Cabling Networking Systems November/December 2013

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Cabling Networking Systems

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Contents NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2013

• Volume 15, Number 6

Cover

12

A Look Ahead to 2014 2014 will be the year of the Winter Olympics in Russia and the World Cup in Brazil. It will also be a year in which wireless traffic —as machine-to-machine, Wi-Fi, and cellular — will drive more data across networks and to the cloud.

In response, 10 Gigabit Ethernet will remain the go-to solution, with 40 Gig increasingly seen as an affordable option for handling rising traffic, and 100 Gig still mostly in the waiting room. Late-adopting industries will require robust cabling, with demand for high-performance Cat 6A staying strong. As the data mountain continues to grow, handling demand will become as much a software and design challenge as one of bandwidth and capacity, with the data centre and cloud a key part of the solution. These trends can be understood in the context of five main phenomena: the new normal of cloud storage; the importance of software to network design and monitoring; the emergence of the industrial Internet; the ongoing shift to mobile devices and tablets; and the new world of automation and machine to machine communication.

Departments 4 Editor’s Desk 6

News Hub

19

What’s New

Columns 16 Money Management

6

17

BICSI column

18

Wireless column

22

Standards update

In the next issue: Smart Manufacturing www.cnsmagazine.com

November / December 2013 CNS 3

editor’s desk

Why we are transitioning In this the final issue of CNS, below are several examples of why the transition to Connections+ is about to take place. All of the news items either appear in this issue or on www.cnsmagazine. com.

To begin with, new research from Accenture reveals that companies that invest in digital technologies and improving customer experiences are able to identify new growth opportuPaul Barker nities and enhance performance. The research report, High Paul Barker Performers in IT: Defined by Digital, features insights from senior IT executives in more than 200 global companies across a range of industries. It also shows that high performers devote 55% of their IT budgets to delivering strategic capabilities that support growth and business performance. Their counterparts; however, invest only 37%.

• IBM Corp. reports that organizations gaining competitive advantage through high cloud adoption are reporting almost double the revenue growth and nearly 2.5 times higher gross profit growth than peer companies that are more cautious about cloud computing. The findings come from a recent survey conducted with more than 800 cloud decision makers and users worldwide. IBM’s survey also revealed that the cloud’s strategic importance to decision-makers, such as CEOs, CMOs, finance, HR and procurement executives, is “poised to double from 34% to 72% — vaulting over their IT executive counterparts at 58%.”

• Tech industry research company International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that over the next four years sales of storage capacity will grow by 30% annually. To handle that growth, enterprises are becoming more efficient, and also leveraging the cloud. Specifically, cloud vendors who are building their own object-based storage systems are out-stripping commercial vendors. This trend will be strong into 2014, and will not turn back. Once data is stored in the cloud, there is really no argument for repatriating it, which suggests that cloud storage is not simply an emerging trend, but one that will define storage for years to come.

• The development of a new Gigabit Ethernet standard that promises to help revolutionize how automobiles are manufactured and how they are driven is moving closer to final approval. At the 2013 BICSI Fall Conference here in September, Valerie Maguire, global sales engineer at The Siemon Company and a member of the IEEE 802.3 Working Group, updated delegates on the status of a number of proposed standards currently being worked on, key among them being IEEE 802.3bp. Expected to publish in May 2014, the study group for Reduced Twisted Pair Gigabit Ethernet was formed last year.

• Earlier this Fall Dr. Nils Fonstad, the Associate Director of INSEAD elab, the research and analytic centre of the renowned international business school, spoke to a group of Canadian C-level business leaders and senior IT executives at a Toronto customer event organized by AT&T. He gave each of them much to think about.

The bulk of his presentation revolved around a joint report issued in January by the two organizations that revealed, not surprisingly, emerging technologies such as cloud services, mobility and online collaboration are improving corporate competitiveness and enable them to “outperform” their peers.

• The head of Cisco Systems Inc.’s collaboration technology group says there are currently two camps operating today among IT professionals when it comes to how best to handle the changing technology demands of employees. “There is the camp that is getting hammered by their users to open things up,” said Rowan Trollope.

“These are the folks that say, ‘OK, we give — go ahead’ because they know their users are doing stuff anyway without their permission.

With that, it is time to say farewell to CNS and hello to Connections+. As we note on p. 7 in a house ad: one era ends, another begins.

4 CNS November / December 2013

Editor Paul Barker 416-510-6752 pbarker@cnsmagazine.com Senior Publisher Maureen Levy 416-510-5111 mlevy@cnsmagazine.com Advertising Sales Manager Vince Naccarato 416-510-5118 vnaccarato@cnsmagazine.com Art Director Anne Miron Production Manager Karen Samuels Creative Services Anita Balgobin Circulation Manager Barbara Adelt 416-442-5600 ext. 3546 Print Production Manager Phyllis Wright Advertising Sales Maureen Levy Vice President Alex Papanou President Bruce Creighton EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Keith Fortune, CTech, Business Development Specialist, Western Canada Network Solutions - Leviton Manufacturing of Canada Ltd. Henry Franc, RCDD/OSP Senior Account Manager, Professional Support at Belden Brantz Myers, B.Sc Math and Computing Science Director of Healthcare Business Development - Cisco Systems Canada Co. Peter Sharp, RCDD, AMIEE Senior Telecommunications Consultant • Giffels Associates Limited/IBI Group Alex Smith, President • Connectivitywerx Rob Stevenson, RCDD/NTS Specialist Communications Division Manager • Guild Electric Ltd. Head Office

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Cabling Networking Systems is a publication for the structured cabling industry, covering the latest developments in telecommunications cabling systems in building facilities. The editorial content is directed at structured cabling, networking and telecom professionals The publisher assumes no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the text or its fitness for any particular purpose.

Cabling Networking Systems is published by Business Information Group, a division of BIG Magazines L.P., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business information services.

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Full speed ahead for IEEE 802.3bp Pending Gigabit Ethernet standard viewed as key part of the smart car movement

By Paul Barker

—

Maguire indicated that the 802.3bp document was on track The development of a new Gigabit Ethernet to be circulated for Task Group Ballot beginning in November. standard that promises to help revolutionize how automobiles “The automotive industry came to (us) and said ‘you have an are manufactured and how they are driven is moving closer to opportunity here to implement Ethernet in our vehicles and we final approval.

