Technology Watch LAN Newsletter 2nd Quarter 2008 D A T A C O M M U N I C A T I O N S C O M P E T E N C E C E N T E R
Table of Contents 1.0 General Market Trends...1 2.0 Cool Equipment Rack from Ortronics...1 3.0 Copper LAN Cabling...2 3.1 Market...2 3.2 Technology...2 3.3 PoE+ ready LAN Cables...2 4.0 Optical Technologies...4 4.1 Market...4 4.2 Technology...4 4.2.1 Verizon FiOS Technology for the Enterprise...4 4.2.2 Reflex Photonics Develops Chip-level Optical Interconnect...5 5.0 Wireless Technology...5 5.1 Multi-Gigabit Wireless, Millimeter-wave Technology...5
1.0 General Market Trends The market continues to debate the merits of copper vs. fiber in the data center as the industry and standards bodies evaluate the need for 40G and 100G data rates over Ethernet. The IEEE 802.3 task force is working feverishly to address higher speed Ethernet and energy efficient Ethernet through two main areas addressing architecture, copper and fiber PHY implementation and multimode fiber reach. and better conform to TIA-942 hot-aisle/cold-aisle recommendations. The rack is designed to allow the intake of cold air from the right front side of the rack (facing cold aisle) while hot air is directed by baffles on the left side towards the hot aisle of the data center room. Because the honeycomb perforations run the entire height of the rack, there is less chance of standing hot air pockets developing, creating a more efficiently cooled rack. This new rack design also provides an impressive cable management system. While these discussions take place, most data centers continue to run on 1GE capable products with copper-based, 10G network interface cards (NIC) just recently coming on board. Solaflare, Aquatia, Broadcom and Intel are champions of 10GBASE-T copper solutions in this arena as copper continues to hold a good value proposition for cost, simplicity and backward compatibility to legacy Ethernet protocol equipment. Honeycomb Perforation Energy consumption in data centers continues to be a major concern for the IT/ DC manager, but the availability of an effective and verifiable solution for all data center applications remains elusive. Airflow out This edition of the quarterly newsletter is focused on some of the activities influencing the copper/fiber debate, with a closer look at what products are available and what still needs to be developed. 2.0 Cool Equipment Rack from Ortronics Vendors continue to tackle the problem of cooling within the equipment rack and have offered many solutions in the past. One new design that has appeared on the scene from Ortronics is called the Mighty Mo 10. Its unique design incorporates the use of baffles and honeycombed perforated side panels to help manage airflow Page 1 Technology Watch - DCCC June 2008
3.0 Copper LAN Cabling 3.1 Market 10GBASE-T is getting a new lease on life. Recent press releases by Solarflare, Broadcom and Aquantia are practical examples of the support in the industry for 10GBASE-T cable solutions in the data center. High power consumption has always been the Achilles heel of twisted pair cable, and these manufacturers have addressed this condition. They have introduced 10 Gigabit Ethernet products that use less than 6W for transmission distances up to 100 meters. Not only does this fact change the dynamics of the fiber versus copper story, but by using twisted pair cable in conjunction with the ubiquitous RJ-45 connector, it is possible to address the node density of patch panels argument. An RJ-45 connector is a smaller form factor than the SFP+ or XFP device now being used in fiber and copper (Twin-ax) interconnect for data transmission at 10G and beyond. Aquantia has introduced what is believed to be the first lowpower (5.5W) 10GBASE-T chip geared towards high volume production for the server and switch markets. Their new 90nm CMOS manufacturing process produces a product (AQ1001) which has low power dissipation, allowing data transmission over 100 meters on Category 6A cable. This product is perfect for familiar applications such as dual-port NICs, 16-port line cards and 24 port aggregation switches and is IEEE 802.3an compliant. Broadcom s 10GBASE-T Ethernet transceiver (BCM8481) addresses data transmission solutions at 10/100/1000/10GBASE-T at 100 meters over CAT 6A or CAT 7 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. It supports the 4-lane 3.125 Gbps XAUI interface, allowing connectivity to 10 Gigabit Ethernet MACs. It has a dedicated pass-through XAUI interface lane which allows lower speed 100BASE- FX and 1000BASE-X fiber applications. It can automatically switch between copper or fiber media depending on the traffic type to the MAC interface. Unlike the Aquantia manufacturing process, Broadcom uses a 65nm technology which offers added future proofing in cost and power dissipation without the requirement for a new part design. For energy efficiency, it supports 100 meter operation with a 30 meter low-power mode (power back-off) and is compliant with IEEE 802.3an, 802.3ab and 802.3u standards. 3.2 Technology Intel joined the Ethernet bandwagon at Interop by introducing a new dual speed 10GBASE-T server adapter. The hope is that this new product will accelerate the volume deployment of 10 gigabit Ethernet over standard copper cabling at much lower costs than fiber. This adapter supports both 1 GbE and 10 GbE transmission, making the way for migrating existing 1 GbE installations to 10 GbE. Other recently launched 10 GbE copper adapters include: Intel 10 gigabit AF DA Dual Port Server Adapter, a product sporting dual-port SFP+ direct attach adapter for intra-rack connectivity. Intel expects to make this product available by the end of June at a cost of $799. Intel 10 gigabit CX4 Dual Port Server Adapter with CX4 interface for latency-sensitive high performance computing (HPC) deployments. This adapter is being offered at a price of $749. 3.3 PoE+ ready LAN Cables A 2D Finite Element thermal model has been developed, allowing Nexans to show that LANMARK cables are compliant with Power over Ethernet standard (PoE according to IEEE 802.3af), even for large bundles. Thanks to this modelling, Nexans has contributed to the definition of the new standard PoE+ (IEE802.3at) and is now considered as the leader of cable manufacturers for PoE+. Technology Watch - DCCC June 2008 Page 2
