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Time to push network cabling beyond the limits

Enterprises are increasingly adopting hybrid and multi-cloud environments to achieve the right balance of performance, cost, and flexibility. These environments allow businesses to leverage the advantages of both on-premises and cloud infrastructure. 

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As shown in Figure 1, the global industrial IoT (IIoT) chipset market is expected to experience a healthy 26.2% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between now and 2030.  As a result, the global market for IIoT is estimated to increase from $147.2 billion in 2023 to $391.8 billion by 2028, a CAGR of 21.6%.

Moreover, the widespread use of edge-based, network-connected devices is no longer confined to the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Commercial and retail enterprises are now investing in network devices and management platforms.

The growth in edge-based connectivity presents a number of key challenges for enterprise network managers. Among them: how to extend the reach of their networks to deliver the required power and bandwidth beyond the traditional 100-meter distance limitation. Existing structured cabling architectures and standards can only go so far, and new extended-reach applications are continually emerging.

In this Enterprise Source fact file, we’ll dive deeper into the challenge of extended-reach power and data delivery. We’ll explore the various options and best practices for supporting connected devices at any distance from the telecom room (TR). Toward the end, we’ll show you how far a bit of out-of-the-box thinking can take you.

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Options for extending your network cabling reach

There are several ways to extend the reach of a structured cabling network beyond the 100 m channel barrier. Each option offers strengths and weaknesses.

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To briefly summarize the three approaches:  

Option 1, adding TRs: The cost, space and intermediate power required to add more TRs are problematic. Even if you could justify committing these resources, it’s difficult to justify the disruptions to your normal workflow.
 
Option 2, using PoE extenders: Here, the issue isn’t the time and cost of the installation, but the effective management of the network—specifically troubleshooting issues. As service-level agreements for network uptime become more demanding, this option becomes less appealing. 

Option 3, extend the copper infrastructure: This solution is the easiest and most cost-efficient to implement. Plus, it provides a familiar platform, RJ45 connectivity and centralized management. The drawbacks are performance verification and lack of a standards-supported roadmap. 

Each approach has its pros and cons, and each offers specific uses cases that allow you to extend your Ethernet reach beyond 100 m. The question is: Can any of them be “refined” to the point where the pros outweigh the cons in a majority of scenarios? 

At CommScope, we’ve been working for years to solve the extended reach challenge. As you might imagine, there is no single solution that addresses the wide range of use cases. Therefore, we’ve developed not one or two extended reach solutions, but four—each offering an innovative approach that attacks the issue from a different perspective.  

Utility grade infrastructure

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Working with industry leaders and Underwriters Laboratories (UL), CommScope developed a standards-compliant convergent infrastructure capable of connecting any device in a building—regardless of where it is located or its power and data needs: Utility Grade Infrastructure (UTG).

UTG is a complete technology platform, assurance program, and design approach. It unlocks a smart building’s full potential by redefining the infrastructure layer to support building subsystems, technologies and applications.

The UTG infrastructure platform features:

  • Utility-ready structured cabling and connectivity from CommScope
  • Advanced, tested power delivery 
  • UL verification of all performance and application claims 

As a single converged infrastructure platform, UTG solutions bridge the gap between information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). The ability to manage multiple systems on one platform accelerates efficiencies, increases business intelligence, strengthens cybersecurity, enhances productivity, optimizes performance and reduces operational costs.

Now, building owners, operators and managers can navigate seamlessly between a broad range of technologies while cost-effectively improving network reliability and performance. 

