Worldwide IT spending increases were pretty anemic as IT and telecom services spending were seriously curtailed last year. It seems that things are going better. Telecom services spending, which has been curtailed in the past few years, only grew by a tenth of a point in 2012, to $1.661tr, but Gartner projects spending on mobile data services to grow enough to more than compensate for declines in fixed and mobile voice revenues. Infonetics Research Report sees telecom sector growth outpacing GDP growth. Global capital expenditure (capex) by telecommunications service providers is expected to increase at a compounded rate of 1.5% over the next five years, from $207 billion in 2012 to $223.3 billion in 2017, says a new market report from Insight Research Corp.
Europe’s Telco Giants In Talks To Create Pan-European Network. Europe’s largest mobile network operators are considering pooling their resources to create pan-European network infrastructure, the FT is reporting. Mobile network operators are frustrated by a “disjointed European market” that’s making it harder for them to compete.
“Internet of Things” gets new push. Ten Companies (Including Logitech) Team Up To Create The Internet Of Things Consortium article tell that your Internet-connected devices may be getting more cooperative, thanks to group of startups and established players who have come together to create a new nonprofit group called the Internet of Things Consortium.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications are more and more used. Machine-to-machine technology made great strides in 2012, and I expect an explosion of applications in 2013. Mobile M2M communication offers developers a basis for countless new applications for all manner of industries. Extreme conditions M2M communication article tells that M2M devices often need to function in extreme conditions. According to market analysts at Berg Insight, the number of communicating machines is set to rise to around 270 million by 2015. The booming M2M market is due to unlimited uses for M2M communications. The more and more areas of life and work will rely on M2M.
Car of the future is M2M-ready and has Ethernet. Ethernet has already been widely accepted by the automotive industry as the preferred interface for on-board-diagnostics (OBD). Many cars already feature also Internet connectivity. Many manufacturers taking an additional step to develop vehicle connectivity. One such example is the European Commission’s emergency eCall system, which is on target for installation in every new car by 2015. There is also aim of Vehicle-to-Vehicle communications and Internet connectivity within vehicles is to detect traffic jams promptly and prevent them from getting any worse.
M2M branches beyond one-to-one links article tells that M2M is no longer a one-to-one connection but has evolved to become a system of networks transmitting data to a growing number of personal devices. Today, sophisticated and wireless M2M data modules boast many features.
The Industrial Internet of Things article tells that one of the biggest stories in automation and control for 2013 could be the continuing emergence of what some have called the Internet of Things, or what GE is now marketing as the Industrial Internet. The big question is whether companies will see the payback on the needed investment. And there are many security issues that needs to be carefully weighted out.
Very high speed 60GHz wireless will be talked a lot in 2013. Standards sultan sanctifies 60GHz wireless LAN tech: IEEE blesses WiGig’s HDMI-over-the-air, publishes 802.11ad. WiFi and WiGig Alliances become one, work to promote 60GHz wireless. Wi-Fi, WiGig Alliances to wed, breed 60GHz progeny. WiGig Alliance’s 60GHz “USB/PCI/HDMI/DisplayPort” technology sits on top of the IEEE radio-based communications spec. WiGig’s everything-over-the-air system is expected to deliver up to 7Gbit of data per second, albeit only over a relatively short distance from the wireless access point. Fastest Wi-Fi ever is almost ready for real-world use as WiGig routers, docking stations, laptop, and tablet were shown at CES. It’s possible the next wireless router you buy will use the 60GHz frequency as well as the lower ones typically used in Wi-Fi, allowing for incredibly fast performance when you’re within the same room as the router and normal performance when you’re in a different room.
Communications on power line still gets some interest at least inside house. HomePlug and G.hn are tussling it out to emerge as the de-facto powerline standard, but HomePlug has enjoyed a lot of success as the incumbent.
Silicon photonics ushers in 100G networks article tells that a handful of companies are edging closer to silicon photonics, hoping to enable a future generation of 100 Gbit/s networks.
Now that 100G optical units are entering volume deployment, faster speeds are very clearly on the horizon. The push is on for a 400G Ethernet standard. Looking beyond 100G toward 400G standardization article tells that 400G is very clearly on the horizon. The push is now officially “on” for 400-Gigabit Ethernet standard. The industry is trying to avoid the mistakes made with 40G optics, which lacked any industry standards.
Market for free-space optical wireless systems expanding. Such systems are often positioned as an alternative to fiber-optic cables, particularly when laying such cables would be cost-prohibitive or where permitting presents an insurmountable obstacle. DARPA Begins Work On 100Gbps Wireless Tech With 120-mile Range.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Get rid of the cables to the TV production
Wireless television production sounds like a good idea until hear what kind of data transfer requirements of the current high-definition video. The BBC’s research department has now developed a technique that ensures Gbit wireless links television production.
Cablefree named technology allows for a variety of wireless technologies up to 1.5 Gbps wireless connections. The links are in full duplex-type, so the data is transmitted at the same rate in both directions simultaneously.
The BBC has tested the technique on the ground Stagebox IP-based system extension. The tests on the basis of technology to eliminate the worst barrier outside prduction of the way of a quick connection to the “mail to the last.” In practice, the camera outside broadcast truck.
In tests it was found that the level of public broadcasting TV signal wireless transmission is above all three techniques. Laser-based optical link is the best when the cameras line of sight in the car for about two kilometers away. If you go for longer distances, such as 15 km, with the best performing OFDM-based multiple channels connecting the MIMO solutions.
If the signal is to be moved over long distances, up to more than a hundred kilometers away, and the road is visible disturbs obstacles, the best thing is to use the mobile networks and the microwave link.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=353:eroon-kaapeleista-tv-tuotannossa&catid=13:news&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Carrier Wi-Fi market is ‘red hot’
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/carrier-wifi.html
Infonetics Research has released excerpts from its latest Carrier WiFi Equipment report, which tracks WiFi equipment deployed by operators in public spaces for wireless Internet access. The global carrier WiFi equipment market is forecast by Infonetics to top $3.9 billion by 2017, primarily driven by mobile operators deploying carrier WiFi for data offload.
“The Carrier WiFi space is red hot right now, driven by the explosion in demand from mobile operators using WiFi to augment their 3G/4G deployments and offload a portion of mobile data traffic to unlicensed spectrum,” reveals Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and Carrier WiFi at Infonetics Research.
“Mobile operators by and large have held WiFi at arm’s length, fearing that it could cannibalize their opportunity to derive data revenues,” Webb continues. “Now operators are embracing WiFi to offload excess data and enhance the broadband experience for users. For the long-term success of carrier WiFi, though, integration with the mobile network is key.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
IEEE ratifies EPON interoperability standard
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/ieee-epon-standard.html
IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) ratified the IEEE 1904.1 Standard for Service Interoperability in Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (SIEPON) at its recent Standards Board meeting on June 14, 2013. The new standard provides open, international, system-level specifications to enable multi-vendor, “plug-and-play” interoperability in EPON systems.
The SIEPON standard reflects the best practices that have been field-proven in various EPON deployments around the world, the IEEE asserts. Mechanisms for quality of service and bandwidth assignment, multicast, VLAN and tunneling modes, software download, and authentication are specified to reflect existing deployment models and seamlessly mesh with existing service architectures, according to the IEEE. Among the new additions are several advanced features, such as power-saving modes and optical fiber protection mechanisms.
Sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society, the IEEE 1904.1 SIEPON standard – which covers both 1G-EPON and 10G-EPON, and describes the transport, service, and control planes – will facilitate EPON deployment for operators already familiar with this technology or who are evaluating it for future use. EPON devices can now follow a common specification for the worldwide market, thus resulting in larger volumes and reduced costs, the IEEE believes.
