The Falcon Live Wire

Winter is just around the corner, and wearing a jacket made of the right material can really make a difference insulating you from the cold!  Equally important is the jacket material (outer coating) choice for your network cables, which provides a layer of insulating protection for the shielding and conductors inside the cable.  Most importantly, the jacket determines where a cable can (or can’t) be used, how physically durable it is, and how resistant it is to fire and other damage.

Please note:  This article is for informational purposes only.  Anyone planning, designing, or installing cabling must comply with local code requirements.  Most jurisdictions follow the National Electrical Code (NEC), which is published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  The conditions of the installation should guide your cabling choice, with fire safety being the primary consideration.  If you are cabling in riser or plenum spaces, be certain to use the proper cabling.

Most cable jackets are made of plastic compounds such as PVC or Teflon based materials.  Some of the most common cable jacket materials are:

PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride):  One of the most common and general purpose plastics used today and the most common material for cable jackets.  It is low cost, flexible, and highly durable.  However, PVC poses a great risk in building fires as it releases heavy smoke and deadly gases (even before it ignites) such as hydrogen chloride, which turns to hydrochloric acid when inhaled. 

CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride):  Similar to standard PVC, but can withstand much higher temperatures.

XLPE (Cross-Linked Polyethylene):  A thermosetting polyethylene material which can withstand higher temperatures for short periods of time.  It has high dielectric strength, abrasion and crack resistance, and exhibits a good balance between physical, electrical, and mechanical properties.

PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) and

FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Polymer):  Both are Teflon based cable jackets often used for plenum spaces due to high-temperature tolerance, and low flame and smoke properties.  Teflon based cable jackets also provide chemical and abrasion resistance, with non-aging characteristics and resistance to sunlight damage.

LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen):  PVC, FEP and PTFE contain considerable amounts of halogens. Halogens are a group of highly reactive, nonmetal elements which form highly toxic and corrosive gasses when heated and burned.  LSZH jacketing is composed of thermoplastic or thermoset compounds that emit limited smoke and no halogens when exposed to high sources of heat.  This type of jacketing is becoming popular in applications where ventilation is extremely poor such as rail cars and aircraft.  It is also increasingly being used in public and government buildings and where there is sensitive electronic equipment such as hospitals, supermarkets, airports and control rooms.

In addition to jacket material, NEC ratings also provide guidance for selecting the right cable for your application.  The following designations printed on the cable jacket identify the type of cable based on its purpose:

BL / BM = Network-powered Broadband Communications Cable

CATV = COAX, Community Antenna Television and Radio Distribution Cables

CL2 / CL3 = Class 2 and Class 3 Remote Control, Signaling, and Power Limited Cables

CM = Communications Cables

FPL = Power Limited Fire Alarm Cables

MP = Multipurpose Cables

OFC = Conductive Optical Fiber Cables

OFN = Nonconductive Optical Fiber Cables

PLTC = Power Limited Tray Cables

Additionally, printed on the cable jacket are suffixes that follow the above designations.  These suffixes further identify the cable rating based on installation conditions:

             X = Residential

            None or G = General Purpose

            R = Riser

            P = Plenum

Residential ( X ) – rated for use in homes, though they may be used in commercial buildings if conduits are included with the installation. Residential Cables are held to a lower standard than the other types.

General Purpose (None or G) – may be used anywhere in commercial buildings other than areas where Riser or Plenum cables are required.  Flame tested and held to a lower standard than either Riser or Plenum cables.

Riser ( R ) – rise between floors and may also penetrate either fire rated walls or floors. The cables are subjected to flame tests only, and are not held to as high a standard as Plenum rated cables.

Plenum ( P ) – a plenum is a separate space provided for HVAC systems and is usually between the structural ceiling and the drop-down ceiling, and sometimes under a raised floor.  Plenum cables are held to the most stringent testing of any of the cables rated by the NEC, rated for both flammability and smoke generation.

For your next cabling project keep in mind that all cables are not created equal.  Cheap and inferior cable is out there.  Always ask for a cable’s data spec sheet to know exactly what you are getting.  Quality cables will have a marking number from a recognized testing agency such as the UL, CSA or ETL, and these numbers can be verified with the testing agency, and often this can be done online.

At Falcon Tech, we are committed to providing our customers with high quality products and we only sell tested and verified cables.  Additionally, it is our goal to assist our customers in understanding all the complexities of the data communication industry.  We want to provide you with the most economical products while maintaining safety at all times.

… and benefit your business at the same time?  Read on, and we will tell you how! 

Taxes, that inevitable, unavoidable monster we all must face every year.  However, for 2010, the IRS has made things a little less painful for businesses investing in new equipment and software and other capital expenses.  A capital expense consists of all costs incurred by a business for purchasing assets which have life spans of a year or more and improve the overall quality of the output of the business.

