Each segment or layer of this
design requires a combination
of a supporting media solution,
such as optical fiber and copper,
tailored to the logical layer processing
and bandwidth requirements.
Subsequently, the ICT
consultant engineers a supporting
media diagram (Figure 4) connecting
the devices in a logical design
concept: wide area network (WAN),
edge to spine switches, servers, and
all scalable links to the performance
optimized data centers (PODs).
Take note of the ICT cabling
infrastructure’s mesh redundancy
that is necessary to reduce any
possibility of downtime related
to cabling failure.
The next consideration is
determining the cabling/connector
performance and bandwidth
requirements that are needed
to support the client’s stakeholder’s
network, server and storage optic
processing requirements. The
demand rate for higher fiber
count with a low profile is rising
exponentially, as are wave division
multiplexing (WDM) and dense
WDM (DWDM) technologies.
Budget consideration must also
be an underlying factor.
One of the critical questions in the
pre-design phase of commissioning
is whether the ICT cabling
infrastructure concept was designed
for the long-term. Will it allow for
the future growth and high demands
of the Internet of Things (IoT)?
12 I ICT TODAY
FIGURE 4: An example of a cable media diagram connecting the segments
from the 3-layer architecture topology.