From PoE to PoE plus Power over Ethernet (PoE) has been used in certain networking applications for more than 5 years with great success. IP telephones, wireless LAN access points and web cameras are among the most used PoE devices. The IEEE standard (IEEE 802.3af) was developed for use with Category 3 and Category 5 cables and generates 15.4W at 48V to power the end equipment. The desire to power many other pieces of networking gear that need up to 30W such as video IP phones, pan-tilt-zoom IP cameras, and point-of-sale and information kiosks has promoted the IEEE to develop a follow-on standard PoE plus (IEEE 802.3at). Cables heating Data cables were not originally designed for transmitting power, so careful consideration must be taken when specifying cabling solutions. The most pressing concern is degradation of performance (higher insertion loss) due to increased cable temperature. This increase can be an issue especially in high cable density areas such as data centers. To this end, Nexans Research Center and the DCCC have both measured and modeled the heating of cables for PoE and PoE+ applications. 2D FE thermal model Temperature variation within a 19-cable bundle used for PoE Model and results The thermal model is a 2D Finite Element model based on Comsol Multiphisics. Physical mechanisms taken into account are conduction for internal heat transfer, convection and radiation for external heat transfer with ambient air. The model has been validated by temperature measurements on several bundles of different categories cables showing a very good correlation. p The graph which follows shows the calculated temperature increase for bundles of category cables in PoE+ conditions (2 pairs energized, 0.35A per wire). Temperature increase ( 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 PoE+ (2 pairs energized - 0.35A per wire) Cat5e F/UTP (0,52mm AWG24) Cat5e UTP (0,52mm AWG24) Cat6 F/UTP (0,55mm AWG24) Cat7 S/FTP (0,59mm AWG23) 1 7 19 37 61 91 127 169 Number of cables in the bundle This modelling has been used to contribute to the definition of the new standard PoE+ in the IEEE 802.3 at working group, allowing the estimating of maximum current levels in each wire. Thanks to this contribution, Nexans is now considered as the leader of cable manufacturers for PoE and PoE+. The model is useful to certify that LANmark products are compliant with PoE standards and in the future with PoE+ even for large bundles (composed of more than 100 cables). It can also be helpful in showing the benefits of better cabling allowing, for example, the delivery of higher power for the same temperature rise. Higher category cables, including screened cables (SFTP), lead to smaller temperature increases. Finally, the model allowed us to quickly answer some fundamental customer questions such as: What is the added heat for a bundle of 19 Cat.7 cables (AWG23) due to PoE+? --- Very low, below 1 C. Is the heating lower using Cat7 AWG22 cables? --- Yes, but the difference is very low, below 1 C for a bundle of about 100 cables. Page 3 Technology Watch - DCCC June 2008
If several bundles of cable (1500 cables packed together) are installed into ducts which are not cooled or ventilated, is there a potential impact due to PoE/PoE+ on these bundles? ---Temperature increase can reach +10 C for these bundles of 1500 Cat7 cables. 4.0 Optical Technologies 4.1 Market The market seems to be developing an appetite for active optical cable assemblies as an alternative to copper links in high performance computing (HPC) and the data center environment. This development has been spurred primarily by demands for 10 Gb/s links along with the promise of 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s in the future. The initial demand for these active cables has been for HPC clustering for applications such as modeling, simulation and for computer-aided design (CAD). Many of these infiniband server-to-server and server-to-switch applications were initially done over passive or active copper cabling, but as connection speeds continue to migrate to 10 G and above, and connection distances increase, many are opting for the active fiber solutions for flexibility in clustering. It is important to note that this new corporate-grade PON system, which Verizon calls Converged Fiber-to-the- Desktop (CFttD), will support network protocols such as Gigabit Ethernet. Verizon claims that CFttD reduces floor space and electricity usage in office buildings by as much as 95% compared to traditional copper networks. They also state that the system requires half the upfront equipment investment and installation time with a view for futureproofing any new installs. There is the added benefit of reduced power and heat in the wiring closet, a fact that would buck the trend currently seen in today s enterprise wiring closets. (See diagram below). 