TIA committee seeking input on link lengths
The Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA) TR-42.7 Telecommunications Copper Cabling Systems Subcommittee is seeking input from industry professionals on the planned lengths of specific data center links. The subcommittee will use the data collected in the development of next-generation cabling and application standards.
As we have reported, TR-42.7 recently decided to move forward with a set of Category 8 specifications. From all indications, a Category 8 twisted-pair cabling system will support 40GBase-T links in data center environments. It also is almost assured that the link lengths to which Category 8 will support 40GBase-T will be shorter than 100 meters. That fact is the crux of, and motivation behind, a brief survey created by TR-42.7.
The introduction to the survey explains: “This is a survey from TIA TR-42.7 designed to obtain information regarding cabling design lengths for server links (server port to access switch port). The information will be used in developing the next generation data center cabling and application standards. This survey is intended to estimate cabling lengths needed for data center applications beyond 10 Gb/s (e.g. 40GBase-T). The survey is looking for cabling lengths planned for projects currently in the planning and design stages, rather than existing installations.”
Responses to the survey will be confidential; the data compiled will not include any information about a respondent’s identity or affiliation. The data will be presented only in compiled, cumulative form and used only for the purposes of standards development.
The survey is seven questions in length. TR-42.7 invites input from professionals including data center owners and operators, cabling-design professionals, integrators, consultants, installers and contractors, architects, as well as vendors.