“SIEPON is expected to have its biggest impact on network operators outside of current EPON markets,”
“Many operators around the world feel pressure to deploy fiber-based access networks but are discouraged by the prospect of having to develop unique system-level specifications, followed by interoperability tests. The IEEE 1904.1 SIEPON standard eliminates these challenges and lowers the barriers for EPON adoption in new markets.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
IEEE 1905.1 integrates wireless, wired connectivity, fosters home networking standards interoperability
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/ieee-home-networking-interop.html
IEEE has announced the publication of the IEEE 1905.1-2013 Standard for a Convergent Digital Home Network for Heterogeneous Technologies. The standard is intended to provide a common interface to augment and unify widely deployed home networking technologies, including the IEEE 1901-2010 Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications, IEEE 802.11 for wireless local area networks, Ethernet over twisted-pair cable, and MoCA 1.1 for home entertainment networking over coaxial cable.
“Home networks are becoming more and more present and more and more dispersed through the home,”
Willy adds, “The IEEE 1905.1 layer helps reduce and hide the home networking complexity from the consumer, but it also helps the operators manage that complexity across all the different networks as they become more pervasive throughout the home.”
By design, IEEE 1905.1 is intended to create an interoperable ecosystem within the home, and transcends service providers and manufacturers.
As an abstraction layer for establishing secure connections, extending network coverage, and facilitating advanced network management features, the standard is designed to work from wireless connectivity technologies such as IEEE 802.11 to the performance of wires within the home, providing a seamless user experience. According to IEEE, because IEEE 1905.1 is interoperable with already-deployed home network devices, the new standard represents no loss of investment to service providers and consumers in switching technologies.
“By unifying established home networking technologies, today’s hybrid home networking systems and future home networking innovations and standards, what we are trying to achieve is to provide coverage at all places within the home.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TIA revising specification for cabling wireless access points
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-21/issue-8/features/tia-revising-specification-for-cabling-wireless-access-points.html
The revision of TSB-162 will take into account the possibility that next-generation wireless LAN data rates may exceed 7 Gbits/sec.
When the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA; http://www.tiaonline.org) finalized the specifications in Telecommunications Systems Bulletin TSB-162 Telecommunications Guidelines for Wireless Access Points, the year was 2005 and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE; http://www.ieee.org) had not yet finalized its 802.11n wireless local area network (LAN) specifications. Today 802.11n equipment is widely deployed in enterprise networks, and its multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) signaling scheme generates transmission speeds that can reach hundreds of Megabits per second.
The TSB-162 document mentions other TIA cabling standards, particularly including cabling-performance specifications. At the time the bulletin was written, the TIA-568-B revision of cabling standards was current. TSB-162 states that cabling should be installed and performance tested per 568-B
n some ways the cabling systems that support wireless LAN equipment can be seen as backhaul, akin to the wireless-carrier network infrastructure that supports communication between outdoor antennas. Telecommunications outlets installed per TSB-162 meet the TIA-568-B.2 cabling performance specifications, and therefore can support 802.11n’s MIMO-based access points. As the IEEE is well into the development of its next-generation wireless LAN standards, 802.11ac and 802.11ad, so too is the TIA well into the development of TSB-162-A, the first revision of its cabling-for-access-points document.
“However, as 802.11ac clients become more widely deployed, and additional channels are made active in the WAP to increase throughput and capacity, the backhaul data rate will exceed 1 Gbit/sec and may ultimately reach up to 7.3 Gbits/sec,” he continued. “Therefore, and somewhat paradoxically, wireless will be the first application to exceed the performance of Category 6 cabling. While TIA TSB-162-A recognizes that initially the backhaul requirements may be addressed with multiple cables to the WAP and link aggregation, it recommends Category 6A for WAP cabling.”
“Since balanced cabling can support many different powering schemes and it is the WAP equipment that is designed to use IEEE 802.3 powering schemes, TSB-162-A is not limited to only IEEE 802.3 powering schemes,” he continued. “Note that since power needed by WAPs continues to increase, TSB-162-A recommends Category 6A or better cabling for remote powering of WAPs.”
Additionally, the release of TSB-162-A will reinforce the idea that prewiring or precabling is the most efficient approach to building an infrastructure for a wireless LAN, when such an approach is an option
“For the 18.3-meter (60-foot) square grid illustrated in TIA TSB-162-A, this maximum radial length of the equipment cord is 13 meters (42 feet). Using this length and assuming a 20-percent additional insertion loss in the equipment cord, the maximum length of the permanent link from the TO to the patch panel in the TR is limited to 80 meters (242 feet). This is less than the permanent link to work area, which is limited to a maximum of 90 meters (295 feet).”
Wireless networking is unlike Ethernet-based wired networking in that often, consumer- or home-based use sets the pace for technologies that later are adopted in enterprise environments such as commercial office buildings. Smartphones with 802.11ac capability built in have been available for some time
“WiFi Certified ac products deliver whole-home coverage at two or even three times the speed of older WiFi products and handle demanding applications such as Ultra HD and 4K video, multimedia and rapid file transfer with ease.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
CommScope airs Cat 8 vs. Cat 7a concerns re: 40G
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/07/commscope-airs-40g.html
CommScope has released a PDF white paper document entitled Category 8 Cabling Standards Update, which airs the company’s concerns surrounding the TIA TR42.7 Study Group’s decision to adopt ISO/IEC Class II cabling performance criteria into its pending ANSI/TIA-568-C.2-1 category 8 project, as recently reported in this space.
The white paper goes on to debate key differences between Class I and Class II cabling, and to address the subject of backward compatibility with existing cabling and LAN/SAN equipment among the various Category 7A connector designs proposed for use in Class II channels.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cat 8 cable development and test process described
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/cat8-testdev.html
Official contributors to the IEEE 802 group’s recent official “Category 8 Cabling Demonstration” (Nov. 2012) included Paul Kish of Belden, Antoine Pelletier of Intertek (ETL), Wayne Larsen and Richard Mei of Commscope, and Theodore Brillhart of Fluke Networks.
The group’s test summary for Category 8 F/UTP cable revealed that the cabling uses outer shielding, but does not have individually shielded pairs. The cable is round with a diameter less than 0.300″ (<7.62mm). Smooth transmission performance up to 2000 MHz is virtually assured.
The group noted that a perceivable NEXT spike at 200/250MHz is a known and understood cabling design parameter that will be addressed in forthcoming prototype iterations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
For Category 8, TIA adopting ISO/IEC’s Class II performance levels
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/tia-cat8-iso-levelii.html
In a recent post to its Standards Informant website, Siemon stated that during its meeting the week of June 17, the TIA TR-42.7 Copper Cabling Subcommittee “accepted the concept of adding ISO/IEC Class II cabling performance criteria into its pending ANSI/TIA-568-C.2-1 category 8 project.”
“Class II is the name of the new ISO/IEC grade of cabling that will be constructed from fully shielded ISO/IEC category 8.2 cords, cables and connecting hardware,” Siemon explained, adding, “Both class II and category 8.2 specifications are targeted to support the 40GBase-T application over a distance of at least 30 meters and are under development by the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG 3 Working Group. Category 8.2 components will be an extension and superset of existing Category 7A components.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TIA ponders polarization-maintaining optical fiber
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/tia-ponders-polarization-fiber.html
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) TR-42.12 Engineering Committee on Optical Fibers and Cables has issued a call for interest for document TIA-455-192, initially titled “H-Parameter Test Method for Polarization-Maintaining Optical Fiber.”
This TR-42.12 standardization project would specify a method of measuring the h-parameter of singlemode, highly linearly birefringent optical fibers — commonly called polarization-maintaining fibers. In the case of fibers having connectors attached to one or both ends, or for two or more such fibers joined in series, the polarization crosstalk is a more meaningful measure of performance than the h-parameter,
Tomi Engdahl says:
New DPoE qualifications link FTTH, HFC networks
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/06/dpoe-ftth-hfc.html
CableLabs has issued the first qualifications of hardware designed to version 1.0 of its DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) specifications.
