Prysmian (www.prysmian.com) has unveiled its VertiCasa cabling system, designed for bringing optical fiber directly into high-rise apartments and office buildings.
The system is designed to provide a flexible means of connecting users in a multiple dwelling unit (MDU), whether for new buildings or retro-fitting to existing buildings. Prysmian saysVertiCasa is built around a proprietary riser cable, from which long lengths of fiber can be extracted. Fibers are removed through small breakout windows in the riser cable using a patented access method. According to the company, this allows the riser cable to be installed without slack loops, and requires minimal space for fiber access, fiber routing in the vertical riser, and horizontal connections. Extractedfibers can be routed directly to individual MDU users without the need forintermediate splices.
The VertiCasa system will include pre-connectorized MDU cables and components, designed to provide more efficient installations and reduce labor costs.Also featured are a full spectrum of bend-tolerant fibers, including Prysmian's CasaLight Xtreme fiber, which can be used for bend radii as small as 5 mm.VertiCasa drop cables containing CasaLight Xtreme have been designed to withstand sharp 90º bends under tensionand installation with staple guns.
Short runs…ARLINGTON, VA—The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA; www.tiaonline.org) has published TIA-921-A, Network Model for Evaluating Multimedia Transmission Performance over Internet Protocol. TIA-921-A defines an IP network model and specifies scenarios intended for evaluating and comparing communications equipment connected over a converged network. It differs from previous physical layer (Layer 1) standards by focusing on the impact of impairments on IP Layer 3 performance. IP streams from any type of network can be evaluated using this model. The model consists of many impairment combinations that are scenario-based and time-varying. Test scenarios combine LAN, access, and core network elements in a realistic way to create Layer 3 IP network impairments that cause packets to experience varying delay, reordering or loss. These scenarios are based on actual network data provided by anonymous IP service providers and network equipment manufacturers.
LANDENBERG, PA—W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (www.gore.com) has joined the Ethernet Alliance (www.ethernetalliance.org), an industry group dedicated to the promotion of Ethernet technologies. Gore will play a key role in the advancement of developing Ethernet copper cable interconnect technologies. Currently, this includes GORE SFP+ and QSFP Copper Cable Assemblies, which are designed for the high-performance computing (HPC), enterprise networking, and network storage markets, and are also suited for emerging 10- and 40-GbE applications. Gore's SFP+ cable assemblies comply with the SFF-8431 standard, while designed to provide a low latency, reduced jitter, and a maximum signal eye opening, at lengths up to 25 meters with active copper technology and 15 meters with passive copper technologies.