Here are some of my collection of newest trends and predictions for year 2018. I have not invented those ideas what will happen next year completely myself. I have gone through many articles that have given predictions for year 2018. Then I have picked and mixed here the best part from those articles (sources listed on the end of posting) with some of my own additions to make this posting.This article contains very many quotations from those source articles.
Big Data, mobility and the Internet of Things (IoT) are generating an enormous amount of data, and data center operators must find ways to support higher and higher speeds. Recent data center trends predict bandwidth requirements will continue growing 25 percent to 35 percent per year. Many older data centers were designed to support 1-gigabit or 10-gigabit pathways between servers, routers and switches. Today’s Ethernet roadmap extends from 25- and 40-gigabit up through 100-gigabit, and 400-gigabit and even 1-terabit Ethernet loom within a few years. The biggest sales are forecasted for 25G and 100G ports for next few years. Ethernet switch market has now 100 Gbit/s products in the volumes at the moment, and both 200G and 400G Ethernet versions will be taken to use in 2018.
Broadcom dominates the Ethernet switch chip market today with a 73 to 94 percent share, depending on how market watchers slice the sector valued at nearly a billion dollars. Its closest rival, Cisco Systems, takes most of the rest with systems using its own ASICs. Juniper, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Huawei also make Ethernet switch ASICs for their systems. With seven merchant chips in the pipeline and four in-house ASICs in the works, we will see a record number of unique platforms ship in 2018. Wheeler of the Linley Group expects the competition will drive Ethernet switch costs from about $60/port today to about $36/port by 2020.
Data center giants “are driving their own code and programmable capabilities as close to the server as possible.” The dozen largest data center operators — including the likes of Facebook and Google — build their own switch systems or specify systems built by ODMs. They can drive sales of millions of chips a year but demand maximum bandwidth at minimum cost and power consumption. The Tomahawk-3 is geared for the next-generation of their top-of-rack and aggregation switches, delivering up to 128 100GE or 32 400GE ports, the first merchant chip to support 400GE rates.
China will start making more optical components: Several Western component and subsystems vendors have cited reduced demand from Chinese systems houses such as Huawei and ZTE for revenue declines in 2017. One reason for the slowdown is the fact that these systems houses have begun looking for more local optical technology sources. In addition to doing more development work in-house (particularly in the case of Huawei), the two Chinese systems vendors have begun to work more closely with Chinese companies such as Accelink, Hisense, and HiSilicon as well as Japanese vendors. This can mean that Western firms (particularly in the U.S.) may not see their Chinese orders return to previous levels.
Higher power power over Ethernet: 802.3bt – IEEE Draft Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Physical Layer and Management Parameters for DTE Power via MDI over 4-Pair amendment to IEEE Std 802.3-2015 increases the maximum PD power available by utilizing all four pairs in the specified structured wiring plant. This represents a substantial increase to the capabilities of Ethernet with standardized power – allow delivery of up to 90 watts of power via existing Ethernet cabling. The Ethernet Alliance has announced details of its next plugfest: Dedicated to pre-standard testing of Power over Ethernet (PoE) technologies against Draft 3.2 of the IEEE P802.3bt standard, the event will be held in February 2018. The specification’s ratification is expected in September of 2018.
802.11ax hasn’t been signed off yet, but promises to send WiFi towards 10 Gb/s thanks to its use of both multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and the new Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). 802.11ax is good at combining lots of different links so that users get more connections, more often, and end up with more bandwidth. Marvell claims it’ll have the first chipsets for new 10G WiFi ready for products in H2 2018. Marvell said the chipsets will ship some time in early 2018 and will appear in products in the second half of the year. Widespread 802.11ax adoption in devices probably won’t happen until 2019.
5G something in it for everyone. 5G is big. 5G New Radio (NR) wireless technology will ultimately impact everyone in the electronics and telecommunications industries. Most estimates say 2020 is when we will ultimately see some real 5G deployments on a scale. In the meantime, companies are firming up their plans for whatever 5G products and services they will offer. Though test and measurement solutions will be key in the commercialization cycle. 5G is set to disrupt test processes. If 5G takes off, the technology will propel the development of new chips in both the infrastructure and the handset. Data centers require specialty semiconductors from power management to high-speed optical fiber front-ends. 5G systems will drive more complexity in RF front-ends .
Networks will become more and more virtual, especially on 5G. 5G networks will build on LTE network architecture with the introduction of cloud RANs (C-RANs) and virtualized RANs. Network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) tools and architectures could enable operators to reduce network costs and simplify deployment. For more details read System architecture milestone of 5G Phase 1 is achieved article.
Automotive Ethernet: Automotive Ethernet will replace the Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) bus found on many vehicles today and also compete with systems like Maxim’s Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link (GMSL). The standards include IEEE 802.3bw 100BASE-T1 and IEEE P802.3bp 1000BASE-T1 that adopt the 100-Mb/s and 1-Gb/s Ethernet protocols to run over over a single twisted pair up to 15 meters. Chips, PHYs and switches are now readily available for automotive Ethernet. Automotive switches will support time-sensitive networking (TSN) features like audio video bridging (AVB) ingress policy, rate limiting andalso features 802.1Qav/Qbv queue-shaping support. We will need a Security Blanket for Automotive Ethernet.
Car-to-car communication: The industry and government have defined several versions of vehicular communications. These are vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X). V2V is the direct communications between vehicles within range of one another. V2V link-up is automatic and cars exchange status information messages Basic Safety Message (BSM) 10 times per second (contains data such as GPS location, speed, direction, brake status, and related conditions). There are competing technologies to make this all work. IEEE802.11p ahead of LTE-V2V for safety critical applications. 5G will offer increased capacity and decreased latency for some critical applications such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving vehicles. The big question is whether 5G will disrupt the landscape or fall short of its promises.
TSN (time sensitive networking) will be talked on many application. Success in the IIoT requires that information- and operational-technology networks work in tandem—time-sensitive networking can make it happen. A converged industrial network will address several challenges that currently exist in today’s disparate network architecture, and it is believed that needed convergence is provided by time-sensitive networking (TSN). TSN is a set of IEEE 802 sub-standards that, when implemented, enable deterministic communication over Ethernet networks while keeping the benefits of communication in best effort manner, on that same network. TSN introduces different traffic classes that share the same link. Proper implementation of TSN requires a solution that can provide a low latency and deterministic response at TSN end points and TSN bridges – it is usually implemented with combining a processor and a FPGA or using advanced Ethernet switch chip.
Gartner analyst says on-premises data centers will soon be ‘useless’: Govekar said that as soon as 2019, at least a third of the largest software vendors will have transitioned their products from cloud-first to cloud-only. For this reason Gartner analyst predicts doom for on-premises data centers. If this happens , there will be a lot of work for network operators and cloud service companies to be able to build the infrastructure that can handle all this without problems. I expect that not all on-premises data centers are doomed. There are applications where moving everything to central could does not make sense – for example many IoT applications are moving some of the processing from cloud to edge devices for various reasons (lower latency, reduce needed bandwidth, work also when communications does not work etc..). There is also place for some on-premises data centers on some application (may them be depending on need anything from embedded server to room full of equipment racks). When designing for the IoT, security needs to be addressed from the Cloud down to each and every edge device. Protecting data is both a hardware and a software requirement, as more data is being stored and analyzed in edge devices and gateways.