At the 2013 BICSI Fall Conference here in September, can significantly reduce cable weight in a car.’

“When you look at the cost of the main components that go Valerie Maguire, global sales engineer at The Siemon Company and a member of the IEEE 802.3 Working Group, updated into a vehicle, the cabling is the third highest component. The delegates on the status of a number of proposed standards cur- engine is number one and chassis number two.

“Let’s talk about weight: The chassis is the heaviest comporently being worked on, key among them being IEEE 802.3bp.

The study group for Reduced Twisted Pair Gigabit Ethernet nent, the engine is second and cabling harness third. If we can was formed last year, the result, according to an IEEE news re- get Gigabit Ethernet to run on fewer than four pairs we can lease, of 802.3 physical interface transceivers (PHYs) being de- make a lighter harness.”

See also pages 17 and 22 ployed in ever-increasing numbers in a wide variety of application spaces including the automobile industry. The target publication date is May 2014.

Applications areas range from a “backbone for all data services,” IEEE said, including infotainment, driver assistance, vehicle controls used in brakes as well as the suspension and transmission At the time, Dr. Kirsten Matheus, project manager for Ethernet IP & Strategy at German car manufacturer BMW, said the automotive industry is moving “full speed towards Ethernetbased in-car networking. A reduced pair Gigabit Ethernet standard suitable for automotive use is the missing link towards the flexible, scalable and future-proof networking technology we would like to deploy.”

Dr. David Law, current chair of the working group and distinguished engineer with HP Networking, added that “reducing the number of wire pairs required to achieve high bandwidth could introduce additional, untapped markets for IEEE 02.3-based Ethernet technology, such as industrial-control and avionics, and have far-reaching impact across Dr. Kirsten Matheus, project manager for Ethernet IP & Strategy at German luxury car manufacturer BMW, says the automotive industry is moving “full speed towards Ethernet-based in-car networking.” varied industries.” las vegas

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• The SDN Factor • Robots & Humans

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• Building Integration • Growing World of Big Data

• Connected Health • Online Education • Smart Communities • The Changing Workplace

Space closing – February 25 Ad material due – March 4

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(Special Mobile Report)

May • June

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• Life In The Cloud • Preparing for IPV6

• The M2M Invasion • Look Ahead 2015

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“Over the last 24 months there has been a seismic shift in the way technology is viewed, used and implemented. To say another revolution is about to be unleashed is not an overstatement.”

– Paul Barker, Editor of CNS and Connections+

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Why CEOs should care about digitized platforms Co-author of groundbreaking report by INSEAD and AT&T outlines findings at Toronto event

By Paul Barker Dr. Nils Fonstad, the associate director of INSEAD’s elab recently spoke to a group of Canadian C-level business leaders and senior IT executives at a Toronto customer event organized by AT&T. He gave each of them much to think about. The bulk of his presentation revolved around a joint report issued in January by the two organizations that revealed, not surprisingly, emerging technologies such as cloud services, mobility and online collaboration are improving corporate competitiveness and enable them to “outperform” their peers.

INSEAD eLab, the research and analytic centre of the renowed international business school, concluded that “merely investing in new technologies is not enough to guarantee improved competitiveness and in fact, some heavy investors in technology are seeing no improvement in their competiveness at all.”

Findings in the study, entitled Building Competitiveness and Business Performance with ICT, are drawn from responses from 225 multinational organizations based in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

INSEAD eLab researchers identified the following key business enablers as vital to success.

• Business involvement in technology investment and management decisions • Access to technology-focused talent • Access to management-focused talent, and • Benefit of a mature digitized platform — the extent to which the technology, business process and data components of a company are standardized, shared and integrated. This is sometimes referred to as a firm’s “digital maturity”.

In an interview with CNS, Fonstad said the findings show why a business leader or member of the board should care about the digitized platform and why they should be worried about the spaghetti they may have.

“Like it or not, because organizations rely heavily on IT both for operations and innovation, it is now the responsibility of the entire senior management team to understand IT,” he said.

“By that , I do not mean it is enough to understand how to use the latest gadget. IT savviness now for the senior management team means that they have to understand why having a mature digitized platform makes business sense.

“That does not require a degree in computer studies. It requires going through a report such as this and talking to the CIO or his or her team.”

When it was first released, Fonstad suggested that any firm that is investing in technology to enhance agility would do well to first assess the strength of their key business enablers.

According to the study, firms that have mature digitized platforms and invest in new technologies can double the likelihood of being competitively agile compared to firms with immature digi8

CNS November / December 2013

tized platforms that make similar investments.

As an example, researchers found that 74% of “high investors in cloud with mature digitized platforms were competitively agile. In contrast, high investors with immature digitized platforms were no more likely to be competitively agile than low investors in cloud.

Theodoros Evgeniou, associate professor of Decision Sciences and Technology Management at Dr. Nils Fonstad: An organization’s INSEAD and the academic direc- entire senior management team tor of eLab, said the research pro- needs to understand IT. vides new data that can help business leaders decided how to invest in technology.

Meanwhile, Andrew Edision, regional vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with AT&T, said that simply adopting the new technologies is not the answer, and is in fact a greater risk: “They must sit on top of mature, standardized platforms. Being agile and competitive doesn’t mean being the quickest, it means always being able to be quick. The secret is a mature platform and avoiding the creation of ‘infrastructure spaghetti’ in the rush to adopt the latest tools.

Big data requires ‘big leap of faith’ for telcos Big data can revolutionize the way telecom operators build, run and market their services, changing the nature of what they sell, but analysis processes must be reengineered to ensure that big data insights can be used so the organization can quickly, cost-efficiently and effectively adapt, according to a recent report from Heavy Service Provider IT Insider, a subscription research service from Heavy Reading.

Big Data: Big Cost or Big Opportunity? explores the progress telecom operators are making in terms of their efforts to exploit their data assets. It reviews the ways in which big data can be used; how operators have been using it; and explores lessons learned that fast followers should consider. It also analyzes the types of companies that are emerging/have emerged to support telecom big data projects, the products and services they provide and how they compare.