The DPoE specifications describe a means by which the DOCSIS operating system common in cable MSO networks can be used to provision EPON networks.
The first series of certifications covers both systems and optical network units (ONUs). Systems from CommScope, Sumitomo Electric, Huawei and ZTE earned the qualification, as well as ONUs from CTDI and Finisar.
“It is excellent news for the cable industry to now be able to choose between so many qualified DPoE devices as the complexity and speeds of our offered services continues to increase,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Too soon for 40GBase-T? Structured cabling giant R&M warns firms against ‘premature investment’
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/07/rm-warns-40g-investment.html
40GBASE-T data center cabling standardization [predicted] to be introduced by 2016; R&M cautions businesses against premature investment
While R&M is convinced that the advantages 40GBASE-T offers in terms of speed and data volume will outclass the entire performance of previous copper cabling in data centers, the cabling specialist has warned Middle East organizations against premature investments as long as standards are not defined and appropriate components are not fully developed.
While 10GBASE-T was defined for general applications, 40GBASE-T is intended for use directly in data centers. Jean-Pierre Labry added that the market cannot ignore 40GBASE-T. “Its economic potential is simply too significant judging from current R&M market observations and experience with millions of installations for its own high-end Cat. 6A and fiber optic solutions,” he said.
With a range of 30 meters, the future standard closes the gap between direct-attach cables 7 or 15 meters long for intra-rack cabling and structured fiber cabling with a range of up to 150 meters. An inexpensive copper alternative capable of carrying greater data volumes more quickly than before is therefore needed for structured cabling over medium distances, e.g. between cabinets in an aisle in a computer room.
Tomi Engdahl says:
40-, 100 Gigabit Ethernet seen topping $4B by 2017, driven by cloud
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/07/delloro-40-100g.html
Dell’Oro Group is forecasting that, within the larger Ethernet switch market, revenues for 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet will exceed $4 billion by 2017.
According to the firm’s latest research, the L2-3 Ethernet Switch market is forecast to approach $25B in 2017, with future growth to be driven primarily by sales of higher speed Ethernet switches optimized for larger data center deployments, as the core of the data center quickly migrates to 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet.
“The data center will be the site of almost all revenue growth during the forecast horizon, as the cloud forever changes how networks are built,” comments Alan Weckel, vice president at Dell’Oro Group. “In general, we are moving toward a period of data center consolidation, where there will be fewer, larger data centers and the ownership of data center equipment will change.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why ‘multi-everything’ is normal for cabling-certification
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-21/issue-7/features/why-multi-everything-is-normal-for-cablling-certification.html
Today’s contractors must be able to manage multiple environments, media, standards and technologies in order to succeed.
Today’s information technology (IT) discussions are filled with terms like cloud, virtualization, SAN, SaaS and SLA. Rarely is the physical layer part of the buzz, but as we know in our industry, all network technologies lead back to that critical, foundational layer and the cabling infrastructure that supports it. Like the technologies around it, Layer 1 of the seven-layer OSI Model is changing. Consultants and network owners who do not embrace this change by addressing the mounting complexities of installation and certification will struggle for profitability and the very survival as a business.
Certification’s future
One possible answer to today’s demanding requirements is to add more expert project managers to the process. They could apply the insight, training and oversight needed to eliminate errors and improve efficiency. This option, however, is not economically feasible in many circumstances. In those cases, another solution is a testing tool that can help take on that role, managing the test process as well as the test itself.
A test solution with these capabilities is more agile, has the ability to address all six steps in the certification process, and can manage multiple testing scenarios. To solve the multiple challenges that exist in today’s certification environment, a tool will need to be built from the ground up for the “multi” environment. If it is built that way, it can help project managers and technicians meet the evolving challenges associated with cable certification. ::
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA tests optical links from space
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/catching-waves/4420968/NASA-tests-optical-links-from-space
Last Friday, NASA launched LADEE (“laddie”) a robotic probe that will orbit the moon and collect atmospheric information. What is particularly interesting to me about this probe is that it will also test communications with the earth over wireless optical links at 600Mb/s. (I first heard about this from an article by David Talbot on MIT’s Technology Review). So, I decided to dig deeper.
I asked him how the quality of transmissions will be tested, and he told me that they have a pseudo-random noise (PN) code generator onboard LADEE that can generate the 622 Mb/s data stream for the downlink form the Moon to the Earth. They also have a 40 Mb/s internal connection to the LADEE science buffer, and Cornwell says they hope to download science data for the mission (as a best effort, not baseline). He points out that since LADEE does not include a camera or other instruments that would generate large volumes of data, they included the 622 Mbps PN-code generator to create test data.
Once the data has been received on the ground, the ground teams will measure the error rate of the data as compared against the known PN-code. They also have a 20Mb/s laser uplink to LADEE, which will allow them to loop back the data.
LADEE should take about 40 days to get set up, and then perform about 100 days of science data collection. After that, the spacecraft will impact on the moon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Attention Cabling Contractors: Are you Z-MAX fast?
Take the $1000 Z-MAX Challenge to find out.
http://www.siemon.com/us/zmax/challenge/?ec=cim-stds
Watch this video to learn how to participate and see the World Record 30-second termination by Brandon
We designed Z-MAX to be the fastest terminating Cat 6 and Cat 6A connectors on the market – and now we want to know just how fast they can be in the hands of cabling pros like you.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Quark Runs on Roof, Raises Questions
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319447&itc=eetimes_node_199&cid=NL_EDN_DesignIdeas_20130912&elq=f86be4f0931649b68bba1bd3cdc2abe5&elqCampaignId=1128
An HVAC system on a rooftop in Minneapolis is running Quark, Intel’s newest and smallest SoC. If all goes well, Daikin McQuay might someday buy millions of the chips.
Intel announced Quark at its annual developer conference here as its bid to get a jump on the emerging Internet of Things. However, it provided no details on its technical specs or when it will be released, suggesting it is more of a rushed trial balloon than a nailed-down product and strategy.
In a brief encounter after his first IDF keynote, Intel’s new chief executive, Brian Krzanich, said Quark is x86 compatible. The chip he showed was made in a 32nm process, he added.
In his keynote, Krzanich described Quark as a fifth the size and a tenth the power consumption of Atom. It’s a synthesizable core Intel will let others use along with third-party silicon blocks in SoCs Intel will make.
Designers will not be allowed to customize the Quark core. They can only connect third-party blocks to its fabric. Intel will allow some process tweaks for some customers, he added.
Last week, HVAC giant Daikin got one industrial reference board using a Quark chip and including WiFi and 3G support. Kevin Facinelli, executive vice president for operations at the company, dialed into the board from the IDF event here to show it is working.
“We looked at Freescale and ARM too but decided on using Quark,” Facinelli said.
The mechanical engineering company was not concerned about relative silicon performance. It just wanted to offer a remote maintenance capability with high security.
Security software gave Intel the edge over ARM. The Quark reference board runs a stack of white-listed Wind River embedded operating system supplemented with McAfee security software, the kind of embedded system stack Intel has been touting for embedded systems for more than a year.
Peter Glaskowsky, a veteran processor analyst, said Quark could be a 386-vintage subset of the x86 for which patents are now expired. “They could be making a virtue of necessity,”
Alternatively, it could be the world’s smallest 64-bit x86.
