDU.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... This power distribution rack (PDR) is designed to improve power management in the data center by moving power distribution to the row level, improving cable management, decreasing diagnostic time for problems, and saving installation costs by...

Gigabit home solution.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... The Gigabit Network System, a gigabit-speed home networking solution, is designed for residential high-speed networking capabilities for such applications as multi-player gaming consoles, NAS network drives, high-end media servers, and...

End-to-end estimation.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... Estimation Logistics 7.3 includes full integration with the company's American Contractor job cost accounting solution, Estimation Digital Takeoff functionality, and a proposal writer tool. The integration with Contactor means an estimator can...

CCTV pass-thru balun.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... Developed in conjunction with CCTV systems installers, the VideoEase CCTV pass-thru/GLI balun allows remote power, PTZ control, and video to be connected to the camera via a single Category 5 cable. The balun is designed for applications...

Fiber patch cord, cleave tool.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... OptiMo SpaceSaver fiber-optic patch cords are designed for high-density LC duplex patching applications, and are built to fit precisely and without interference between LC adapter ports used in closely packed duple and quad LC cassettes or...

High-density cable management.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Mighty Mo 10 cable management system for data centers and storage area networks features a cable management rack designed to maximize airflow of network equipment. Honeycomb side rails and baffles manage intake...

Underfloor cable routing.(Product Focus: cable tray)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GridRunner underfloor cable routing system is a modular wire basket pathway designed to route and manage data and power cabling beneath raised floors. Pre-assembled mounting brackets and drop-in wire basket sections...

Multi-level cable support.(Product Focus: cable tray)
March 1, 2008... This wire mesh cable tray is designed to organize cable in trays mounted at different levels. Multi-level organization lets you sort cable bundles at the outset, eliminating "spaghetti" and providing simplified access. Trays can be installed...

System for routing heavy cable.(Product Focus: cable tray)
March 1, 2008... BasketPAC cable tray, designed for managing and supporting large bundles of data cable, features 78-inch tray sections that are compact enough for ground shipping. Once at the job site, tray sections can be quickly assembled with included Fast...

No-tool installation for modular systems.(Product Focus: cable tray)
March 1, 2008... Cable-Mgr wire basket cable tray products are built to be installed without special tooling or training. The patented PRO-10 Series is a modular system that provides electrical ground continuity while eliminating cutting and bending of trays...

High-capacity overhead, underfloor systems.(Products Focus: cable tray)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Mega Snake (below), a high-capacity cable tray for overhead applications. is designed to carry thousands of cables for large runs. Snake Rail. a built-in suspension system, requires no brackets and allows for random placement of the hanging rod...

Horizontal cable manager.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... NetManager high-capacity horizontal cable managers feature sloped inset fingers, wide front finger openings, a deeper channel, and D-ring style rear managers. Together, they can accommodate higher cabling capacity in less rack space. NetManager...

Intelligent patching.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... The 10G 6A F/UTP version of the MapIT intelligent hardware/software infrastructure management solution consists of a smaller diameter F/UTP cable and screened, tool-less MAX modules, as well as sensor- enabled MapIT patch panels and screened...

Cable tray power module.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... Mega Snake, a high-capacity overhead cable tray, can now be configured with an overhead power distribution module that lets you terminate electrical requirements at the tray. The module attaches to Mega Snake's patented accessory rail, and can...

Zero downtime UPS.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... SmartOnline hot-swappable modular UPS systems now include 8kVA and 16kVA models featuring a detachable PDU and maintenance bypass switch that provide zero downtime and continuous availability for connecter server, storage, and networking...

Impact-resistant dome.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... Several new models have been added to the Roughneck V910 line of impact-resistant camera domes for security installations. Three IP models offer Power over Ethernet capability, inclu- ding one featuring wide dynamic range (WDR). A new analog...

Sealed splice closure.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... The LG-55 sealed splice closure provides repair and distribution splicing, grounding for fiber-in-the-loop applications, and serves as an isolation gap with armored cables. Incorporating a proprietary cable clamp design that seals the cable,...