“Big data is the big topic of conversation in many a big board room around the world,” says Simon Sherrington, author of the report.

Further information is available at www.heavyreading.com. www.cnsmagazine.com

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Cisco aggressively going after ‘modern workspace’ Collaboration boss says IT departments split on how to make it happen

By Paul Barker The head of Cisco Systems Inc.’s collaboration “The modern workspace will integrate tools at work with technology group says there are curmany of the tools rently two camps operating employees use at today among IT profeshome; support mobilisionals when it comes to ty trends that enable how best to handle the people to access inforchanging technology demation and communicate mands of employees from their device of choice “There is the camp in ways not possible just a that is getting hammered Cisco IP Phone 7800 Series: Frugal in terms of power conshort time ago, and simplify by their users to open sumption and can automatically power down during off-hours. processes — for workers and things up,” said Rowan Trollope. “These are the folks that say, ‘OK, we give — go ahead’ IT alike — while maintaining security,” the company said in release.

“Today’s organizations need to support mobile workers by probecause they know their users are doing stuff anyway without their viding them with collaboration technologies that are designed permission.

“I speak to a lot of people about this and I often ask how many around mobility first.”

Cisco released: use DropBox at their company and roughly 85% reply yes. How many of you are allowed to use DropBox? That number is much • Cisco Expressway, a gateway that maintains security without the lower and nearing zero.” need for device-level registration, accounts, and passwords. This Trollope added there is absolute tension in the IT industry right means that users, regardless of location, can gain instant access to now as a result of the growing collaboration movement. all of their collaboration tools — helping to make communica“There is a group that says if you can’t beat them join them and tions happen faster and more efficiently. we are going to go forward and enable our employees and do every- • Jabber Guest, which utilizes Expressway’s security functionality to thing we can to empower them with technology. give “guest access” to anyone outside a corporate organization “The message we are delivering to them is spot on — they love (e.g., a business partner, a consultant or a consumer needing aswhere we are going. The other camp in IT would like to do that, sistance) so they can communicate with employees inside it using but for a variety of reasons, need control. The goal is to open it up high-definition voice and video via a browser or mobile device. to give the user the right experience, but give IT the control they need.”

He predicted that the “next big thing” in this space would be cloud-based collaboration.

“There is the same tension in the IT industry and I get two very different responses,” he said.

“One is: You need to be talking about cloud or else I don’t want to talk to you. The other response I get is: If you are hear to talk to me about cloud this conversation is over.”

Trollope’s comments came at a press event held one week before the company announced the next phase of its vision for collaboration, which it said focuses on delivering “solutions” that embrace the modern workspace and enable users to work smarter and more efficiently from According to Rowan Trollope, head of Cisco’s collaboration technology group, employees and customers are choosing to connect and collaborate with one another to get things done. virtually anywhere.

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CNS November / December 2013

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• The Cisco IP Phone 7800 Series PoE class-1 devices, which can automatically power down during off-hours, saving energy and helping to reduce costs by as much as 60 percent.

• Intelligent Proximity, a technology that allows users to link their personal mobile devices with on-premise products in the office to enhance the experience.

As a result of the launch, as of November, users of the company’s DX650 Smart Desk Phone will be able to wirelessly sync their desk phones with their Apple and Android mobile phones.

Finally, Cisco Prime Collaboration gives IT departments a single unified management console from which to manage collaboration products.

From it they can deploy servers, provision devices from the phones on users’ desks to the Jabber clients on their laptops, and provide general feature management and service assurance.

“The rise in mobility has opened up new ways in which teams, employees and customers are choosing to connect and collaborate with one another to get things done,” Trollope said. “The key to success in this new world is having open and accessible communications that cross experiences — whether it be in a physical office, face-to-face through a video call, in a voice call, or in a converged connection through Cisco Jabber.”

Attackers sharpening their skills: IBM IBM Corp. recently released the results of its X-Force 2013 Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report that reveals Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) must increase their knowledge of the evolving vulnerability and attack landscape such as mobile and social technologies, to more effectively combat emerging security threats.

“For CISO’s, it is no surprise that tried and true attack tactics can cause the most damage to an enterprise,” the company said in a release. “Known vulnerabilities left unpatched in Web applications and server and endpoint software, create opportunities for attacks to occur.

“These unpatched applications and software continue to be facilitators of breaches year after year. However, the latest X-Force report also recognizes that attackers are improving their skills, which allows them to increase their return on exploitation.” The insights are grouped into the following areas where X-Force analyzed trends in attack behaviors: • Social Media: A tool for business, reconnaissance, and attacks • Poisoning the Watering Hole: Compromising a central strategic target • Distraction and Diversion: Attackers amplify DDoS as a distraction to breach other systems IBM expects to see applications of social engineering become more sophisticated as “attackers create complex internetworks of identities while refining the art of deceiving victims.”

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2014

A LOOK AHEAD TO

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CNS November / December 2013

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As the data mountain continues to grow, handling demand will become as much a software and design challenge as one of bandwidth and capacity, with the data centre and cloud a key part of the equation.

www.cnsmagazine.com www.cnsmagazine.com

November // December December 2013 2013 November

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cover story

By Timothy Wilson

2014

will be the year of the Winter Olympics in Russia and the World Cup in Brazil. It will also be a year in which wireless traffic — as machine-to-machine, Wi-Fi, and cellular — will drive more data across networks and to the cloud. In response, 10 Gigabit Ethernet will remain the go-to solution, with 40 Gig increasingly seen as an affordable option for handling rising traffic, and 100 Gig still mostly in the waiting room. Late-adopting industries will require robust cabling, with demand for high-performance Cat 6A staying strong. As the data mountain continues to grow, handling demand will become as much a software and design challenge as one of bandwidth and capacity, with the data centre and cloud a key part of the solution.

These trends can be understood in the context of five main phenomena: the new normal of cloud storage; the importance of software to network design and monitoring; the emergence of the industrial Internet; the ongoing shift to mobile devices and tablets; and the new world of automation and machine to machine communication.