Network neutrality talks will continue in 2018. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 14, 2017 overturned the Title II-based Open Internet Order the previous Democratic-controlled FCC regime put in place in 2015. So what happens next? In the immediate term, nothing. The Restoring Internet Freedom Order won’t go into effect until sometime in the first half of 2018.
IPv6 usage seems to be finally accelerating in 2018. IPv6 has been a “future” since 1998, and an important future since 2007. IPv6 deployments have been increasing and chances are you have already used IPv6 – but haven’t realized it yet. IPv6 deployment is increasing around the world, with over 9 million domain names and 23% of all networks advertising IPv6 connectivity. Network admins will have many concerns about migrating to IPv6 in 2018. China plans to put the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)-based network into large-scale use, to boost the development of the Internet industry. China aims to have 200 million active users of IPv6 by the end of 2018. IPv6 use is increasing, but that does not mean that IPv4 is no way dying. It seems that both of those technologies will co-exist in Internet for a long time.
Sources:
Chinese systems houses engaging with alternative component, subsystem sources: LightCounting
System architecture milestone of 5G Phase 1 is achieved
Five technology trends for 2018
NI Trend Watch 2018 explores trends driving the future faster
ADAS Needs V2X to Meet ITS Goals
Taking Automotive Ethernet for a Test Drive
A Security Blanket for Automotive Ethernet
TSN: Converging Networks for a Better Industrial IoT
Gartner analyst says on-premises data centers will soon be ‘useless’
Gartner analyst predicts doom for on-premises data centers
M2M within the IoT – Pushing Security from the Cloud Down to Every Last Endpoint
Net Neutrality Overturned: Now What?
B’com Shifts Switch to 12.8 Tbits/s
Planning starts now for high-speed data center migration
China to speed up IPv6-based Internet development
Top 5 Concerns of Network Admins About Migrating to IPv6 in 2018
1,081 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8415-elisa-ratkaisu-sisatilaongelmiin-wifi-puhelut
Tomi Engdahl says:
An Overview of VoIP for Radio Networks
https://omnitronicsworld.com/an-overview-of-voip-for-radio-networks/
Public safety is of critical importance to many fleet mobile operators. As such, the convergence of communications with IT continues to see numerous improvements through the adaptation of Voice over IP (VoIP) for radio networks, often known as Radio over IP.
While telephony requires certain protocols (in addition to VoIP) to setup, monitor and control calls, radio can function without all of these mechanisms. Of course, to ensure traditional radio functions are still controlled and monitored, certain control and status signals (such as PTT and Busy) must be transported through IP and concomitant with the audio. The difference is that radio can be delivered over IP with less complexity than telephony.
Despite these differences, both radio and telephony utilize the same mechanisms to transport voice through packet switched data networks. Using a device called a CODEC, spoken stimuli are converted into digital data, assembled into UDP packets and transmitted at 20ms – 40ms intervals.
Radio over IP
RoIP offers a cost-effective option to connect the ever-popular two-way radio system and operators.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon 5G home Internet: $70/month, 300Mbps to 1Gbps speeds, no data caps
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/09/verizon-5g-home-internet-70month-300mbps-to-1gbps-speeds-no-data-caps/
Coming next month to Houston, Indianapolis, LA, and Sacramento; more cities later.
Verizon Wireless will start offering a 5G-based wireless home Internet service next month in parts of four US cities, with service coming to other cities at an as-yet-unspecified date.
“Typical” download speeds will be around 300Mbps. The max speed of nearly 1Gbps will be available “depending on location,” and there will be “no data caps,” Verizon said. The speeds are fast enough to rival Verizon’s fiber-to-the-home service, and the carrier has previously claimed that its 5G network will have “single-millisecond latencies.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon to launch 5G home broadband service next month
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/09/verizon-to-launch-5g-home-broadband-service-next-month.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-17&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2240579
Verizon said it will start installations of its 5G home-broadband service on Oct. 1, in what the company says will be the world’s first 5G commercial service. Verizon 5G Home customers should expect typical network speeds around 300 Mbps and, depending on location, peak speeds of nearly 1 Gig, with no data caps, Verizon said in a statement. The company will begin signing up
Current Verizon customers will pay $50 a month for the service, while new customers will pay $70 a month, with no additional hardware costs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IEEE 802.3 launches year-long New Ethernet Applications Ad Hoc initiative, seeks to expand range of technology deployment
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/09/ieee-802-3-launches-year-long-new-ethernet-applications-ad-hoc-initiative-seeks-to-expand-range-of-t.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-17&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2240579
IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) have announced the launch of a one-year effort to assess the Ethernet bandwidth requirements of industry globally. The IEEE 802.3 Industry Connections New Ethernet Applications Ad Hoc invites contributions of data from individuals and organizations worldwide related to future network bandwidth growth trends.
“The first IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment report, published in 2012, was extensively referenced in industry reporting and roadmapping and greatly informed innovation around IEEE 802.3, IEEE Standard for Ethernet,” said John D’Ambrosia, chair of the ad hoc. “
Regularly updated with expanded capacity and features to support market demand since the IEEE 802.3 standard’s initial approval in 1983, Ethernet is developing amid unprecedented innovation on multiple fronts.
The IEEE 802.3 Industry Connections New Ethernet Applications Ad Hoc seeks input from industry spanning the technology’s rapidly growing scope of use cases. The effort to produce the second bandwidth-assessment report was introduced at the IEEE 802.3 Interim Meeting, 10-14 September 2018 in Spokane, Washington, United States.
IEEE Launches Yearlong Effort to Assess Rapidly Diversifying Ethernet Bandwidth Needs Around the World
IEEE 802.3™ Industry Connections New Ethernet Applications Ad Hoc seeks input from technology’s expanding range of application spaces globally
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180913005222/en/IEEE-Launches-Yearlong-Effort-Assess-Rapidly-Diversifying/?feedref=JjAwJuNHiystnCoBq_hl-cgirDCILqEKr_G6FnCB4juIlGA7NBCjGPFNaaihzP-l7dI9_69nqXXndEkzoNy31peBvhKXN8xoKDPrCnMXhC58cMd5Jhr97vTYoLZQbGkS8kO5_1Q98wBQ99OUsd6C6Q==
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s a guest Wi-Fi network, and why do you need one?
https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/guest-wifi/23843/
The modern world is so hooked up to online services that when guests come around, “How ya doing?” will probably be followed by “What’s your Wi-Fi password?” But the hospitable host probably doesn’t realize that revealing this information could pose a network security risk.
For example, guests might accidentally download a malicious program or connect an already infected phone or laptop to the network. Many pieces of malware are able to spread themselves over a local network, and if an infected device is connected to your Wi-Fi, it will try to contaminate everything in its range.
Why set up a guest Wi-Fi network?