Ordinarily, businesses can recover the cost of capital expenditures over time based on a depreciation schedule.  In 2008 and 2009, in an effort to help businesses and spur the economy, Congress temporarily permitted businesses to recover these costs more quickly by allowing the write-off of the cost of depreciable property placed in service in those years. 

For the taxable year 2010, Congress has once again extended the bonus depreciation.  The limit under Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code is $500,000, with the deduction phasing out dollar-for-dollar as capital expenditures exceed $2 million. The time to take advantage of this program is now!  The capital equipment must be placed into service between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.  

All businesses purchasing or financing less than $2,000,000 in business equipment during the 2010 tax year should qualify for the Section 179 Deduction.  The equipment and software must be used more than 50% of the time for business purposes to qualify.  If the equipment and software expenses are $500,000 or less the entire cost can be written-off on the 2010 tax return.  Businesses purchasing amounts greater than $500,000 can still benefit from the deductions and those that exceed the $2 million in capital expenditure threshold can take a bonus depreciation of 50% on the amount that exceeds the limit.  These businesses can also take normal depreciation on the rest.  Not bad!

Now is the time to make the technology purchases you’ve been putting off.   A new network can help your business become more efficient, secure your most important data, and scale to meet your needs in the future.  Falcon Tech has many products available to help you grow your business.  However, we strongly encourage you to check with your financial advisors and tax accountants prior to purchasing equipment in order to fully understand Section 179 and how it affects your business.

As the technology guy here at Falcon I am constantly looking at trends in our market.  In a previous newsletter I wrote about how over the years data center technology has evolved.  In this months newsletter I will be talking about wireless networking. 

Wireless technology used in data communications has evolved much quicker than any other form of networking in my recent memory.  Although there are many types of wireless we use everyday, such as Bluetooth, Infrared, Cell phones and WIFI, for simplicity purposes I will be discussing WIFI.  By WIFI, I am referring to 802.11a,b,g, and n wireless products.

Even though wireless communication has been around since before World War II, modern wireless data networking only became practical when the IEEE 802.11 version of wireless was created.  In the mid to late 1990’s 802.11 was sold with 1 to 2 mbs of speed initially available.  At the time it was a perfect fit for people doing wireless transmissions of bar codes and mostly character based data.  Companies such as Symbol and Telxon were early adaptors of this technology, which they used with bar code scanning systems they sold for tracking inventory.

By the late 1990’s, 802.11a and 802.11b were starting to become available.  At 11 mbs and 54 mbs, this was a huge leap forward in technology that radically changed how people connect to local networks.  Even though this was half duplex technology, it was adequate to transmit and receive data and graphic files.  About 2003, 802.11g became available as an upgrade to 802.11b.  Both 802.11b & g function in the 2.4 gigahertz frequency band and are compatible with each other.  802.11g increases speed up to 54 mbs.  This is equal in speed to 802.11a that operates in the 5 gigahertz frequency range.

Just recently, in late 2009, 802.11n was ratified, which takes a little from both the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz technologies.  802.11n has the capability of over 300 mbs transmission speeds with the right set up. With this kind of speed we will see many changes and adaptations with data networking.

I know I left a lot of detail off of the 802.11 evolution process.  I could stretch this out over several more pages and still not cover all the innovations that have taken place, but what strikes me as the real value of this technology is how it is being adopted into and changing our everyday lives.  Most products we talk about in our industry may not be noticed or perhaps will make a subtle difference to the non-technical individuals.  With WIFI it has made it profoundly easier to connect to technology in a multitude of environments.  Everywhere we look, WIFI has made an impact.  Home, schools, hospitals, airports, hotels, restaurants, and the list goes on and on. 

I look at products such as kid’s toys, video games, digital books, appliances, cameras, telephones, and TV’s being offered with WIFI capabilities.  In many cases it expands the usefulness of these products immensely.  I was looking at several new cars being sold next year that have a built in WIFI access point to allow passengers to peruse the web while being driven down the highway.  I have a feeling this is only the beginning.

When I was young I, like many of you, watched science fiction shows like StarTrek and thought this type of technology would never happen in my life time, if at all.  I guess now I am not so sure about that.  The way this wireless technology altered our lives, good or bad, in this short amount of time is truly amazing.

 This reminds me of what my old Marine Corps drill instructor used to tell me.  He would always say, “Man can achieve what his mind can conceive.”  (He used that statement  to motivate us through the obstacle course in basic training.)  He also made many other profound statements that I cannot repeat in this newsletter.

Have a great holiday season,

Merry Christmas,

Larry Donnelly