Cloud Storage is Forever. Tech industry research company International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that over the next four years sales of storage capacity will grow by 30% annually. To handle that growth, enterprises are becoming more efficient, and also leveraging the cloud. Specifically, cloud vendors who are building their own object-based storage systems are out-stripping commercial vendors. This trend will be strong into 2014, and will not turn back. Once data is stored in the cloud, there is really no argument for repatriating it, which suggests that cloud storage is not simply an emerging trend, but one that will define storage for years to come. “30% growth may even be conservative,” says Valerie Maguire, global sales engineer at Siemon. “Some stats show storage growing at 40-50% a year, or doubling every two years. Over the next 10 years that represents storage growth by a factor of fifty, with file growth being at a factor of 75.”

The move to object-based storage in the cloud is helping address the challenge, given that it does not rely on traditional SAN arrays for fixed block sizes, and instead stores data as objects with flexible sizes. This makes it easier to store unstructured data, too. This is happening as the transition to cloud-based hardware in Canada is strong, with IDC seeing Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS, growing at 46% annually, though it presently represents only at about 10%% of the total market. In this environment, cabling and switching demands in data centres will continue to grow.

“On the infrastructure side of things, the trend is to look at the cloud as the best solution for a lot of stuff,” says Andy Woyzbun, executive advisor at Info-Tech Research Group. “It makes sense to store data without having to worry about depreciation or the life cycle of the asset.”

Big Data Becomes Smart Data. As we head into 2014 there will be more talk of the digital enterprise, in which paper is officially left behind, and data is intelligently collected, stored, and retrieved. In this world, not all data is mission critical, but all data is nonetheless valued insofar as it can be leveraged to benefit the enterprise.

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CNS November / December 2013

“With pervasive computing we anticipate that 10 Gig backhaul will shift to 40 and 100 Gig.”

Given the growth in data storage requirements, it will be increasingly essential that information be found and retrieved quickly.

“You can throw hardware and bandwidth at the problem, but when you deal — David Coffin, with the cloud, latency becomes an issue,” chief technology officer, says David Coffin, chief technology offiFluke Networks. cer with Fluke Networks. “You need to be able to test in order to see how you are doing from an application response time standpoint.”

Getting the right information out of ever-accumulating of data will require smarter networks, and central to that will be more automation and centralization, including a single point of control for applications. One initiative on this front is HP’s approach to the software-defined network, or SDN. “SDN is a key area of our strategy to simplify the network,” says Kash Shaikh, senior director, HP Networking. “It is a journey continuing into 2014, but it will be a while before it becomes mainstream.” OpenFlow is a standard for SDN that is supported by the Open Networking Foundation (ONF). HP has 10 new routers capable of OpenFlow support, as well as 50 switches that work with the protocol – the largest of any vendor. Given that HP’s switches and routers can use the OpenFlow protocol now, or wait till later, 2014 will likely see more enterprises talking about how SDN might fit into their long-term strategy, from both a technological and business perspective.

“For us, we see SDN as providing benefits across the network by increasing business agility,” says Shaikh. “It aligns and opens the network to solve business problems.”

Cisco Systems Inc., which remains the dominant player in networking, has Internet routing hardware to support its “Internet-ofEverything” vision, as well as Insieme architecture devices and its own SDN initiative, called OpenDaylight, which it is pursuing with heavyweight IBM. These smarter networks, with their heavy emphasis on open software development and reduced administrative tasks, will support high traffic flows and greater automation — all of which should boost demand for cabling infrastructure.

Here Comes the Industrial Internet. Despite the talk of increased connectivity, some business segments and industrial processes have been slow to transition in order to take full advantage of the Internet. That is changing, and will accelerate into 2014 with more healthcare, manufacturing, and even commodities-based enterprises investing in networks to support imaging technology, 3D modeling, complex relational databases, and media-rich applications. “In healthcare today, the standard is Cat 6A,” says Paul Kish, director of systems and standards, Belden. “These are new builds, with 10 Gig capabilities to workstations, and preterminated plugand-play upgradable to 40 or 100 Gig if need be. For now, 100 Gig is expensive, but 40 Gig represents good value.”

Demand for 40 Gig is expected to strengthen in 2014, with 100 Gig taking over as new technologies come on stream in 2015. The industries driving demand are varied, and include sophisticated online retail vendors, as well as those areas that have always demanded www.cnsmagazine.com

the latest and the greatest. “Healthcare is pretty tech savvy, and their data requirements are growing, but the most demanding is actually the gaming community,” says Coffin from Fluke Networks. “They are driving lower and lower latencies. And then there is finance and trading, where micro seconds can make a big difference. They have been big spenders historically. We expect them to continue to spend going into 2014.”

This has to be understood in the context of a global economy that is increasingly interconnected, and in which the combination of organic data growth off of existing users will combine with new industries embracing advanced computing and connectivity.

“If you look at manufacturing, for example, that could be considered a mid-adopter,” says Kish. “We are just starting to see the industrial Internet start to touch the manufacturing floor.”

The lifecycle for cabling is 10 years, compared to an average of three years for computing equipment, which would argue for a slower refresh cycle on the cabling front. However, 2014 will see new builds to support key industries that have been slow adopters — among them manufacturing, energy, and commodities — as well as more generically on the data centre front.

“We are seeing more new builds than upgrades,” says Michael Salvador, technical solutions manager for data centres at Belden. “It is difficult to upgrade cables in a live data centre, and many people are going for something new rather than painful upgrading.”

As such, growth in the industrial Internet will not only support enterprise installs, but will also directly boost demand in off-site data centres and the cloud. Late adopters often do not want to build their own infrastructure, and will welcome having a cloud provider take the unfamiliar load off their hands.

“This is all part of the increase in demand,” says Kish. “We have seen forecasts that anticipate a doubling of core bandwidth every 18 months, and a doubling of switch to server bandwidth demands every 24 months.”

“Then if you look at the number of devices, Apple has 300 million.

Multiply that demand, and you can see that the infrastructure will need to be there.”

In effect, surging demand off of mobile devices, and the ongoing trend to bring your own device (BYOD) will drive more enterprise traffic through data centres. There is simply no other way for global infrastructure to handle the looming tidal wave of data that is 5G without leveraging the cloud.

