Computer Networking Breakthroughs You've Always Wanted

By Russ Gundrum and Don McCarty

Unlike any other book in the world, this book discloses important, new information in the computer networking field that has never been brought to your attention! The technical facts of many problems affecting telecommunication and computer networks haven't changed since the author wrote his first book on the subject in 1982, but the equipment and network applications sure have, along with their solutions. And there's a whole new generation of engineers, managers, and technicians who aren't familiar with the past development and history of these networks, but who could benefit greatly from that knowledge. This is especially the case in the local area networking (LAN) environment and the backhaul networks that are being used to provide Wi-Fi and 5G wireless access. It's the author's sincere hope and desire that what the reader discovers in this book will be very helpful in designing, installing, and maintaining very cost-effective, reliable, and high-performance computer and telecom networks. This kind of information is especially needed in the age of the Internet of Things, as well as understanding that you don't have to use fiber optic cables in order to achieve these successful results!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543954050

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Copyright 2019, Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Print ISBN 978-1-54395-404-3

eBook ISBN 978-1-54395-405-0

This book is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state, and local laws, and all rights are reserved, including resale rights. Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content in this guide, they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. You should use this information as you see fit, and at your own risk. Your particular situation may not be exactly suited to the examples illustrated here; you should adjust your use of the information and recommendations accordingly. The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain the reader, so nothing in this book should replace common sense, legal, or other professional advice. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if one of these terms if used.

This book is designed to provide information about the subject matter covered herein. It is being provided with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Russ Gundrum is a veteran of outside plant copper with an unique vision combining strong technical understanding, high motivation, and unique AT&T experience with making field systems, including in particular DSL, work. This text is an invaluable contribution to the field and encouraged for both the young student learning as well as the experienced field engineer looking for information.

Dr. John Cioffi

Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering

Stanford University

Father of DSL

August 29, 2018

Table of Contents

Epigraph

Dedication

Foreword

Chapter 1: That Antiquated and Obsolete Copper Network…Really?

Chapter 2: How’d I Get Started in This Stuff in the First Place?

Chapter 3: Understanding the Physical Layer

Chapter 4: Wasn’t Twisted Pair Supposed to be the Answer?

Chapter 5: Wasn’t Shielded Cable Supposed to be the Answer?

Chapter 6: Gundrum’s Three Hard-Hat Rules of Grounding

Chapter 7: The Degree is Engineering Technology…The Career is Engineering

Chapter 8: Understanding Telecommunications, Its Problems, and Its Solutions

Chapter 9: Birth of Telecom Problem Solvers

Chapter 10: The Infamous Three-Day Seminars

Chapter 11: Articles, Articles and More Articles!

Chapter 12: I Was Once a Master Franchisee

Chapter 13: My One-Year Stint with the Cable Guys and This Neat Little One-Wire Coaxial System

Chapter 14: A Six Sigma Level of Performance Is What Is Needed

Chapter 15: What Does the IEEE Have to Say About All of This?

Chapter 16: Understanding the Internet, Intranets, and the IoT, Including Your Next Born

Chapter 17: The AT&T Technology Lab at the University of Houston

Chapter 18: G.fast, MGfast, XG-FAST, and TDSL

Chapter 19: Wi-Fi Is the Network!

Chapter 20: But What About 5G?

Chapter 21: Oh, and Have You Heard About the EMP Threat?

Chapter 22: OK, Now What Needs to Be Done?

Endnotes

Appendix I: Continuation of First SNC Newsletter in Fall 1978

Appendix II: Continuation of Second SNC Newsletter in Spring 1979

Appendix III: Continuation of Third SNC Newsletter in Spring 1980

Appendix IV: Selected Highlights from My Twelve Articles 1980 – 2016

Epigraph

"Induction has caused more unproductive effort to be spent on telephone plant than any other force disturbing wire systems. In the past, ineffective measures, along with no real solutions, created a nightmare of noise complaints and equipment malfunctions and cast a pall of doubt on the ability of the most sincere and hard-working people in the telephone industry.

Along with this came the frustration of engineers and managers unable to provide a consistently reliable, working telephone system."

