Cabling Installation & Maintenance articles from September 2008

Cabling Installation & Maintenance archives from September 2008

Materials pricing causing hardship, headaches.(EDITORIAL)(Embarq reported theft losses)(Editorial)
September 1, 2008... No matter where you are, the effects of the seemingly always-increasing price of copper are near you--professionally and personally. In Houston, telephone- and Internet-service provider Embarq last month began offering a reward of up to $6,000...

568-C.O: The next generation of cabling standards: when finalized, it will become the generic document for use when a specific standard is not available, and a single repository to simplify the process of keeping standards up to date as well as speed up the development of new standards.(design)
September 1, 2008... Few documents have as much effect on the structured cabling industry than the ANSI/EIA/TIA568-B series. So, when the TIA TR-42 User Premises Telecommunications Cabling Requirements Engineering Committee says that the release of the 568-C series...

Controlling IP CCTV network bandwidth: bandwidth-hungry surveillance video running over an existing structured cabling network can result in ongoing organizational contention. Here's how to find a satisfying resolution for all concerned.(installation)
September 1, 2008... A new generation of IP (Internet Protocol) CCTV technology is appearing on LAN networks that allow several people to view security cameras through a simple click on a computer, or to access a camera that could be across the street or across the...

Rack thermal management: above, within, and below: best practices and emerging technologies aim to reduce or eliminate hot spots.(technology)
September 1, 2008... As the cabling industry pays ever-increasing attention to energy efficiency and "green" initiatives, it focuses specifically on data center environments because these facilities consume humongous amounts of power (see Special Report beginning...

Cabling taking its place in green movement.(special report)(Report)
September 1, 2008... Over the past two years, Cabling Installation & maintenance has regularly reported on the products, technologies, and systems that serve data center environments. An article we published in January 2007, when we kicked off regularly monthly...

Putting practices in place for a greener cabling industry: manufacturers, designers, end users, and contractors are all playing their roles in the green phenomenon.(special report)(Industry overview)
September 1, 2008... The "green" phenomenon that appears to be overtaking the cabling industry and many others is starting to change the way companies do business. Manufacturers are implementing more environmentally friendly processes; product development teams are...

Structured cabling's role in data center, network efficiency: efforts at energy efficiency, specifically including server virtualization, are unveiling anew the need for high-performance, high-bandwidth structured cabling systems.(special report)(Report)
September 1, 2008... The networking industry produces more carbon emissions than the entire country of Argentina. By 2010, it will consume enough power to require 10 new coal-fired power plants in the United States alone. Its power consumption doubled between 2000...

LEED and structured cabling: what's the connection? For now, there are no direct links for earning credits, but opportunities abound for impacting energy reduction.(special report)
September 1, 2008... As a society, we are inundated with statistics and information on global warming, C[O.sub.2] emissions and environmental messages. In the United States, buildings are currently linked to 39% of the energy consumption, 39% of all C[O.sub.2]...

IEEE tests for expertise, launches wireless certification: program seeks to address the growing need for wireless professionals who have quantifiable, real-world problem-solving skills.(wireless)(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Communications Society)(Conference notes)
September 1, 2008... This fall, the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), the leading worldwide professional organization dedicated to the advancement of communications technologies, will hold the first-ever testing period for its newly-launched Wireless...

Containerized data center targets flexible growth options.(INDUSTRY spotlight)
September 1, 2008... Hewlett Packard has unveiled a container-based data center--the HP Performance Optimized Data Center, or HP POD--designed for data center growth flexibility while minimizing expansion and rising energy costs. Each HP POD...

BICSI does ITS Cabling Installation Program makeover.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(fiber optic cables installation training course)
September 1, 2008... BICSI (www.bicsi.org) has under-taken a makeover of the ITS Cabling Installation Program, with three new installation courses and credentials having specialized emphasis on copper and optical fiber. The changes are designed to help ITS...

Penetration software calculates required materials per job.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Beele Engineering's RISE System (www.rise-system.com) cable sealing calculation software now lets you work out the required amounts of materials needed for the penetration systems, including an option for creating a database for all...

Minneapolis, MN--recent independent test results compiled by Data Center Air Management Solutions, a division of Electronic Environments Corp. (www.eecnet.com) indicates PDU Cables' (www.pducables.com) Air Guard cable grommets with nylon brushes significantly reduce bypass airflow and reduce an operating data center's room temperature by 8[degrees]C, compared to other comparable solutions.(Short runs ...)
September 1, 2008... MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Recent independent test results compiled by Data Center Air Management Solutions, a division of Electronic Environments Corp. (www.eecnet.com) indicates PDU Cables' (www.pducables.com) Air Guard cable grommets with nylon...

