Networking Revolution

Transcript

the entertainment networking re volution » Why the rapid rise of streaming media is making a robust network a necessity for every home designed to be better™ The Entertainment Networking Revolution Ever since the proliferation of data networking products and services in the 1990s, the field has been in a constant state of revolution as humans find faster, cheaper and better ways to communicate. Consider the expansion of networking from the phone wire to twisted pair Ethernet cable, Wi-Fi and mobile; and the expanding capacity of these networks to transmit kilobits, megabits, and now even gigabits of data per second. In parallel, there has been a rapid transition from a World Wide Web built off personal computers and host servers to a “cloud” based model that centralizes 2 2 www.legrand.us/networking www.legrand.us/networking the flow and storage of data, enhancing the way data is delivered and received across the globe. At present day, we are in the midst of another revolution in the home network – the entertainment networking revolution. Previously, typical web users uploaded and downloaded information in the form of web pages, documents and programs. Only recently have consumers begun streaming entertainment and communication media such as YouTube, Hulu, Pandora, Netflix and Skype. Entertainment networking is drastically different from ordinary data networking, requiring multiple times more bandwidth to support the flawless transmission of audio and video to PCs, televisions, tablets and smartphones. Not only is audio and video streaming bandwidth intensive, but increasing demands for high definition and 3D feeds with faster refresh rates multiplies the data requirements much further. These factors help explain how Netflix, only five years after streaming the first movie off its subscription-based service, accounted for almost a third of all bandwidth use in North America during peak viewing hours in 2011, making it the largest source of Internet traffic on the continent. When the network performs properly, the benefits of entertainment networking are clear. No longer are hard copies of music and video necessary when they can be stored, accessed and streamed from the cloud. Video gamers can experience flawless multi-player gameplay while families and friends video call anyone in the world in real time with robust home networks. Additionally, homeowners have never before had so much access to streaming content at an affordable price, thanks to new cable TV services and emerging web-based services accessed through Ethernet connected devices. As consumers realize the benefits of entertainment networking in increasing numbers, new challenges have also emerged. The revolution occurred so quickly that service providers are upgrading their infrastructure at an unprecedented pace to prepare their landline and mobile networks for the exploding demand for data. Yet as service providers have invested billions of dollars upgrading the infrastructure connecting to the home, homeowners have fallen behind in upgrading the networking infrastructure within the home. A network is only as strong as its weakest link, which could be outdated equipment, substandard cables or inserts, a faulty installation, or a weak wireless signal from the nearest access point. Thankfully, with new technologies, updated equipment, and innovative infrastructure solutions, homes of any age can be equipped for the entertainment networking revolution without a significant investment of time and money. Cisco projects for North America that the average Internet household will generate 131 gigabytes of traffic per month in 2016, up 160% from 50.3 gigabytes per month in 2011. They also project that the average mobile connection will generate 2.5 gigabytes of mobile data traffic per month in 2017, up from .566 gigabytes in 2012 (a 342% increase). Specific to web-to-TV traffic, they project a 3-fold increase in 2016 over 2011 figures. www.legrand.us/networking www.legrand.us/networking 3 3 wired Networking Consumers may not be familiar with the nomenclature of Category cabling and RJ45 jacks, but chances are that if they’ve ever plugged web connectivity into a device, it’s through a twisted pair Cat 5, Cat 5e, or Cat 6 cable with an RJ45 jack. The signal that most commonly transmits over twisted pair cable is called Ethernet. This solution provides the fastest widely-available local area network (LAN) solution for homeowners, with throughput capabilities of up to a Gigabit per second (Gbps). Using commercial grade equipment and cables, wired Ethernet can transmit in a building at speeds of up to 10Gbps. As new applications of home networks hit the market, innovative uses of the twisted pair cable are penetrating the home networking space. One innovative technology is Power over Ethernet (PoE), a technology that transmits power as well as data to intelligent devices such as Wireless Access Points and IP Cameras. This allows installers more flexibility to mount products around the home without the need to run a power cord to an outlet. This technology is intelligent enough to accept power only when the installation is done correctly. This protects the smart device’s delicate circuitry from wrongly configured power flows. Another innovative use of the twisted pair cable is its ability to transmit an HDMI signal over long distances through a technology called HDBaseT. With HDBaseT, a homeowner can retrofit a structured wiring system with equipment that can stream high definition video, audio and fast Ethernet to displays around the home. HDBaseT equipment can also pass infrared signals, which allows a user to remotely control equipment located hundreds of feet away in a basement or closet. With PoE and HDBaseT technologies, the twisted pair cable has shown its many additional uses beyond Ethernet and voice transmission. A disadvantage of Ethernet solutions is that many homes have limited coverage. In homes that aren’t prewired with