Standards Update Copper on the Move

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Standards Update Copper on the Move-Mark
Mullins
www.flukenetworks.com 2006-2017 Fluke
Corporation
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Standards Update Copper on the Move
In the 2009/2010 timeframe, copper standards got
a lot of attention with the publication of the
TIA-568-C standards and ISO 11801 2nd edition for
10-gigabit copper cabling, as well as IEEE
802.3at for PoE Plus. While more applications
and devices continue to take advantage of that
technology, there has been plenty of standards
development action taking place behind the scenes
that is keeping copper on the move.
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Standards Update Copper on the Move
An Early Adopters Dream
Over the last few years, Category 8 has been
gathering momentum, and TIA is now moving the
568-C.2-1 draft for this cabling to an industry
ballot. This means it is possible that we could
see publication as early as the end of this year.
While category 6A and 10GBASE-T are just now
becoming commonplace in the data center for
switch-to-server connections, we can now say that
copper cabling technology will be ready for what
comes next25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T. As they did
with category 6A, early adopters will therefore
jump on the category 8 bandwagon. The good news
is that there is strong support for this document
and the requirements for category 8 have been
relatively stable for some time. On the other
hand, there are still some issues relating to
testing. In particular, there are discussions
regarding the performance of the reference test
plugs and their measurement techniques. This is
definitely something that needs to get worked
outthese test are fundamental to determining
category 8 compliance as they form the basis of
being able to measure components such as jacks,
cords and cable links.
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Standards Update Copper on the Move
More Power to Consider
Another movement for copper is the inclusion of
a Pair-to-Pair Parallel Resistance Unbalance
(P2PRU) cabling parameter in TIA and ISO
standards. Included in some ISO/IEC documents,
this measurement has not historically been
specified by TIA. But now with higher power
delivery applications like four pair PoE that has
the potential to deliver up to 100W
(IEEE802.3bt), TIA has reconsidered their
position and adopted the IEEE approach of using
the parallel resistances of the pairs to
calculate P2PRU. TIA, among other committees, is
also investigating how to determine if the
installed base of cabling can support higher
power, since P2PRU was not previously specified
by most cabling manufacturers. One way around
this conundrum is to use DC loop resistance
testing data that was conducted, as it can
provide an estimation of P2PRU. While the
measurement can provide a basic level of
confidence for higher power PoE, users should
beware that older generations of testers may not
have had adequate enough DC loop resistance
measurement accuracy to ensure compliance.
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Standards Update Copper on the Move
Entering into Round Four
Believe it or not, its been 24 years since the
introduction of the TIA 568 standard, and we are
now rapidly moving into round four568-D. The
568-D series documents will superseded the
previous edition and include all of the various
addendums released since the publication of the C
series. Since the focus lately has been
developing the category 8 standards, work has yet
to begin on TIA-568-D.2. But it is expected to
commence before the end of 2015.
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Standards Update Copper on the Move
Globetrotting Along
While there is a lot of movement within North
American standards, copper standards are also on
the move around the globe. 14763-2 Amd 1 is
awaiting publication by the IEC central office,
and the ISO/IEC 18598 will be circulated as a
committee draft for voting very soon. Both
standards describe requirements for automated
infrastructure management (AIM) systems), with a
focus on the information exchange between
management systems and connected applicationsa
topic growing in importance among industry
insiders. The 3rd Edition of ISO/IEC 11801,
which includes the new 8.1 and 8.2 classes, has
progressed to the committee draft (CD) stage, and
it will be split into 6 parts. The general
requirements will be provided by 11801-1, and
requirements specific to certain types of
installations will be included for Office
(11801-2), Industrial (11801-3), Home (11801-4,
Data Centre (11801-5) and Distributed Building
Systems (11801-6). This latest edition will also
include definitions for new (non-generic) cabling
structures within the sub parts of the 11801
series, such as the end-to-end link within
11801-3 and the direct attach link within 11801-5.
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