The Invisible Wires

Don't you just love the thrills on screen-Spiderman leaping

from one building to the other; or Charlie's Angels doing a somersault before

delivering an astounding punch. These are incredible stunts performed with

perfection, using wires, almost seeming invisible. Much like the wires or cables

in your organization running to and fro desktops, servers and network utilities,

strapping your valuable IT assets together to the data center. Structured

cabling, the hero behind-the-scene, makes it possible for critical business

functions to be carried out.

India is recording the fastest growth in the cabling industry at

22% as per AMI Partners, an independent analyst firm. The Indian market

opportunity is estimated to be worth around $100 mn now and cabling for data

centers is growing at 46%.

In 2005, 13.8% of the structured cabling business in the region

came from data centers but research suggests that in 2010, they will contribute

about 32% of the structured cabling business in the region. In 2010, the Indian

structured cabling market will be worth $345 mn, according to AMI Partners. The

structured cabling market in the Asia Pacific (including Japan) should touch

$1.53 bn 2010, with a CAGR of 11% from 2005 to 2010.

According to Raju Chellam, VP, Asia Pacific, AMI Partners, key

verticals like financial services, transportation, IT and media houses are

getting more and more data centric, and setting up more data centers. The

primary challenges for IT managers of data centers are keeping ahead of the

access capability and storage capacity.

Data is Crucial



A good data center is invisible to the end user. The end user only sees the
services or transactions that take place, whether it is a bank transaction, a

file transfer, participating in a video conferencing or simply sending an email.

Likewise, in the data center, a good cabling infrastructure should be

"invisible" to the IT professional. Despite running under your office

flooring, or climbing up walls, the cabling infrastructure is the least of

concerns for an IT professional.

When you think of cabling for your data center, you cannot

ignore the key objectives-high quality and reliability of a data center; high

performance to support various kinds of services; shortest deployment time for

moves, adds and changes (MACs); high density options and integration into the

infrastructure management.

Kumar Natarajan, regional director, India and South West Asia,

Panduit, says, "Business models have gone through a complete cycle from

centralized data centers to decentralized and now back to centralized.

Businesses realize that data is their strongest asset and as such are making

strides to assure its availability, security, and redundancy."

The data center model continues to evolve, enabling greater

efficiency, robustness, and flexibility. Some would place storage and Storage

Area Network (SAN) technology at the strategic center of tomorrow's data

center, while others focus on grid computing to better utilize processing power.

Having a single robust data center is also no longer enough for businesses like

financial institutions that require a duplicate "back-up data center".

Many organizations are turning to third-party data center services for disaster

recovery and outsourcing of specific business processes.

Don't Ignore the Basics



All data centers are built keeping in mind a few key support infrastructures
like, power supply and backup, cooling and environmental control, physical

security, connectivity to outside networks, Network Operations Center (NOC),

cabling and grounding. "70% of the network down time is caused by cabling

infrastructure," says Dileep Kumar, product manager, Enterprise Networks,

ADC Krone. He advises that planning for the cabling should be done first and

foremost. "Since cabling infrastructure must enter the building first, much

before the active hardware, planning for cabling should be done that

early," he adds.

When selecting fiber and copper cable, connectivity and cable

management solutions for the data center, it is important to choose products and

services that satisfy the three principles of data center cabling infrastructure

design-space planning, reliability and manageability

Kevin Lloyd-Bisley, global technical manager, Molex, reiterates

that cabling system designers must be involved from the conception to completion

of data center projects. "Study the standards, agree capacities and involve

all specialists in the early design stage so everything is integrated. Agree on

the computer room layout and cabinet layout from which your capacities will tell

how much cabling is required," he advises the CIOs of the enterprise

planning a new data center.

It is also imperative for the enterprise to plan the design of

data center keeping in mind the requirements and support infrastructure.

"Requirements of an enterprise change very frequently. Estimating business

needs is critical," says Mylaraiah JN, regional sales manager, AMP

NetConnect, Tyco Electronics. He says that with many MACs there is a possibility

of losing sight of support infrastructure factors like power and cooling.

"I would say clients must spend more time in planning for a smooth

maintenance," he adds.

Every data center must have a cabling infrastructure that

addresses some common concerns: how to manage a large number of cables in a

changing environment, how to select cabling with sufficient bandwidth, and how

to route cables efficiently throughout the facility.

A company should perform a business impact analysis before

selecting the appropriate structured cabling technology for its premises.

"The analysis should take into account the length of occupancy of the

premises, the LAN technology currently in use, and the migration plan to newer

(and higher data rate) technology," advises Dr TC Tan, distinguished member

of technical staff, Systimax Labs.

The most common mistake companies make when selecting structured

cabling systems is to use a 'mix-and-match' approach, ie, using cables from

vendor A and connector/connecting hardware from vendor B. "This approach

may be acceptable for Category 5 systems but becomes problematic for Category

5e, Category 6, and Category 6A systems due to additional parameter requirements

such as return loss and higher frequency specifications," Dr Tan adds

further. The other mistake a company tends to make is to select a solution based

on the lowest price, irrespective of the vendor's track record.

Follow the Norm



As all businesses transform using IT, it has led to a proliferation of
cabling in data and IT centers, and even purpose-built modern office buildings.

It's no longer sufficient to wire basic cabling and mains around a data center

site, there is now a need for all manner of cabling, raised floor pathways,

overhead trays and plenum spaces, as well as feeds for wireless communications.

