wiredinUSA January 2013

INDEX

to any alternative, including wireless and optical. This makes copper very dominant in LANs up to 100 meters supporting up to 10GbE. Onward! At some level, it is not possible to predict what technologies will be available in the future and the demands they will place on the network. For this reason, enterprises should make sure they give themselves the best chance of being able to roll out game-changing technologies as soon as they are introduced and steal a march on their competitors. They can accomplish this by selecting the best infrastructure they can realistically afford, given the strategic goals for the business. A provider of sensor-based sorting equipment, TOMRA Sorting, has launchedanew solution for copper wire and cable recyclers. The new TITECH combisense [chute] was launched at Ecomondo trade fair in November. Copper granulate, recovered by the recycling process of copper wires and cables, can be a high value resource. However, even after the removal of impurities, polymers and ferrous from the granulate, it can still contain small amounts of lead, brass or aluminum – often up to three percent. By upgrading the copper Sorting for recycling

fraction to a purity of 99.9 percent, the value of the material can be increased by 30 percent.

With virtualization, cloud computing and high-bandwidth services like video-on- demand driving the need for increased access speeds across networks, CAT 6 cabling and above has become the base-line for today’s video standards. For new deployments, CAT 5e should never be considered by any enterprise hoping tomaintain a facility longer than five years. Such forward-looking infrastructure deployments are more critical than ever for enterprises. Over time, they may have to physically rip up and replace their network cabling – often with a very negative impact on the bottom line. By selecting cabling that opens the door to 10GbE, enterprises can ensure they are ready when the rest of their active infrastructure in the switching environment moves up to this level. To infinity and beyond The argument over the perceived benefits of shielded cabling versus unshielded cabling often creates confusion in the enterprise market. What’s more, the part of the world your network is located in is more likely to dictate what kind of cable is used, rather than any tangible benefits of one over the other. Enterprises looking at global expansion will encounter this debate as they look to build new networks in unfamiliar territories. Whether an organization expands from an area where unshielded cabling is prevalent

to an area where shielded is more com- mon – or vice versa – it is essential to have a team of experts or suppliers that can take the same strategy and roll it out wherever they are. Regardless of the decision, the enterprise must look for quality components. Rolling out a solution that does not meet the highest standards, either on shielded or unshielded cabling, will never achieve the same level of performance of a network that does. Therefore network managers will only have the quality assurances they need if their suppliers can guarantee the end-to-end performance of a particular network. Companies should focus on the performance they need, not the underlying technologies. Copper vs fiber For many companies, fiber is the industry standard, which is used as the “backbone” of the main infrastructure and for conference suites; while copper is used primarily for the horizontal cabling. Yet, fiber-to-the- desk can be a better choice in very high performance end points, such as research and development facilities and high-end computing environments, but this usually accounts for a low percentage of installed ports in the overall LAN environment. Copper holds a dominant position from an installation point of view and in terms of cost, with copper-based interfaces being the most affordable technology compared

TITECH combisense [chute] at Ecomondo 2012

Jörg Schunicht, TITECH business development manager for metal recycling, explained: “Common sorting technologies, such as eddy current sorter or densimetric tables, do not remove all impurities. We have therefore developed a sorting solution which removes the granulate’s remaining pollutants efficiently and automatically, and is particularly effective at extracting lead. Our machine uses optical free fall detection and high speed air jets to separate materials.” TITECH combisense [chute] has been developed to offer flexible operation; dry sorting, as no water is needed; ease of operation, maintenance and handling; and easy integration with customers’ existing equipment.

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wiredInUSA - January 2013

wiredInUSA - January 2013

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