Bob Stoneman – Inventor of the Induction Neutralizing Transformer (INT) in the late 1960s

First two paragraphs to the introduction of Russ Gundrum’s first book on Power Line Interference; Problems and Solutions published by Lee’s abc of the Telephone, 1982 and 1984

Dedication

Hobie Gundrum, My Dad and Hero! At His Home in Bozeman, Montana

I couldn’t think of a more deserving person to whom to dedicate this book. Without his help, inspiration, and great advice as a kid growing up in the small west Texas town of Colorado City, I would have never had the interesting career that enabled me to write this book!

You see, my dad is an inventor, craftsman, and man with the immense skill to be able to make things work. He taught me so many things, but not in my area of interest, which was in electronics and communications. But it was his encouragement to keep trying and never give up on my ideas that led me to several successful science fair projects in high school that set the stage for what would happen in my life.

I grew up in the late 1960’s when the school had few resources and no one was interested in what I was doing – except my dad. Even though he didn’t really understand what I was doing, he did what he could to assist my research efforts, including providing a space for my workshop and other resources for electronic equipment and tools, even when money was very tight.

But his wisdom and fine character really paid off. As I was struggling to find special devices for my projects, he suggested that I just write to the companies that produced them and ask for a sample. For my second science fair project, I needed good quality Polaroid lenses to have a polarized light source so I could electromagnetically rotate the light wave (via a physics concept I had learned about called Faraday’s rotation). Dad’s side business was professional photography and he suggested I write to the Polaroid Corporation, which I did. They were nice enough to send me some high-quality polarizers, which worked great!

At dad’s suggestion, I sent them a thank you letter. Remember, this was before the Internet and e-mail, but snail mail did the trick. After lots of trials and tribulations, I was able to finish building my device, and effectively demonstrated what I called polarization modulation. I won numerous awards at the science fair held in Abilene, TX, including a trip to the International Science Fair in San Francisco, CA, in 1967.

Afterward, dad told me to send Polaroid an update on my success, and ask if they had any college scholarships that I might qualify for – and they sent me one! But the big opportunity came when dad suggested that I ask if they had any summer job opportunities. Believe it or not, they offered me a job during the summer of 1969 in their research laboratories in Cambridge, MA! I worked on the focused flash system for the top secret SX-70 camera. Although I didn’t work directly for the founder of the company, Dr. Edwin Land, I did see him working on various projects in his lab occasionally – even as a busy, successful Fortune 500 CEO. Needless to say, that summer job was an exciting experience that gave me a taste of what could happen when I applied myself, plus network with the right people.

Needless to say, that summer job was an exciting experience that gave me a taste of what could happen when I applied myself, plus network with the right people.

The year before the Polaroid science fair experience, I was building a less elaborate communications system and needed a gallium arsenide (GaAs) chip. I had read about the Gunn effect, discovered by an IBM researcher by the name of J. B. Ian Gunn, and thought it could be applied in cars for automatic braking systems. Gunn applied around fifty volts of pulsating direct current (DC) across GaAs and generated microwave oscillations. (The use of the Gunn effect diode in brakes eventually happened, but not for another forty or so years).

For my science fair experiment, I thought it would be cool if I could develop a working microwave solid-state oscillator – if I could just get my hands on some of that material. Dad said, Well, why don’t you write to the man and ask him for some samples? Something I learned from dad early on was the simple lesson that it doesn’t hurt to ask; the worse thing they could say is no, but who knows what would happen if they said yes?!

Something I learned from dad early on was the simple lesson that it doesn’t hurt to ask...

As you have probably guessed by now, Dr. Gunn graciously sent me some GaAs chips, which I placed between two copper electrodes in the well where a flashlight bulb would go. Thus, the reflector looked like a small parabolic microwave dish. And it worked. At the 1966 science fair in Abilene, TX, I won numerous awards, including a trip to NASA in Houston and a week-long trip to Long Beach, CA, for a cruise on a Navy guided-missile destroyer.

By now you probably know the rest of the story. Dad continued to give me suggestions and reminders, because, remember, I was a typical high school football player – which is a very big sport in Texas – and I had lots of things on my mind other than writing thank-you letters and keeping companies like IBM informed of my successes. But letters I sent. And I also received a college scholarship from IBM, as well as a job offer to work for Dr. Gunn in his lab at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. And, need I say it? Another exciting summer job that really got me interested in working in the field!

Incidentally, I didn’t work on solid-state microwave oscillators in Dr. Gunn’s lab the summer of 1970, as he had long moved out of that research and into three-dimensional viewing glasses. However, I found that work quite interesting as well.

