A cabling upgrade mission blasts space program into the future.An eye on its budget aids a Fortune 500 company in choosing new cabling systems. TRW's operating unit operating unit A type of operating company that engages in transactions with outsiders and that is owned by another business. For example, in 1995 the stockholders of Capital Cities/ABC approved a $19 billion merger with the Walt Disney Company, whereupon , Space and Electronics, located in Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. , CA, develops and manufactures communications, scientific products and spacecraft for military, civil and commercial customers. TRW TRW The Real World (TV reality show) TRW The Right Way TRW Tactical Reconnaissance Wing TRW The Retriever Weekly (University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD) TRW Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc , a Fortune 500 company, provides key components for communications, surveillance, remote sensing Deriving digital models of an area on the earth. Using special cameras from airplanes or satellites, either the sun's reflections or the earth's temperature is turned into digital maps of the area. and space science missions. TRW needed to expand its facilities and significantly increase its network performance with a complete revamp of its voice and data communications data communications, application of telecommunications technology to the problem of transmitting data, especially to, from, or between computers. In popular usage, it is said that data communications make it possible for one computer to "talk" with another. system. Space and Electronics required a high-performing network to meet the demands of its growth environment. The operating unit occupies a campus complex with office structures, laboratories, and manufacturing and spacecraft assembly buildings. Incremental improvements clearly would not bring the desired results. For the upgrade, TRW called on COMPEL Corp. of Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs, city (1990 pop. 15,520), Los Angeles co., SW Calif., inc. 1957. The city lies in an oil and natural gas region and has diversified manufacturing. , CA, to provide design and installation expertise. NORDX/CDT was the supplier for the cabling system, and a NORDX/COMPEL team installed an IBDN IbDN Internet-Based Distributed Navigation IBDN Integrated Building Distribution Network (US West) System 1200 and a GigaBIX cross-connect system. This end-to-end structured cabling Structured Cabling is defined as building or campus telecommunications cabling infrastructure that consists of a number of standardized smaller elements (hence structured) called subsystems. system provides a bandwidth of 160 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. (1.2 Gbps) and exceeds all other Category 5e standards solutions. The enhanced cabling technology will support future ultra-high-speed multigigabit protocols. The high data throughput and stronger signal power will enhance TRW's communications capabilities. The decision process included two key considerations. The first was to select a system that provides support for Gigabit Ethernet An Ethernet standard that transmits at 1 Gbps. Used mostly to connect high-end workstations and servers as well as for network backbones, Gigabit Ethernet transmits full duplex from point to point using switches and half duplex in a shared environment (CSMA/CD) using a hub. and works with emerging technologies. The IBDN System 1200 provides Category 5e standards, a must for all new data cabling installations, and supports emerging requirements for gigabit data rates. The other consideration was the system's price-to-performance ratio. With this extensive project, the new system had to stay within budgetary guidelines. A detailed action plan was put into place. The existing buildings would be retrofit to Category 5e standards using IBDN 1213 cabling. The new buildings would be equipped with the new GigaBIX cross-connect components, installed to support the IBDN 1200 system. This newly launched and complete end-to-end structured cabling system exceeds today's standards, and provides TRW with the freedom to add, reconfigure and upgrade its network on demand. The plan to supply 800 to 3,500 drops of IBDN 1213 cable into each existing building will provide Space and Electronics' new network with sufficient headroom head·room n. 1. Space above one's head, as in a motor vehicle, above a doorway, or in a tunnel; clearance. 2. Electronics Dynamic headroom. capacity for years of high performance. In all buildings, NORDX/CDT will install the GigaBIX cross-connect system, which is much deeper than that used in the building previously, providing additional space between the seated connector and the rear of the mount, and allowing an easier, more efficient installation process. Furthermore, the cross-connect wires can be cut to length, eliminating the need for slack management. The GigaBIX cross-connect wires used for the data systems allow TRW Space and Electronics to profit from the many features they provide in a network infrastructure. Used in conjunction with the 1213 cable, the GigaBIX cross-connect wire is a cost-effective configuration for data. The jumper wire allows the company to save on the cost of materials and have more terminations per square foot in the telecommunications room. In fact, it will allow TRW the ability to terminate 60 ports per square foot (1 pair per 1.1 square inch) on the GigaBIX connector. Space and Electronics is already benefiting from the complete end-to-end structured cabling system, with the installation scheduled to be completed in 2004. All components are produced under stringent standards, so users are assured of a range of components that function together in a complete system environment. The total cabling project is backed by a 25-year product warranty and lifetime application assurance guarantee. The new system will support present and future applications for which it was originally designed, eliminate any potential future costs for component replacement and ensure sustained peak performance. www.nordx.com Circle 259 for more information from NORDX |
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