It’s possible to be both hospitable and safe — by setting up guest Wi-Fi. A guest Wi-Fi network is essentially a separate access point on your router. All of your home devices are connected to one point and joined as a network, and the guest network is a different point that provides access to the Internet, but not to your home network. As the name suggests, it’s for guests to connect to.
A guest network is a win-win: Friends and acquaintances don’t lose touch with the outside world and your data isn’t compromised. Malware that somehow ended up on a guest’s smartphone will not be able to get into your family photo archive or other important files.
How to set up guest Wi-Fi
Configuring a separate guest network is easier than it sounds. For a start, there’s no need to lay an extra cable or pay your ISP twice. It’s more than likely that your Wi-Fi router will let you set up an additional network for guests — you just need to go into the settings and activate it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/uusi-jattivirasto-nielaisee-viestintaviraston-paajohtajan-paikka-auki-6741562
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8451-ensimmainen-reititystyokalu-fotoniikkapiireille
Työkalu on nimeltään LightSuite. Se ei perustu Siemens-konserniin kuuluvan Mentorin aiempiin EDA-työkaluihin, vaan on OpenAccess-pohjainen työkalu, jossa kuvauskielenä käytetään Pythonia. Mentorin mukaan fotoniikkaosien sijoittelu ja reititys onnistuu työkalun avulla minuuteissa, kun työ aiemmin vaati viikkoja.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FCC Chief Bails and CTA Head Makes Do
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332829
Less than a month after pushing a vote in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to end rules protecting “net neutrality” on the Internet, FCC chairman Ajit Pai missed his victory dance at the Consumer Electronics Show, blaming a series of death threats for cancellation of the FCC Chairman’s annual appearance at the giant technology convention.
A year ago, at the same forum in Las Vegas, Ajit Pai had all but guaranteed a new Internet regime ending the era of unrestricted free access to the Web that dates back to its inception by a group of Defense Department scientists in the 1970s.
What’s clear was that Consumer Technology Association (CTA) president Gary Shapiro was left interviewing the second banana in the Trump administration’s CES regulatory show, Acting Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Maureen Ohlhausen.
Shapiro called the absence of Pai a “horrible situation.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
One Man’s Journey To Becoming His Own ISP
https://hackaday.com/2018/09/20/one-mans-journey-to-become-his-own-isp/
America is a BIG country. There are pockets all across the land where broadband Internet is slow-to-nonexistent, and many individuals are left with wireless cell service as their only means of internet connection. This is the situation [Brandt Kuykendall] found himself in upon moving his family to Dillon Beach, CA. So he started up his own fiber ISP.
This Man Launched a New Internet Service Provider from His Garage | Freethink DIY Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p52PY_cwIsA&feature=youtu.be
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big Cable tells US government: Now’s not the time to talk about internet speeds – just give us the money
Consumer groups beg to differ
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/19/big_cable_us_broadband_speed/
Big cable companies have told the federal government that “now’s not the time” to talk about US internet speeds; despite a new program that will pay them billions of dollars to expand broadband access across the country, and a new proposal that put even more money in their pockets.
The FCC is required to produce one every year and it is obliged to report whether or not Americans are receiving broadband in a “reasonable and timely fashion.” If it decides they are not, it is empowered – and expected – to use its powers to push internet service providers to do more.
The FCC is also required to seek public input.
In recent years, that comment period has been dominated over a key measure: just how fast is “broadband”? It is 10Mbps, 25Mbps, 100Mbps or higher?
This is a critical question because the final report says what percentage of US citizens are able to receive broadband speeds and what level of competition they enjoy at that speed.
Back in 2015, the FCC under its previous chair finally decided to increase the definition of broadband from 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up to at least 25 Mbps down and 3Mbps up.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fiber optic cables become more common but too slow – Finland is threatened to stay behind
The construction of fixed broadband networks, ie virtually fiber optic networks, has almost doubled in two years.
According to the latest statistics, the Finnish broadband penetration (so-called fiber optic penetration), ie coverage, was 25.1 percent last fall. The figure for 2015 was just 14.0 percent.
“In 2016, a new network of about 3,000 kilometers was built. Last year, only a few hundred kilometers were reached, but it was because all actors waited for the law to enter into force. ”
The aim of the state is to get about 120,000 subscriptions to households through the subsidy loan.
Why does it matter? Because only a sufficiently large fiber network allows Finland to truly talk about the model of digitalization itself and, above all, to build a lot of visually demanding digital services with enough certainty.
The problem with mobile broadband is simply that the theoretical speeds promised to them are far behind the practical speeds.
Source: https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/valokaapelit-yleistyvat-mutta-liian-hitaasti-suomi-uhkaa-jaada-jalkeen-6742292
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chattanooga, TN has the fastest internet in the US? Why is that?
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/09/chattanooga-tn-has-the-fastest-internet-in-the-us-why-is-that.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
According to a survey of 175,000 people conducted by Consumer Reports, Chattanooga’s municipally-owned telecoms provider, the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB), received top marks for value, speed and reliability. Only Google Fiber comes close to matching EPB for value
Why Chattanooga Has the Fastest Internet in the US
https://tech.co/chattanooga-fastest-internet-usa-2018-08
Why is Broadband in Chattanooga so fast?
The fact that EPB can offer speeds of 1Gbps is remarkable when you consider that the average US download speed is just 25.86Mbps.
In fact, the US has only the 20th fastest broadband in the world, behind Romania, Latvia and Jersey – no, not the state famed for reality TV show Jersey Shore, but one of the small islands between Britain and France.
By focusing on a relatively small community (Chattanooga only has around 180,000 inhabitants, of which close to 100,000 are EPB customers), EPB has been able invest heavily in infrastructure.
In 2010, it became the first ISP to give fiber optic connections to an entire community. These connections replaced the traditional copper wiring originally designed to exclusively handle telephone calls. Fiber optic cables transmit data using photons that travel at the speed of light, rather than electrons (as with copper wires), that can’t even manage 1% of that speed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
APOLAN and partners survey market traction, growth opportunities for passive optical LAN technology
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-9/departments/infrastructure-insights/apolan-and-partners-survey-market-traction-growth-opportunities-for-passive-optical-lan-technology.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
The Association for Passive Optical LAN (APOLAN), an organization driving both education and adoption initiatives for passive optical local area networks (POL) technology
The latest BSRIA POL report brings an external and independent view of the global POL market.
“BSRIA’s 2015 network cabling market brief cited that POL will experience significant growth, gaining market share and awareness in the LAN market, solidifying its position as a disruptive technology,” says Martin Chiesa, BSRIA senior researcher. “Two years later, we have released the third edition of our POL report and found that POL has evolved faster than our most optimistic expectations.”
In a recent passive optical LAN survey, Hanover Research also found industry perceptions supported this technology shift.
According to the Hanover Research report, 88 percent of industry professionals considered POL more appealing than copper-based LANs. Awareness of the technology also appeared to be on the upswing, with 83 percent of respondents saying they have heard of POL technology, and with 44 percent being familiar with details surrounding the technology.
“The findings from the Hanover Research Passive Optical LAN Survey Analysis showcase how the industry perception of POL has evolved very quickly over the last few years,” states John Hoover, Tellabs’ senior product manager and APOLAN board member. “The most appealing benefits driving this growth, according to survey participants, are product quality, reliability, longevity and POL’s centralized management capabilities.”
