| Businesses wanting to maintain a high level of | | | | effectively supporting equipment end-points, such |
| operational capacity usually replace their | | | | as servers and storage. |
| electronics and software every 3 to 5 years. For | | | | For businesses looking to implement a network |
| fibre optic structured cabling, due to sizable | | | | cabling infrastructure that will last for a minimum |
| investment costs, network cabling is expected to | | | | of 20 years and survive several generations of |
| last much longer. For businesses looking to update | | | | technology, then the requirements of |
| their fibre optic network cabling, they should take | | | | next-generation technology should be taken in |
| into consideration not only their current | | | | consideration. OMl 62.5um and OM2 50-um optical |
| requirements but the needs that will arise with | | | | fibers will not be adequate. OM3 50-um fibre optic |
| growth and the advent of new technology. | | | | cables are the expected the minimum optical fiber |
| Current network data centres are using or are | | | | cables that will satisfy high-speed applications. |
| looking to get to upgrade to speeds of 10-Gigabit | | | | Extended-range OM3 fiber optic cables are |
| Ethernet (GbE). OM3 optical fiber and Category | | | | currently available with specified distances of |
| 6A copper cabling are rated for these speeds | | | | 500-plus meters for 10-GbE performance. The |
| within a business environment. | | | | next generation of high performance fibre optic |
| For network data centers operating at speeds of | | | | cables will carry the OM4 designation and will |
| 1 0/1 00/1,000 Mbps today, Category 6 fibre | | | | support 40 GbE and 100 GbE. |
| optic cables represent the minimum level of | | | | Getting the fiber count correct will also be critical |
| cabling needed to function. However, if a business | | | | in delaying or eliminating the need to pull in new |
| is looking to upgrade their network infrastructure | | | | backbone cabling every time a new application is |
| to support 10GBASE-T within the next 5 years, | | | | available. High-speed applications will likely run over |
| then putting in a higher-bandwidth Category 6A | | | | "parallel optics," which is the process of breaking |
| cabling would be the most cost-effective and | | | | up a high- speed data stream over multiple fibers, |
| operationally sound option. Category 6A fibre optic | | | | sending them over the passive system, and |
| cables provide a high level of performance while | | | | recombining these signals at the end. |