Richmond, VA--Power Distribution Inc. (PDI; www.pdicorp. com), a manufacturer of mission-critical distribution equipment for data centers, has added the branch circuit monitoring system (BCMS) solution as a field add-on for its equipment, and for any other manufacturer's power distribution units and remote power panels.(Short runs ...)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... RICHMOND, VA -- Power Distribution Inc. (PDI; www.pdicorp. com), a manufacturer of mission-critical distribution equipment for data centers, has added the branch circuit monitoring system (BCMS) solution as a field add-on for its equipment, and...

E. Syracuse, NY--PPC (www.ppc-online.com), a global manufacturer of connector technology for cable TV, satellite, wireless, and telecommunications, ranked third for Industry Impact among the top 35 most innovative companies in the U.S., according to the Industrial Components & Fixtures Patent Scoreboard recently published by the Wall Street Journal.(Short runs ...)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... E. SYRACUSE, NY -- PPC (www.ppc-online.com), a global manufacturer of connector technology for cable TV, satellite, wireless, and telecommunications, ranked third for Industry Impact among the top 35 most innovative companies in the U.S.,...

Lisle, IL--Molex Inc. (www.molex.com), through its Premise Networks business unit, has become a substantial shareholder in HCS, a Turkish manufacturer of high-performance cables for the structured cabling market.(Short runs .. .)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... LISLE, IL -- Molex Inc. (www.molex.com), through its Premise Networks business unit, has become a substantial shareholder in HCS, a Turkish manufacturer of high-performance cables for the structured cabling market. "We are confident that adding...

'Smart' PDU.(New Products)(Wiremold Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Power Commander IQ Series network-controlled power distribution units (PDUs) are built to provide secure remote power source management so that each individual outlet can be remotely turned on and off. IT administrators can also send control...

Vertical finger duct panel.(New Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... These flat-mount vertical finger duct panels bolt directly to the front of the company's Cable Management Rack, allowing for greater flexibility in managing cables outside the rails of the rack. It is especially designed to route and manage...

Live fiber test kit.(New Products)(ODM Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The LFI 110 live fiber identifier helps technicians identify available fibers in the F2 portion of the FTTx network without disrupting existing subscribers. Designed to couple with company's contractor series RP 400 Optical Power Meter, the LFI...

Overhead management.(New Products)(Rittal Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... This overhead cable management system is designed to simplify power and data cable management outside of a cabinet. It features roof-mount cable managers, which are installed without tools through the use of two snap rings and pre-existing...

Dry-cloth fiber cleaner.(New Products)(Senko Advanced Components)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The dry-cloth Smart Cleaner is designed for cleaning single-fiber connections, and has been tested to be effective for removing such contaminants as dust, lint, skin oil, hand lotion, IPA residue, distilled water residue, and vegetable oil. The...

Infrared camera lens.(New Products)(Vicon Industries Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Six new infrared (IR) lenses have been added to the company's line of varifocal lenses for video surveillance systems. These IR lenses are used with day/night cameras to provide sharp, focused images. Lenses provide an adjustable angle of view,...

Mini cable assembly.(New Products)(3M Co. Electronic Handling and Protection Div.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... With cabinet-to-cabinet links available in custom lengths out to 4 meters, Mini Serial Attached (miniSAS) cables assemblies provide signal integrity and protect against data loss. RoHS-compliant assemblies conform to the SFF 8086, 8087, and...

MDU drop cables.(New Products)(ADC Fiber Optics Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... RealFlex fiber-optic cables for multi-dwelling-unit (MDU) installations feature a bend radius as small as 7.5 mm without changing attenuation characteristics, allowing for curves and tight corners encountered in many FTTx deployments. The...

Mini video fiber transmitter.(New Products)(ComNet Communications L.L.C.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The FBT11-m is a mini fiber-optic video transmitter for use over multimode fiber. It converts a single baseband video channel to an optical signal and transmits it up to 2.5 km to a fiber-optic receiver where it is converted back to baseband...

Industrial cabling.(New Products)(Corning Cable Systems)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... These flame-retardant LSZH industrial cables have been tested to meet mechanical and environmental conditions in industrial applications. The halogen-free cables are designed to greatly reduce the possibility of emitted reactive gases due to...

