For more informaon, visit commscope.com1
Customer
Waterford Instute of Technology (WIT)
Country
Ireland
Challenges
TSSG, part of WIT (Waterford
Instute of Technology), is an
internaonally--recognized informaon
and communicaons technologies (ICT)
research center, oen working on 40-50
projects at a me. It is vitally important
that they are supported by a robust data
center and network infrastructure.
CommScope soluon
The network infrastructure soluons
that were recommended were from
CommScope’s SYSTIMAX
®
porolio.
“TSSG’s level of research requires
technical and business experse
combined with state-of-the-art
facilies for developing and tesng
prototypes and commercializaon
strategies. It is especially important
that engineers and sciensts are
supported by a data center and
network infrastructure that fully meet
their current and future needs.”
—Aidan MacGrath, IT director of WIT
TSSG, part of WIT (Waterford
Instute of Technology), is
an internaonally-recognized
informaon and communicaons
technologies (ICT) research
center. Now housed in a new,
three-oor 1060-square-meter
building, it is located on the WIT
West Campus at Carriganore in
County Waterford, Ireland.
The group’s core experse includes
usability, exibility, and security of
communicaon systems. Based on these
areas of excellence, its services to telecom
operators and manufacturers cover a
wide range of industry-informed ICT
research. This is focused on innovave
communicaon services and systems
incorporang features such as advanced
network infrastructure, social media and
mobile.
Success story
TSSG underpins IT efficiency at new research facility with
CommScope 10G copper connectivity and intelligent
infrastructure
For more information, visit commscope.com2
Data center efficiency
At any given me, TSSG is working on between 40 and 50
projects designed to push the boundaries of telecommunicaons
networking. Over the past ve years, it has delivered innovave
soluons to more than 90 organizaons and created 11 spin-out
companies.
“TSSG creates economic impact by translang our knowledge base
and innovaon into leading-edge products and services,” said Aidan
MacGrath, IT director of WIT. “To do this, it engages with industry in
collaborave R&D, knowledge generaon and knowledge transfer.
“This level of research requires technical and business experse
combined with state-of-the-art facilies for developing and
tesng prototypes and commercializaon strategies. It is especially
important that engineers and sciensts are supported by a data
center and network infrastructure that fully meet their current and
future needs.”
WIT’s solution:
Intelligent infrastructure
Since its data center and network are so vital to the operaon of
the new TSSG facility, senior systems engineer Jerry Horgan and his
team called on specialist help. They chose Kedington Soluons, a
leading Irish turnkey soluons supplier with specializaons including
energy-ecient data centers.
“The Carriganore facility has to support numerous research
projects simultaneously. Many of these deal with cloud compung
and others require a great deal of data crunching and advanced
networking, so our infrastructure has to be of a high standard,”
said Jerry Horgan. “Energy eciency is crical and the data center
must also be exible to allow rapid reconguraon at regular
intervals as research projects change. To help us achieve this,
Kedington brought a depth of knowledge and numerous ideas on
infrastructure eciency, exibility and physical security.”
Kedington is a CommScope Premier BusinessPartner and the
network infrastructure soluons it recommended were from
CommScope’s SYSTIMAX
porolio. For 10 Gb/s connecons in
the data center and throughout the research facility, it proposed
the GigaSPEED X10D
®
UTP (unshielded twisted pair) soluon. This
comfortably meets all specicaons of the Category 6A standard
for 10 G copper cabling.
The GigaSPEED X10D cabling supports 10 Gb/s data transmission
from end to end in a four-connector, 100-meter channel. As well
as being a proven 10G soluon with many successful installaons
worldwide, GigaSPEED X10D is also the smallest Category 6A
cabling. With an overall jacket diameter of just 7.2 mm, it saves
space and makes installaon considerably easier. Both these factors
were important in the high-density environment within the data
center where Kedington installed more than 2,800 cable runs.
For ease of managing the nished, operaonal infrastructure,
Kedington recommended the SYSTIMAX iPatch intelligent
infrastructure soluon. In a network environment subject to almost
connual change, this soluon creates important savings.
The iPatch soluon provides network administrators with real-me
visibility and control of the network physical layer, giving several
signicant benets. Connecon failures and security breaches can,
for instance, be detected and pinpointed immediately, and up-to-
date connecvity documentaon is maintained automacally.
Administrators can also raise orders for moves, adds and changes
via their desktop PC using iPatch, and track the progress of
technicians making these changes. At the same me, technicians
are assisted in their work by displays and tracer lights on the patch
panels that guide them in making the correct connecons.
“Because the data center supports so many network-based research
projects, network availability and exibility are essenal,” said Jerry
Horgan. “With iPatch we have a constant, comprehensive, real-me
view of the physical network infrastructure, updang moves, adds
and changes. It alerts us to failures, idenes each problem and
gives us the exact physical locaon so we can minimize downme
and cost of repair.”
Rack containing the SYSTIMAX
®
iPatch intelligent infrastructure soluon