Has the IT industry reached the end of the convergence road, having successfully converged voice, video and data transmissions across a single Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure?
The answer, of course, is 'no'. The convergence horizon simply keeps extending further into the distance. It has taken another leap towards infinity with the news of yet another application soon to be added to the IP infrastructure.
It will centre on an extension to the 802.3af standard commonly associated with 'power over Ethernet' or POE technology. This permits low-voltage electrical power to pass safely - along with voice, video and data - through the network infrastructure on Ethernet cabling.
The power within
Currently, in terms of this standard, power is often supplied to network access points (commonly IP phones) from within a POE-enabled network device such as a switch or a purpose-designed converter.
The latest and most recently ratified standard - 802.3at, sometimes referred to as POE-plus - provides up to 51 watts of power over a single cable. This has opened the door to a new networking application with more energy-efficient solutions to accompany it.
The application embraces POE-plus technology, which is now able to power laptop PCs, scanners, printers and other items of office equipment, together with modern PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) cameras and similar security devices previously beyond the reach of 802.3af standard-based solutions - limited as they were to only 15.4 watts-per-port or effectively around 13 watts-per-port once power dissipation was taken into account.
The convergence horizon simply keeps extending further into the distance.
Andy Robb is CTO at Duxbury Networking.
The biggest impact on the office environment from new-generation POE-plus thinking will be the redundancy of common 220-volt wall sockets. In effect, power will be drawn from the network and supplied via the ubiquitous RJ45 network interface (jack).
This will place increased emphasis on the role of the network designer and refine the focus on network configuration and management. The important question will not be “how well does the network handle data and prioritise voice?” but “is it capable of providing appropriate power where and when it's needed?”
It's a question that will be comprehensively answered only once the new 802.3az standard is ratified (it's imminent). This will allow the network switch to intelligently detect when a device is idle and shut off power to it completely, or put the device into a 'sleep' or 'eco' mode as demanded by operational requirements.
The ramifications of this level of efficiency (and the new standard) are still to be fully understood, but for organisations with a 'green' agenda it is far-reaching, as highly developed management systems could be brought to bear in future to achieve enterprise-wide power savings of 75% or more, according to reports.
Further developments
As a spin-off, it is expected that the majority of vendors will grasp this new development and release more energy-efficient PCs and related IT equipment capable of taking advantage of the intelligent management advances encouraged by the 802.3az standard.
A very important - and little realised - cost saving for the end-user community will come in the form of the standardisation of the power supply/adapter specification.
This will have sweeping economy-of-scale benefits as currently there is a wide range of power adapters made for specific markets, many of which (like South Africa) are small by global standards, and thus have to bear correspondingly more expensive per-unit prices.
Taking the concept one step further, designers are looking to the world of consumer electronics for more cost-saving ideas. They found there was standardisation between smartphones, iPods, PDAs and cameras, which are now generally powered via the common USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. The next step is to provide powered (by the network switch) USB sockets to power these devices too.
Users will benefit from these new developments in many ways. Apart from energy savings, there will be the convenience of not having to call an electrician to move or install a power point when a desk is moved or added in the office.
This will be particularly helpful in industrial environments where the location of power points is strictly controlled, and changes and additions require a significant amount of paperwork to be authorised before work can begin. In tomorrow's office or workplace, a simple RJ45 cable or USB socket will be all that's needed to provide power to any number of electronic devices and systems.
Looking further ahead, developments will allow for higher, safe power throughputs, increased management overlays and more sophisticated control systems with even more emphasis on green technologies.
The convergence road has just become a lot longer and the journey far more interesting.
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