twisted pair cable, installation of new wiring in the walls is typically costly and labor intensive. wired Networking (Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a) Pros 1. Fastest network speeds 2. Highly resistant to interference 3. Can transmit power to smart devices with PoE 4. Can transmit HDMI signals over long distances with HDBaseT 4 www.legrand.us/networking Cons 1. Not ideal for mobile applications 2. Many existing homes lack sufficient coverage 3. Retrofit in-wall installations are intrusive and costly cat 3 Best application: 10BaseT Ethernet at 10Mbps Bandwidth: 16MHz cat 5 Best application: 100BaseT Ethernet at 100Mbps Bandwidth: 100MHz networking Cable Reference Guide Cat 3 cat 5e Best application: 1000BaseT Ethernet at 250Mbps Bandwidth: 100MHz was a popular cabling format for computer network administrators in the early 1990s. It was superseded when Cat 5 became standardized because of its higher performance. It is used only in two-line phone systems. Cat 5 was developed to support faster 100BaseT Ethernet standards. When Gigabit Ethernet (1000BaseT) standards were introduced, the Cat 5 cable became vulnerable to crosstalk, which caused interference and signal loss within the transmission. Cat 5e superseded Cat 5 in 1999. It was designed to reduce crosstalk when transmitting 1000BaseT Ethernet. The “e” in Cat 5e stands for “enhanced”. It is the most widely used cable in residential installations today. Cat 6 cat 6 Best application: 1000BaseT at 1000Mbps (1Gbps) Bandwidth: 250MHz was designed to transmit 1000BaseT at Gigabit speeds. Cat 6 is a wider cable than Cat 5e with more twists within its pairs to reduce crosstalk. Cat 6 can also be used in shorter runs for 10GBaseT Ethernet, but is vulnerable to alien crosstalk in a crowded cable environment. Cat6a was designed to transmit 10GBaseT, even in commercial environments. Cat 6a defends against alien crosstalk, which is crosstalk between cables in a crowded installation. The “a” in Cat 6a stands for “augmented”. cat 6a Best application: 10GBaseT at 10Gbps Bandwidth: 500MHz What’s the difference between Bits and Bytes? Network speeds are typically calculated in Bits, while files are calculated in Bytes. A Byte is 8 Bits. Why are networking cables twisted? The twists in a cable are meant to defend against crosstalk on the line. The physics of this phenomenon are complex, but the twists prevent the signal running on one twisted pair in the cable from jumping to another twisted pair, causing interference. www.legrand.us/networking 5 Homes with structured wiring systems are best equipped to transmit the fastest and most reliable data signals throughout the home network. why Structured Wiring? In the past decade, structured wiring has become standard in new homes to bring order to video, voice, and data distribution. A typical structured wiring system receives the incoming cable TV, landline phone and data signal from the service providers and routes the cables from a central location to rooms around the home. Often, the central location is an enclosure in the basement. Once installed correctly with high performance equipment, the new homeowner is set to experience top of line video, voice and networking performance in the present and be prepared to adapt their equipment to changing technologies. With gigabit-speed enabled routers and switches now available, structured wiring system owners can upgrade their old equipment in only a few minutes by removing the old module and snapping in the new one. These homeowners are also well positioned to benefit from many emerging connected home and entertainment networking technologies, which can easily retrofit into their enclosures. www.legrand.us/networking 7 MoCA is an ideal solution for entertainment networking, since almost every television or cable box in the home is already connected to coax. 8 www.legrand.us/networking Coax Networking One emerging technology in wired networking is the ability to transmit a network over the coax cabling in the home. This technology is often referred to as MoCA, named after the Multimedia over Coax Alliance, the leading standards authority developing and promoting it. From a technical standpoint, a coax network is well equipped to carry a MoCA signal, which travels on a frequency band unused by cable TV transmissions. The coax cable is also well insulated against interference, protecting against deterioration of the MoCA signal. Formed only in 2004, MoCA continues to gain support from large and small corporations and organizations in the industry to proliferate the technology and improve its capabilities. The most prevalent MoCA standard today is 1.1, with maximum throughput of 170Mbps. The emerging MoCA 2.0 standard is able to achieve throughputs of up to 800Mbps, more than four times the 1.1 standard. According to Parks Associates, 80 percent of American homes are wired with coax cabling in multiple rooms of the home. This allows the many homeowners without a full structured wiring network to realize the benefits of a fast and reliable wired home network. MoCA is also an ideal solution for entertainment networking, since almost every television or cable box in the home is already connected to coax. With emerging demand for multiroom DVR, many content providers are using coax networks to enable communications to TVs around the home as a value-add to solutions like Verizon’s FiOS service. Independently of the service provider, homeowners can use coax networks to connect any Ethernet enabled device to the web to stream shows, movies, videos and music off of platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and Pandora. Newer hardware technologies such as streaming boxes (i.e. Roku and Apple TV) and smart TVs enable even more functionality out of these networks. coa x Net working Pros 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Fast network speeds Highly resistant to interference No new wires needed in most applications Solutions are cost competitive