Phone: 800-775-KRONE Web: www.KRONE.com No part of this document may be reproduced without permission. ©2001 KRONE, Inc. APPLICATION R E P O R T Utah State University Meeting Tomorrow’s Infrastructure Needs Today with KRONE’s TrueNet Structured Cabling System ® In the late 1800’s, settlers in Utah’s Cache Valley had a dream to bring higher education and greater opportunity to the people of the then rural area. With little more than simple pioneering spirit and determination, they opened the doors of the Agricultural College of Utah in 1888 to a handful of students. Now known as Utah State University (USU), that same founding spirit lives on today in Logan, Utah where present day enrollment exceeds 22,000. Utah State University has a long and decorated history of academic excellence, with 7 colleges offering 230 degrees and career options, including 88 masters and 32 doctorate degrees. The once diminu- tive college is now one of the nation’s most advanced universities with numerous accolades ranging from more than 400 payloads sent into space (including more student designed experiments than any other university) to being the 16 th most productive scientific research facility in the nation. As a leader in technology academics, the entire campus must have state of the art learning facilities. In concert with the University Central Administration, Telecommunications and Telephone Services moved forward with infrastructure upgrades. This unit of telecommunications is part of the USU Office of Information Technology Services, which is committed to moving the institution to enhanced levels of connectivity and functionality. From the original Old Main Building of 1888, to the cutting edge Engineer- ing Building of 2003, the university now boasts over 140 buildings with lecture hall facilities wired for “When we finished the evaluation KRONE was the best end- to-end cabling solution for all of our criteria.” 1 1 Phone: 800-775-KRONE Web: www.KRONE.com No part of this document may be reproduced without permission. 2001 KRONE, Inc. APPLICATION R E P O R T instant network access by all students and faculty. To complicate the issue, the university has a large distance learning program that makes up 28% of enroll- ment. To keep such advanced programs and facilities moving, USU required the most advanced communications equipment available for high-speed data transmission and storage. They realized early on that everything begins with the structured cabling system. The new Engineering Building, commis- sioned in 2003, was determined to be the ideal facility to begin the upgrade. The Bottom Line is Remarkably Simple Scott Wells, a certified RCDD and Associate Director of the Telecommuni- cations Department has more than 30 years experience in data and telecom- munications. Wells knew the challenges of supporting the new facility would require the best equipment at every layer. As part of the structured cabling selection process, USU tested numerous solutions and balanced performance, price, ease of installation and availability in their decision making process. The only solution that met all of USU’s strict criteria was KRONE. “When you get the best performance for the best price, the decision becomes pretty easy.” stated Wells. The University had planned to re-wire the campus with 3 million feet of Enhanced Category 5 (Cat 5e) cable, because that’s all they believed their budget would allow. “KRONE came in with a premier Category 6 system and said I could stay on budget. I was obviously skeptical at first, and collec- tively we had our doubts, but KRONE really did deliver.” Once the KRONE end-to-end system was determined to be the best choice for the university, the team sat down with 2 Scott Wells standing in front of the Edith Bowen Building The new engineering building was the first all KRONE installation on campus Phone: 800-775-KRONE Web: www.KRONE.com No part of this document may be reproduced without permission. ©2001 KRONE, Inc. KRONE’s technical design team to settle on the best Category 6 (Cat 6) connec- tivity products for their needs and applications. After careful consider- ation of numerous options, the team selected KRONE’s new Cat 6 HighBand® 25 termination block for its perfor- mance, density and versatility. Like all KRONE connectors, the HighBand 25 implements KRONE’s legendary LSA-Plus technology incorporating corrosion resistant silver plated contacts set at a 45 degree angle for unparalleled reliability. When hard- wired, the HighBand 25’s center patch port allows for look both ways testing and the unique ability to reroute circuits by simply inserting a patch cord. This process, called Patch-By-Exception, allows the user to quickly reroute circuits for temporary transfer, and active testing without taking the circuit down or inhibiting performance. If the circuit is to remain, then it can be re- wired at any time. To return it to its original status, the patch