Alan Bertsch, Qypsys president and APOLAN chairman, concludes, “The findings from these industry experts are a true testament to the technical superiority of POL and the industry’s need to digitally transform now to keep pace with network demands of the future.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Field-installable fiber-optic mechanical connectors: Global market forecast report
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/09/field-installable-fiber-optic-mechanical-connectors-global-market-forecast-report.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
In terms of volume (quantity/units), the worldwide consumption of field-installable fiber optic mechanical connectors reached an estimated 29.55 million units in 2017. The worldwide connector quantity is forecast to increase with solid double-digit growth over the next 10-years. The market forecast is segmented by single-mode and multimode SC, LC, ST, and FC connectors. Field installable mechanical connectors, which are used with multimode optical fiber, are forecast to eventually lead in quantity, ahead of single-mode connector volume, as optical fiber penetration in private data networks (led by multimode-optical fiber) continues to increase during the forecast period (2017-2027). Single-mode connector growth will be driven primarily by the aggressive deployment of fiber and associated apparatus in the metro/access Telecommunication networks, as well as Private Datacom Local Area Network (LAN) extension applications (campus: building-to-building).
Field Installable Fiber Optic Mechanical Connector Global Market Forecast Report Launched from MarketResearchReports.com
https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/462232735/field-installable-fiber-optic-mechanical-connector-global-market-forecast-report-launched-from-marketresearchreports-com
Tomi Engdahl says:
SFP-DD MSA releases high-speed, high-density interface specification v2.0
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/09/sfp-dd-msa-2.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
The Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density (SFP-DD) Multi Source Agreement (MSA) Group announces the release of the v2.0 specification for the SFP-DD pluggable interface.
Dedicated to fostering the development of next-generation SFP form factors used in DAC and AOC cabling, and optical transceivers, the MSA consortium released the initial SFP-DD specification version 1.0 in September 2017 and earlier this year released version 1.1.
The newly updated specification version 2.0 reflects enhancements to the mechanicals, extended modules and enhanced polarizing key of the high-speed, high-density SFP-DD electrical interface, targeting support of up to 3.5 W optical modules in an enterprise environment.
The innovative electrical interface is designed to support two lanes that operate up to 25 Gbps NRZ or 56 Gbps PAM4 per lane modulation — providing aggregate bandwidth of 50 Gbps NRZ or 112 Gbps PAM4 with excellent signal integrity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Preterminated connectivity: Higher-performance solutions
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-9/features/technology/preterminated-connectivity-higher-performance-solutions.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
Several preterminated solution types are available, each with its own benefits for data connectivity.
Think back to the dawn of network connectivity. Installers set up and deployed networks using cable assemblies fully manufactured onsite. This involved mixing and matching the available components and relying on their wits to select, purchase, receive, measure, cut, terminate, inspect and test (or at least most of those steps) to piece together a one-of-a-kind network link or full connectivity solution.
The process was labor-intensive and inconsistent, relying on each installer understanding their part. They had to follow the proper processes for each step and use appropriate tooling or fixtures to complete and verify the installation.
In those days, performance wasn’t the driving force behind a network installation.
Now, consider the current state of the art. Today’s networks achieve up to 400-Gbit/sec links instead of 500 MHz, running kilometers instead of meters to connect equipment. Along with the advent of Power over Ethernet and short-wave division multiplexing (SWDM), quality, reliability and consistency become paramount to not only functioning, but also to avoid costly upgrades every time a new technology is implemented.
What does preterminated really mean?
Put simply, preterminated refers to commercially available, factory-assembled cabling solutions with the connectors already attached.
However, preterminated solutions come in several flavors. It’s important to know just how much of the solution is truly “open and install.”
Factory-manufactured cable assemblies such as copper pigtails, whips, trunks, permanent links, modular cassettes and fiber patch cords are the ultimate in preterminated options.
Eliminating onsite assembly terminations can be a significant benefit. Reduced installation times, troubleshooting and rework mean substantial cost savings over do-it-yourself projects.
Many factory-made solutions will further reduce onsite labor, including patch and trunk, preinstalled enclosures, direct connect trunking and modular-style cassette solutions that provide different levels of both preterminated and preconfigured networking.
Planning, however, needs to be taken seriously when using factory-manufactured solutions to ensure the right assemblies are selected with the proper polarity and in the needed lengths—plan twice, order once. A “figure-it-out-as-you-go” approach ultimately will lead to extra costs and delayed installations to order or reorder the more appropriate materials or figure out a way to deal with excessive slack.
Splice-on preterminated fiber pigtails are the next best thing to factory-manufactured solutions.
Pigtails allow bulk or unterminated optical cable to be installed from point to point and can be cut to the exact length needed. An optical fusion splicer permanently connects the bulk fiber cable to the factory-terminated and polished pigtail ends.
Some fusion splicers are extremely basic (even manual), while others feature automation as well as greater speed, costing a couple thousand dollars to more than $50,000.
This method can cost somewhat more than using fully factory-terminated solutions, but it provides the flexibility to measure or re-measure lengths at the time of cabling to ensure minimal slack and maximum installation flexibility.
Splice-on connectors are a hybrid between pigtails and factory-terminated connectors, providing the flexibility and performance of a splice-on pigtail solution but the convenience of not needing a place to store and protect the splice long-term. The connectors are slightly longer and factory polished like the pigtailed solution, but instead of having the fiber cable exit the connector, the bare fiber is cleaved within the connector body during the factory-termination, creating a fiber stub.
Splice-on connectors do require specialized fusion splicers that stage the connector on one side and provide alignment for the bulk cable on the other. The fusion splice is completed within the connector,
Preterminated connectors, also known as prepolished or mechanical splice-type connectors, also permit the use of bulk cables and provide factory-polished endfaces but eliminate the need for the expensive fusion splicers and local electricity. They have a mechanical splice integrated into the back of the connector body with a pre-cleaved and factory-polished fiber stub, allowing the bulk cable fiber to be precision cleaved and inserted. The fiber is accepted through the connector body into an alignment tube or V-groove that aligns the cleaved fiber with the preterminated fiber stub, most using some form of index matching gel to improve the optical light transfer and performance. Removing or activating a mechanical clip or wedge, the fiber is mechanically held into alignment with the internal fiber stub.
This method benefits from the performance of a factory termination and polish, but does have a wider variation in performance due to the varying quality of the cleave and the process of inserting the fiber into the connector.
Tomi Engdahl says:
802.11ac Wave 2 market pegged for exponential CAGR til 2026
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/09/802-11ac-wave-2-market-pegged-for-exponential-cagr-thru-2026.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
Wi-Fi technology has undergone an incredible degree of transformation since its standardization in the 802.11 standard. The 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard has been introduced in the commercial market in two distinct phases, dubbed Wave1 and Wave 2, both offering a significant performance increase from its predecessor standards. Supporting over 60 client devices and 25 routers, the 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi standard is quickly cementing its footprint in the commercial market and is expected to become the highest shipping Wi-Fi standard in coming years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Superior Essex says it has developed the industry’s smallest Cat 6A cable
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/09/superior-essex-smallest-6a.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-09-24&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2247310
Superior Essex debuted an improved version of its 10Gain XP cable at the recent BICSI Fall Conference 2018 in San Antonio, TX (Sep. 9-13). Per the company, “The new 10Gain XP CAT 6A plenum rated cable’s diameter has been decreased to 0.25 inches OD, making it the most cost effective, and only Category 6A UTP cable available at that size.” The company says the smaller diameter provides an improved cable pathway fill ratio, a smaller bend radius, and increased airflow efficiency in data centers.