Flat cable system.(New Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Ecobus flat-cable safety system is designed for flexible energy supply to IT cabinets, and is built to be integrated into all cable conduit systems. Energy can be supplied to or tapped from the flat cable at any point, without the cable...

Pre-terminated wiring block.(New Products)(ICC)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... CAT 5e 66 Wiring Blocks are pre-terminated to provide a clear demarcation point between the telephone company and customer-owned equipment. Supporting voice and Category 5e data applications, the blocks are designed for quick installation of...

Industrial mesh software.(New Products)(Laird Technologies PLC)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Extreme Mesh software, designed for wireless mesh technology in harsh industrial environments, is available for the company's range of 900-MHz wireless modules with power outputs of up to 1 watt. The solution lets users build meshes with...

Injection-molded splice tray.(New Products)(Leviton Network Solutions)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Available in 12-fiber mini and 24-fiber high-density versions, these injection-molded plastic fiber splice trays are designed to protect and manage heat shrink-style spliced fibers. Each tray accommodates 250- or 900-[micro]m single-mode or...

Trunk system.(New Products)(Mita Cable Management)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Cableline Prima 60 is a molded PVC trunking system for cable management. The 150 x 60-mm, 3-compartment system is designed for use with power and Category 5e, 6, shielded, and 10-Gigabit structured cabling. It features adjustable bends and a...

Wall-mount, indoor/outdoor WAP.(New Products)(Oberon)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Model 1022 locking wall-mount wireless access point enclosure is large enough to accommodate the Cisco 1250 Series 802.11n WAP. It includes knockouts for up to six antennas, designed for an aesthetic installation. This steel enclosure...

Unit designed for industrial applications.(Product Focus: uninterruptible power supplies)(Phoenix Contact Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The QUINT DC UPS is designed to ensure uninterruptible 24-volt DC power to mission-critical devices in industrial installations, even in the event of a power outage. The unit includes long-life lead acid batteries that provide long buffer times...

Intelligent line interactive UPS.(Product Focus: uninterruptible power supplies)(Tripp Lite)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The SMART750 intelligent, line-interactive UPS system is designed to protect servers, networking accessories and telecomm equipment from blackouts, voltage fluctuations and transient surges. Large internal batteries offer 16 minutes half-load...

Rack-mountable data center UPS.(Product Focus: uninterruptible power supplies)(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The HP R5500 rack-mountable UPS is designed for dense data center environments, and offers what the company claims is industry-leading power density of 4500 watts in 3U space. With two load segments, an optional rack-to-tower conversion kit,...

Compact, 3-phase power protection.(Product Focus: uninterruptible power supplies)(APC Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Smart-UPS VT 3-phase power protection line now includes parallel capability, making the product especially suited for small data centers, large retail stores, regional offices, wiring closets, and applications with dense power requirements....

Narrow slot hinged duct.(New Products)(Panduit Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Narrow Slot Hinged Cover Wiring Duct is designed to route and protect electrical wire or data communications cabling in high-density control panels. This standards-compliant solution (NFPA79-20021 IEC-60332-1) features narrow slots designed...

Industrial WAP.(New Products)(Phoenix Contact Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The RAD-SYS-NEMA4X-900 is a radio-ready enclosure designed to simplify installation of industrial wireless radio modems and small RTU devices. It includes a 24-volt DC power supply, UPS system, surge protection, and an antenna adapter. Built...

Multi-purpose, terminal closures for FTTx, OSP.(New Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Coyote MPC (multi-purpose closure) for MDU deployments provides a flexible means of addressing various applications that exist in residential and commercial FTTx installations. It accepts a grommet system and standard fittings, with eight cable...

SVGA cable.(New Products)(Rapcohorizon Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... 2EZ SVGA coaxial cable is designed for fast SVGA/XGA audio/video installation, with no need for soldering connectors in the field. The cable can be routed through walls, conduits, and ceilings, and is equipped with a CMP jacket for plenum...

Speaker-ready kit.(New Products)(Structured Cable Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The EZ-Cap pre-wire installation kit is designed for simplified access to the wiring for residential speaker components. After wallboard is installed, installers place a flush-mount cap over the chosen pre-wired outlet hole. The cap provides...

Analog video no-polish.(New Products)(3G Communications Markets Division)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Designed for analog video applications, the No Polish SC/APC connector is pre-assembled to enable fast on-site installations of 250- and 900-[micro]m connections. With a factory-polished ferrule assembly and mechanical splice technology, this...

