Network World (U.S.)
Avaya Inc. this week released new cabling products aimed at helping users increase the distances between 10G Ethernet devices.
The company says its LazrSpeed 550 structured cabling infrastructure products, which include multi-mode fibre cabling, couplers and racks, could let companies almost double the range of 10G Ethernet signals over multi-mode fibre cabling.
LazrSpeed 550 cabling can amplify 10G Ethernet signals, letting them reach up to about 1,800 feet, up from the standard limitation of 980 feet, the company says.
Most of the IEEE’s 802.3ae standard for 10G Ethernet calls for running 10G over costly single-mode fibre, with distances of up to 40 miles. These specifications were made mostly with carriers in mind. But the standard does include an 850nm specification for running 10G over multi-mode fibre – the fibre cabling commonly installed in many organizations to support FDDI rings. Multi-mode fibre can be installed for around half the cost of single-mode, according to cabling industry experts.
There hasn’t been much uptake for Avaya’s 10G Ethernet switch products – it had a little more than two per cent of the 10G market in 2002, according to Synergy Research Group Inc. But Avaya is the leader in structured cabling systems in the U.S, according to InfoTech. Avaya’s connectivity business, which includes structured cabling systems, is a legacy business left over from before the firm split off of Lucent Technologies Inc. While emphasized as a growth area by Avaya, it accounts for around 12 per cent of its US$3.2 billion in revenue.