10Gain XP CAT 6A plenum cable
Our new design uses approximately 20% less material than the typical Cat 6A cable
Tomi Engdahl says:
New York Times Sues FCC With Eye On Bogus Russian Net Neutrality Comments
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180921/08271540687/new-york-times-sues-fcc-with-eye-bogus-russian-net-neutrality-comments.shtml
So we’ve pretty well established that somebody flooded the FCC’s website with bogus comments during the agency’s unpopular attack on net neutrality last year. Many of these comments were made using lifted identities (like Senators Jeff Merkley and Pat Toomey, or my own). Other comments were made using the identities of dead people. Many of the comments were made by a bot that pulled some of these fake identities in alphabetical order from a hacked database of some kind. Exactly 444,938 of those comments were made using Russian e-mail addresses.
Tomi Engdahl says:
US cities react in fury to FCC’s $2bn break for 5G telcos: We’ll be picking up the tab, say officials
Federal price cap will undercut existing agreements, says just about every big city in America
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/22/city_fury_fcc_5g_plan/
A plan to impose a federal price cap and one-size-fits-all model for the rollout of next-generation mobile networks has been met with fury by US cities.
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle and dozens of other cities have responded in anger to a public comment period on two proposals from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Those proposals would override the cities’ ability to charge mobile operators for positioning 5G cell towers on their property and instead impose a single, federal fee.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Moves Silicon Photonics into Wireless Infrastructure
https://www.electronicdesign.com/industrial-automation/intel-moves-silicon-photonics-wireless-infrastructure?NL=ED-005&Issue=ED-005_20180926_ED-005_349&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=20197&utm_medium=email&elq2=10689577743a40d1adf1f8c23a6edc5f
5G wireless networks will handle much more information than what moves into and out of the remote data centers that power current 4G wireless communications. These networks will require computing power to be concentrated in servers mounted on the cellular base stations close to the smartphones and other Internet of Things devices they support. That will also spur changes to the computer networks connecting all that hardware.
That could open the door to silicon photonics transceivers that take advantage of light to transfer data faster and with lower power. On Monday, Intel announced that it had expanded its 100-gigabit-per-second (100G) silicon photonics products from data centers to the 5G network edge.
“Our hyperscale cloud customers are currently using Intel’s [silicon photonics] to deliver high-performance data center infrastructure at scale, said Hong Hou, vice president of the silicon photonics division, in a statement. “By extending this technology outside the data center and into 5G infrastructure at the edge of the network, we can provide the same benefits to communications service providers while supporting 5G fronthaul bandwidth needs.”
Silicon photonics is currently used inside data centers to move information between servers. While a number of switch manufacturers are shipping discrete silicon photonics, the integration of optical components into the same package as electronics has been constrained by the high costs of packaging and production. These issues have been worsened because of the lack of software tools that ease the development of integrated silicon photonics.
The Santa Clara, California-based introduced a silicon photonics transceiver that supports 100G communications in 2016. The company has now ships a million units of the product per year into data centers. Intel’s 400G products are expected to enter volume production in the second half of 2019. Intel expects its connectivity business, which includes silicon photonics, to address an $11 billion market by 2022. Currently, the market represents about $4 billion.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Does Powerline Ethernet Work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywQeJCa3jl8
Powerline Ethernet uses your home’s existing wiring to transmit network data! How does it work, and could it be the right choice for your home network?
Tomi Engdahl says:
China splits the internet while the U.S. dithers
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/24/china-splits-the-internet-while-the-u-s-dithers/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
There are few stories as important right now as the internet being ripped asunder by the increasing animosity between the U.S. and China. Eric Schmidt, the former chairman of Alphabet, said last week at a private event in San Francisco that “I think the most likely scenario now is not a splintering, but rather a bifurcation into a Chinese-led internet and a non-Chinese internet led by America.”
At the heart of this split is the death of the internet as we once knew it: a unified layer for the transfer of human knowledge. As the internet has gained more and more power over society and our everyday lives, the need by governments worldwide to tame its engineering to political and moral ends has increased dramatically.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Remembering the Remarkable Foresight of Charles Kao
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/tech-history/cyberspace/remembering-the-remarkable-feat-of-charles-kao
Nobel laureate Charles Kao was a visionary. He saw the possibilities of fiber-optic communications early, and made it happen before its time.
Charles Kuen Kao, the engineer who received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering work in fiber-optic communications, died on 23 September in Hong Kong at age 84. His work opened the way to the huge transmission capacity of modern telecommunications, which, combined with the signal processing of integrated electronics, powers our information society.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small modulator for big data
https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2018/09/small-modulator-for-big-data
Integrated modulator is now better than ever, made by the best optical materials
Conventional lithium niobite modulators, the longtime workhorse of the optoelectronic industry, may soon go the way of the vacuum tube and floppy disc. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a new method to fabricate and design integrated, on-chip modulators 100 times smaller and 20 times more efficient than current lithium niobite (LN) modulators.
The research is described in Nature.
“Our platform could lead to large-scale, very fast and ultra-low-loss photonic circuits, enabling a wide range of applications for future quantum and classical photonic communication and computation.”
Lithium niobate modulators are the backbone of modern telecommunications, converting electronic data to optical information in fiber optic cables. However, conventional LN modulators are bulky, expensive and power hungry. These modulators require a drive voltage of 3 to 5 volts, significantly higher than that provided by typical CMOS circuitry, which provides about 1 volt. As a result, separate, power-consuming amplifiers are needed to drive the modulators, severely limiting chip-scale optoelectronic integration.
“We show that by integrating lithium niobate on a small chip, the drive voltage can be reduced to a CMOS-compatible level,”
“Highly-integrated yet high-performance optical modulators are very important for the closer integration of optics and digital electronics, paving the way towards future fiber-in-fiber-out opto-electronic processing engines,”
Lithium niobite is considered by many in the field to be difficult to work with on small scales
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
California governor signs net neutrality bill, which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called “illegal”, into law, setting up a showdown with the FCC and ISPs
Calif. enacts net neutrality law—US gov’t immediately sues to block it [Updated]
Justice Department sues California—Ajit Pai called state rules “illegal.”