HDMI over Cat 5e, 6.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... BF-3379 HDMI over CAT Cable Extender is a digital, audio-video extension device that transmits the high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) content from a source to a display nearly 100 feet away via Category 5e or 6 cable. The system uses a...

Best Practices for pathways.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... A new online Best Practices Drawing Library is designed to assist contractors in correct cable pathway installation practices and help designers with cable management planning. The tool can be also used by companies to train installers. ...

Outdoor fiber solution.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The company's new range of products for outdoor telecom applications combines its PushPull technology and Han 3A housings with fiber- and copper-based inserts. Integration of LC singlemode and multimode connectors...

Direct connection support.(New Products)
March 1, 2008... This splitter tap now supports direct cable connections, using LC connectors, for ATM, Gigabit, and 10-Gigabit fiber networks. LC to SC cables are no longer needed to deploy application and security monitoring tools. Connectivity options...

Welcome to the 2008 Buyer's Guide.(Buyers guide)
March 1, 2008... Cabling Installation & Maintenance's 2008 Buyer's Guide features product information on Cabling Media, Connection & Crossconnection Devices, Active Infrastructure Devices, Splicing & Termination Equipment, Distribution & Routing Equipment, Test...

Cabling media.(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2008... This section of the Buyer's Guide provides information on copper and optical-fiber cable, as well as wireless communication systems. Coaxial cable, often used for video transmission, includes a center conductor (either solid or stranded...

Connection and crossconnection devices.(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... Connecting two or more cables together requires any number of connection-hardware types. The products detailed within the following pages are used to join similar (e.g., UTP to UTP) or dissimilar (e.g., UTP to coaxial) cable. Coaxial...

Active Infrastructure Devices.(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... Sometimes, there's a blur in the lines between the network-model layers developed by the Organization for International ization (OSI). For the most part, Cabling Installation & Maintenance resides on Layer 1--the physical layer. Most of the...

Splicing and termination equipment.(Table)
March 1, 2008... In this section of the Buyer's Guide, you will find tools and ices used to terminate cables. Some of these products, like mechanical splices and fusion splices, are specific to optical-fiber cable. Others, like boxes and outlets, may be used...

Distribution and routing equipment.(Table)
March 1, 2008... Distribution and routing equipment are designed to support cabling systems installed in such architecturally challenging places equipment rooms and plenum air-handling spaces. Cable-support devices include rings, clamps, clips, hooks, and...

Test equipment.(Buyers guide)(Table)
March 1, 2008... If you're a cabling professional who deals with multiple media types, and who installs systems intended for several different applications, you'll need a wide range of test equipment. The products listed in this section of the Buyer's Guide...

Cable protection and management.(Table)
March 1, 2008... While a cabling-installation project has specific dates on which it is supposed to start and end, cabling-system management is completely the opposite. In some cases, unfortunately, it never begins. But most often, it begins during the...

Specialized equipment and materials.(Buyers guide)(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... In this section of the Buyer's Guide, you'll find important information on the products and tools that can make your installation easier and safer. You'll also find the newest product selection, dealing with one of the hottest-button topics in...

Training & education services, distributor customer services.(Table)
March 1, 2008... The role of the distributor in a structured cabling project cannot, least should not, be underestimated. Studies consistently show that more than 80% of the cabling products purchased industrywide go through distribution, as opposed to being...

Manufacturer directory.(Directory)
March 1, 2008... ACTON CORP 1022 Lawson St, Industry, CA 91748 626-913-5888, Fax: 626-913-6088, sales@acton.cc, www.acton.cc. Manufactures high-performance structured cabling connectivity products for voice, data, and video applications. Offers a...

Distributor directory.(Directory)
March 1, 2008... ACCU-TECH CORP 200 Hembree Pk Dr, Roswell, GA 30076 770-740-2240, Fax: 770-740-2260, sales@accu-tech.com, www.accu-tech.com. Distributes networking and cabling systems. Stocks structured cabling system components, installation...

Services directory.(Directory)
March 1, 2008... ACCU-TECH CORP 200 Hembree Pk Dr, Rosweil, GA 30076 770-740-2240, Fax: 770-740-2260, sales@accu-tech.com, www.accu-tech.com. Distributes networking and cabling systems. Stocks structured cabling system components, installation...