IP Technology Brain dump by
CTO Paul Widdrington

Common IP Communications

The internet really started to kick in about 12 years ago and opened up the option for total globally interconnected information services and commerce. Today it is almost impossible to trade when you do not have access to it. The major thing that enabled this was a common protocol (TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) that all of the manufacturers built their equipment to work with e.g. PC, Printers, Servers, Ethernet Switches etc. all talking a common language. Previously each manufacturer had their own unique protocol (IBM, ICL, DEC, Sun) that their equipment worked with and on top of that they all had their own cabling systems – IBM Type 1, Thick Ethernet, Thin Ethernet, RS232, RS485, CW1308, UTP to name but a few. 20+ years ago BT Martlesham Labs and AT&T Labs developed the concept of structured cabling. A way of getting one common cabling system to run all of the different types of manufacturers systems that was easy for users to make moves adds and changes - patch panels!

So we now have a common transmission protocol (Set of rules on how things talk to each other) and a single common cabling system that they could all talk over. Making life simpler in the telephony and data industries.

Birth of the "CLOUD"

Other technology areas began to look at was happening and how they could benefit fit from these new technologies, "The Intelligent Building System" (IBS) was talked about and promoted heavily from about 10 years ago. But it’s taken time for the IBS dream to move from concept to reality. TCP/IP and structured cabling together, massively reduced the costs in IT. And unfortunately not all technology areas embraced this as an idea. Also the Telecom Circuits and technology from providers such as BT, Cable and Wireless, Virgin etc. just didn’t have the grunt to give high bandwidth connections over the internet between sites. As we have seen over the past few years this has changed dramatically and we can even get 20Mbps connections at home. This then gave "Information Service Providers" the chance to start offering "Hosted Services" over the internet. These take many forms including streamed TV, CCTV monitoring, Voice etc. And the result? The CLOUD was born, and all the big suppliers have jumped on it as a way of selling more service...IBM, Apple BT, Amazon, Google, BBC – you name it everyone has a cloud story.

IP TV

TV – Now becoming IPTV – You have a whole plethora of options. Either stream content over the internet from providers, use Freeview Antenna and feed over the data network to display devices using IP encoder/decoders. Same for SKY or Cable TV Services. The IPTV system can also double up as a "Digital Signage Solution" so that important site wide info can be pinged to all display devices over the network. Basically an IPTV solution enhances the user experience by being a lot more flexible than the old COAX/TV set up. They can use a variety of devices to show the content, they can use the same network for interactive gaming etc.

IP Telephony (VOIP)Telephony

VoIP – Voice Over TCP/IP – This ultimately is going to spell the end of the PABX as we have known it for the past 60 years. The PABX is now a fully managed service sitting in the "Cloud".

Building Management Systems have been using IP enable technology for many years, with the main control PC connected to the network. We now see many of the sub controllers for lighting, environmental monitoring etc. with a TCP/IP connection and feeding back over the existing "Structured Cabling"

Access Control - IP Access – Security and Access control is being integrated over the data networks and giving better monitoring and control capability. One security centre can monitor a multitude of sites using the TCP/IP networks as with CCTV.

CCTV - Now becoming IP CCTV – Cameras have a PC based operating system on them (usually unix), a TCP/IP driver and Ethernet Connection. You can plug them in to the new "High Bandwidth" networks and monitor the information securely from anywhere in the world.

White Box business/consumer products are now being fitted with TCP/IP capability for remote monitoring and problem diagnostics e.g. Fridges, Washing Machines, Vending Machines etc.

The relentless drive for 24 hour access to information, communication and control thunders on with making the user experience completely mobile with devices such as Laptop PC, iPads, iPhones and Smart phones etc... This has led to massive development of the licence free Wi-Fi technologies which use TCP/IP and structured cabling to integrate in to the IP integrated world. Indeed many people these days just expect to have a free Wi-Fi connection when they are in a hotel, coffee shop, shopping centre, school, Uni campus etc. There is a national drive to create free Wi-Fi hotspots everywhere, paid for by clever marketing to the user devises from businesses in the local area. Some of the larger manufacturers have started to build equipment with a Wi-Fi only connection, they do not have a hard wired capability. Personally I am a bit wary of this as the available bandwidth on a Wi-Fi network can vary considerably dependent on the number of users and type of data they are pulling down. The amount of data for social network sites (Facebook, Twitter etc.) over Wi-Fi network s is phenomenal.

