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Taking IT easy01 May 2008Les Hunt takes a look at some new product introductions that are designed to make life a little bit easier for the IT equipment and infrastructure installerTangled data cables, believe it or not, are the subject of a whacky new competition organised by Los Angeles based IT specialist, Steven Schkolne. With the help of a tumble dryer, he tangles up to 12 Ethernet cables, some of them up to 25ft long, and then challenges his contestants to be the first to untangle them without damage. Clearly a bit of fun, but in the real world, tangled data cables are no joke when you have to route hundreds, maybe thousands of metres of them beneath floors, within ceiling voids and through ducts! Step forward Panduit with its new GridRunner under-floor cable routing system.
Deceptively simple in concept, GridRunner is essentially a modular wire basket pathway that lets you route and manage data or even power cables in a very orderly manner through floor voids. Installation is straightforward as the drop-in wire basket sections and pre-assembled mounting brackets avoid the need for cutting, and the corner sections ensure that cables are installed within their maker’s recommended safe bending radii. Moreover, unlike solid walled conduits, GridRunner’s open basket structure does not impede the flow of under-floor cooling air.
Building on the success of the recently released Fusion Cat 5E range, Mills is now preparing to make the Fusion Cat 6 UTP range of structured wiring products available to professional data and signal cabling installers. Fully ISO and TIA Cat 6 compliant, Fusion Cat 6 installations are guaranteed for 25 years when installed by a registered Fusion installer.
Among the new products are the Fusion 4 pair, UTP Cat 6 LSOH orange cable, which is supplied in special boxes that have a reeling arrangement to ensure snag-free cable delivery. The unshielded cable is supplied in 305m lengths and is compatible with all connection systems that meet EN50173 (2000). Mills says it will be pricing each box at £69.99, not including VAT, which works out at just 23p per metre!
Also available from Mills are Fusion Cat 6 patch panels in 24 (1U) and 48 (2U) versions. Featuring Krone style punch-down IDC blocks, these patch panels come with labelling strips and cable ties, and feature backwards compatibility with Cat 5 and Cat 5E systems. A rear cable management bar is available as an option. Additionally, Fusion Cat 6 modules are available in Eurostyle and LJ6 formats and feature Krone style IDCs and labelling window. The modules are supplied complete with cable ties and are compatible with Fusion’s bevelled faceplates in both one and two gang styles. Completing this lineup are UTP patch cords in a choice of six colours and in lengths from 0.5 to 10.0m.
As industrial automation is increasingly being interfaced to existing IT systems, we now have the concept of ‘Automation IT’, the aim of which is to achieve a seamless end-to-end provision of data in enterprise-wide communications networks. Bringing office IT and industrial networks together is a growing business and one of the latest partnerships on the scene has been joined by connector specialist, Harting and cable giant, Nexans. This venture brings together Harting’s expertise in Industrial Ethernet with Nexan’s knowhow in the development of hardware and software for office applications. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will market network components independently of one another – Harting using the ‘mCON 10000’ branding and Nexans trading under the banner of ‘iSwitch H300/500’.
Platform developments
IT enclosure specialist and leading PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) member, Schroff has put together an 88-page guide to the AdvancedTCA, MicroTCA and AdvancedMC open computing specifications – emerging standards originally developed for the telecoms market and now gaining popularity in other sectors requiring high availability and high data transfer rates.
The new guide provides a detailed introduction to the three standards, as well as presentations of Schroff’s range of associated packaging systems, including AdvancedTCA systems and accessories, AdvancedMC carriers and, for MicroTCA applications, a variety of complete systems, development systems, subracks, backplanes and power supplies, plus details on air and air/water cooling arrangements for subracks and cabinets. A copy can be obtained from the company’s web site.
Schroff’s AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA chassis systems were recently tested at an independent laboratory in accordance with IEC 60068-2-6 (vibration) and IEC 60068-2-27 (shock) to confirm their stability under conditions of severe shock and vibration. These open computing standards have potential uses in a number of rugged mobile and industrial applications and it has become increasingly important to verify the capability of these platforms for such duties. The test results are available from Schroff’s website under the ‘Service’ tab.
Schroff has also just released its new Varistar NET networking cabinet that provides a sturdy, high load-bearing cable management enclosure with smooth, rounded edges to prevent damage to Cat 6 and optical-fibre cabling. Designed to maximise the available cabling space by removing all obstructions to the cable paths, the cabinet comes in two versions – one with a single 19in plane and the other with two 19in planes and a base plinth.
Varistar NET is available in a variety of sizes ranging from 1,200 to 2,200mm in height, from 600 to 1,000mm in depth, and in widths of 600 or 800mm. The line-up of cable-management accessories includes plastic or steel 100mm-square cable hoops that simply clip into the cabinet frame, cable ducting, fibre-optic cable brackets, C-rails and associated clips, cable support rails, cable panels and cable ladders – all of which have been designed for quick and easy installation into the cabinet.
Meanwhile, for standard 19in server cabinets, Schroff has addressed the nuisance of hot air recirculating through the gaps between adjacent racks – a problem normally solved by fiddly screw-in blanking plates. The new plastic clip-in blanking panels come in 1U and 2U sizes and simply clip into tapped or square-hole frames to maintain proper air flow through the cabinet and add a tidy appearance to the cabinet front.
While on the subject of cooling, Rittal has just introduced an ingenious method of concentrating cooling air in a data centre exactly where it is needed – at the servers - instead of flooding the entire room with cold air. This environmentally friendly and energy efficient method, called ‘Cold Aisle Containment’, effectively traps cool air in front of a server cabinet air intake. Cold air is directed across the whole height of the enclosure and hot air is exhausted away from the system. As this is a contained system, the hot exhaust air cannot mix with incoming cool air, thus improving system efficiency and avoiding the need for ducts. The system allows server ‘islands’ to be established within the data centre room, each island being fully enclosed and accessible via sliding glass panelled doors. Cold Aisle Containment is fully compatible with Rittal’s TS8 enclosure system. Contact Details and Archive...Related Articles...Most Viewed Articles... |
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