NORDX/CDT to debut new GigaBIX cross-connect system
The company says this new data transmission cross-connect system offers the highest density and unmatched performance exceeding the current Category 6 drafts.
The GigaBIX Cross-Connect System guarantees a channel bandwidth of up to 300 MHz, and offers a data rate of up to 4.8 Gigabits per second. The new system allows for very high termination density while maintaining ease of administration for moves, adds and changes.
"The new GigaBIX Cross-Connect System for data networks takes advantage of the proven reliability of the BIX technology that had first been developed for large voice cross-connect installations in 1979. In early 1990, at the beginning of the industry standardization, the BIX Cross-Connect System proved to exceed significantly the first Category 5 performance specifications," says Paul Kish, Director, IBDN Systems and Standards with NORDX/CDT and Chairman of the TIA TR-42 engineering committee responsible for telecommunications cabling standards.
"In 2000, our well-known BIX connector in its original form was still exceeding Category 6, but the accessories required some modifications to adapt to the new realities of high-performance: bigger and stiffer cables, larger conductors, etc." adds Benoit Chevarie, Eng., Product Line Manager in charge of GigaBIX at NORDX/CDT. "That is why we had BIX evolve into the new GigaBIX Cross-Connect System, offering 'Beyond Cat6'TM performance in all types of installations, with GigaBIX Patch Cords or GigaBIX Cross-Connect Wires."
Nowadays, cross-connect systems are considered privileged systems for data applications, thanks to their contact reliability, termination density, ease of administration and lower material and labor costs.
The product's new packaging facilitates ordering by presenting, in one self-contained box, all components required to terminate 4-pair or 25-pair cables in a GigaBIX Cross-Connect System: High-density black base and clear graphite mount designed to accommodate 4800LX cables; twelve clear graphite 6-port connectors; black designation strips and wire guards; white labels, wood screws, Velcro ties, and a detailed installation guide.
A Cable Management Module has been added to the product line to eliminate the need for a raised wall, allowing terminated cable to be brought from the same side (top or bottom) in a high-density installation (4-mount stack).
Stackable side-to-side and top-to-bottom, the modules can be used horizontally for more flexible channel management. A Patch Cord Organizer is also offered to create neat vertical management of Patch Cords.
Interlocking with GigaBIX Mounts, it can also be assembled over Cable Management Modules in large installations. Horizontal Channel Plates are new accessories used in pair for system flexibility: attached to the Patch Cord
Organizers, they create a horizontal management channel for Patch Cords. Finally, a new Management Ring has also been developed to achieve a high-density wall-mount cross-connect system, offering a retention capacity of 450 GigaBIX Cross-Connect Wires (1800 pairs total).
New plug-and-go management patch cords complement the GigaBIX Cross-Connect System, guaranteeing performance up to 300 MHz in the IBDN System 4800LX. Available in various lengths for design flexibility, these new patch cords also offer a latching system to secure the connection.
These enhanced cross-connect wires guarantee Beyond Cat 6 performance when installed in an IBDN System 4800LX. They now contain FEP for better transmission and fire rating compliance, and pairs have been tightly stranded for maximum cable stability.
Cable Design Technologies is a designer and manufacturer of high bandwidth network products, fiber optic cable, interconnecting hardware, and communications cable products used in wireless, central office and local loop applications. CDT also manufactures electronic data and signal transmission products that are used in automation and process control applications.
With contributions by Evan Bass
Managing Editor, Fiber Optics Online