Easy to install and configure Cons 1. Not ideal for mobile applications 2. Not yet compatible with satellite TV providers www.legrand.us/networking 9 powerline Networking In the absence of adequate twisted pair or coax terminations, homeowners can take advantage of the ability to extend an existing Ethernet network over the home’s electrical power lines. Although electricians in the 20th century didn’t wire homes with networking in mind, 21st century innovators such as the HomePlug Powerline Alliance members developed a standard to make powerline networking a fast, reliable, and easy-to-configure networking alternative. The proliferation of this networking medium has faced some resistance from professional installers and consumers alike. After the HomePlug Power Alliance released its first specification in 2001, early adopters were frustrated by issues affecting the speed and reliability of the connection. The specification was also only capable of 14Mbps speeds. Since then however, the HomePlug AV (2005) and AV2 (2012) specifications have 10 www.legrand.us/networking delivered drastic improvements in speed, functionality and reliability. The AV2 specification now advertises maximum throughput capabilities exceeding 500Mbps. Out of all commercially available wired and wireless home network equipment, powerline modules are the simplest to install and configure. By plugging in two network modules to power outlets in the home, a network connection is automatically confirmed in seconds. Each module contains Ethernet ports and can act as both the transmitter and receiver of the data signal. New products containing integrated wireless access points are adding more flexibility to this solution. Popular applications of powerline networks today are to quickly connect a single device to the network, whether it be a video game console, Ethernet connected Blu-ray player, or likewise. The ability to play a multiplayer game online with people around the world is an increasingly popular feature. However, even the slightest lag in a sports or first-person shooter game can significantly reduce the quality of game play and put the user at a disadvantage. As important as this may be to a teenager, mom and dad may not be enticed to wire the playroom simply to ensure reliable gaming. Using a powerline solution, an existing network can easily be extended into this room minutes after opening the packaging. Despite its benefits, powerline technology also has its detractors. One specific obstacle is surge protection. A surge protector will filter out the network if it lies between the endpoints of the network. Another factor affecting performance is whether the house has two or three-wire electrical systems. The newer HomePlug standards utilize all three wires to maximize performance, so older installations with two wire systems will have reduced performance capabilities. One final disadvantage to note is that electrical wires are more prone to interference than coax and twisted pair cables. Like all wired and wireless networking types, powerline networks have unique strengths and weaknesses. Homeowners should weigh these carefully to best equip their home networks for their preferred applications. powerline Net working Pros 1. Fast network speeds 2. Easy to set up and configure 3. Easily portable between different applications Cons 1. Vulnerable to interference 2. Some electrical configurations can obstruct a successful network connection Out of all commercially available wired and wireless home network equipment, powerline modules are the simplest to install and configure. www.legrand.us/networking 11 wireless Networking Wi-Fi is the leading wireless standard for network connectivity in homes and commercial buildings around the world. According to Strategy Analytics, 61 percent of U.S. households now have Wi-Fi networks. In many contexts, the terms “wireless network” and “Wi-Fi” are synonymous. As such, there is fluency in the public domain with using wireless networks and, to a lesser degree, installing and configuring them. The Wi-Fi Alliance formed in 1999 to align the networking industry towards a common goal of transmitting data wirelessly in a local area network (LAN). The Alliance’s fourth set of 802.11 standards, 802.11n, was released in 2009 and has maximum speed capabilities of 300Mbps. Previous standards were 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a. The 802.11n standard is the first standard since 1999 enabled to broadcast over two frequency bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz), providing greater flexibility for more complex installs. Wi-Fi has successfully proliferated around the world largely because it is a trusted and reliable technology for mobile applications. For years, people at home and work have connected laptop computers to the web with Wi-Fi. More recently, tablets, e-readers, and other portable devices have also been connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Largely because of the 802.11n standard, many entrust their Wi-Fi networks to stream video and audio, play a network-connected video game, or complete a large download of files and programs. WIRELESS NETWORKING Pros 1. Ideal for mobile applications 2. A near ubiquitous solution globally 3. High performance for most common network applications 12 www.legrand.us/networking Cons 1. Limited bandwidth and range 2. Vulnerable to interference and drop offs 3. Less secure than wired networks On the downside, wireless networks can have performance and security flaws. One limit of Wi-fi is its broadcasting bandwidth. There are a limited number of channels in a broadcast spectrum that the access point can transmit data on. Today’s devices are better able to identify low traffic channels, but the amount of traffic on the spectrum is rapidly increasing as more devices are connecting to Wi-Fi. In areas of high population density, bandwidth can easily run short during peak usage hours, consequentially decreasing network