cord is simply removed--instantly returning the circuit to its original setting. This system is ideal for end-of-semester maintenance when circuits can easily be returned to their originally designed locale. It also equates to a tremendous cost saving on patch cords, because only 10-15% of the traditional number of patch cords are ever implemented. The end result is the cleanest, most polished, and easiest to maintain telecommunications closet. The rat’s nests of unnecessary patch cords are gone and maintenance and record keeping are suddenly simple. The entire telecommunica- tions staff at USU immediately took to the system. “This type of versatility was simply not available in other products. I love the KRONE system and I don’t ever want to go back to the 110 type connectors we were using before,” said Stephanie Roos, Telecommunications Techni- cian. Having it All For cable, USU chose KRONE’s new AirES  cable technology. AirES (Air Enhanced System) represents an incredible breakthrough in cable technology. By implementing numerous patent pending designs and manufac- turing processes, KRONE was able to incorporate air channels into the design of each conductor. The result is dra- matically improved dielectrics, which results in greater transmis- sion speed and performance. So extraordinary was this improve- ment, it allowed the conductor and insulation sizes to be re- duced. The end result is a better performing cable that is 32% smaller! This reduction in size, and the incorporation of air also means 32% less material, which directly translates to a lower fuel load in all runs and plenum spaces. In the event of a fire, the AirES cable lowers the risk of flame propagation and smoke generation, improving safety for people, and highly sensitive and valuable electronic equipment. In some areas, the university has a tremendous amount of three-quarter inch conduit and as a result had extremely limited space for new cable runs. This naturally concerned the team that the cramped spaces wouldn’t allow for proper cable lays and would effect bend radii and result in compromised performance. As a result, they con- cluded that they were going to need to run all new conduit – an incredibly costly proposition. But the KRONE AirES cable is capable of being placed directly in the existing runs saving the univer- sity tens of thousands of dollars. 3 Phone: 800-775-KRONE Web: www.KRONE.com No part of this document may be reproduced without permission. 2001 KRONE, Inc. APPLICATION R E P O R T The telecommunications team instantly realized the benefits of a smaller, faster and safer cable. “We received samples from other vendors of their Cat 6 cables with a filler and they were much stiffer than AirES”, said Wells. “AirES even pulls better cold. The old Cat 5e we were using was larger and stiffer than AirES Cat 6.” Combined with the HighBand 25, KRONE Category 6 station outlets and AirES cable, the entire end-to-end system is covered under KRONE’s revolutionary TrueNet system warranty. Guaranteed not to create any transmission errors within the physical layer (thanks to cable and connector components that are designed in parallel and matched electrically) and then proven with on-site active testing. KRONE warranties the system’s performance for 5 years and all components to be free of defect for 25 years. A safer, better-balanced system simply doesn’t exist. The KRONE Difference When prompted to point out what separated KRONE from the others, Wells replied, “The major thing KRONE did for us, that no one else could, was the combination of features that addressed all our needs; from the small diameter of the cable to the superior performance. It fit the bill for all of our issues. “When we finished the evaluation it was the best end-to-end cabling solution for all of our criteria. The new Engineering Building was our very first all KRONE application. We’ve since decided to convert the entire campus over to a KRONE end- to-end solution. KRONE has been the most responsive manufacturer in the industry, carefully listening to all the needs of their customers. That’s the difference.” For more information For more information on what sets KRONE apart, Patch-By-Exception, AirES, and the remarkable TrueNet Warranty, please call 1-800-775-5766 or visit our web site at www.kroneamericas.com 4 KRONE, INC. 7229 South Alton Way Centennial, CO 80112 Toll-Free: 1-800-775-KRONE Fax: 303-790-2117 Web: www.kroneamericas.com ® Utah State University Telecommunications and Telephone Services 4420 Old Main Hill Logan,UT 84322-4420 Phone 435-797-1276 Web: www.usu.edu/cio/ . Alton Way Centennial, CO 80112 Toll-Free: 1-8 0 0-7 75-KRONE Fax: 30 3-7 9 0-2 117 Web: www.kroneamericas.com ® Utah State University Telecommunications and Telephone. information on what sets KRONE apart, Patch-By-Exception, AirES, and the remarkable TrueNet Warranty, please call 1-8 0 0-7 7 5-5 766 or visit our web site at www.kroneamericas.com