The following summer, I thought I had pulled off the ultimate job in my career field with Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ. I was planning my trip up there in the spring when I received a letter requesting verification that I was a PhD student. When I responded that I hadn’t yet received my BS degree, they declined the offer, much to my dismay. Scrambling, I found another job working for Atlantic Richfield on their pipeline maintenance crew along the Houston Ship Channel, which was a very hard, dirty job, especially during the steamy summer months. At least it was good money, and it taught me to be sure and get my degree so I would never have to do that kind of hard manual labor for a living again!

So, thanks dad – for not only all your love and understanding, especially in those trying teenager years, but for providing me with the guidance and assistance I needed to launch the career I’ve enjoyed for the past forty-six years. Because as I’ve just described, it never would have happened without your devotion and encouragement!

Foreword

As a seasoned telecommunications engineer and project manager, Russ Gundrum has been focused on telecom and computer networking reliability problems, their analysis, and solutions since graduating from college in 1972. After starting his career writing Bell System Practices for AT&T on inductive interference, he was exposed early on to the controversial and provocative nature of this subject matter, which is the main content of this book. He quickly learned that it’s not just understanding the technical aspects of the subject, which can be very complicated and hard to understand, but why the topic can be so controversial.

He quickly learned that it’s not just understanding the technical aspects of the subject, which can be very complicated and hard to understand, but why the topic can be so controversial.

After leaving AT&T the first time, he was able to publish a book on his experiences in 1982 titled Power Line Interference: Problems & Solutions which was Volume 14 of Lee’s abc of the Telephone series of training manuals. He always liked the name of these books, as they covered the entire gamut of telecommunications and provided basic information in a simplified manner to help people better understand how everything worked. Unfortunately, the publisher went out of business in the late 1990s and the manuals are no longer available. But when Google started its Google Book’s project in late 2004, Russ made sure that they included his book so the information wouldn’t be lost in the dust bin of history. It can be downloaded for free here:¹

Russ was thrilled to have known and worked with the inventor of the induction neutralizing transformer, Bob Stoneman, during the years he worked for the only manufacturer of the equipment in Oshkosh, WI, from the summer of 1978 to the fall of 1986. Bob was a fun-loving character and made their many travels together very interesting and pleasurable. When Bob agreed to write the very provocative, but still true to this day introduction to Russ’ first book, Russ felt extremely honored. He felt it was such a powerful message that he made part of it the epigraph to this book.

It’s also worth recognizing Charlie Suche, who wrote the foreword to Russ’ first book. Here is his message in its entirety, since it is also still true today: "The telecommunications industry is experiencing power induction problems today that were anticipated by responsible and knowledgeable engineers many years ago. Many fine inductive coordination practices were written prior to and during the time power companies started converting their primary distribution systems from delta to grounded-wye operation.

Unfortunately though, the rapid growth of both telephone and power systems, along with the application of questionable economic measures in the development of certain telecommunications equipment and materials, left many of the earlier requirements in the wake of what many of us regretfully remember as progress.

However, a day of reckoning may be at hand. Many of the telecommunication services now appearing on the horizon have placed new significance on the transmission quality of telephone cable pairs and other types of voice channels.

Although Russ Gundrum may be considered a member of today’s telephone generation, it is made evident by his writing, that he possesses the rare ability to combine an outstanding technical knowledge of the general field of inductive coordination, with the practical application necessary to provide able assistance to all levels of power and telephone people in the field. His general attitude toward the problem is a throwback to a particular breed of engineers around the country who waged an up-hill battle against the growing effects of power induction throughout the years.

The author has picked the general subject problem of power induction up off the floor and displayed it in its proper importance on top of the table. A book of this type has been a long time coming. It should be made available to all levels of power and telephone people who are responsible for or interested in the quality of both present and future telecommunication services available to customers being served by each industry."

However, a day of reckoning may be at hand. Many of the telecommunication services now appearing on the horizon have placed new significance on the transmission quality of telephone cable pairs and other types of voice channels.

Thanks Charlie, as Russ couldn’t have said it any better himself!

It’s worth noting that Russ’ Volume 14 of Lee’s abc of the Telephone was focused on wide area networks (WANs) and targeted to the communications service providers (CSPs) who design, install and maintain the majority of the telecom lines in service around the world. At the time he wrote the book, most of those lines, at least at the local service level, were metallic, wireline cables, using Category 3 balanced twisted pair facilities. And, except at the service drops into customer homes, or the actual wiring inside businesses, homes, or apartments, those cables were shielded.