One wrinkle for Intel in this scenario is whether AMD has any outstanding patents on a 64-bit x86. It pioneered the architecture with its Opteron later emulated by Intel’s processors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wireless encryption: a situation ripe for consumer frustration
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/brians-brain/4420287/Wireless-encryption–a-situation-ripe-for-consumer-frustration
All’s well that ends well? Not even close. This project required way too much research on my part in order to reach an acceptable albeit not optimal conclusion. Among other things, I encountered:
Terminology inconsistency (“PSK” versus “Personal”)
Inappropriate supported settings combinations (“WPA plus AES” and “WPA2 plus TKIP” on the TV-IP422Ws)
A dearth of documentation (which encryption modes do my router’s “WPA Personal” and “WPA2 Personal” security modes use? I think, respectively, “TKIP” and “AES,” but I’m still not absolutely sure), and
Gear that claims to support WPA2 but doesn’t … and I still don’t know whether the WPA2 weak link is the common router or the network cameras-and-print server.
If it took a techie like me this much time and effort to get to this point, how much more work awaits the average consumer? Or, more likely, how little time and effort will it take before the average consumer throws up his or her hands in frustration and takes (or ships) everything back to the store for refund? And does anyone really wonder, therefore, why consumers’ technology adoption and evolution trends substantially lag their potential?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook And Internet.org Detail “1000X” Technologies They Hope Will Bring Earth Online
http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/16/tech-to-connect-the-world/
Air Traffic Control, HipHop, WebP, and Supplemental Downlink are some of the futuristic technologies that Facebook and its Internet.org partners will deploy to bring the Internet to the five billion people still not connected. A 70-page whitepaper released today by Internet.org partners Facebook, Qualcomm, and Ericsson details how spectrum must change to accommodate 1000 times more web traffic, and Facebook Home’s role as a data efficiency experiment.
Last month Facebook, Qualcomm, and Ericsson along with Samsung, MediaTek, Nokia, and Opera launched Internet.org, a partnership aimed at making the Internet accessible and affordable for everyone on the planet.
Today, Facebook and Qualcomm went a step further with this detailed whitepaper that outlines specific accessibility technologies they’re already testing, and those they plan to build. Ericsson then provides some tips to the mobile industry for understanding what its customers really want.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Focus on Efficiency
A whitepaper from Facebook, Ericsson and Qualcomm
September 16, 2013
https://fbcdn-dragon-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/851575_520797877991079_393255490_n.pdf
As founding members of Internet.org, we believe it’s possible to build infrastructure that will sustainably provide affordable access to basic Internet services in a way that enables everyone with a phone to get
online. While the current global cost of delivering data is on the order of 100 times too expensive for this to be economically feasible, we believe that with an organized effort, it is reasonable to expect the overall efficiency of delivering data to increase by 100x in the next 5–10 years.
This effort will require two key innovations:
1. Bringing down the underlying costs of delivering data, and
2. Using less data by building more efficient apps
If the industry can achieve a 10x improvement in each of these areas—delivering data and building more efficient apps—then it becomes economically reasonable to offer free basic services to those who cannot afford them, and to begin sustainably delivering on the promise of connectivity as a human right
In the first half of this paper, we examine how Facebook has approached the challenge of building more efficient technologies in order to connect more than one billion users.
After that, we will explore the challenges of creating more efficient apps that use less data. Efficiency gains achieved on the Android platform will be discussed, as well as improvements in image rendering.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EnOcean Pi connects energy harvesting wireless devices with the Raspberry Pi
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4421048/EnOcean-Pi-connects-energy-harvesting-wireless-devices-with-the-Raspberry-Pi
The Raspberry Pi computer can now control gateways for energy usage and automation systems using the new EnOcean Pi accessory, available from element14.
EnOcean Pi is available in three versions: EnOcean Pi 868 MHz (Europe), EnOcean Pi 315 MHz (Japan, India, North America) and EnOcean Pi 902 MHz (North America). Costing $25.00USD the first version to launch is EnOcean Pi 868 which is available from Farnell element14 in Europe and CPC in the UK and Ireland. Versions of the EnOcean Pi supporting the 315 MHz and 902 MHz radio bands will be available in early October 2013 from Newark element14 and MCM in North America, and element14 in Asia Pacific.
EnOcean Pi is a wireless module which connects to batteryless EnOcean modules that are powered by energy converters that use mechanical motion, light or temperature differences as an energy source. This allows for maintenance-free sensor and actuator solutions that provide the necessary data for intelligent control.
The new Pi accessory is supplied with free to download EnOcean Link Trial Version middleware
Tomi Engdahl says:
Obama administration urges FCC to require carriers to unlock mobile devices
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/obama-administration-urges-fcc-to-require-carriers-to-unlock-mobile-devices/2013/09/17/17b4917e-1fd4-11e3-b7d1-7153ad47b549_story.html
Several months after calling for legislation to unlock cellphones, the White House filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday asking that all wireless carriers be required to unlock all mobile devices so that users can easily switch between carriers.
The proposal from the administration’s tech policy arm follows up on President Obama’s response last spring to furious complaints from online activists after the Library of Congress made the practice illegal in January when an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act expired. The activists posted their complaint on the White House’s protest forum and collected over 114,000 signatures on their petition to overturn the Library of Congress decision.
In March, the Obama administration said that consumers should be allowed to own “unlocked” phones, which spurred new bill proposals and committee discussions about the issue. The FCC also said it supported cellphone unlocking.
“Americans should be able to use their mobile devices on whatever networks they choose and have their devices unlocked without hassle,” said Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary of the NTIA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel also wants to IoT devices
With the new Quark processor, Intel is trying to compete agains the British ARM’s on very low power devices.
The new general manager Brian Krzanich really presented the key to his speech Quark-circuit family, which is intended for the Internet of Things, for example, wearable electronics devices.
Intel promises Quark-processor basis for the development of devices for the reference cards for the end of the year. Initially, we are aiming to industry, energy and transport applications, Krzanich defined.
Low power consumption is not the only big new thing in connection with Quark. Intel will also license the processor. The processor giant clearly wants to challenge ARM’s Cortex-M and Cortex-R family Consolidating processors. Quark has taken the Pentium instruction set position, so it is the x86 architecture. The details of the Intel architecture has not yet been revealed.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=380:intel-haluaa-myos-iot-laitteisiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
The next-generation LTE-Advanced networks will be started to build a larger scale. Of the first field tests are promising. For example, Tokyo has reached up to 770 Mbps data connections.
Huawei says that its equipment in a test Global TD-LTE seminar was utilized in the new LTE-A features. These included the carriers are combined (carrier aggregation).
The test signals were run 3.5 GHz frequency band, which is coming to Japan for commercial use by the end of next year. Operator Partner of Softbank test. Technique was used in the LTE-A time-division ie. TDD version.
Also, Nokia Networks & Solutions has been active in the LTE-A technology development. NSN to supply the base stations being launched in Korea, the world’s first LTE-A networks.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=381:lte-a-verkossa-lupaavia-tuloksia&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Asus has introduced a WLAN router, which it boasts the world’s fastest. There are two different band functional device can transfer data at up to 1900 Mbps speed.
RT-AC68U-WLAN router supports the new ac-standard five-gigahertz range. Ac-link along the data can pass through at a rate of 1.3 Gbps. In addition, the route at the same time bring the user data rate of 600 Mbit n-type connection at 2.4 GHz.
According to Asus Gigabit Router is specially designed for homes where you want to play online games or watch high-definition videos in various parts of the house.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=376:maailman-nopein-wlan-reititin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones & Tablets as Remote HMIs
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=267763&cid=nl.dn14
Smartphones and tablets as remote HMIs (human-machine interfaces) are becoming more and more of a reality. The real usage is more limited to remote monitoring devices, but still new technology is offering an interesting and useful way to track critical plant production information, for example. With new tools that rely on browser technology and limit the amount of development effort required, this is an approach that I think will continue to gain momentum.