“It is estimated that today 30% of all Internet traffic is to a smartphone or tablet,” says Salvador. “A lot of that traffic has to be driven through data centres.”

Into 2014, security on mobile networks will remain a concern, particularly in the context of BYOD. Juniper Research recently found that 80% of all smartphones are vulnerable to malware and attacks and Gartner estimates that devices owned by employees have twice the malware infection rate of company-owned devices.

But this will not stop the trend, with 2014 likely to see more employers actually encouraging BYOD, given how it can improve flexibility and productivity. And central to that will be the ability to jump off cellular networks.

“The carriers are aware of the need to allocate their networks with Wi-Fi support,” says Coffin. “When cellular is stressed, Wi-Fi offers an offload opportunity, but there are others options, too. For example, distributed antennas in a building can maintain a very strong LTE signal.”

M2M Takes the Internet Out of Our Hands. As we move into 2014 back haul requirements will also increase to address the demand placed by the increasing number of ‘smart’ devices in machine to machine (M2M) environments.

“IP traffic growth is at 30% a year,” says Maguire. “Historically, IP traffic growth has been generated by people, but now there is more and more automation and about 25% of traffic is generated by machines. This is growing fast, with more demand for monitoring 5G Starts Talking. With 4G, sometimes known as LTE (Long and the use of sensors and video.”

Term Evolution), only now coming to play on cellular networks, talk Enterprises are part of this story, as is the smart grid and the of 5G may seem premature. But assessing the implications of faster emergence of smart buildings. Ethernet connectivity is pervasive mobile networks is crucial when considering backhaul requirements and standardized, and in 2014 we can expect the demand for M2M and the ongoing sea change to devices and tablets. and cellular data hand-offs from Wi-Fi to Ethernet backbones to “We are familiar with the substantial change that 5G will bring continue. “The dependence on Wi-Fi continues to grow, and is in mobility management,” says Coffin. “It is becoming a more and more critical part of our network and looming around 2020, and with pervasive “On the Wi-Fi has runway left,” says Coffin. “We are rolling out .11ac computing we anticipate that 10 Gig backin our test systems after .11n, and we have exposure to .11ad, infrastructure which is an order of magnitude faster than .11ac.” haul will shift to 40 and 100 Gig by that time.”

This means that M2M has plenty of wireless support — side of things, The big change from a mobility perspec.11ac has been called the ‘5G of Wi-Fi’ — and that more and the trend is to more data will be dumped on to hard-cabled backbones. tive will be the surge in data volume ‘per area unit’, which is to say that wearable devices “The issue then becomes: how much copper is left?” says look at the and appliances (many of them not fixed) will Coffin. “Access still needs to be installed, and though there is be handling large amounts of data. To address cloud as the best a lot of copper out there the access network has to be wellthis explosion, improvements will be in place solution.” designed. In 2014, this will bring in new opportunities for with regard to battery power, lower latency, network installers.” CNS — Andy Woyzbun, and higher data transfer rates. executive advisor at “If you look at 4G, an iPhone will now Timothy Wilson is a freelance writer based in Peterborough, Ont. He Info-Tech Research Group give you 5 GB of cloud storage,” says Kish. can be reached via e-mail at tim@twilsonassociates.com. www.cnsmagazine.com

November / December 2013

CNS

15

money & management

Is your company going bankrupt?

Corporate bankruptcy and insolvency lawyer provides some key advice for firms teetering on the edge.

By Mark Borkowski

I

recently spoke with Jeffrey Carhart, partner of the law firm Miller Thomson. He is a respected expert in the area of corporate bankruptcy and insolvency.

I asked him some questions and received some interesting answers.

Me: You hear about certain different types of insolvency proceedings: receivership, CCAA, and bankruptcy .... what are they and how are they different?

Carhart: Perhaps the simplest way to consider the differences is to think about who is “in control” of the insolvent company?

Generally speaking, the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act — or the “CCAA” — is the Canadian equivalent of Chapter 11 in the United States. It is a system where the debtor itself can remain in control of its affairs under the supervision of the court and with the benefit of a stay of proceedings. One of the unique features of the Canadian systems is that you have a Monitor who will fill a supervisory role.

You do not have Monitors under Chapter 11 although you have more in the way of Creditors’ Committees in Chapter 11.

With both receiverships and bankruptcy the control of the insolvent company has been turned over to a third party — either a Receiver, in the case of a receivership, or a Trustee in Bankruptcy, in the case of a bankruptcy.” There is still such a thing as a “private receivership,” which is where a receiver is appointed under security; however, today most receivership is done through the courts.

Me: In your experience what kinds of people/corporations run into these issues? (Put another way: who do you act for?)

Carhart: The answer really is “everybody.” I have always said that no matter how “perfect” you may be as a company, it is almost impossible to avoid being affected by the insolvency process at some stage or another. In my experience even the strongest companies will, for example, encounter a situation where one of their customers or one of their suppliers gets into trouble”.

Me: How can a supplier respond to a customer who is getting into trouble, maybe a really important customer?

Carhart: Whenever possible a supplier should take security in unpaid inventory or equipment that the supplier is providing to a customer. There are rules under the Personal Property Security Act legislation which will allow a supplier to take such security relatively easily and on the basis that it will “slot into first place” in terms of the specific inventory that it has provided.

Once the customer has slipped into some kind of formal insolvency proceeding, the waters can get a little quicker and rougher 16

CNS November / December 2013

but there may still be some positive scenarios. For example, under the CCAA it may be possible that the debtor will designate a supplier as being a “critical supplier” and that may pave the way to getting pre-filing accounts receivable paid. However, I don’t want to give the impression that being designated as a critical supplier is going to be a common thing. To the contrary, it will be relatively rare.

It is also very important to stay on top of these situations. Most CCAA proceedings are really based around a sale process. In other words, what tends to happen in most of these cases is that the business will get sold rather than reorganized.

In those situations the debtor may try to assign your supply contract and it is very important to stay on top of that process and to assert your rights — otherwise the contract may get assigned with our without your consent or participation in the process.

Me: In your experience are there any “positive” opportunities which arise from the insolvency process?

