Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1043933
8 I ICT TODAY From basic 10 megabits per second (Mb/s) analog phones, information and communications technology (ICT) has progressed to 40 gigabit (Gb) on the horizontal, 400 Gb on the backbone and added remote powering via power over Ethernet (PoE). Structured cabling has integrated telephone, data, and video cameras, while building management has remained on a proprietary infrastructure. With the advent of the internet of things (IoT), LEDs needing far less power than previous lighting solutions, and USB, ZIGBEE and Bluetooth creating multiple bridges between networks, the time has come for structured cabling to provide the infrastructure for not only all communication in the building, but also a significant part of the power. Standards Standards are often viewed as fixed rules imposing drastic requirements, but historically standards have been very flexible. They evolve to adapt to new technologies, are sometimes subject to interpretation, but more importantly, they provide the minimum requirements for ICT applications. Therefore, it is possible to develop methods which outperform the standards, as long as the minimum standard requirements are met. All structured cabling standards comply with each other on the star topology, while also allowing topological variations. FIGURE 1: Traditional star topology With increased cabling, PoE, and better performing topologies, the traditional star topology is beginning to reach its limits.