EuroWire March 2018

Corporate News

Making lives easier

DATA cable installers are overestimating their usage requirements for cable certifiers, says Ideal Networks, suggesting that this may be generating extra costs for contractors and installation companies. “Despite the challenge that investing in certifiers can potentially pose to cash flow, installers frequently stated that having more certifiers would make their lives easier,” said Tim Widdershoven, global marketing manager for Ideal Networks. “However, this is seemingly based on a misconception that cable certifiers are needed for the majority of customers’ installation needs.” A cable certifier is only an essential test tool on jobs where the job has specifically stated that a certifier or a cable manufacturer warranty is required. Ideal Networks’ analysis of the work typically carried out by data cable installers showed that manufacturer warranties were typically required in 25 per cent of jobs. Therefore, cable installers may not actually need to invest in more certifiers to improve productivity. “It seems that many cable installers are using certifiers to test and document jobs for their own peace of mind, and to be able to prove performance to customers if the quality of their work is questioned,” added Mr Widdershoven. “Although a certifier is a great tool, if a contractor is only testing for certain activities on Layer 1 of a network, a transmission tester will provide the data required.”

▲ ▲ LanTek III cable testing from Ideal Networks

own. So rather than investing in more certifiers, businesses can instead meet their customers’ testing requirements with a mixed fleet. By combining a greater amount of transmission testers alongside a smaller number of certifiers, such as Ideal Networks’ LanTEK® III, businesses could reduce capital expenditure on testers by up to 57 per cent. To help businesses select the right mix of test equipment for their particular needs, Ideal Networks has launched Test4Less, a suite of solutions, care plans and payment options. Following 18 months of research with data cable installation businesses, Test4Less is designed to help reduce capital expenditure, increase productivity and improve cashflow. Where a certifier is necessary for a business but may post a challenge to cash flow, Test4Less includes a ‘Pay As You Test’ option, to transform a certifier fleet from a capital investment into an operational expense. With ’Pay As You Test’, test credits for the Ideal Networks LanTEK III cable certifier can be purchased in batches and topped up as and when needed. Businesses can opt for either a free on-loan certifier agreement, or to purchase the certifier with an additional initial up-front payment. Ideal Networks – UK Website : www.idealnetworks.net

is not needed or the job specification does not require a certifier, a cable and network transmission tester, such as Ideal Networks’ SignalTEK® CT or SignalTEK NT, can be used to create comprehensive proof of performance reports to industry- recognised standards. This type of tester is easy to use, allowing installers to gather data that is sufficient for their own records, and that can be shared as professional reports with clients. Importantly, these testers are more affordable and, in most organisations, it is feasible for all installers to have their

75 per cent of the time, where a warranty

Getting to the point with BCM

R&M, a developer and provider of cabling systems for network infrastructures, is introducing the Netscale Blade Cabling Manager (BCM), a fibre optic solution to address vertical and horizontal modular switches for cloud networking. Mobile, video and storage traffic growth is continuing to push the technology curve to meet the world’s growing IT demands. Cloud data centres are getting larger, and enterprises are embracing cloud networking for their private clouds. Modular high-density port switches are the building blocks for the modern cloud. The Netscale BCM is specially designed for these modular high-density port switches and enables a reliable, flexible and efficient cable infrastructure throughout the data centre. By moving from traditional low-density cabling to high-density, structured cable solutions, data centres can implement the physical network infrastructure in a much more manageable and flexible manner. The Netscale BCM routes cables directly from switch ports to the patch panel ports below the switch, above it or on its side. R&M – Switzerland Website : www.rdm.com

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March 2018