Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand with IEEE

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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE-Mark Mullins
www.flukenetworks.com 2006-2017 Fluke
Corporation
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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE
With the need for increased speed and power over
Ethernet (PoE) being addressed within IEEE
standards, work within TIA must follow suit as
the two standards bodies work hand in hand to
ensure that the applications put forth by IEEE
can be adequately supported by the cabling
infrastructure. Let's take a look at some of the
recent and most significant standards activity
within the Subcommittee and how they relate to
standards development happening within IEEE.
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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE
Category 8 and 25/40GBASE-T
The TR-42.7 copper standards activity that is
one of the most significant surrounds lt a
href"http//www.flukenetworks.com/content/categor
y-8-cable-testing"gtCategory 8 cabling, which is
being driven by the IEEE 802.3bq standards
development for 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T
applications. Developed as a data center
application for switch-to-server connections, 25
Gbps and 40 Gbps Ethernet runs over 4-pair
balanced twisted pair cabling (i.e., Category 8)
in a two-connector channel up to at least 30
meters. The TIA standard that defines Category 8
will be 568-C.2-1 Addendum, which will quickly
turn into 568.2-D. The default ballot was sent
out in early April but there were some technical
changes proposed. While those changes were
rejected, in keeping with the rules within TIA,
it must go out for another default ballot. There
is a fairly good chance that it will be approved
for publication this summer.
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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE
Category 8 and 25/40GBASE-T
Category 8 will be a shielded cable operating at
2 GHz, and anyone who is not familiar with
installing and testing shielded cable, now is a
good time to start learning. The good news for
installers is that Category 8 systems will use
the familiar RJ45 connector. While the
application is intended to be a 24-meter
permanent link with two 3-meter equipment cords
on each end, the standard will also include some
de-rating factors for different gauge equipment
cords. Of course, there also needs to be the
ability to test this cabling system in the field.
That's why in January of this year, the
ANSI/TIA-1183-1 standard that defines the
measurement and test methods for laboratory
testing of Category 8 was approved. That paved
the way for Category 8 field testing standards.
The existing TIA-1152 standards for field testing
that supports the TIA 568 series of standards
will have an 1152-A version for 2G field
testing--the 2G refers to the accuracy level and
was named as such due to the need to test
Category 8 to 2 GHz.
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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE
Category 8 and 25/40GBASE-T
If you're familiar with the accuracy levels for
previous categories of cable (i.e., Level III for
Category 6 and Level IIIe for Category 6A), you
may be wondering why the next level isn't Level
IV. That's because Level IV and Level V accuracy
levels already exist within ISO/IEC standards for
Class F and Class FA cabling. TIA-1152-A will
likely also be approved for publication this
summer, and cabling manufacturers are watching
this closely as it's difficult to sell a Category
8 system if can't verify the performance of the
installation.
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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE
2.5/5GBASE-T
The  IEEE 802.3bz 2.5 and 5.0 Gbps Ethernet
standards being driven by next generation Wi-Fi
and expected to run over Category 5e and Category
6 respectively is also driving work within
TR-42.7.  TSB-5021 will define how to evaluate
the installed base of Category 5e and 6 to ensure
its ability to support these multi-gigabit
speeds. And you can rest assured that Fluke
Networks will enable testing Category 5e and
Category 6 to these higher speeds, including
alien crosstalk testing that was previously not a
concern for these cable types.
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Cabling Standard Subcommittee Work-Hand in Hand
with IEEE
PoE Plus Plus
Just as TIA Category 8 standards are all about
IEEE 25/40GBASE-T applications, there is also
standards activity within TR-42.7 that is all
about forthcoming IEEE 802.3bt standards for
4-pair PoE. TSB-184 Guidelines for Supporting
Power Delivery Over Balanced Twisted-Pair
Cabling, is being revised as TSB-184-A to support
the higher levels of power delivery. It will
provide guidance on cabling type and  testing for
dc resistance unbalance within a pair and between
pairs. For more information on how dc resistance
unbalance relates to PoE, read the Fluke Networks
whitepaper here. The TIA 42.7 Subcommittee is
not the only working group with TIA developing
standards driven by IEEE 4-pair PoE standards. A
task group within the TR-42.3 Subcommittee for
Commercial Building Telecommunications Pathways
and Spaces was also formed to explore the impacts
of higher power PoE within the pathway and create
a document with guidelines for bundle sizes, and
the TR 42.6 Administration Subcommittee is also
working on guidelines for labeling and
identifying systems delivering these remote
powering applications. Stay tuned for more
standards updates happening within TIA that of
course correlate with what's happening within IEEE
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