I mentioned earlier how we have seen the way buildings are constructed change over the past decade. When completed, it is very difficult and expensive to get additional cabling installed as the main cabling routes are often sealed and plastered up and there are firewalls everywhere. In many cases the only way to install the cables is with surface mount trunking which can be aesthetically poor and unsecure.

Conclusion:

AS you are probably aware, the internet is here to stay. The Cloud is going to grow massively with every type of service imaginable being offered. I suspect we are not far from the point where even students will no longer have to load expensive Microsoft Office on their personal PC, they will just subscribe to MS Cloud Service for it. For me IPTV is a Cloud service – remote content pulled in over IP enabled networks with no TV towers to maintain. Social Networks are driving the requirement for Wi-Fi access in most public areas. People, tenants, students, customers expect it to be there and expect to be able to connect easily and securely. Bandwidth availability is still managing to double every 2 years coupled with the expectation to be half the price!

Wi-Fi Technology is fantastic for most things that people want to use quickly – email, facebook, twitter, Skype, quick web browsing, navigation but I have my doubts about the bandwidth availability if we tried to run every available service over it particularly IPTV, Games and VoIP and being able to guarantee a high Quality Of Service (QOS) level. Therefore, networks will still be a Hybrid of Hard Wired and Wi-Fi transport.

IP Networks in Student accommodation

I believe there is still a requirement to have a hard wired connection in each room which gives pretty much a guaranteed connection speed. The Universities still seem uncomfortable having a single data network with all the IP based services running on it (Data, VoIP, IPTV) and tend to keep the data network separate. So at the moment I think a dual in each bedroom is the correct way to give maximum flexibility.

I am not sure how big an issue IPTV is at the moment. It is expensive to implement at the moment, however, my own son just took my SKYGO login and password and uses that for the TV in his room! With the Cluster style accommodation it is probably sensible to install a dual point in each Living room for IPTV/Gaming. Some of the IP TV Systems need a point for the screen and a point for the controller, some just need a single point. – I reckon it will move to a single point eventually?

Wi-Fi just seems to be taken as a given, they want their Smart Phones on Wi-Fi so it doesn’t cost them any money over the telephone GPRS network. My worry is getting the Wi-Fi cables in the correct location without performing a detailed RF survey (Radio Frequency). Building materials such as insulation sheets with a foil cover can play havoc with the radio signals. Many of the Wi-Fi Access points are Plenum rated and can be installed in ceiling voids out of harms way. But at the moment the architect designs are not making it easy. We do need to get some thought in to this on the new builds, each Access Point requires a single Data cable. PW Comms have been working on a number of sites where the access control system for the cluster has a Cat5e Data Point. We also see this a lot in Enterprise buildings.

CCTV in student accommodation is going to IP CCTV and we should be providing points for internal and external cameras. If you look at the security industry forecasts, analogue cameras will be packed off with the dinosaurs. Remember how difficult it is to install the cables post building completion?

Cat5e offers Gigabit Bandwidth to the desk top. There is no advantage running in Cat 6 as this still only offers 1 Gig to the desk top and is approximately 25% more expensive. The next cabling system up is Cat6a which offers 10 Gig to the desk top and is very expensive as well as a large cable. You would also need to design the building around the cable containment system, therefore; I would probably recommend staying with Cat5e for the moment. Backbone Cabling and interlinks need to be carefully though about. Hardware to go on fibre connections is more expensive, however fibre is capable of supporting huge bandwidths and is relatively cheap to install – it future proofs the installation.

At PW Comms we try to be realistic about the pace in which the technology industry develops. We try to build the structured cabling infrastructure with the 10-15 year lifespan of current technology in mind. However, this is often difficult due to price constraints in the tendering process. It’s a massive subject to try and understand but as first line support for many organisations, I have noticed people from a variety of industries cope with lights not working, fridges breaking, roofs looking, but all hell breaks loose if the internet goes down!

If you would like more information regarding IP networks or would like Paul to come and speak to you directly regarding your network, please call or email for a FREE consultation. Tel 01925 751638 or email info@pwcomms.co.uk