SYSTIMAX Solutions, the worldwide leader in structured connectivity solutions, has confirmed that its solution, as released in late 2004, exceeds the requirements of the now-ratified Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 10GBASE-T standard.
The company`s SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED X10D 10Gb/s UTP copper cabling solution, launched in December 2004, was already fully compliant with the just-ratified IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T standards developed by the IEEE - a full 18 months in advance.
"As an industry leader, we have a track record of getting heavily involved in key copper and fibre application standards early on so we can better understand the cabling specifications," says Luc Adriaenssens, Senior Vice-President R&D and Technology, Enterprise, CommScope. "This enables us to develop elegant and cost-effective solutions ahead of the formal standards with high confidence that our solutions will comply with the needs of the application standards."
The ratified IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T standard specifies 10Gb/s data transmission over four-pair copper cabling. The maximum supported distance in the standard is a function of the cabling performance. The distance capability is limited by key performance parameters not characterised in the past, including alien crosstalk (PSANEXT and PSAELFEXT) as well as stable performance of traditional parameters to higher frequencies. At the time of development, SYSTIMAX Labs created unique proprietary design tools to quantify and predict phenomena in the cabling channel that could not be detected with traditional testing technology. The result was performance testing and qualification in what is now known as the "6-around-1" cable configuration - the "worst-case" installation channel test configurations. The SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED X10D Solution meets the 10GBASE-T specifications over the maximum supported channel length, namely, 100 meters.
The tests were witnessed and confirmed in May 2005 by Underwriters Laboratories Inc (UL), an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organisation.
"We introduced our solution when we were confident the standard had reached stability with respect to cabling channel requirements," says Adriaenssens. "It is very satisfying to reflect back upon the recommendations we provided our customers over the last 18 months and know that we provided them with sound guidance to meet their future needs."
"Now that the 10GBASE-T standard is ratified, we expect the market for 10G-enabled twisted pair cabling to move quickly from early adopters to mass market as it has done in the past when 100Mb/s and 1Gb/s standards were ratified," says Adriaenssens. "The cost reduction and power consumption curves are very steep for network electronics. As enterprises look back on how their bandwidth needs have grown and changed over time, they should look closely at what their bandwidth needs will be in the future with respect to investing in 10G-enabled twisted pair cabling."
Innovative features of the GigaSPEED X10D Solution include a new cable design developed using patent-pending technology that is based on a traditional round shape. Coupled with this is new patent-pending connector technology that follows similar termination as the previous generations. The GigaSPEED X10D Solution is available in the market today as a complete solution and is backed by a 20-year Extended Warranty and Applications Assurance. The solution has been deployed in hundreds of installations worldwide since its launch in 2004.
"Our BusinessPartners and end-user customers rely on us to develop innovative and reliable solutions that lead the industry," said Peter Karlsson, Senior Vice-President, Sales, Enterprise, CommScope. "The many end-user customers who installed the GigaSPEED X10D Solution over the last year-and-a-half have invested in a long-term solution that is backed by our extensive testing and our reputation. Their vision and early adoption gave them an opportunity to take full advantage of emerging high-bandwidth applications and, perhaps, get a jump on their competition."
"GigaSPEED X10D has already been widely adopted by many progressive corporate companies in Southern Africa, the fact that Systimax is fully compliant with the ratified standard is demonstrative of the quality of the solution," said Mervin Scorgie, Marketing Manager, Falcon Electronics (Pty) Ltd. "As local distributor we see this as an opportunity for our clients to look at their future bandwidth requirements and have the confidence that in Systimax we have a total solution to ensure complete standards compliant network performance."
The SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED X10D Solution is one of many leading copper, fibre and patching solutions introduced by SYSTIMAX Solutions in recent years. To offer the enterprise market more information on the important role these connectivity solutions play in building a reliable network infrastructure, SYSTIMAX Solutions has developed an educational document, "A Guide to 10 Gigabit Ethernet Technologies". Also available is "A Guide to Networks and Connectivity", which is designed for anyone who is involved in planning and implementing connectivity networks. To request copies of these documents, e-mail systimax@systimax.com.
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