Dry cloth fiber cleaner.(New Products)(International Business Machines Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... IBM dry cloth cleaners for mated and unmated fiber-optic connectors are designed for single connectors residing in the bulkhead adapter or loose on a cable assembly. The cleaners are made for both ultra- and angled-polished ferrules, are molded...

IP dome camera.(New Products)(Verint Systems Inc. and Vicon Industries Inc. introduces surveillance camera )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Nextiva $2800e IP surveillance camera combines Verint Systems encoding technology with the Vicon Industries SurveyorVFT camera dome. This high performance IP pan/tilt/zoom camera is designed for exceptional imagery, lower network bandwidth...

Ethernet extender.(New Products)(Westermo)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The DDW-221 and 222 Ethernet extenders provide integrated serial port and redundant ring support, and are suitable for installations involving traffic management, airports, railway signaling, and critical process control. A redundant protocol...

High-definition extender.(New Products)(Structured Cable Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... For new home installations, the HDMI Cat5e Extender Set provides an alternative to HDMI wires by using two Category 5e or 6 cables (up to 115/165 feet respectively) away from the signal source. The system auto-adjusts feedback, equalization,...

Optical test kit.(New Products)(Corning Cable Systems)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The OTS-600 Series of optical sources, meters, testers, and kits with data storage capabilities are designed for simplified LAN certification. Units have data storage for 10,000 results, a USB data transfer interface, and a video inspection...

Cable support system.(New Products)(Panduit Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... J-Pro cable support system with blue and red J-hooks provide a means to segregate and identify cable bundles for specific applications, such as data, security, fire alarm, or other applications that require a designated pathway. As an...

Category 5e, 6 patch cords.(New Products)(Daetwyler Cables)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Unilan Category 5e and 6 patch cords feature gray FR/PVC sheaths and molded RF-45 plugs with strain relief boots on both ends. q-hey are designed to meet all IEC and TIA/EIA standard specifications, and are flameretardant according to IEC 60...

Locking RJ-45.(New Products)(Panduit Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The RJ45 Plug Lock-In is designed to secure connections to reduce network downtime, data security breaches, and hardware theft. The device protects connections until it is removed via a special tool. Lock-In works with most patch cords,...

Security cables.(New Products)(Structured Cable Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Access Control Security cables are available in two versions. ACC-1 consists of 22-gauge/2c stranded bare copper, 22-gauge/4c stranded bare copper, 22-gauge/6c stranded shielded bare copper, and 18-gauge/4c stranded bare copper. ACC-2 consists...

Core-alignment splicer.(New Products)(Corning Cable Systems)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The OptiSplice M90e fusion splicer, says the company, is designed to offer the industry's fastest total splice cycle time (splicing and heat-shrink) for a core-alignment device, and uses automatic fusion time to optimize each splice....

Hand cleave tool for FTTH.(New Products)(Fujikura Europe Ltd.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Fujikura Europe Ltd.'s CT-02 hand cleave tool for FTTH installation features a new fiber guide with millimeter scale that allows accurate cleaving of multimode and singlemode fiber for all typical bare fiber lengths. The cleaver is designed for...

Pull tension estimator.(New Products)(Greenlee Textron Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... PF8 Pull Force Estimator lets you estimate in advance the pulling force required for cable-pulling jobs. Information can be used to help determine needed capacities for the cable puller, pulling rope, and other accessories. An Excel-based PF8...

Thermal transfer printer.(New Products)(Hellermann Tyton Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The TTM430 thermal transfer printer features high-tech printing sensors designed to create accurate starts and stops, resulting in faster print speeds and less label waste. It prints to a variety of materials, including all of the company's...

Enhanced CCTV testing.(New Products)(Ideal Industries Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... SecuriTEST PRO offers the multi-function CCTV testing platform of the original SecuriTEST introduced last year, along with new IRE video-level and sync testing, sound level assessment through an integrated speaker and on-screen display, and...

Fiber rack enclosure.(New Products)(Leviton Network Solutions)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Opt-X Ultra high-density fiber rack enclosure for enterprise and data center installations comes in 1, 2, and 4U versions. Accessibility and management features include: removable sliding tray designed to simplify field terminations and...

Cables increase fiber counts.(New Products)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... PowerGuide TTH Loose Tube Cable, designed for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) and short-span aerial applications, is now available in fiber counts up to 30 (with six fibers per buffer tube), while the cable's small outer diameter remains unchanged....