“Small to mid-sized businesses have taken ‘mobile HMI’ and run with it,” David Hill, marketing communications manager at Opto 22, told Design News in an email. “Customers knew exactly what they wanted to do with a mobile HMI, which they usually wanted on a smartphone, but the cost and complexity of getting there had been too great.” For two water industry customers who connected to an HMI using remote desktop software, the existing solution was limited and cumbersome.
What’s interesting is to see how midsized businesses are using this approach.
To provide security, the obvious concern with these types of systems, Opto 22 recommends using VPN access and separating an organization’s control and computer networks. And beyond that, the key is careful assignment of user rights. The Groov appliance also implements SSL communications using software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit.
While the examples above are obviously not extremely complex manufacturing systems, they do point out the way that connectivity solutions, even with limited capabilities, can offer very significant advances in productivity and flexibility. One thing that amazes me is that controlling the home thermostat, given the availability of wireless technology, has not already gone mainstream with the proliferation of smartphone technology. I know that solutions exist but even the high cost of energy isn’t fueling this trend.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi and Cellphone Service on Subway Trains? M.T.A. Leader Says It May Happen
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/nyregion/mta-plans-wi-fi-and-phone-service-on-subway-trains.html?pagewanted=all
And now, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is churning toward a future where travelers will never again be disconnected from their cellphones while onboard.
At a forum on Tuesday, the authority’s chairman, Thomas F. Prendergast, said that transit officials hoped to add Wi-Fi and possibly cellphone reception aboard moving trains — in what appeared to be the first public acknowledgment that the authority’s ambitions for wireless service went beyond stations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brazil Looks to Break from U.S.-Centric Internet
http://world.time.com/2013/09/18/brazil-looks-to-break-from-u-s-centric-internet/
Brazil plans to divorce itself from the U.S.-centric Internet over Washington’s widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments.
President Dilma Rousseff ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and security following revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company’s network and spied on Brazilians who entrusted their personal data to U.S. tech companies such as Facebook and Google.
The leader is so angered by the espionage that on Tuesday she postponed next month’s scheduled trip to Washington, where she was to be honored with a state dinner.
Internet security and policy experts say the Brazilian government’s reaction to information leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is understandable, but warn it could set the Internet on a course of Balkanization.
“The global backlash is only beginning and will get far more severe in coming months,” said Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Institute at the Washington-based New America Foundation think tank. “This notion of national privacy sovereignty is going to be an increasingly salient issue around the globe.”
While Brazil isn’t proposing to bar its citizens from U.S.-based Web services, it wants their data to be stored locally as the nation assumes greater control over Brazilians’ Internet use to protect them from NSA snooping.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brocade Software Beats Cisco ASICs
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319524&
Intel would be hard pressed to find a better spokesman for its communications initiative than Kelly Herrell. The founding CEO of software startup Vyatta is the man behind the code running in a new family of x86 servers announced today by Brocade Communications that act as virtual edge routers, undercutting costs of Cisco routers.
The Brocade Vyatta 5600 vRouter pumps out as much as 10 Gbit/s in packet traffic per x86 core under the hood. Meanwhile, Brocade continues to drive ahead its own switches that, like Cisco, take a more traditional approach of using ASICs.
“The idea Intel silicon can drive multiple 10G cards at line rate is a reality — it’s shipping and we have customers using it,” said Herrell, who became general manager of Brocade’s software networking business unit when it bought Vyatta in 2012. “The ability of those x86 platforms to drive packets per second has exploded many fold in a short time,” he said.
Since the Westmere generation of CPUs, Intel has been tinkering with ways to reduce cache misses and context switching latency when its processors handle packets. It rolled out a Data Plane Developer Kit (DPDK) to further grease the skids of its Xeon chips in comms systems.
Before that work, Vyatta used Linux for packet forwarding and it maxed out at 8 Gbit/s to 10 Gbit/s per CPU with little added benefits beyond five cores.
“Now we get 10G line rates per core with 64-byte packets and linear performance as we add cores,” said Herrell. “System shipping today deliver almost 200G throughput for a two-socket server, and in the routing/firewall world that is shocking because it replaces $100,000 proprietary boxes.”
Herrell claims some of the new Brocade servers will deliver 40x the throughput of more expensive Cisco virtual routers. That’s thanks in part to the Vyatta software that uses Intel’s DPDK to run control and data plane traffic on separate cores.
“we are competing with the $20-100,000 Cisco ASR class router at one tenth the hardware cost.”
Such x86 servers cannot compete, however, with Cisco in higher end core routers
“The overall trend is that for first time software is playing a key role in network infrastructure — it was always assumed it was all done with ASICs, but that’s no longer true,” he added.
Brocade’s new servers target the emerging market for so-called network function virtualization. The term stems from a whitepaper from a dozen carriers calling for easier ways to manage their networks in software.
The carriers formed a two-year work group under the European Telecommunications Standards Institute that now includes more than 60 carriers and network systems vendors. It essentially aims to lay out guidelines for delivering features in high-level server software rather than traditional systems using ASICs and proprietary code.
With the founding of Vyatta and now his work at Brocade, Herrell is riding the trend. “You don’t need proprietary ASICs to do the bulk of the work for routing VPNs, firewalls, and that sort of thing,” he said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NXP Teams With TTTech to Develop Automotive Ethernet Switch Chip
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319525&
NXP Semiconductors announced Wednesday, Sept. 18, that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop automotive Ethernet switch solutions with TTTech Computertechnik AG, a Vienna-based developer of networking solutions.
With the Ethernet now invading cars (industry experts’ opinions, however, vary as to the speed of its adoption), “the next logical thing” for the auto industry to look for is an automotive Ethernet switch chip, according to NXP Semiconductors N.V. “When two or three Ethernet branches need to be connected [inside a car], you need a switch to coordinate them” says Toni Versluijs, vice president and general manager, In-Vehicle Networking Product Line, NXP Semiconductors.
Under the agreement, TTTech will provide its automotive Ethernet switch IP, while NXP implements the IP into Ethernet switch solutions with integrated PHY.
NXP expects its sample to be out in 2014, with the final product available in 2015.
Unified Ethernet networks
The jointly developed switch chip will enable applications with unshielded twisted pair cabling with BroadR-Reach PHY technology — originally developed by Broadcom.
According to NXP, this will become the first Ethernet switch chip with three incorporated traffic classes. They include standard Ethernet traffic for diagnostics and ECU flashing, asynchronous rate-constrained traffic for audio/video streaming and sensor fusion, and synchronous traffic for hard real-time control and fail-operational systems.
In essence, the new automotive switch chip will enable unified Ethernet networks and the convergence of critical and non-critical application data streams on one network, NXP claimed.
TTTech is experienced in developing “modular” Ethernet solutions for vertical markets — such as the aerospace and energy fields — that demand real-time solutions, high reliability, and even triple redundancy requirements. But this is the first time the company is offering an “automotive Ethernet switch IP.” Supported in the logic inside the automotive Ethernet switch IP are IEEE Audio Video Bridging (AVB) specifications, to help carry high-speed data traffic, and real-time quality of service within the automobile.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The U.S.’s crap infrastructure threatens the cloud
Thanks to state-sponsored cable/phone duopolies, U.S. broadband stays slow and expensive — and will probably impede cloud adoption
http://www.infoworld.com/d/application-development/the-uss-crap-infrastructure-threatens-the-cloud-226917
According to the broadband testing firm NetIndex, U.S. consumer broadband speeds rank 33rd in the world, right behind the Ukraine. Personally, I pay more than $1,500 per month for 30/30MB fiber for our office. This is ridiculously expensive and slower than the average household Internet in many other countries. It’s a serious impediment to the United States maintaining its economic competitiveness — and to enabling all of us to take full advantage of the cloud, which is clearly the next phase of computing.
