One of the early solutions adopted by mid-market enterprises in the mid-nineties was ‘Fax on Internet.’ This also gelled with the evolutionary quality of IP networks since the early generation of IP networks did not meet the quality standards demanded by large enterprises.
By allowing all forms of communication (voice, video and data) traffic to converge over a common infrastructure using Internet Protocol (IP) technology, IP convergence is leading to the unification of networks, thereby resulting in resource optimization.
The market growth for IP telephony in India substantiates the underlying story for IP convergence. The market for IP telephony was estimated to have reached $268 million in 2011, growing at a CAGR of over 25%.
According to Frost & Sullivan, traditionally, “an enterprise spends about 40% of the total voice communication costs for internal communication.” IP convergence can reduce this by a considerable amount. IP convergence holds transformative potential for Indian enterprises primarily due to three classes of benefits that will accrue to the adopters: reduced communication costs, reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), and applications as the long-term driver. Distributing and managing these systems over a common infrastructure means that today’s networks contain more cabling than ever before, and data centers must evolve to support a multitude of mission critical applications. The result is a need for ample and properly managed cabling pathways, strategic cabling solutions, high-density data centers, and superior reliability. Let’s see how IP convergence can affect network cabling.
Bringing systems together
As the common protocol for communicating data across packet-switched networks and the Internet, IP is being used for an increasing number of applications. Business applications that run on IP networks are popping up everywhere, and the possibilities are virtually endless. From voice, data, and security to building management and even industrial systems, IP is bringing systems together over a common twisted-pair cabling infrastructure for improved data sharing, manageability, and cost savings. The following are some of the key applications converging via IP in today’s enterprise networks.
Voice and Data: IP data packets over the Internet. This concept, known as voice over IP (VoIP), allowed users to avoid the cost of long distance charges and use the same cabling for both voice and data. VoIP has evolved significantly and usage has expanded with most of today’s companies deploying the technology. In addition to no longer needing separate cabling and paying for long-distance calls, VoIP systems are more scalable and less expensive because they are based on software instead of hardware. VoIP also enables mobility because calls can be made from wherever there is an Internet connection.
Intelligent Building Management Systems: With intelligent building management systems (IBMS), facilities can be controlled to provide heating, lighting, air conditioning, hot water, and other services only when needed. Building automation systems (BAS) have migrated to digital and are beginning to take advantage of a common twisted-pair cabling infrastructure using IP. This makes information from devices easily exchanged between sites for centralized management and easily shared by applications for better analysis and control. In recent years, building construction has taken steps toward “smart” or “green” buildings that further reduce impact on the environment.
The effect on network cabling
As IP convergence continues to grow, the need for separate networks using various cable types decreases, greatly impacting the twisted-pair network cabling infrastructure as we know it today. With IP convergence, networks must support an increased amount of twisted pair cabling and connections, new environments, extended distances, high-density data centers, and superior reliability. IP converged networks therefore require careful planning to ensure maximum space in pathways and data centers, protection in harsher environments, the ability to reach outlying devices, and maximum reliability.
Cable pathways in hallways and within the data center must be properly sized to accommodate more cabling while also enabling adequate cable management and room for growth. When too many cables are routed in a single cable tray, tracing individual cables becomes extremely difficult, there is no room for adding more, and the probability of damage to the cable increases. These concerns can eventually lead to difficult reconfigurations, costly upgrades, and degraded network performance.
It’s therefore important to follow specified cable fill rates based on the overall cable diameter and cross-sectional area of the pathway. Smaller cabling diameters can go a long way in saving costly pathway space for IP converged networks. Smaller diameter cables means that more cables can be supported in a single pathway without exceeding proper cable fill rates.
Designing high-density data centers
One benefit of IP convergence is no longer having to deploy and manage separate networks and data centers for various systems. Environmentally controlled real estate is expensive, and it is not cost-effective or efficient to maintain redundant power and proper cooling in several locations. Supporting all IP converged systems in one properly designed data center also provides centralized management and monitoring, better security, a reduction in the amount of equipment and components, and standardization across systems. The performance and reliability of an IP converged network must therefore be the best it can be, which means implementing proper power and cooling for equipment, selecting the most reliable cable and connectivity components, and ensuring quick and easy deployments and reconfigurations. As more systems are supported by a common IP infrastructure, more equipment is being deployed in data centers, and much of today’s equipment is getting smaller and more powerful to save space.
Because 70% of network downtime is attributed to failures at the physical layer, only the best performing cables and connectivity equipment will do for an IP converged network.
Kenelm Lopes is Product Manager – Enterprise Networks India, TE Connectivity