Carhart: In my experience many business now change hands through the insolvency process. You see this happening on a massive scale with large international companies like Nortel but it also happens constantly with respect to companies that are not household names.

Canadian business people should be alert to the possibility of acquiring the business of an insolvent competitor or just acquiring some market share generally through the insolvency process, but they also need to understand the process. It is not the same as buying assets from a solvent company. For example, generally speaking, you will be asked to buy the assets “as is / where is” and you will not be able to get long lists of representations and warranties. Therefore you should take out all of your concerns through the price in the agreement. These can be fast moving transactions but I have seen many businesses succeed after being transitioned in this way – it is just critical to understand the process and to negotiate an agreement appropriately.

In speaking with Carhart I learned it is important to understand and stay on top of the bankruptcy process to avoid being hurt by it.

He can be contacted at www.millerthomson.com. CNS Mark Borkowski is president of Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions Corporation. Mercantile specializes in the sale of privately owned business. He can be contacted at mark@mercantilema.com or (416) 368-8466 ext. 232. www.cnsmagazine.com

bulletin

2013 Fall Conference revisited Exhibit floor was packed, seminars well attended and the BICSI Cares initiative delivered once again.

By Peter Levoy

B

ICSI held its annual Fall Conference in mid-September in Las Vegas, Nev. During the five-day event, the attendance was exceptional, with more than 3,800 attendees expanding their knowledge via technical sessions, visiting the many booths on the exhibitor floor and networking with industry peers, as well as taking in the inspiring presentations from keynote speakers.

On Sunday and Monday there were 10 pre-conference seminars, with topics ranging from digital video to firestopping, to distributed antenna systems and more. Tuesday morning’s session drew a large crowd as BICSI president Jerry Bowman called the conference to order and welcomed attendees to Las Vegas for the conference.

Bowman’s opening remarks included the official announcement of BICSI’s newest publication, The Journal of Information Technology Systems. He indicated that, while BICSI-related news will continue to be published in an electronic BICSI newsletter, technical content will be formalized into an academic publication filled with cuttingedge educational information for BICSI members and the information technology systems (ITS) industry.

Following Bowman’s remarks, technology expert, author and prominent businessman Scott Klososky delivered an informative opening keynote presentation.

Klososky is a former CEO of three successful tech start-up and principal at consulting firm Future Point of View. He specializes in seeing beyond the horizon and how technology is changing the world. The rest of the audience seemed as riveted as I was.

During the conference’s two-and-a-half days of educational sessions, speakers addressed business ethics; government relations; soil resistivity and grounding system Scott Klososky: He testing; optical fiber for next generation digispecializes in “seeing tal AV cables; project management best pracbeyond the horizon.” tices; data centres and more.

There was much interest in BICSI’s newest credential, the Registered Telecommunications Project Manager (RTPM). I spoke with many during the conference that indicated they have increased their project management role in many of their current jobs over the last few years, and that the new RTPM course and credential has been a true blessing.

The role of an effective project manager is crucial to the outcome of any successful project.

They must plan, execute and finalize projects all within strict deadlines and within budget. An RTPM oversees and coordinates www.cnsmagazine.com

the interaction between designers, engineers, installers and technicians when new information technology systems (ITS) projects are being developed or undergoing construction.

As technology continues to grow faster each decade, the demand also increases for proficient telecommunications project managers.

Throughout the conference, BICSI Cares, BICSI’s charitable

All funds collected for BICSI Cares went to Teen With a Dream, a chartity that helps enrich the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families. Shown accepting the cheque is founder Spencer Harrison.

arm that supports children’s charities, collected donations from attendees. All funds collected were donated to Teen With a Dream, a charity that helps to enrich the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families.

The room was filled with emotion during the closing general session on Thursday when the donation cheque was presented to Teen with a Dream founder, 24-year-old Spencer Harrison.

Harrison started the charity at 14, when he was just two weeks into his cancer treatment.

Now cancer free, Harrison continues his charity work to support families of children fighting the disease. If you would like to donate to future BICSI Cares charities, please go to www.bicsi.org and find them under BICSI Cares. Every dollar helps the kids.

In closing, to view a list of upcoming BICSI Region Meetings, Breakfast Clubs and Conferences, including the 2014 BICSI Canadian Conference & Exhibition, visit www.bicsi. org/events. CNS Peter Levoy, RCDD, is the Canadian Region Director of BICSI and the vice president of Channel Sales with Anixter Canada Inc.’s Enterprise Cabling Solutions division.

November / December 2013

CNS

17

wireless

No real surprises expected in upcoming spectrum auction The list of applicants that have provisionally qualified to bid in January’s auction look very familiar.

By Trevor Marshall

E

arlier this year, wireless users across the country were excited by the prospect that Verizon would bring its considerable resources to the Canadian market. We all had visions — fever dreams? — of flat-rate global roaming, unlimited data, and free apps that would produce delicious bon-bons on demand whenever our phone was within Bluetooth range of a 3D printer.

OK, maybe not flat-rate global roaming that is just crazy talk, but North American-wide?

As we now know, that is not going to happen.

In September, when Ottawa revealed the list of participants for the next spectrum auction it will oversee, the players looked very familiar. The list of applicants that have “provisionally qualified” to bid on spectrum in January’s auction looks very — one might even say depressingly — familiar. As of Oct. 22, the list includes the three national incumbents: Bell, Rogers and Telus. On the regional benches there are more familiar faces including MTS, SaskTel and TbayTel. The good news is several players that entered the wireless space after the 2008 auction are back for more including Videotron, Bragg Communications (EastLink), and Wind Mobile parent Globalive.

But Mobilicity and Public Mobile are not (although Mobilicity’s executive chairman, John Bitove, has registered to bid as the CEO of Feenix Wireless — a new company that Industry Canada has

The 700 MHz band is as good as it gets.

It is super-spectrum –- able to leap great distances and punch through buildings to provide terrific coverage with a minimum number of towers. deemed “not affiliated” with Mobilicity). Despite the federal government’s best attempts to woo a deep-pocketed carrier to ensure every wireless market in Canada had at least four viable alternatives, the attempt to attract a foreign telecom company to come play in the Canadian pool did not work. What is particularly significant about this failure is that the spectrum up for grabs — the 700 MHz band is as good as it gets.