I find the current political atmosphere where telecom lobbyists set the agenda to be a nightmare. All over the world, high-end fiber is being deployed while powerful monopolies in the United States work to prevent it from coming here. Some of those monopolies are even drafting “model legislation” to protect themselves from both community broadband and commercial competition.
Poor laws and regulations have protected a duopoly in most areas of the country. You can buy Internet from the local cable monopoly or the local phone monopoly, period. Neither have much motivation to make it much faster nor any cheaper.
For many small businesses, $1,500 per month is out of reach. In the case of my business, we expect to have to upgrade this connection pretty rapidly as we expand — and, sadly, pay even more. This kind of a cost, plus the speed disadvantage, puts us on an uneven playing field with similar companies in other countries. Plus, in some rural areas of my state and the rest of the country, there is no broadband at all.
Originally, my company used the same cable broadband you get in the home with 50MB down and 5MB up (believe it or not, this is perceptibly slower than 30/30MB fiber in general). When we moved from local servers to the cloud, we knew the 5MB uplink would be a serious problem.
The current situation brings to mind the battle over rural electrification in the 1930s, where the utility monopolies tried to prevent the government from expanding the electrical grid outside of the wealthiest parts of the country.
The effect on the cloud
One would expect that the United States would lead in “cloudification,” since Amazon and most of the other cloud pioneers are located here. But I can’t help but wonder if the broadband advantage outside our borders will not only make those countries more competitive in technology, but also speed up their cloud adoption. If you’re moving out of your local network or local data center, then not only burst capacity, but packet loss and latency are seriously important.
After the initial cloud rush, where everyone will be talking but only a few will be doing, I expect that cloud adoption will closely match broadband speed, cost, and availability curves
Tomi Engdahl says:
Internet of Things Demands New Social Contract To Protect Privacy
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/09/19/2334226/internet-of-things-demands-new-social-contract-to-protect-privacy
“Changes brought about by the Internet of Things demands the creation of a whole new social contract to enshrine the right to privacy and prevent the creation of technology-fueled Orwellian surveillance states in which individual privacy protections take a back seat to security and ‘control.’ That, according to an opinion piece penned by the head of the European Commission’s Knowledge Sharing Unit.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft hooks up with AT&T, gazes into YOUR data center
Bit barn threesome ties Microsoft, AT&T + your gear together with MPLS
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/20/microsoft_azure_att_partnership/
Microsoft and AT&T have announced a strategic alliance that should let punters shift workloads from their data center into AT&T’s cloud and then into Windows Azure.
The unnamed service is due to launch in 2014, and was announced by Microsoft in a fluffy blog post on Wednesday.
The technology lets people “access Windows Azure as a logical extension of their existing data centers” via a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) VPN, Redmond wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
Microsoft says this can lower latency by as much as 50 percent compared with typical connectivity options.
If you squint, the service shares many traits with Amazon Web Services’s DirectConnect product, which lets companies connect directly into AWS via a VPN in a data center where AWS has a physical edge presence, such as facilities operated by Equinix, transit provider Level 3, and others.
“Through this strategic alliance with AT&T,” he continued, “we can reduce the barriers to entry for cloud computing by providing a more secure and reliable connectivity option for enterprise customers, accelerating the growth of cloud computing and the rapid adoption of Windows Azure.”
The offering is very similar to a deal AT&T inked with IBM in late 2012 to offer users a way of hooking their VPNs into AT&T, which in turn linked with IBM’s SmartCloud. It also operates a VMware vCloud-based “Synaptic Compute as a Service” offerings as well. All these products, including the forthcoming Azure tech, use AT&T’s “NetBond” technology to let customers shuttle compute and network resources into and out of the cloud services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NSA taught business the value of metadata
Telecommunications metadata does not include the content of the calls itself. Metadata studied only traffic information such as the number of data, the starting times and more, in some cases, such as call billing.
NSA (National Security Agency) revealing of spying of own citizen has given rise to something good: companies are realizing how valuable this kind of meta-data collection is a business.
The huge amount of rings analysis can reveal information about the callers and even the spending patterns of behavior. That’s what the NSA also ultimately trying to do.
Customer and employee behavior, as well as the progress of projects easier to predict metadan help. Similarly, companies can more clearly to choose the most appropriate situations of best practices.
Metadata real contribution to, say, service centers and sales capacity assessment of peak forecasting.
Many corporate telephone systems to collect existing information, such as phone numbers, call times and call duration periods of time.
Telecommunications metadata underestimated in vain, because it can give a company a really valuable information about all the hype of big data support.
As NSA-Broil has shown, security forces were able to access the relevant data specifically a combination of many sources of information. Also, companies can get the same valuable information to support decision making especially in the area of customer relationship management.
CRM (Customer Relations Management) will benefit by collecting and analyzing data, as business decision-makers to choose the most suitable market conditions, strategies and best practices.
NSA example demonstrates that the authorities to understand the metadata value.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/nsa+opetti+yrityksille+metadatan+arvon/a931806
Tomi Engdahl says:
The New Normal: Multi-Everything
http://www.cablinginstall.com/whitepapers/2013/06/the-new-normal–multi-everything.html
Today’s IT discussions are filled with terms like Cloud, Virtualization, SANs, BYOD, SaaS, and SLAs. Rarely is the physical layer – Layer 1 of the 7-Layer OSI Model – part of the buzz. All network technologies lead back to that critical, foundational layer and the cabling infrastructure that supports it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile broadband ‘fastest growing technology in history’ says ITU
Spectrum … depleting … fast … can’t … send … at … desired … speed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/23/mobile_where_the_growth_is_says_itu/
Mobile networks are fast outrunning fixed broadband in terms of growth, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and that’s going to put pressure on wireless spectrum’s ability to cope.
Singapore, Japan and Finland top the world in mobile broadband penetration on a per-100-inhabitants basis, with Australia arriving at 6th, the USA at 9th and the UK at 14th.
And the ITU states, in its 2013 State of Broadband report that mobile broadband is now “the fastest growing technology in human history”. However, to keep this momentum rolling, the group believes that spectrum efficiency will have to be improved “by up to a factor of ten”, merely to accommodate the “present growth in demand”.
The ITU puts forward the idea that universality should be a key objective of broadband policy. Noting that Internet users will reach 2.75 billion in 2013, the body says “two-thirds of the planet’s population” are yet to be connected.
“The key to unlocking universal service is solid consideration of how to fund the last 5-10 per cent of subscribers, and who should bear these additional costs”, it continues.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CloudSigma lashes cloud to colocation partners
It’s hybrid cloud, ma’am, but not as you know it
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/20/cloudsigma_hybrid_cloud_announcement/
European infrastructure-as-a-service provider CloudSigma has followed in the steps of Amazon and Microsoft to offer a direct connection between private servers in colocation facilities and its cloud.
The “hybrid hosting” service was announced by the company on Wednesday, and will see it give customers the option of renting colocation servers in an Interxion facility in Zurich, the Switch SuperNAP in Las Vegas, and Equinix data centers around the world, then getting a direct line into its cloud as well.
Theoretically, this allows you to burst capacity into the pool of SSD-backed gear in CloudSigma’s IaaS service, but spend most of your time chugging away on cheaper prepaid colocation servers.
The hybrid hosting service can give either a 1GbE or 10GbE private patch into the CloudSigma network, and customers can tap the cloud for DDoS protection systems, redundant routing, and external IP connectivity services. In addition, CloudSigma will offer customers a rebate on spending on its cloud of up to 20 percent of their private hosting costs.
