Next-Gen Devices Solving Data Transfer Problem

Across a swathe of industries and applications, the challenge is how to best to manage increasingly large data volumes without compromising either the reliability or availability of a network. The sectors facing this challenge include transport (such as local public transport, railway and metro stations as well as airports and rail vehicles); oil and gas; power transmission and power distribution.

Data transmission enables devices, or components within the devices, to speak to each other in order to transfer data. Laura Mellon, Content Marketing Manager of the US-headquartered global content delivery network, Quantil, identifies the two ways in which data transmission is provided: parallel transmission and serial transmission. Parallel data transmission sends multiple data bits at the same time over multiple channels while serial data transmission sends data bits one after another over a single channel.

The main advantage of parallel data transmission over serial transmission methods is one of speed. As a result, this method is used when a large amount of time-sensitive data needs to be sent quickly. However, although parallel transmission can transfer data faster, it requires more transmission channels than serial transmission. This can result in distortion or interference. Serial transmission, meanwhile, which can be either asynchronous or synchronous, is normally used for the long-distance transfer of small amounts of data. Because the bits are transmitted in a specific order, data integrity is maintained.

Next-gen Belden backbone switches

Belden Inc., the developer of signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, has unveiled a new version of its Hirschmann Layer 3 backbone switches - the DRAGON MACH4000/MACH4500 series. These ‘next-generation’ devices enable larger amounts of data to be transferred faster without affecting network availability or network performance. Product manager Sebastian Preiss said that the MACH4000 backbone switch is equipped with additional flexibility and bandwidth.

“The new devices help administrators meet changing data needs while ensuring their networks deliver the highest levels of performance," he added. The series offers various innovative interfaces and four- or eight-port variants that can be configured for 2.5 Gbps or 10 Gbps. They are especially suitable for applications that require high bandwidth requirements and reliable data transmission.

Huawei launches industry first

China’s Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices unveiled in January what it describes as an ‘industry first.’ The CloudEngine 16800 is the industry’s first data centre switch to be built for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era. It features an embedded AI chip, 48-port 400GE line card per slot and the capability to evolve to the autonomous driving network. It overcomes the computing power limitations caused by packet loss on the traditional Ethernet and increases the AI computing power from 50 percent to 100 percent.

It also improves the data storage Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS) by 30 percent. Leon Wang, General Manager of Huawei Data Center Network Domain, said, “Huawei CloudEngine series data center switches have been successfully launched into commercial use for more than 6000 customers...We launched the CloudEngine 16800 to help customers accelerate intelligent transformation, achieve pervasive use of AI, and jointly build a fully connected and intelligent world.”

Acceed data transfer for IoT

Dusseldorf, Germany based Acceed GmbH, partner for industrial networks and smart control recently launched a new IO radio gateway. The ORIO-G30218 is a solution for the transfer of serial data and switch signals via various near-field and mobile telecommunications protocols. “The gateway is suitable for IoT applications, intelligent building technology or Smart Home systems if a large number of sensor data and status signals are to be recorded, registered and processed,” says the company’s WebSite.

The gateway has 4 digital inputs and outputs and 2 serial interfaces. The serial interfaces work with baud rates of up to 921.6 K. The Modbus, MQTT (protocol specifically for machine-to-machine application cases) and CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol, also referred to as ‘HTTP for IoT’) are both supported. The protocols NB-IoT (narrow band-IoT), CAT M1 and CAT 1 (LTE), ZigBee and LoRa (Low Power Wireless Network protocol) are integrated.

The LoRa protocol uses the European frequency bands and is suitable for low data quantities and larger distances of approximately 3 to 12 km. With speeds of 10 Mbit/s in the downlink and 5 Mbit/s in the uplink, LTE Cat 1 is suitable for more functional M2M and IoT applications, also video streaming and voice over LTE. The areas of use in addition to recording measurement include remote diagnosis with video transfer or transport and logistics applications.

Outlook

The task for data users going forward is to discover the optimal and most cost-effective technology for bandwidth delivery with extreme-density networks. The distance over which data is being transmitted is increasing. And the challenge is to develop products that can scale effectively to reach the high fibre counts that are on the horizon. This will become even more pressing as the fibre-intensive 5G era looms.