GigaREACH™ XL

Whereas the UTG infrastructure enables a platform solution for supporting large numbers of connected devices over extended distances, GigaREACH XL supports a small number of devices with the reliable performance of a standards-based connection. Backed by SYSTIMAX Applications Assurance warranty, GigaREACH XL is the first extended reach Category 6 UTP solution that warranties support for: 

  • 100 Mbps/90 W up to 200 m
  • 1 Gbps/90 W up to 150 m
  • 10 Mbps/90 W up to 250 m

The Cat 6 solution features a proprietary twist technology that enables use of the industry’s lowest loss conductor. The 21 AWG conductor reduces direct current (DC) resistance to 4.69 ohms/100 m—half the DC resistance allowed for standardized Category 6 cables—while lowering insertion loss and voltage drop over distance. This improves energy savings and sustainability and provides a higher power budget over longer distances.

Available as plenum, riser-rated, and outdoor buried solutions, GigaREACH XL is suitable for most environments, and it is compatible with existing structured cabling architectures. It uses the same installation tools, procedures, panels and jacks as SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED® X10D® solutions. 

GigaREACH XL benefits
  • Warrantied data/PoE performance 
  • Industry’s lowest loss conductor
  • Reduced voltage drop over distance
  • Half the DC resistance of standard Cat 6
  • Lower energy use, more sustainable
  • Supports network convergence
  • Works with existing structured cabling
  • Application Assurance/25-yr warranty

Constellation building edge platform

Constellation™ is a streamlined, modular and adaptable power/data platform that simplifies the cost and complexity of connecting edge-based devices and services. It combines fault managed power, hybrid power/data fiber, and Constellation Point hubs deployed in a distributed star topology. The result is a simplified, scalable and sustainable infrastructure that delivers 10X the power and 5X longer reach than a traditional Category 6A plenum LAN. 

The solution supports converged and segmented networks, alternating current (AC) and DC power applications, and a variety of connectivity options with near-unlimited fiber bandwidth at the edge. The Constellation platform is based on modular components deployed in a simplified, repeatable architecture.

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The streamlined modular design and simplified distributed star topology provide the following critical benefits:

  • Use 50% less equipment, 59% less copper and 65% less plastic than a traditional Category 6A plenum LAN installation. 
  • Reduce deployment time and costs 57% and skilled labor requirement by 50% or more compared to traditional Cat 6A plenum LAN. 
  • Support an unlimited number of devices with up to 12 kW of power and nearly limitless data capacity over spans of up to 500 m (1,640 feet).
  • Support converged, discrete and hybrid IT/OT networks.
  • Eliminate the need for a telecom room on each floor.
Constellation benefits
  • Up to 12 kW of fault managed power
  • 10X the power, 5X the reach1  
  • Support any number of devices up to 500 m
  • 50% less equipment, 59% less copper1
  • Save up to 57% in deployment time/costs1
  • Use less energy, extend network lifespan
 

Cabling parameters that can affect reach and performance

Having outlined the issues of extended-reach performance, and proposing several existing solutions (and one new and innovative solution), we now turn our attention to understanding how to get the most out of your chosen strategy.
There are a number of characteristics, both electrical and physical, that impact a cable’s ability to adequately sustain signal performance over the length of the channel.

Electrical parameters include insertion loss, resistance unbalance, propagation delay and mismatched impedance. On the physical side, variables such as including the conductor’s diameter and cordage design also affect reach and performance, as does the category of cable used.

結論

The changes in how organizations deploy, use and manage data are, in a word, transformative. Increasing use of augmented reality, IoT, and building automation/control are leading to increased workforce productivity, collaborations and safety, and buildings that are more efficient and sustainable. For network managers, however, designing networks that can support and sustain these new capabilities is a significant challenge.

While networks—including IT, OT, power and data—are converging to become more efficient, the number of connected devices and systems is exploding and moving to the network edge, closer to where data is being created and consumed. Supporting these changes means rethinking the role, design and capabilities of the structured cabling infrastructure, something CommScope anticipated years ago.

As an industry leader and innovator, we began working long ago with UL, Anixter and other network engineering specialists to develop an evolutionary unified infrastructure platform: UTG infrastructure. Now, customers can confidently extend the reach of their structured cabling networks to support tomorrow’s next-generation connected devices and systems.

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