This type of colo-public cloud approach was pioneered by Amazon Web Services with its DirectConnect tech, which launched in August 2011 and saw Bezos & Co. partner with Equinix. That was followed by Microsoft, which has teamed up with AT&T to offer a similar service starting in 2014.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Managed, hardened industrial switches with PoE+
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/09/signamax-industrial-switches-poep.html
Signamax Network Connectivity Systems recently made available a series of managed hardened PoE+ industrial DIN-mount switches, as well as a managed desktop hardened PoE+ industrial switch. “These switches are designed to operate in rugged environments with extreme temperature conditions,”
They also support features such as 802.1Q VLAN, MAC-based trunking, IP-Multicast IGMP Snooping, Rapid Spanning Tree for redundancy, QoS for priority queuing, and port mirroring for easy implementation of resilient, high-capacity networks supporting critical security and public-safety applications over Gigabit Ethernet copper and fiber backbones, Signamax explained. “Individual administrators or network operations centers may also choose to perform remote monitoring and configuration using the web browser or Telnet interfaces, or from overlay management systems such as HP OpenView or IBM/Tivoli NetView via SNMP and RMON,” the company said. “These switches also support rate control for individual port maximum bandwidth settings, to support high-granularity network control.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Standalone security market fades amid growing demand for integrated security
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/09/infonetics-integrated-security.html
Infonetics Research has released its 2nd quarter (2Q13) Network Security Appliances and Software market share and forecast report. “There’s never been a time when the world was more tuned-in to broad privacy and security issues, and with the recent revelations about the NSA’s PRISM surveillance program, consumers and businesses around the globe are re-evaluating their security posture, preferred vendors, and deployment strategies,” notes Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research.
According to the study, worldwide network security appliance and software revenue totaled $1.6 billion in 2Q13, an increase of 4% sequentially.
In terms of market share, Cisco, Check Point, Fortinet, HP, and Palo Alto Networks all posted strong revenue results in the network security market in 2Q13.
“While it’s too early to say if the NSA debacle will have an impact on security spending, one trend in the security sector is clear: buyers are looking to consolidate security platforms wherever they can,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
IEEE 802.3bk expands optical loss budgets for EPON
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/09/ieee-boosts-epon.html
The IEEE just announced approval of IEEE 802.3bk, Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Physical Layer Specifications and Management Parameters for Extended Ethernet Passive Optical Networks. The new specifications are designed to enable higher-density and longer-reach applications of Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) infrastructure while improving cost of network ownership, says IEEE.
As EPON has grown in popularity, new requirements and areas for improvement have arisen. These include the cost-effective deployment of EPON in rural areas with lower customer densities, increasing subscriber density per port in the central office, sharing available links among larger concentrations of users, and serving users at distances from the nearest network hub that were greater than the original specifications covered.
IEEE 802.3bk addresses these issues by amending the base IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard to support optical loss budgets in excess of those previously specified.
“The development of IEEE 802.3bk was an open, market-driven effort to amend the Ethernet standard to allow a given EPON deployment to support more users over longer distances than previously possible.”
“We’re excited about new IEEE 802.3bk-based products that will allow service providers to make better use of their already deployed fiber, increasing the number subscribers that can be served per OLT (optical line termination) port,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Low footprint software firewall protects IoT devices
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4421446/Low-footprint-software-firewall-protects-IoT-devices
Icon Labs has released what it claims to be the industry’s first software firewall that protects connected Smart Home devices from Internet-based attacks. Dubbed “Floodgate at Home”, the software features the Icon Labs suite of security products to provide device protection, management and incident reporting to home users and service providers via a secure web page.
Once the device is connected to the web, the end user, home system integrator or service provider sets up the security arrangement. This limits access to a few specific people, phone numbers, or the IP address of a specific laptop or tablet.
By stopping communication from unapproved devices, the software blocks unauthorized access, protects against automated hacking drones, and can even prevent the device from being discovered by hackers. It is designed for use in embedded systems and can be used with operating systems such as Embedded Linux, INTEGRITY, VelOSity, VxWorks, LynxOS, MQX, or eCos, or devices without an operating system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oracle Database Enterprise got Java when it Sun Microsystems 2009.
Now the company is trying to push Java also growing Internet of Things (IoT, the Internet of Things), or industrial internet market.
In this project, Oracle has teamed up with the micro-controller with a familiar Freescale. Companies are developing solutions with Freescale processors spinning on IoT applications in Java environments.
Freescale has joined the JCP developing java project (Java Community Process) with the aim to develop a java standard suitable for IoT use. The big challenge is to modify the java low power consumption to as micro-controllers controllable sensor solutions,
As part of a project for Oracle and Freescale to develop a new software layer that allows Java to run applications in embedded Freescale MQX operating system. Java is also intended to optimize the Freescale i.MX 6 series of application processors.
At the moment, One Box at a workable platform is supposed to be a reference solution for home automation, industrial and production of IoT devices.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=406:oracle-tyontaa-javaa-esineiden-nettiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Automotive Evolution – 1 Step at a Time
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=2&doc_id=1319575&
As I follow the automotive industry, where safety demands are paramount, a long product development cycle is a given, and margins are low, I’m slowly learning that revolutionary changes are hard to come by.
In contrast, in the electronics industry where I grew up as a beat reporter, changes — I mean, big, constant changes — are the key to survival.
In that context, when I attended the Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF), an automotive industry event held here last week sponsored by Mentor Graphics, I was fascinated to note names like Google and Tesla coming up so often — during the keynote speech, presentations, even at cocktail hour and dinner. Google and Tesla, both tech companies with no traditional automotive ties, appear to be very much admired but also viewed as a thorn in the side of Detroit’s automakers.
I also learned that an idea like bringing Ethernet into cars, which might have been once viewed as a “revolutionary” step, is slowly but surely gaining a foothold even in the conservative automotive industry.
During a speech entitled “In-Vehicle Networking Simulation: Both Sides of the Story,” Vincent Bidault, telecom and network specialist at Renault, showed slides that illustrate how applications of CE technology are becoming an integral part of the in-car networking roadmap.
When asked, after the presentation, where Renault stands in terms of embracing Ethernet in its cars, Bidault replied, “We’ve started to look into [the transition from FlexRay to] Ethernet.”
Of course, such a transition is no overnight affair. Any changes in in-car networking require good system vision and a lot of electrical simulations. But also, a growing number of carmakers, including Renault, are beginning to see Ethernet as a fault-tolerant bus for fast and reliable applications.
The Ethernet, by replacing the bottleneck CAN bus, has powers to speed up the process of ECU flashing.
The need for high bandwidth is primarily driving the use of Ethernet in cars, Mantsch explained. But another reason is cost. Rather than sticking to the automotive industry’s proprietary network technologies such as MOST or FlexRay, which can get costly, Ethernet — already used in huge volume in consumer electronics products — could bring down the cost for automotive applications.
So, realistically speaking, how many Ethernet devices are there in cars these days?
cars in the premium segment are known to use about 20 to 30 Ethernet nodes, roughly half being switches.
“Up to 10 [Ethernet switches] are currently used in a premium car.”
Perhaps more important, NXP’s Hank added that many carmakers “will keep the existing networking architecture with LIN, CAN, and FlexRay while they introduce Ethernet for new applications such as Advanced Driver Assistance and camera systems.”
“For OEMs that have not yet introduced FlexRay, Ethernet could be a good option as they can leap-frog”
Meanwhile, for the compact car segment, “Ethernet is being introduced in the next few years,” said Hank. The minimum number of electrical control units with Ethernet is in the range of two or three, he added. “The Central Gateway will have Ethernet interfaces to the diagnosis connector as well as to major ECUs — for example, to allow fast software updates during service. The number of Ethernet devices will increase over the next years and replace systems such as existing infotainment solutions based on MOST.”
So, where will Ethernet switches be placed?
According to Hank, “Electrical Control Units such as Central Gateway, Head Unit, and Surround View Processing Unit include Ethernet switches and are spread all over the car, mainly inside of the vehicle interior.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
BSRIA: Global structured cabling market will exceed $8B by 2020
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/09/bsria-market-2020.html?cmpid=$trackid
A newly released “hot topic study” from BSRIA charts the global structured cabling market through the year 2020, concluding that by then the total market will exceed $8 billion. The market totaled $6 billion in 2012, BSRIA says, and will chart a course of 4-percent annual growth through 2020.
