IEEE frees up 802.3bz, the 2.5/5GBase-T standard; 'Tier 5' data center standard launches: The week's top stories

Here's a round-up of the cabling, wireless, and data center infrastructure industry's top 7 trending stories from the past week, as compiled each Friday by Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine and CablingInstall.com.

1.) IEEE 802.3bz, the 2.5/5GBase-T standard, available for free download

Through the IEEE Get program, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has made IEEE 802.3bq, the standard for 2.5GBase-T and 5GBase-T, available for free download. The standard’s official title is IEEE 802.3bz – 2016: IEEE Standard for Ethernet Amendment 7: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers, and Management Parameters for 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Operation, Types 2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T.

2.) Switch announces proprietary 'Tier 5' data center standard

Per the mega-data center provider's press announcement, "Tier 5 not only encompasses the resiliency and redundancy in other data center ratings systems, but also evaluates more than 30 additional key elements, such as long-term power system capabilities, the number of available carriers, zero roof penetrations, the location of cooling system lines in or above the data center, physical and network security and 100-percent use of renewable energy."

3.) British Airways: Engineer accidentally cut data center power supply

The airline said human error in the data center was the cause of mass flight cancellations that grounded at least 75,000 passengers last month.

4.) How to find free, safe public Wi-Fi every time

Gizmodo tells you how to seek out the strongest and most well-protected wireless networks in the frequent uncertainty of the real world.

5.) CommScope forms Multi-Tenant Data Center Alliance

CommScope has formed the Multi-Tenant Data Center (MTDC) Alliance, as part of the company's PartnerPRO Network. Per a company statement, "MTDC infrastructure makes advanced technologies such as cloud computing and virtualized data centers available to companies of all shapes and sizes; from small- and mid-sized business to large enterprises, while also allowing flexible and easy expandability as the business grows."

6.) NEMA revises several cable installation standards to comply with 2017 NEC

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has revised the NEMA RV 4-2016 Application Guidelines for Service-Entrance Cable and NEMA RV 1-2016 Application and Installation Guidelines for Armored Cable and Metal-Clad Cable standards to comply with the 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC).

7.) Corning's multiuse platform supports mix of fiber-optic network architectures

Capable of supporting a mix of network architectures in the same fiber-optic backbone, the multiuse platform is being presented as "a major advancement for LTE connectivity and a 5G future."

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