My TN Connection

Transition Networks’ ION Platform Now Globally Available

Transition Networks Inc., the fiber access technology expert, a wholly owned subsidiary of Communication Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ-GM:  JCS), is set to announce the general release of The ION Platform, a new family of intelligent optical networking devices designed to drive a new standard in optical networking.  Built to meet the increasing demand of today’s networks, the ION takes manageability and security in optical networking to a new level.  Network managers can now take advantage of fiber technology without having to compromise on reliability, scalability or security, and they can do it at a cost savings. Designed for both carrier class and enterprise network applications – the high density ION chassis is designed to operate in a central office (CO) or data center where multiple points of fiber integration are required.

ADDITIONAL ION RESOURCES

• ION Brochure
• Remote Monitoring Matrix
• Managing the Customer Premise Demarcation Self-Paced Training
• ION Press Release
• 802.1ag and Y.1731 NID Press Release
• Network Security Posts
•             HTTPS, SSL, and SSH
•             Radius Client
•             ACL Rules

Stay tuned for an overview of Transition’s complete line of 802.3ah and 802.1ag/Y.1731 Network Interface Devices which complete the ION Platform offering.

The much anticipated ION Platform is an all new intelligent, high-density, multi-protocol system that supports a variety of network interface devices and media conversion modules. Designed for both carrier class and enterprise network applications where effective remote management and security are essential.

The ION Chassis adds the next generation of product features like 802.3ah link OAM and 802.1ag / Y.1731 Service OAM and Performance Management that are built to simplify the administration of Carrier Ethernet services with end-to-end service visibility, fault isolation, reporting and continuous performance monitoring. (more…)

Users of today’s voice, video, and data networks are becoming more complex – requiring more bandwidth and faster data transmission rates over farther distances. To meet these demands, network managers are relying more and more on fiber optics. But the reality that many Service Providers and Enterprise Corporations are facing is that once their available fiber infrastructure is exhausted, laying more fiber is no longer an economical or feasible option. So, now what?

Many are turning to Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM) technologies in order to increase capacity on the fiber links that are already in place. WDM is a technology which multiplexes multiple optical signals on a single fiber by using different wavelengths, or colors, of laser light to carry the different signals. By utilizing bidirectional communications over a single fiber, network managers can realize a multiplication effect in their available fiber’s capacity.

A quick study of WDM yields three major options: Bidirectional Wave Division Multiplexing (BWDM), Coarse Wave Division Multiplexing (CWDM) and Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM). This paper will take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of all three, as well as provide cost comparisons between each option. In order to provide consistent cost comparisons, only one manufacturer will be illustrated in the various examples. Due to their widespread market familiarity, we have chosen to use Cisco’s SFP, CWDM, and DWDM equipment in these comparisons.

Download Complete White Paper [PDF 1.78 MB]

I was recently browsing the Data Center Journal website doing some research on trends in data center cabling when I came across a nice video – Data Center Cabling for Data Center Managers – published on their Data Center TV site. Benoit Chevarie of Belden Cable discusses trends and what to plan for in data center networking.

Here are some of the discussion points:

• 10 Gig: With 10GBase-T becoming a factor and network demands increasing, 10 Gig is a major factor in today’s data center networking.
• Virtualization will play a role in network speeds and connections.
• Some predict the end of copper and the immediate switch to fiber, but others argue that copper technology will keep evolving as well. Talk of 40 Gig and 100 Gig over copper support that theory.

There is also a section in the interview where Benoit discusses how to plan for tomorrow’s data center networking while planning today’s cabling. He mentions planning robust cabling that will support data center networking for the next 10-15 years.

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The ink was hardly dry on the 10Gbase-T (10 gigabit Ethernet over UTP) standard and the industry discussion swung to the next big thing – 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet. While the latest technology being developed always makes for interesting discussion, it is the deployable technology that exists today that receives the most day-to-day conversation. To that end, we are only just beginning to see 10 gigabit Ethernet actually being deployed in local area network (LAN) environments.

The IEEE standards organization recently ratified the IEEE802.3an-2006 reference standard defining 10GBase-T allowing for 10 gigabits per second data transmission over Category-6a unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling at up to 100 meters distance. Since this standard is relatively new and coupled with the fact that the fiber standards and interfaces continue to be refined, I thought it may be beneficial to review some of the different copper and fiber standards and interfaces associated with the different 10GBase standards. (more…)