performance. There are other factors that can hurt network performance as well, such as distance, construction elements (i.e. walls) and nearby operating appliances. Many entrust their Wi-Fi networks to stream video and audio, play a networkconnected video game, or complete a large download of files and programs. Security is a concern with wireless technology because the signal can’t easily be contained to the property boundaries of the user. These concerns have been partially alleviated with specification improvements, but a wireless network will naturally be more at risk than a closed wired network. Many users also find password protection to be an inconvenience when connecting new devices to the network. The future of Wi-Fi is the 802.11ac standard, expected to be ratified in late 2013. The standard will allow users to receive throughputs exceeding 500Mbps and will be the first to broadcast solely on the 5GHz frequency. The 5GHz frequency allows for more broadcast traffic than 2.4GHz, which should make Wi-Fi less susceptible to interference from other devices. However, 5GHz radio waves have less range than 2.4GHz. Another obstacle for this standard is regulatory issues that affect the availability of the 5GHz band in some parts of the U.S and areas of the world. In summary, between 802.11ac and 802.11n, consumers will have two viable Wi-Fi standards to network with wireless enabled devices in the coming years. www.legrand.us/networking 13 Cellular Networks Once valued simply for their enablement of mobile voice services, cellular networks are now relied upon by many to access video, audio and data over the Internet on many devices. This category encompasses a number of familiar technology terms, such as GSM, 3G and 4G LTE. The newest technology of the three is 4G LTE, capable of transmitting download speeds of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds of up to 50Mbps. A recent upgrade to LTE that is being developed and trialed is LTE Advanced, theoretically capable of 1Gbps download speeds and 500Mbps upload speeds. The significance of LTE is its highly improved capability to perform complex tasks on the network through a mobile device. With Americans rapidly activating smartphones and tablets on LTE networks, mobile networks have naturally entered the home as an alternative way to access the Internet. In the security industry, some providers are now selling systems that connect to cellular networks instead of landlines. Theoretically, the LTE technology is powerful enough that it could displace other more established home networking technologies. In practice, demand for mobile networks from smartphones and tablets alone stretched mobile infrastructures to their limits. Although network providers invest billions of dollars annually upgrading their mobile infrastructure, they are having trouble keeping up with growing demand. Users who have tried to use a mobile network during a major sporting event have likely experienced connectivity issues due to an overload of demand. To control demand for mobile data, many providers have implemented policies to cap data usage or slow down network speeds for data-hungry subscribers. In May 2012, Verizon announced the launch of a service called HomeFusion Broadband, where Verizon provides consumers a home network that uses the 4G LTE network. The service requires professional installation of an antenna on the roof to pick up the best LTE signal. The antenna connects to a router which can then transmit wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi through the home. These types of cellular home network services are expensive and limited. Current offerings have a recurring monthly charge comparable to a mobile data plan, along with a monthly data allowance of 10GB-30GB. Advertised speeds of the Verizon service today are 5-12Mbps for downloads and 2-5Mbps for uploads. With Cisco calculating that the average American household consumed 50.3GB of data per month in 2011, cellular home network solutions are not yet feasible for the typical household. cellular networks Pros 1. Rapidly improving technology and infrastructure 2. Mobile device compatibility 14 www.legrand.us/networking Cons 1. Service plans are expensive 2. Few applications with the home network 3. Vulnerable to network traffic and other sources of interference Streaming entertainment is becoming a primary source of media for many, making the performance of the stream as vital as the cable TV signal or the DVD/Blu-ray player. conclusion According to recent statistics from the Consumer Electronics Association, the entertainment revolution is well under way. the stream as vital as the cable TV signal or the DVD/ Blu-ray player. Although people are accustomed to load times, buffering, and latency out of early forms of online media, the same tolerance will not exist for those expecting higher performance entertainment. Eight in 10 U.S households now use a home network, with more people than ever choosing to locate their primary home network router in the living room over the home office. Thirty-one percent of U.S. broadband households regularly stream TV shows and movies to their TVs from the web, a figure that was close to zero five years ago. As the leader in connected home infrastructure, Legrand has released a full suite of networking solutions that will help homeowners increase the quality of their home entertainment experience. Building upon a history of infrastructure excellence, Legrand will continue to provide homeowners the peace of mind that their home is fit to support the benefits of an everchanging and accelerating technological world. Streaming entertainment is becoming a primary source of media for many, making the performance of www.legrand.us/networking 15 ©2013 by Legrand. All Rights Reserved. rev.03/13 Part# 1308229 1m-LF/TK Home Systems 301 Fulling Mill Road, Suite G Middletown, PA 17057 (800) 321-2343 www.legrand.us 570 Applewood Crescent Vaughan, Ontario L4K 4B4 905.738.9195 www.legrand.ca