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/09/california-governor-signs-net-neutrality-rules-into-law/
Washington Post:
US Justice Department moves to sue California in order to quash its new net neutrality law — The Trump administration said Sunday it will sue California in an effort to block what some experts have described as the toughest net neutrality law ever enacted in the United States …
https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2ftechnology%2f2018%2f10%2f01%2ftrump-administration-is-suing-california-quash-its-new-net-neutrality-law%2f%3f
Tomi Engdahl says:
Michael Sheetz / CNBC:
Satellite communications company Iridium partners with AWS to develop CloudConnect, a satellite-based network for IoT applications, expected to launch in 2019
Satellite company partners with Bezos’ AWS to bring internet connectivity to the ‘whole planet’
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/amazon-partners-with-iridium-for-aws-cloud-services-via-satellite.html
Iridium is partnering with AWS to develop a satellite-based network called CloudConnect for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
“Now that Amazon has put our language into the cloud platform, they can extend their applications to the satellite realm,” Iridium CEO Matt Desch told CNBC.
The CloudConnect network will focus on “where cellular technologies aren’t,” Desch said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OpenSignal:
Survey of overall mobile video experience in 69 countries, where Czech Republic and Hungary top the rankings and US is 59th
The State of Mobile Video (September 2018)
https://opensignal.com/reports/2018/09/state-of-mobile-video
For years, OpenSignal has reported on the speed, availability and latency metrics of the world’s mobile operators. But now we’re taking our analysis of the mobile user experience one step further. Keeping with our mission of measuring what real people actually see on their mobile phones, we are examining the single-most important service on mobile networks today: video. OpenSignal analyzed the consumer mobile video experience in 69 countries around the world, and the results were definitely surprising. Countries with the most sophisticated networks and the fastest speeds aren’t necessarily those providing the highest-quality video-viewing experience. In the case of mobile video, faster isn’t always better.
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 dumb things smart people do when testing network cabling systems
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/09/fluke-dumb-things-testing-network-cable.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-10-01&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2254851
1. Fail to specify the type of link testing wanted.
2. Neglect to agree upon marginal test results upfront in writing.
3. Fail to specify all test parameters to be tested.
4. “Wing it” on Alien Crosstalk compliance
5. Forget to enable plot data.
6. Go with a non-EF compliant tester for testing multimode fiber.
7. Choose the two-cord reference for Tier 1 optical loss testing.
8. Use patch cords to certify a fiber cabling system.
9. Rely on a duplex tester for certifying MPO trunks.
10. Skip out on proper fiber inspection.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Single-pair connector designs from CommScope, Harting chosen as standard interfaces
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/09/single-pair-connector-interfaces-commscope-harting.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-10-01&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2254851
n a round of voting that concluded in August, the standards-development committee ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25 Interconnection of Information Technology Equipment, selected two single-pair connector designs as standard interfaces. Committee members chose one design, from CommScope, for use in MICE1 environments and the other design, from Harting, for MICE2/MICE3 environments.
In materials presented to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25, CommScope described its LC-style connector as one that “allows many versions and a rich innovation platform.”
The company further stated that the connector’s “low part count and complexity will enable easy economic transition from 1-pair connectors currently in use (screw terminals) and lead to widespread adoption and growth.”
In its presentation to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25, Harting explained its connector
“is designed especially for MICE3 applications.” It is rated up to IP65/67,
The connector uses already-existing M8 and M12 housings
That standard—IEEE 802.3cg—is currently in draft and will define 10-Mbit/sec single-pair Ethernet. Based on the ISO/IEC voting and selection of these two connector interfaces, the IEEE modified text within the latest 802.3cg draft. It now includes the following statement: “Connectors meeting the requirements of IEC 63171-1 (CD) may be used as the mechanical interface to the balanced cabling for M1I1C1E1 environments. The plug connector is used on the balanced cabling and the MDI connector on the PHY.”
Using the word “may” allows PHY manufacturers to use other connectors if they desire to do so, but the inclusion of this wording points PHY manufacturers to the IEC’s choice of the LC-style connector for single-pair Ethernet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Infinera Closes Acquisition of Coriant and Becomes One of the World’s Largest Optical Network Equipment Providers
https://www.infinera.com/infinera-closes-acquisition-coriant-becomes-one-of-worlds-largest-optical-network-equipment-providers/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURNMFl6aGpOVGszTkRGayIsInQiOiJcL0E3ZmtBQytzR05Yd3F6ejhcLzB1NmFEMVpwZ0lDQlNNd0JCQnpFS0RLenBZeVI0QTRGWnIxZ1NcL3ZoR1Y2MW9XWDh3TnlrTGJpWmdFXC96QWpkdDdlV3RTWWRSOFNuK3E1dG1OZU9CMzlDRk5aOHpJR2R0SFFPdWxHWFFPMU1ReTQifQ%3D%3D
Infinera, provider of Intelligent Transport Networks, announces the closing of its acquisition of Coriant, a privately held global supplier of open network solutions for the largest global network operators. The acquisition positions Infinera as one of the largest vertically integrated optical network equipment providers in the world.
The closing was pursuant to the terms of the definitive unit purchase agreement previously announced by Infinera on July 23, 2018. In connection with the purchase of Coriant, Infinera issued 20,975,384 shares of its common stock and will pay an aggregate amount of cash consideration consisting of approximately $230 million, of which approximately $154 million was paid upon closing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Moves Silicon Photonics into Wireless Infrastructure
https://www.electronicdesign.com/industrial-automation/intel-moves-silicon-photonics-wireless-infrastructure?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20180927_ED-003_807&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=20243&utm_medium=email&elq2=6bcdc2e14ad64e309e4c486535dd951d
On Monday, Intel announced that it had expanded its 100-gigabit-per-second (100G) silicon photonics products from data centers to the 5G network edge. The new transceivers can withstand the harsh conditions cellular base stations are subject to. They can transmit information to radio transmitters over six miles away.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voisiko kodin verkottaa muovikuidulla?
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8489&via=n&datum=2018-09-27_15:01:42&mottagare=30929
WiFi Alliance ratifioi viime keväänä uuden EasyMESH-hankkeen, jossa wifi-laitteet voidaan sertifioida tukemaan mesh-tyyppisiä yhteyksiä kotona. Kuluttajan ei tarvitse miettiä, minkä laitteen hankkii tai tukeeko oma päätelaite kodin wifi-verkkoa, kunhan siitä löytyy sertifiointi.
KDPOF kiihdyttää nyt WiFi easyMESHin aiemmasta 100 megabitistä jopa gigabittiin uusilla POF-lähettimillään. Käytännössä kotiin tuleva nettiyhteys voidaan jakaa POH-muovikuidulla eri puolilla taloa ja sen jälkeen eteenpäin wifi-reitittimillä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8517-modulaattori-kutistui-sadasosaan
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Wi-Fi Alliance rebrands 802.11n as Wi-Fi 4, 802.11ac as Wi-Fi 5, and the upcoming 802.11ax as Wi-Fi 6 — Quick quiz: Which is better, 802.11n or 802.11ac? — The answer, if you’re familiar with Wi-Fi standards coming from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is 802.11ac …
Here come Wi-Fi 4, 5 and 6 in plan to simplify 802.11 networking names
https://www.cnet.com/news/wi-fi-alliance-simplifying-802-11-wireless-network-tech-names/
The Wi-Fi Alliance wants to make wireless networks easier to understand and recognize.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Karen Freifeld / Reuters:
US judge finds ZTE violated probation imposed in 2017, extends term of a monitor appointed to assess ZTE’s compliance with US export control laws by two years
U.S. judge says China’s ZTE violated probation; extends monitor’s term
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-zte/u-s-judge-says-chinas-zte-violated-probation-extends-monitors-term-idUSKCN1MD2RX
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cloud Drives Changes In Network Chip Architectures
https://semiengineering.com/cloud-forcing-big-changes-in-networking-chips/
New data flow, higher switch density and IP integration create issues across the design flow.
