For some reason, cabling often gets overlooked in discussions of carrier networks. People frequently talk about different kinds of WDM technology, whether there’s a need for all-photonic switches, and how SONET/SDH gear will handle data traffic. The cabling that connects such equipment is almost a given, an afterthought-of course, there’s a cable in there somewhere, but unless we’re lamenting how much in labor it costs to install it, cabling is pretty much taken for granted.
This is not the case in premises and campus applications, however, where the battle between copper and fiber still rages. Cabling choice will remain an issue in premises networks for the foreseeable future, particularly because the data-rate threshold that would lead network designers to abandon copper in favor of fiber continues to shift. Just when Ethernet reaches a higher standard of speed-first 1 Gbit/sec, then 10 Gbits/sec-that would appear to make the choice of fiber a no-brainer, a new copper-based standard (and frequently a new category of copper wire) provides designers with an excuse to continue their electronic inertia.
Still, the horizon is brightening for optical technology. The cost of fiber-optic networks is decreasing, and while the data rates that copper can handle have been going up, the distance they can carry that high-speed traffic has been going down. In addition, new applications have appeared that promise opportunities to extend fiber’s reach both inside and outside the building.
This supplement provides an overview of what I’m talking about. Our cover story, “Vendors ponder FTTP’s blown opportunity,” discusses whether a technology associated in the United States with premises networks-blown fiber and cabling-has a future in service-provider networks, particularly fiber to the premises (FTTP). European blown fiber and cabling vendors have successfully migrated the technology into metro and access networks within their home continent. They’re now eager to repeat that triumph in the United States, and several U.S.-based vendors have picked up the scent.
Our second article, “Premises prognosticators make their picks,” provides an overview of the technologies and trends that should determine the success optical technology enjoys in enterprises this year. Vendors appear to be lining up behind 50-µm multimode, particularly the laser-optimized variety, as the technology of choice for high-speed LAN and data-center networks. The article covers how this supplier consensus might affect cabling standards such as TIA-942 and TIA-568C as well as the technologies that promise to make fiber easier to use in emerging applications like data centers.
Speaking of data centers, our final article provides a case history that describes why the software company Enovia decided to go with fiber for its data-center upgrade. “Flexibility is key to data-center design” highlights the issues faced by network designers in this burgeoning application space and offers a window into the role fiber could play in similar networks.
Like most evolutions, the penetration of fiber into a wider range of networks moves slowly. But that evolution continues, as the articles in this supplement indicate.Stephen M. Hardy
Editorial Director & Associate Publisher
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