“The structured cabling market is facing a turbulent time,” BSRIA said when announcing the study’s availability. “Structured cabling in data centers continues to move toward the use of fiber. The number of smaller data centers that mainly use copper will decline as the penetration of cloud services increases and outsources become more prevalent.”
The global structured cabling market is expected to continue to grow, from $6 billion in 2012 to $8.3 billion in 2020.
Cabling in data centers accounts for $1.1 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow to $1.6 billion in 2020. The increasing use of smart phones, tablets and laptops and the need for file sharing, networking and instant access will massively increase the need for data storage and speed.
Significant growth in WiFi traffic is expected. Small cell and carrier WiFi deployments are expected to carry more than 60 percent of mobile data traffic by 2020.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data/comm cables and the 2014 National Electrical Code
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-21/issue-9/features/data-comm-cables-and-the-2014-national-electrical-code.html?cmpid=$trackid
Recently made available from the NFPA, the 2014 NEC includes several changes of interest to professionals in the data/comm cabling field.
The 2014 NEC, which replaces the 2011 NEC, was released by the NFPA in August 2013.
This article, written on behalf of the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA; http://www.cccassoc.org), is intended to provide the reader with a guide to the key changes in the 2014 NEC that are of interest to manufacturers, installers, distributors and users of data/comm cables.
Although widely used in the industry, the term data/comm cable does not appear in the NEC. The term data/comm cable, as used in this article, encompasses six families of cable types in the NEC.
Optical fiber cables, Types OFNP, OFCP, OFNR, OFCR, OFN and OFC
Communications cables, Types CMP, CMR, CMG and CM
Coaxial cable TV cables, Types CATVP, CATVR and CATV
Class 2 cables, Types CL2P, CL2R and CL2
Class 3 cables, Types CL3P, CL3R and CL3
Power-limited fire alarm cables, Types FPLP, FPLR and FPL
New topics and issues
Field-assembled optical fiber cables–Not all optical fiber cables are made in a factory; some are assembled in the field by first installing a tube and then blowing fibers into the tube. Article 770 now recognizes field-assembled optical fiber cables.
Tomi Engdahl says:
11 hot cabling tips for cool data centers
http://www.cablinginstall.com/blogs/2013/09/11-hot-cabling-tips-for-cool-data-centers.html
Directly quoted, they are as follows:
1. Measure twice, cut once.
2. Label , label, label.
3. Don’t skimp on terminations.
4. Don’t skip the test .
5. Keep patch cables short.
6. Color code.
7. Upsize your conduit .
8. Make your design cable-friendly.
9. Separate Cat 5 and power lines.
10. Keep cables cool.
11. Spaghetti prevention .
Tomi Engdahl says:
OIF shows off 25G as portal to 100G, 400G ubiquity
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/09/oif-400g-100g.html
The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) says it will host a record number of multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations at the upcoming ECOC 2013 tradeshow in London (September 23-25).
Addressing a wide range of technologies that support 100G and 400G architectures, 11 companies will verify the interoperability of their products in nine separate and diverse demonstrations. The demonstrations will illustrate the feasibility of building and implementing next-generation 100-Gbps and 400-Gbps capabilities into products today, the OIF asserts.
“The OIF has defined a robust 25G channel technology that the industry is now adopting for 25G, 50G, 100G, and 400G applications,” explains Ed Frlan of Semtech and the OIF Physical and Link Layer Interoperability Working Group chair.
Frlan adds, “By showing that the technology interoperates with multiple vendors in hardware that is available today, the industry can now leverage the investments made in 25G technology for future 100G and 400G applications.”
Companies participating in the interoperability event include Amphenol, Applied Micro, Cisco, Finisar, Fujitsu Optical Components, Inphi, Molex, MoSys, Semtech, TE Connectivity, and Xilinx.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TIA drills down on SDN
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/09/tia-sdn-documentary.html
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has announced the third installment in its “Future of the Network” documentary film series, entitled Break the Restraints: Uncovering Software-Defined Networking. With more network operators making the transition to software-defined networking (SDN), the 30-minute film explores what the information and communications (ICT) industry will look like once networks are fully SDN-enabled, as well as key barriers to SDN adoption.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Things could revolutionize cooking
VTT coordinated Smarcos project has developed objects between the Internet-based technology that allows various smart devices adaptive user interfaces as “operating” a consumer’s needs and behavior.
For example, cooking becomes easier when the cooker, pots, spices, food packaging and intelligent service following a recipe and anticipate consumer needs and activities, and to select and chefs to run correctly.
The European Smarcos (Smart Composite Human Computer Interfaces) project developed objects between the Internet-based technology that allows various digital devices, user interfaces and features made to work seamlessly with intelligent environments.
Unique to the project is the results of the situation, a number of human behavior and task processes the data describing the use of user interfaces to adapt and function.
“The physical interface does not change, but the user interface layer of intelligence and functionality are improved. Interface functions to adapt to the current task to provide better service when the devices, services and applications to monitor and predict the user’s activities and needs. At the same time can contribute to the self-reliance of older people and the survival of the everyday chores at home, “says project co-ordinator, a leading researcher Jani Mäntylahti e VTT.
Household use of a minimalist user interface prototype developed for energy management in cooperation with the Offcoden. Easy-to-prototype is able to manage their own consumption as well as to buy and sell energy.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/esineiden+internet+voi+mullistaa+ruuanlaiton/a933023
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T will build an LTE-Broadcast network tailor-made for video
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/24/att-will-build-an-lte-broadcast-network-tailor-made-for-video/
AT&T is using old MediaFLO spectrum it bought off of Qualcomm to create a broadcast service. The mobile industry has had little success with multicast video in the past, but it has high hopes for LTE-Broadcast.
AT&T hopes to breath new life into some old airwaves by building a broadcast network, ideal for pushing out live video to many multiple devices with out jamming up its pipes with traffic. The technology is called LTE-Broadcast, and as it name implies it turns what is normally a two-way mobile broadband network into a one-way multicast network similar to those used by TV broadcasters.
Announcing the new project at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said AT&T’s mobile focus is “all about architecting networks to deliver video,”
I’ve written plenty in the past about how LTE-Broadcast works as well as its benefits and limitations, but basically you can think of its as a very dense TV network. Instead of blanketing an entire city with a few high-powered TV towers, LTE-Broadcast turns every cell site into broadcast transmitter. Each cell can use its spectrum to broadcast different content, but every device within the same cell receives the same transmissions. That’s ideal for certain types of real-time content.
LTE-Broadcast’s best use case is for big live events like the Super Bowl, which could be watched by millions of people simultaneously. But the distributed nature of the LTE network could also let carriers tailor individual broadcast content for very specific locations. Cell sites at a stadium could send out a constant play-by-play feed as well as transmit highlights and replays to thousands of phone and tablets simultaneously.
LTE-Broadcast also isn’t limited to data. It could datacast real-time stock quotes, sports scores and news. It could also be used as a very efficient way to deliver subscription content or send out app and OS updates en masse.
The conundrum carriers face, though, is whether they can find enough of these kind of applications to justify the investment in infrastructure and spectrum necessary to support LTE-Broadcast. Unlike other mobile broadcast technologies like MediaFLO, though, LTE-Broadcast doesn’t require a special chip or radio in the phone. It’s part of the LTE standard.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maffei on Wednesday also once again pushed for more usage-based broadband pricing in the cable business, which he called “logical and fair” and a “reasonable proposition.” He argued that “getting consumers attuned to that sooner rather than later” is important.
Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/liberty-media-ceo-sees-benefits-636456