In April 2005, the Telecommunications Industry Association

published TIA-942, "Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data

Centers," that defines a number of guidelines for planning and building

data centers. The standard, which deals with copper and fibre optic media,

states that both horizontal and vertical cables should be run, accommodating

growth so that these areas do not have to be revisited.

"We have to consider heating issues, cable management and

the installation aspects while designing a data center. EIA/TIA has come out

with a new standard, TIA-942 covering all new aspects for a data center

design," says Kumar.

The TIA-942 specification references private and public domain

data center requirements for applications and procedures such as network

architecture, electrical design, file storage, backup and archiving, database

management, web and application hosting and power management. Data centers can

be classified by Tiers, with Tier 1 being the most basic and inexpensive, and

Tier 4 being the most robust and costly.

According to the standard, a tier-1 data center is not required

to have redundant power and cooling infrastructures. It needs only a lock for

security and can tolerate up to 28.8 hours of downtime per year. In contrast, a

tier-4 data center must have redundant systems for power and cooling, with

multiple distribution paths that are active and fault tolerant. Furthermore, the

cabling infrastructure should have a redundant backbone, and the facility can

permit no more than 0.4 hours of downtime per year.

Tier 1 or 2 is usually sufficient for enterprise data centers

that primarily serve users within a corporation. Financial data centers are

typically tier-3 or 4 because they are critical to economic stability and

therefore, must meet higher standards set by federal regulatory bodies. Public

data centers that provide disaster recovery/backup services are also built to

higher standards.

Bandwidth Conscious



As networks expand and bandwidth demands increase, the data center
infrastructure must be able to maintain constant reliability and performance.

The cabling itself should support current bandwidth needs while enabling

anticipated migration to higher network speeds without sacrificing performance.

"In fact, the data center infrastructure should be designed

and implemented to outlast the applications and equipment it supports by at

least 10 to 15 years," asserts Kumar. This is apart from the considerations

on higher data transmissions requirements of 10 Gigabit and more and higher

levels of reliability. Tier-4 reliability offers 99.995% availability which

translates to 0.4 hrs of annual down time.

As per a recent CommScope global survey on enterprise network

trends, changes in the way organizations operate are generating a demand for

bandwidth hungry applications, forcing data flow through the organization to be

quicker and more efficient.

Dr Tan says, "A number of factors, including

bandwidth-hungry applications, businesses' demand for increased network

uptime, and the need for efficient network management and monitoring, are

driving the selection of cabling infrastructures and the requisite investment

for higher performance systems, rather than initial cost."

Consolidation of IT systems into data centers resulting in major

rollout of data center projects. This has resulted in the adoption of Category

6A/Class EA cabling systems and pre-terminated multi-fibre based solutions.

A Typical Data center topology as per TIA 942

An emerging trend in the industry is physical layer management

systems that provide real-time monitoring of physical layer connections.

"Physical layer elements monitor and map all connections in the

cross-connect field. The monitoring hardware can be integrated with the element

management and network management layers in the telecommunications managed

network (TMN), and any inadvertent disconnection is immediately detected,"

adds Natarajan.

Kevin sees fiber gaining popularity. "The future lies in

the convergence of IP systems data, CCTV, access control, monitoring and

management on different levels within the building controlling the building from

within, in the next town, state or country. Fiber is expanding in data centers

because of its low density and lower installation cost. The per port cost of

fiber is still higher than copper — but we are seeing an increase in the usage

of fiber in data centers predominantly related to the increase in use of fiber

to the cabinet in addition to the traditional backbone application," he

says.

Space and Power



Data center requirements continuously change. Environmentally controlled
real estate is expensive, and maximizing space is critical. Data center racks

and equipment can take up an enormous amount of real estate, and future network

demands may require even more space.

"Earthing issues and capacity planning of cooling and power

requirements are two critical challenges we face during installations,"

says Natarajan. Designing in plenty of empty floor space enables reallocating

space to a particular function, and adding new equipment as needed. As

connections, bandwidth and storage requirements grow, so do the amount of

cabling connecting key areas and equipment. Choosing high-density cabling and

connectivity solutions that require less rack, floor, and pathway space will

leave more room for reconfiguration and growth.

The infrastructure must, consistently protect cabling and

connections while supporting the flow of data without errors that cause

retransmission and delays. The cabling should also support current bandwidth

needs while enabling migration to higher network speeds.

Builders Have a Role



Property developers are in a highly competitive market within Asia Pacific.
Forward looking developers understand that by designing a building, with the

connectivity included will allow them to sell more value to customers and gain

competitive advantage.

The trend of cabling vendors aligning with ACE or architects

consultants and engineers for structured cabling is not a new trend elsewhere,

but in India it is slowly catching on. The builders have improved their act and

are not taking their client's IT needs for granted. They are working closely

with the structured cabling vendors and planning out fit outs best suited for

the occupants to ensure smooth opening and functioning for the new offices.

"In India the concept of third party consultants for

structured cabling hasn't caught up yet. There is a huge scope for cabling

vendors to act like consultants for the builders and advise them on pathways,

and cabling fit outs," says Mylaraiah.

The advantage of this is that firms or enterprises that move

into a new building can save time in planning basic cabling infrastructure and

can shorten time to market. The fit outs can be better conformed to the cabling

standards and thus ensure convenience to both the builder's and cabling vendor's

clients.

There is a renewed interest in intelligent buildings.

Furthermore, since the 9/11 incident, physical security has gained paramount

importance. This has resulted in the advent of IP-based security and access

control systems.

Malovika Rao





malovikar@cybermedia.co.in