Cloud data centers have changed the networking topology and how data moves throughout a large data center, prompting significant changes in the architecture of the chips used to route that data and raising a whole new set of design challenges.
Cloud computing has emerged as the fast growing segment of the data center market. In fact, it is expected to grow three-fold in the next few years, and by 2021 it is forecast to account for 95% of all data center traffic, according to Cisco’s Global Cloud Index Forecast. A key part of that equation is virtualization, which allows for dynamic allocation of compute instances and workloads to keep up with the dynamic nature of cloud services.
Looked at from a different angle, more than 75% of the traffic now flows in the east-west direction, from server to server, within the datacenter. That raises the first set of issues because the traditional three-tier network topology is optimized for north-south client-server traffic, so it cannot efficiently handle this kind of data flow.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi 6
https://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-alliance-introduces-wi-fi-6
Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi 6 as the industry designation for products and networks that support the next generation of Wi-Fi®, based on 802.11ax technology. Wi-Fi 6 is part of a new naming approach by Wi-Fi Alliance that provides users with an easy-to-understand designation for both the Wi-Fi technology supported by their device and used in a connection the device makes with a Wi-Fi network
Tomi Engdahl says:
The next generation of wireless networking will be called WiFi 6
WiFi naming is about to get easier to understand.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/03/the-next-generation-of-wireless-internet-will-be-called-wifi-6/
Did you know that 802.11n predates 802.11ac, for example? For those that don’t, the Wi-Fi Alliance is about to make things easier, introducing the next version of WiFi — 802.11ax — simply as “WiFi 6.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is PAM4 really necessary?
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/eye-on-standards/4461146/Is-PAM4-really-necessary-
At DesignCon 2018′s “Case of the Closed Eye” panel, I stood before you and declared “NRZ is done. It’s over. Move on.” Not everyone agrees.
In our inexorable march to ever higher electrical data rates, now 56 Gb/s with 112 Gb/s coming soon, many of us have been smug in our belief that, by trading a factor of two in bandwidth for 9.5+ dB loss in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and paying the difference in forward error correction (FEC), we can encode two bits per symbol with 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), leave the clock rate unchanged, and double the data rate. Voilà, nothing to it
I’ve been told that it can be valuable, now and then, to ponder the obvious question: Is this really necessary?
PCB designer Lee Ritchey, the veteran engineer
“I’ve seen PAM4 represented as the silver bullet several times before only to be rejected as too complex. I think that is true now as well and see no reason this will change.” With three eye diagrams, 12 separate rise and fall times, inter-eye skew and compression, plus the previously mentioned 9.5+ dB drop in SNR, not to mention the increased cost, footprint, and power demanded by FEC or the hassle of trying to predict BERs (bit error ratios) from symbol-error ratios (SERs) infected by inter-symbol interference (ISI), there’s no question that PAM4 is a complicated beast. Still, it has been adopted by more than 50 Gigabit Ethernet standards like IEEE 802.3bs and 802.3cd and OIF-CEI 4.0 (Optical Internetworking Forum-Common Electrical Interface) for lane rates over 50 Gb/s.
With insertion loss at the Nyquist frequency that exceeds 30 dB, ISI caused by the channel’s frequency response and reflections, we thought that good old baseband NRZ (non-return to zero, or PAM2) was obsolete for distances more than an inch or so. Figure 2 shows a channel response that for a clock frequency of 28 GHz (needed for 56 Gb/b NRZ), insertion loss is far too great.
Ritchey burst that bubble too: “We have solved the loss and speed problems with improved dielectrics and silicon. Right now, loss is not the overriding issue. Glass weave induced skew is a much bigger problem.” Differential skew misaligns the n and p signals. Misaligned differential signals have common-mode noise, which reduces horizontal eye opening and exacerbates EMI and crosstalk. “We need some standards on how glass fibers are woven to make them more uniform and we are not getting it…I don’t see ISI come up in any of my discussions with clients at this point.”
If not PAM4, then what?
“We have already extended NRZ to 56 Gb/s in hardware that is in prototype and will ship next year,” Ritchey said. “This allows us to have two lanes going to a fiber channel to get 100 Gb/s on the fiber, which I think is about the limit of the optical parts. That should hold us for quite a while.”
“PCB technologies can absolutely support 56 Gb/s NRZ signaling and beyond. It’s cost effective, its proven technology”
“I don’t see silicon that will let us have 100 Gb/s channels. That implies rise times on the order of 2 ps. The rise times required by the silicon are going to have to be hellish. A single bit will only be 10 ps.”
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/rowe-s-and-columns/4460291/NRZ-is-dead–but-not-everywhere?utm_source=AspenCore&utm_medium=EDN
Tomi Engdahl says:
Live wireless testing shows network weaknesses
https://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4461141/Live-wireless-testing-shows-network-weaknesses
Wireless devices and networks need to function properly upon deployment, even at times of high traffic and limited network resources. Testing Wi-Fi devices in a lab under controlled conditions lets you see if a device conforms to standards and lets you measure physical properties such as transmit power and bit-error-ratio. Lab testing also lets you examine higher-level communications protocols and lets you see how a device or network recovers from errors.
Lab testing can, to some degree, emulate how a device or system will behave once deployed. Best of all, lab testing is repeatable and can be automated. But, it’s no substitute for live testing at the network level. Unfortunately, live testing such as in a stadium can be difficult and expensive, but it provides valuable data on how a connected device will function and can reveal network cold spots that need better service.
Lab vs. Live
Live implementations can have many moving pieces. High costs can occur because you need access to test venues or you need to procure many test samples. Plus, live testing can be time consuming, but it has benefits.
Lab Tests
For these tests, we set up lab test for testing networks that uses an automation framework running on a dedicated laptop under Linux. We used Selenium to run automated data scripts.
The automated setup used some data gained from an on-site test.
Live Environments
In many cases, on-site testing is not required. It is, however, often the only way to accurately ensure reliability, especially when dealing with potential large amounts of unknown users.
Assessment
Using a real pre-season event, we were able to perform a section of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) RF Performance test to determine where the signals were going and where dead spots occurred. Utilizing the CTI Certification Program Test process, we were able to identify data rates through multiple bands and across Wi-Fi connectivity capabilities.
Using the low/middle/high method of testing, we compared this data to an empty venue utilizing the same test process, but this time, over the air.
Analytics shows network weaknesses
Naturally, this process generates a large amount of data that needed evaluation. Using the data collected—specifically, the throughput and location mappings—we created a heat-map of the stadium locations and how they performed
After reviewing the data, we were able to recommend additional access points across key locations as well as femtocells in specifi office locations
As with most test efforts, there is a tradeoff on performing more testing vs the quality of the released product.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/09/27/nopeaa-mobiiliverkkoa-tarjolla-ei-tosin-kaikkialla-suomessa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Long Journey to FEMA’s Presidential Alert Test
https://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/networks/the-long-journey-to-femas-presidential-alert-test
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), yesterday conducted a nationwide test of the Presidential Alert feature of its Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system.
