If you haven’t seen Rittal in a while check out their new enclosures here. Same robust cabinet, but now making changes or adding accessories is a snap.
http://www.rittal.com/de_de/ts-it/_us/index.php
CablePedia
Rittal’s new TS IT enclosures make IT easy
April 29th, 2013Is your network keeping pace with your Global peers?
March 29th, 2013CommScope released the 7th Edition of their Enterprise Survey.
Check out the survey results on 40Gb/100Gb Ethernet adoption rates, the mobile work force, cloud computing and network intelligence.
Game-Changers
The trends and technologies that rewrite the rulebooks. They include the rise of Ethernet, wireless broadband and optical networks. Game-changers not only alter how IT managers view and manage their evolving enterprise networks and data centers, they influence how vendors approach component design and to what degree IT supports and satisfies the end-user.
Insights from BICSI’s Winter Conference 2013
January 31st, 2013I was fortunate enough to be in Tampa when the brutal cold hit Wisconsin last week. Not so lucky this week…
While attending BICSI’s Winter Conference I picked up on a few pieces of knowledge that I think you may find interesting:
- BICSI has published a Health Care Cabling standard, BICSI-004 2012. It’s best described as a standard of best practices for designing a structured cabling system in health care facilities. Yes, TIA has the 1179, which is great. But it focuses on the nuts and bolts where the BICSI standard addresses the larger picture of design. For instance, what size should the TRs be? How much growth should you plan for?
One of the presenters commented that we need to remind our clients that we’re planning for a 30yr building, not a 5yr system that will be replaced shortly…
I haven’t read the entire standard yet but I did buy a copy. I’d be happy to discuss it with you if you have any interest in health care cabling design.
- There were lots of people talking about Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). I know my CommScope contacts have been talking it up for awhile. It seems that the “Enterprise” space is still in a learning mode. One of the big items discussed was that End Customers are not prepared for the major expense that a full DAS represents. It was recommended that we used $1.50/sqft of serviced space to establish a budget for DAS. And we need to allow months of time to get designs approved and installed. It’s no wonder that 7 out 10 DAS proposals go nowhere.
- I saw a neat demonstration of Air-Blown Fiber from Dura-Line. They’ve been making Poly pipes of one type of another for many years. Now they’ve partnered up with AFL to offer FuturePath. FuturePath fiber can be installed with a regular drill in many cases. For long runs you may need to use compressed air to assist. But you don’t need nitrogen or a special “certified” contractor to install this fiber. We’re excited about the versatility and competitiveness that FuturePath brings to the market. If you’ve installed the Sumitomo brand of air-blown fiber you’ll be happy to know that FuturePath offers adapters to connect to your existing pathways. Let us know if you have any interest in this new air-blown fiber system.
There were many additional products displayed and presentations given. If you haven’t been to a BICSI conference you should go, you’ll meet some incredible people and see the latest in SCS all in one place.
Let us know if we can assist you with your cabling systems,
Mike
Mobile Device Management at WTA’s 26th Annual Ed Conference June 1st
April 26th, 20122012 WTA Education Conference – Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Nearly half the adult population in this country owns a smart phone. While the number of tablet owners will reach 89.5 million by 2014. Cisco predicts that by 2015 Wi-Fi traffic will exceed wired network traffic. Why not let your people use the smart phones and tablets that they already own, know, and love to do their job more quickly and effectively, and for you, at a lower cost? Join us at the 2012 WTA Education Conference where you will learn how to Capitalize and Profit from the commoditization of smart phones and tablets.
Sign up Today –
Register online for this event
Service Center Re-Opens!! See What’s new and enjoy lunch on us.
March 16th, 2012We’ve changed everything to make this center a truly unique facility. This facility is built for hands-on demonstrations of the latest in structured cabling solutions from CommScope – Systimax and Uniprise, Cooper B-Line, Hubbell Premise Wiring, Mohawk Cable, Hellermann/Tyton, Bogen and Caddy.
Capital’s Service Center will help designers, consultants and users design and build better Data Centers and Networks by seeing actual products in use and the options available.
Please join us for a quick tour and lunch from 11am — 1pm. Check out the new gear, talk to a factory rep and learn how this facility can help you grow or improve your business.
BICSI Breakfast May 2, 2012
November 16th, 2011Mark your calendar for the upcoming BICSI Breakfast sponsored by Capital Electric Wire & Cable.
Featured presentations on HDMI in the enterprise by Quiktron and Data Center Cooling and management by Rittal.
Registration the BICSI website https://www.bicsi.org/event_details.aspx?sessionaltcd=MT-NCCLUB-WI-0512
WTA Forum
October 3rd, 2011Join us on Thursday November 17 to participate in our membership forum. You raise the question, our members provide an answer. This is the second time we’ve done this, and it was a popular success the last time. Our members are a wealth of knowledge – they are always happy to share.
WTA Meeting
October 2nd, 2011Members Only Business Meeting.
IP Address Management
August 31st, 2011At the end of that cable is someone that’s responsible for managing the addresses of each IP device that’s connected.
If you’re that person you’ll want to join me at the next WTA meeting on Sept. 15th for a presentation from Forsyth about IPAM.
Register at http://www.runmyclub.com/WTA/eventcalendar.asp?id=206798
I hope to see you there.
Cost saving ideas that can cost you a fortune…
December 22nd, 2010So your boss tells you to find a way to reduce your spend on the cable system you buy. You’ve done your home work; you know that you’re already getting very competitive prices on product and installation. Then along comes someone touting the lowest price ever for patch cords!
What brand are they? No brand (or at least you’ve never heard of them before) just a cheap price, but the package shows a UL mark and it says they meet Cat6 specifications so they must be ok, right? Not so much. There’s about an 85% chance that you’re not getting what you’re paying for.
I feel like I’m tuning into the poster boy for the Communications Cable & Connector Association (www.cccassoc.org), I’m not trying to, but they are doing what I wish I could…that is they’re testing the performance and safety claims of generic non-branded cable system components.
What they’ve recently discovered is amazing. “Test results show an 85% failure rate in patch cords produced offshore by companies who are largely unknown in North America”. They go on to say that it’s not where the cord is made, it’s about whose reputation is on the line that dictates quality.
One more troubling issue (and they count on this), you won’t know the cord doesn’t meet spec. The lights will come on, you’ll get a link. But the Cat6 performance that you just paid “extra” for will be slowed to something less. The only way to tell is to have them tested. You can do this with a Fluke tester (DTX1800 w/Cord adaptors). It’ll only cost $8500 or so.
So when you buy cabling components for your customer’s site or your own site, whose reputation are you concerned about? I’m concerned not just about our reputation, but also yours. I want you to call us because we can make you just a little more successful than you were before. I believe we can help you buy a good cord at a competitive price that’ll meet the spec and allow your system to fly.
I hope we can help you,
Mike