4.2 Technology 4.2.1 Verizon FiOS Technology for the Enterprise Verizon isn t content with just making fiber available to the home under their FiOS initiative; they are now embarking on invading the Enterprise space. Their claim is that the new high-speed optical network, an enterprise version of their popular FiOS residential product, could save companies a lot of money in overall energy costs. The installations will, however, be based on the same passive optical network (PON) gear used for current FiOS customers. Verizon s corporate grade service will initially be marketed to the U.S. military, federal, corporate and university customers beginning in 2009. These initial entities were targeted because of their high bandwidth demands for applications such as CAD drawings, streaming video or real-time workgroup collaboration. Pros - Fiber to the Desktop Supports 2.4 Gb/s downloading and 1.2 Gb/s uploading Uses single-mode fiber Provides electricity savings up to 95% Cons - Fiber to the Desktop No telephone service if the power goes out Economical only for new buildings or major renovations Best for companies with 300 or more employees who require high bandwidth Technology Watch - DCCC June 2008 Page 4
Pros - Fiber to the Desktop Reduced floor space in data center and wiring closets by 15:1 Reduces ongoing administration, operating and maintenance costs. Source: Verizon Business and SAIC Cons - Fiber to the Desktop Best for companies with 300 or more employees who require high bandwidth 4.2.2 Reflex Photonics Develops Chip-level Optical Interconnect Reflex Photonics has released a Light on Board HyperDense product line for ultra short reach (USR) interconnections to and between IC packages on a single PC board. They indicate that the transceivers made with this Light-on-Board technology can handle bi-directional data at an aggregate speed of 480 Gb/sec with each of 48 transmit and receive channels running at 10Gb/sec. The technology is designed to augment industry standard IC packages with the addition of optical interconnects without changing the chip, the IC package, or PCB manufacturing processes already established in the IC and PCB industry. All optically-enabled chip packages are connectable using standard multi-fiber ribbon capable and a proprietary Light-on-Board mating chip. Because the technology focuses on ultra short reach interconnects, it effectively enables chip package-to-chip package and fiberto-chip package interconnect solutions. of data could be transferred among devices such as external hard drives, laptops, MP-3 players, cell phones and others in the consumer market. For the data center, racks of servers transmitting data up to 10Gb/s could be connected wirelessly (with proper encoding schemes) eliminating the jumble of connecting copper or fiber-optic cables. The millimeter wave spectrum is between 30 300GHz (see figure below) and with the emergence of low cost CMOS fabrication processes, this technology enables the development of millimeter wave radio at cost structures which are on par with radios operating in the gigahertz range. It uses CMOS RF integrated circuits to transmit at high data rates by applying a concept called single-input-single-output (SISO) / multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO). The system also extends and preserves the backward compatibility with current Wi-Fi standards (WLAN 802.11) used in today s wireless LANs. To alleviate the fears of any health concerns, the technology s transmitted power is maintained at about 10 milliwatts and since the 60 GHz frequency is unable to penetrate human skin, there is less risk of any RF injuries. The manufacturing process employs the use of high volume 65nm and 45nm CMOS technology enabling the design of low power transceivers. 5.0 Wireless Technology 5.1 Multi-Gigabit Wireless, Millimeter-wave Technology The new buzz on the horizon about multi-gigabit data transmission is a wireless technology which purports that wired computers and peripheral equipment will be rendered obsolete within the next five years. Georgia Tech researchers are investigating the use of very high radio frequencies (around 60GHz) to generate broadband data transmission over short distances. This frequency is currently unlicensed in the US and ongoing experiments indicate that data transfer rates of 10 Gb/s are possible over two meters or 5 Gb/s at 5 meters. Not only would such a technology be welcome in the consumer or small business arena, but those speeds could revolutionize data center connectivity. Huge amounts Page 5 Technology Watch - DCCC June 2008
Data Communications Competence Center Nexans Data Communications Competence Center, located at the Berk-Tek Headquarters in New Holland, Pennsylvania, focuses on advanced product design, applications and materials development for networking and data communication cabling solutions. The Advanced Design and Applications team uses state-of-the-art, proprietary testing and modeling tools to translate emerging network requirements into new cabling solutions. The Advanced Materials Development and Advanced Manufacturing Processes teams utilize sophisticated analytical capabilities that facilitate the design of superior materials and processes. The Standardization and Technology group analyzes leading edge and emerging technologies and coordinates data communication standardization efforts to continuously refine Nexans Technology Roadmap. An international team of experts in the fields of cable, connectors, materials, networking, standards, communications and testing supports the competence center. The competence center laboratories are a part of an extensive global R&D network that includes eight competence centers, four application centers and two research centers dedicated to advanced technologies and materials research.