While there have been previous tests of the alert system, and wireless AMBER Alerts concerning missing children or dangerous weather conditions have been sent out for years, this is the first time that the alert system feature that permits the nationwide communication of a national emergency situation has been tested.
There have been sporadic reports of people not receiving the Presidential Alert, many on AT&T wireless service, which according to FEMA can happen for a variety of reasons including not having good cell service or the phone being in use during the test. The alert message is supposed to be delayed and then pushed to your phone once you hang up, but some people said that never happened. Your carrier may also not be a participant in the Wireless Emergency Alert system, but it is supposed to let you know if it’s not.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The evolution of converged networks: Why IoT is here to stay
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/10/belden-converged-networks-iot-henry-franc.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-10-08&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2261444
The idea behind this quote remains true, and applies well beyond the field of evolutionary biology.
Convergence (version 2.0) is here, and, to survive, we need to adjust, change and adapt to our changing environment. We cannot build networks for today (and for the future) like we have built them in the past, lest we go the way of the dodo bird.
Let’s look at the changes and improvements made since the first converged network (Convergence 1.0).
Traditionally, machine-to-machine (M2M) or device-based networks sat outside our converged networks, whether they be for digital building technologies, like video and security; smart cars; industrial networks; or many others.
In an IoT world, those networks still exist, as they always have. They may work on the same physical and/or logical networks with the same cables, boxes and software, or they may use “like” networks to better interact.
The IoT world is here, and the level and rate of convergence is increasing in volume and velocity. IoT is a nebulous concept – hence all the cloud analogies. It will continue to morph as technologies evolve along with those that use it. Your corporate IoT cloud will look different from mine, and that’s okay.
Will we ever get to a true hyperconverged network where anything can talk to anything at any time? I don’t know – but that’s a people issue, not an engineering one.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/10/09/elisa-upottaa-kuitua-mikrosahaamalla-apua-5g-liikenteeseen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T AirGig could mean 100-megabit rural broadband in 2021
https://www.cnet.com/news/at-t-airgig-could-mean-100-megabit-rural-broadband-in-2021/
Expect hundreds of megabits per second, maybe even a gigabit, even in sparsely populated areas — as long as homes are near power lines.
AT&T hopes its AirGig technology for piggybacking high-speed data links on power lines will arrive in 2021, potentially improving broadband in areas where it’s not economical to lay fiber-optic cables.
AirGig doesn’t connect directly to houses. Instead, it sends data hopping along from power pole to power pole so it can traverse relatively long distances. For that final communication link to a house, AT&T will use more conventional wireless equipment like 5G mobile networks.
AT&T unveiled AirGig in 2016 and began testing it with Georgia Power in 2017. Now AT&T has started working with equipment manufacturers to build more refined hardware for a new round of AirGig testing most likely in 2019, said Gordon Mansfield, AT&T’s vice president of converged access and devices.
AirGig will send data along power lines at multiple gigabits per second to power wireless links to houses that work at hundreds of megabits per second
A key part of the AirGig technology is that it’s not complicated to install. Antenna modules — AT&T calls them eggs — clamp in pairs on the power line extending each direction from the power pole. The medium-voltage power line itself powers the eggs inductively, similar to how wireless charging pads for phones work, so no specific power connection is required.
The data is sent directly along the power line itself. The wire acts as a waveguide
Data speeds of 90 gigabits per second
In fact, AT&T discovered the physical basis for AirGig accidentally when engineers noticed that data sent wirelessly behaved differently when it happened to be traveling in the same direction as a power line,
Companies have tried sending data along power lines before, using them just as wires, but that technology petered out at just tens of kilobits per second
Tomi Engdahl says:
Live wireless testing shows network weaknesses
https://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4461141/Live-wireless-testing-shows-network-weaknesses?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=link&utm_medium=EDNConsumerElectronics-20181010
Wireless devices and networks need to function properly upon deployment, even at times of high traffic and limited network resources. Testing Wi-Fi devices in a lab under controlled conditions lets you see if a device conforms to standards and lets you measure physical properties such as transmit power and bit-error-ratio. Lab testing also lets you examine higher-level communications protocols and lets you see how a device or network recovers from errors.
Lab testing can, to some degree, emulate how a device or system will behave once deployed. Best of all, lab testing is repeatable and can be automated. But, it’s no substitute for live testing at the network level. Unfortunately, live testing such as in a stadium can be difficult and expensive, but it provides valuable data on how a connected device will function and can reveal network cold spots that need better service.
Lab vs. live
Live implementations can have many moving pieces. High costs can occur because you need access to test venues or you need to procure many test samples. Plus, live testing can be time consuming, but it has benefits. In-lab testing generally requires fewer people and can be repeated as many times as needed once developed.
Lab tests
For these tests, we set up lab test for testing networks that uses an automation framework running on a dedicated laptop under Linux. We used Selenium to run automated data scripts. This flow, as shown in Figure 1, lets us test devices directly connected to a tester and as well as over a wireless network link.
Live environments
In many cases, on-site testing is not required. It is, however, often the only way to accurately ensure reliability, especially when dealing with potential large amounts of unknown users.
There are several ways to determine if a simulated environment is worth the effort: mainly how much of an affect will there be for production versus the potential reduction in risk. When dealing with situations like stadiums and public safety, it’s essential to validate that the network will function at a reasonable level during major spikes in usage. Dealing with a department store may not warrant a real-world execution, due to the smaller amount of potential simultaneous users, and instead can utilize an emulator or in-lab simulation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Juniper shows its intent with Dev, er, no, sorry, make that… EngNet
Preaching network-as-software, bidding farewell to the CLI
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/12/juniper_engnet_plans/
Juniper Networks has taken the wraps off what will be one of the year’s biggest efforts for the biz: the EngNet network software developer toolset and its associated education, technical exchange, APIs, training, and ecosystem.
EngNet’s aim, the company said, is to provide enough automation to get rid of the command-line interface that remains the default drivers’ seat for big network operations.
Any resemblance to Cisco’s DevNet is purely coincidental, naturally. But you’d have to be deaf to have missed how loudly Switchzillans like DevNet CTO Suzy Wee trumpet the way its claimed half-a-million members are feeding networking-as-software back into DNA Center.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tehokkaampaa salaustekniikkaa
https://www.nanobitteja.fi/uutiset.html?142663
Toshiba yhteistyökumppaneineen on rakentanut käytännön järjestelmän, joka ensimmäisenä maailmassa saavuttaa kvanttisalausavainjakelun nopeuden, joka ylittää 10 Mbps reaalimaailmassa.
Järjestelmä vakauttaa jatkuvan kvantti-avaimen jakelun nopeuden ja saavuttaa keskimäärin 10,2 Mbps:n jakelunopeuden jatkuvassa toiminnassa reilun kuukauden ajan.