Often referred to as “beachfront property,” this spectrum makes network building easy-peasy. It is super-spectrum — able to leap 18

CNS November / December 2013

great distances and punch through buildings to provide terrific coverage with a minimum number of towers.

So what happened? With the prospect of Verizon on the horizon the already well established members of the Canadian wireless industry launched a very successful marketing, public relations and lobbying campaign. The summer of 2013 was brought to us by the “Fair for Canada” campaign — a multi-million-dollar effort which blasted Ottawa’s rules for the upcoming auction, arguing that the federal government was giving foreign players preferential treatment.

While the campaign appeared to be designed to rally Canadian wireless users to the domestic companies, I suspect the real target for this campaign was Verizon itself. The message was never stated outright, but the implied threat was clear: If Verizon wanted to come to Canada, it would have to spend multiple millions of dollars on lobbying, advertising and PR — just to ensure it could qualify for the privilege of trying to spend even bigger buckets of money to try to acquire spectrum.

The campaign might as well have been called, “Hey Verizon: the Entrenched Telcos are coming at you with a whole lot of pain and the Canadian market isn’t really worth this much trouble so why are you even bothering?”

But as a tagline, that doesn’t really sing – and it definitely doesn’t fit on a bus shelter or banner ad.

The “Fair for Canada” campaign did one other thing, though. It embarrassed the regulator or tried to. Embarrassing the regulator is never a good idea, and Ottawa is already responding: In October’s Throne Speech, the government vowed it would take steps to reduce wireless charges, including roaming costs.

Meantime, word came in early November that Verizon has retained Dentons Canada LLP lobbyist Peter Burn to discuss telecom policy with Industry Canada and the Prime Minister’s Office — an interesting move for a company that has said it no longer has any plans to come to Canada.

Watch for the fight to continue in the year ahead.

I too will be watching this fight, but from the sidelines. I have done this column for a decade now, and I feel it is time for a fresher voice to comment on the Canadian wireless industry. I have enjoyed writing it, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Thanks for listening! CNS Trevor Marshall is a Toronto-based reporter, writer and observer of the Canadian technology sector. He can be reached (on his mobile) at 416-878-7730 or at trevor@wordstm.com. www.cnsmagazine.com

what’s new

Klein Tools’ Open Jaw Cable Cutter designed to work in tight spaces

Brother Mobile Solutions launches PT-E300 labeling system Brother Mobile Solutions, Inc. (BMS) a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brother International Corp., recently launched the PT-E300 labeling system at the BICSI 2013 Fall Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. According to the company, it was designed from the ground up to incorporate smart features and can accommodate virtually any labeling application. To accompany the PT-E300, Brother also introduced the HSe Tube heat shrink media in black text on white format in sizes designed to easily mark cables from 1.7mm to 10.6 mm in diameter. In addition to the new HSe Tube heat shrink media, the PT-E300 will accommodate Brother HGe tapes that come in an easy-toload, drop-in cartridge containing all the necessary components to print laminated labels.

Using the Brother laminating thermal transfer printing engine with smart sensing technology, the PT-E300 creates automatic imaging settings to print near-perfect laminated labels every time including the ability to produce UL recognized labels that withstand fading, abrasion, extreme temperatures, harsh chemicals and moisture, the company said.

Klein Tools has introduced the Open Jaw Cable Cutter, a ratcheting cable cutter with front loading jaws that easily wrap around cable in confined spaces.

The Open Jaw Cable Cutter (Cat. No. 63711) with a high-leverage ratchet mechanism allows for single handed cutting of 600 MCM Copper and 750 MCM Aluminum without leaving burrs or sharp edges. It can also cut 30 mm communication cable. This cable cutter features a spring release lever that quickly resets the blades between cuts.

Plastic covered handles with hand guards provide comfort and a firm grip.

“Klein Tools’ new Open Jaw Cable Cutter offers the best of both worlds,” said Klein Tools product manager Ben Bainter. “It has the open jaw design of traditional “lopper” cable cutters as well as the compactness of ratcheting cable cutters.”

Klein Tools www.kleintools.com

Brother Mobile Solutions www.brothermobilesolutions.com

Leviton’s Opt-X fiber splice modules support easy moves, adds and changes Leviton Corp.’s Opt-X 12and 24-fiber splice modules offer a faster, simpler fusion splicing solution for fiber applications across Wide Area Networks (WAN), campus backbone environments, high-count riser buildings, government installations, central offices and data centres, the company says.

Designed in collaboration with Berk-Tek, the modules provide slack storage and bend radius www.cnsmagazine.com

guides for respective backbone cable, 900 μm tight-buffer pigtails and fusion-spliced fibers, allowing for easy maintenance and scaling without impacting existing fibers.

Additionally, they easily install in Opt-X rackmount (Ultra, 1000i and 500i) and wall-mount fiber enclosures.

They are offered in single-mode (OS2) UPC/ APC and laser-optimized multimode (OM3) fiber types.

Leviton www.leviton.com November / December 2013

CNS

19

Literature Reviews NEW BELDEN INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS CATALOG

GRAYBAR CANADA SECURITY PRODUCT CATALOGUE

Belden is pleased to announce the release of the Belden Infrastructure Solutions Catalog. This catalog offers a complete selection of racking, enclosures, power distribution units, monitoring and airflow management products to meet infrastructure needs for optimizing system performance. Order your copy from the Belden website: Products/Order a Catalog/InfraSol2013 Belden Inc. 1.800.BELDEN 1 (800.235.3361) www.belden.com

Graybar Canada has launched a new security catalogue! Inside you will find detailed product information on components needed for everything from a basic security system to a full IP physical security solution.

To view the catalogue online, visit graybarcanada.com/publications/catalogues/

Graybar Canada www.graybarcanada.com 1-800-GRAYBAR (4729227)

INTELLIGENT CONNECTIVITY NEW 2013 CATALOGUE FROM NEW WORLD TELECOM New World Telecom’s latest product catalogue provides complete solution for connectivity products.

