Solarflare® Testing Verifies 10GBASE-T Support by NetClear GTX Channel Solution from Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand


IRVINE, Calif., NEW LONDON, Conn., and NEW HOLLAND, Penn, Jan. 22 -- Ortronics/Legrand and Berk-Tek, A Nexans Company, along with Solarflare® Communications announced today that the NetClear GTX Augmented Category 6 UTP Cabling Solution successfully passed rigorous 10GBASE-T testing at Solarflare in Irvine, CA. The test configurations included 25- and 100-meter four-connector channels assembled in "worst case" 6-around-1 bundles. No errors were detected for the duration of the testing and a total of 3.6x1013 bits were successfully transmitted for each configuration. Additional successful tests were performed on the 25-meter channels applying power back-off (PBO) to the victim cable but not to the disturbers. This simulated a scenario more challenging than the "worst-case" specified in the TIA-568-B.2-10 draft standard.

The tests were conducted using Solarflare's 10Xpress(TM) 10GBASE-T transceivers transmitting over seven tightly bundled 25- and 100-meter, four-connector NetClear GTX Augmented Category 6 UTP channels in a worst-case configuration (as specified in the TIA 568 B.2: Addendum 10 for Category 6A and ISO/IEC 11801: 2002 Amendment 1 for Class EA draft standards). The 10 Gb/s Ethernet signal on the victim channel was looped back at the far end transceiver while 10GBASE-T traffic was transmitted on the six "disturber" cables simultaneously. "In all test configurations no errors were detected over the full test period," states Jose Castro, Senior Project Engineer for the Data Communications Competence Center, Nexans, Inc. (New Holland, PA). "In addition to measuring the error rate, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was measured with an average of 27.6 dB being reported for the 100-meter channels, which exceeds the standards requirements," he further notes.

The IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T Standard requires that all 10G copper PHYs reach 100 meters. "Solarflare was the first company to demonstrate and sample to customers a 10GBASE-T PHY reaching 100 meters over an IEEE 802.3an standards-compliant Category 6A link. Meeting the challenge of producing a 100 meter reach 10GBASE-T product has been a priority for Solarflare since its founding," said Bruce Tolley, Vice President of Marketing at Solarflare. "The flawless operation of the Solarflare 10Xpress PHY over the NetClear GTX cabling solution at a full 100 meters is a dramatic demonstration of the robustness of both solutions," he added.

The NetClear GTX cabling solution components which were tested include the LANmark-10G UTP (Category 6A) cable from Berk-Tek, and the Clarity 10G patch panel, patch cords and TracJack workstation outlets from Ortronics/Legrand. As cabling industry leaders, Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand were the first to guarantee two complete copper channel solutions for compliance to the 10GBASE-T channel specifications identified by the IEEE. The NetClear 10G copper solutions include the NetClear GTS (FTP), introduced in January 2005, and NetClear GTX (UTP), introduced in May 2005. Both systems have guaranteed full 100 meter 10GBASE-T support since their launch.

"A growing number of NetClear 10G copper cabling systems have already been installed to meet the current and future needs of some of the most demanding customer applications in the world. This successful 10GBASE-T demonstration with Solarflare confirms that the co-engineering expertise between Berk-Tek and Ortronics/Legrand assures that our customers' networks will perform exceptionally," stated Gregg Lafontaine, Senior Product Manager, Copper for Ortronics/Legrand.

About the NetClear Alliance

NetClear is a Technology Alliance between Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, and Ortronics/Legrand to provide advanced, end-to-end co-engineered solutions for enhanced Category 5e, Category 6, Augmented Category 6 - 10 Gigabit and optical fiber channels -- all backed by a 25-year warranty.

About Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company

For more than 45 years, Berk-Tek has been a leading manufacturer of more than 100 different network copper and fiber optic cable products designed to transport high-speed voice, data and video transmissions. For more information, visit www.berktek.com.

About Ortronics//Legrand

Ortronics/Legrand is a global leader in commercial Category 5e, Category 6 and 10 Gig copper, fiber optic, wireless and residential/MDU high performance, high capacity structured cabling systems. For more information, visit http://www.ortronics.com/.

About Solarflare Communications, Inc.

Solarflare Communications Inc. is a leading silicon vendor delivering Ethernet products that enable the rapid adoption of 10 Gigabit for data center and enterprise networks. Solarflare was the first company to demonstrate and sample to customers a 10GBASE-T PHY reaching 100 meters over an IEEE 802.3an standards-compliant Category 6A link. The company's high-performance Ethernet solutions will lower the cost of 10G networking for data center and enterprise customers. The privately held company is headquartered in Irvine, California with a development center in Cambridge, UK. For more information, visit http://www.solarflare.com/.

Source: Ortronics/Legrand

CONTACT:
Carol Everett Oliver
+1-717-682-7336
carol.oliver@nexans.com

Laura Fradette
Ortronics/Legrand
+1-860-405-2861
lfradette@ortronics.com

Sacha Arts
+1-408-356-2099
sacha@sliderassociates.com

Web site: http://www.ortronics.com/
http://www.berktek.com/
http://www.solarflare.com/

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