• Category 6A (Augmented) • Category 6 • Voice • Fiber • Cable

• Category 5E • Audio/ Video • Baluns • Tools/ Testers

RITTAL’S IT LIQUID COOLING PACKAGE Rittal provides an innovative cooling solution that provides up to 60 kW of cooling capacity direct to your rack. By bringing the cooling direct to the heat source, energy efficiency is optimised. Rittal’s LCP is a scalable solution that you can expand as your data centre and cooling needs grow. www.rittal.ca marketing@rittal.ca 1-800-399-0748

Download a PDF version of the 2013 Catalogue: www.newworldtelecom.com/catalog.htm Order a hard copy : nwtsales@newworldtelecom.com Visit: www.newworldtelecom.com Call: 1-866-507-4810

what’s new

AFL FlexTester kits support optical network maintenance AFL recently introduced FlexTester Complete Kits for optical network installation verification, maintenance and troubleshooting. Designed for network operators and installation contractors, the kits include a FlexTester OTDR with integrated light source, power meter, and visual fault locator as well as a connector inspection systemand fiber identifier.

FlexTester complete kits support point-to-point and PON OTDR fiber characterization, insertion loss and optical return loss (ORL) tests, inspection and cleaning of connector end faces, non-intrusive tone or live fiber detection and visual fault location.

AFL www.aflglobal.com

20

CNS November / December 2013

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Index of advertisers Companies

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Belden

2 ppollack@adtrack.com

800-235-3361

www.belden.com/enterprise

Eaton Power

24

SusanACrowder@eaton.com

800-461-9166 X 3389

www.eaton.com/powerquality

Hammond Manufacturing

5

datacom@hammondmfg.com

877-535-3282

www.hammondmfg.com

Hyperline Canada

11

info@hyperline.com

866-634-9737

www.Hyperline.com

Rittal Systems Ltd

23

Marketing@Rittal.ca

800-399-0748

www.Rittal.ca

For information on advertising contact: Maureen Levy, Senior Publisher, 416-510-5111, email: mlevy@cnsmagazine.com Vince Naccarato, Sales Manager, 416-510-5118, email: vnaccarato@cnsmagazine.com www.cnsmagazine.com

November / December 2013

CNS

21

standards update

Ethernet turns 40

A lot has changed since Ethernet was invented in 1973 and from the first implementation of 10BASE5.

By Paul Kish

F

or this month’s column I wanted to recognize the significant impact that IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Standards have had on the telecommunications industry. On Nov. 11, IEEE 802 celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Ethernet at the Hyatt Regency Reunion in Dallas, Tex. Every five to seven years, the speed of data networks increases by a factor of 10.

In my career in the telecommunications industry I have been privileged to take part in the development of higher performance cabling to support the different generations of Ethernet Standards.

The table below shows how Ethernet has evolved over the years and the type of cabling that is needed to support the different generations of Ethernet. I became involved in cabling standards development in 1989 when the TIA-568 standard was being developed and around the same time that the IEEE 802.3i 10BASE-T Ethernet standard was published in 1990. The TIA-568 standard established the framework for structured cabling that still exists today, including the hierarchical star topology for horizontal and

Date 1990 1995 1998

IEEE Std. 802.3i 802.3u 802.3z

Name 10BASE-T 100BASE-TX 1000BASE-SX 1000BASE-LX/EX

Data Rate 10 Mb/s 100 Mb/s* 1 Gb/s

Type of Cabling Category 3 cabling Category 5 cabling Multimode fiber Single mode fiber

1999

802.3ab

1000BASE-T

1 Gb/s*

2003

802.3ae

10 Gb/s

2006 2015

802.3an 802.3bq

10GBASE-SR 10GBASE-LR/ER 10GBASE-T 40GBASE-T

Category 5e or higher Category Laser-Optimized MMF Single mode fiber

10 Gb/s* 40 Gb/s*

Category 6A cabling Category 8 (Class I & II) Cabling

2010 2015

802.3ba 802.3ba 802.3bm

40GBASE-SR4/LR4 100GBASE-SR10/LR4 100GBASE-SR4

40 Gb/s 100 Gb/s 100 Gb/s

Laser-Optimized MMF or SMF Laser-Optimized MMF or SMF Laser-Optimized MMF

2016

SG

Under development

400 Gb/s

Laser-Optimized MMF or SMF Note: *with auto negotiation

backbone cabling, the standardization of 100 Ohm balanced twisted-pair cabling with a maximum channel distance of 100 metres in the horizontal and the standardization of an 8-position modular (RJ45) connector termination in the work area.

When the TIA-568 Standard was published in 1991, the transmission performance for horizontal cabling was specified to 16 MHz and was representative of the installed base D-Inside cable that was used for telephony applications. This was also the minimum performance cable that was needed to support 10BASE-T Ethernet. Better performing cable was available at the time that the TIA-568 standard was published. Shortly after the TIA-568 22

standard was published, I accepted the position of chair of the TIA 41.8.1 working group and initiated the work that led to the publication of TSB-36 for Category 3, 4 and 5 cables and shortly thereafter the publication TSB-40 for connecting hardware. This started the ball rolling with the benefits of Category 5 cabling being recognized in the industry for the 100 Mb/s ANSI FDDI TP-PMD and IEEE 802.3 100BASE-TX applications in 1995.

Although a lot has changed since then, there are certain principles that remain the same. One such principle is the principle of “backwards compatibility” with previous generations of cabling.

For example, Category 6A cabling which is designed to support 10GBASE-T (10 Gigabit) applications up to 100 metres is also fully backwards compatible with all lower Categories of cabling and will support 1000BASE-T, 100BASE-TX and 10BASE-T applications. Higher Category components (cables, cords and connectors) can be substituted for lower Category components in a channel and provide full functionality with equal to or better

CNS November / December 2013

performance. Another guiding principle for the success of Ethernet is the close collaboration between cabling standards developers and application standards developers.

These contributions include new measures of cabling performance, modeling work and experimentation to characterize system performance at these higher data rates. CNS Paul Kish is Director, Systems and Standards at Belden. The information presented is the author’s view and is not official TIA correspondence.

www.cnsmagazine.com

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