His first book focused on the facts, without explaining the interesting background of where the information originated. However, the intent of this book is to not only be an informative, easy, and fun read, but to provide this history so the reader can better understand where the industry has been and where it may be going in the twenty-first century. So enjoy all the pictures, but if you want all the graphs, illustrations and other more detailed technical information, then be sure and click on all the links to the many references.

Russ has had a lot of new experiences and learnings over the past thirty-six years since writing that book, changing his outlook on this subject matter, especially in the related field of computer networking, wireless communications, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

It wasn’t until 2007, when he was offered the opportunity of teaching a senior-level undergraduate class on Advanced Microcomputer Networks at the University of Houston’s College of Technology, that he began to consider local area networks (LANs) just as important as WANs are to the telecom industry. He is teaching his nineteenth class in the fall of 2018, and still requires students to complete a project on Internet Protocol television (IPTV) in lieu of a final exam. He asserts that video streaming is one of the most advanced networking circuit applications, which everyone takes for granted these days. This is only true when the service works well, but when it doesn’t, then it helps to understand how the magic works. Some students report that the final project is one of the highlights of their undergraduate studies!

Over the years Russ has taught other networking classes at the college, such as computer networking, data communications, and telecommunications. In the spring of 2002, he developed and taught the first class in advanced wireless networks for the new masters in network communications program at the college. For essentially a wireline guy, he found it was definitely an interesting experience! But he quickly learned there are many similarities between wireless and wireline networks, as well as the importance of how they must work together seamlessly. Russ has focused a lot of his attention and class instruction on cellular and Wi-Fi because they are so ubiquitous and important to our society. And, yes, they also suffer with interference issues.

As former AT&T Executive Vice President of Construction & Engineering Ernie Carey was often fond of saying, There are a lot of wires in wireless! But you don’t find much information on that part of the network these days. Russ wanted to update his first book, not because the technical facts of the problems and solutions have changed, but because the equipment and network applications sure have! Plus, there’s a whole new generation of engineers, managers, and technicians who aren’t familiar with the development and history of these networks, and who would benefit greatly from that information – especially when considering the LAN environment and the networks that are being provided to the Wi-Fi access points and the proposed network deployment of small cells for 5G.

There are a lot of wires in wireless!

As mentioned in the book’s subtitle, so many of these wireline and wireless networks are being used to provide IoT access, which will be so important to our society in the future. It’s Russ’ sincere hope and desire that the reader will find the information contained in this book to be very helpful and useful in designing, installing, and maintaining a very cost-effective, reliable and high-performance computer and telecommunications network.

If anyone would like to make any comments about the book or ask any questions of the author, then please don’t hesitate in contacting him, using the contact information found at the back of the book in chapter 22. Thank you for taking the interest and time in reading his material.

OSP Expert Columnist for ISE Magazine http://www.isemag.com/author/donmccarty/ President and Lead Trainer, McCarty Products, Inc. http://www.mccartyinc.com/ Co-Author of Lee’s abc of the Telephone Volume 16 on The Fine Art of Fault Locating in 1989

Chapter 1

That Antiquated and Obsolete Copper Network…Really?

I hope this provocative chapter title helps to capture the intent of this book and to make you understand that this original network infrastructure that was designed for voice communications over a hundred years ago is still just as resilient and viable a transmission medium for the high bandwidth data circuits of the twenty-first century. I may be one of the few people left to be concerned about copper facilities, because most people are either talking about 5G cellular and/or fiber, and very few seem to care about the wireline world anymore. I’m certainly not against either of these great networking technologies, and even have a chapter devoted to not just 5G, but its big competitor, Wi-Fi.

I may be one of the few people left to be concerned about copper facilities…

You may be reading this book because you’re in computer networking and wondering about the breakthroughs you’ve always wanted to know about. Well I’ll go ahead and give you the main breakthrough now, because it will be discussed throughout the book: the Induction Neutralizing Transformer or INT. Bet you’ve never heard of it, have you? Although the INT was developed back in the early 1970s for the telecommunications industry, most people in this industry aren’t familiar with the INT either! But it’s still needed more than ever in today’s telecom and computer networks, so this book is the story of the INT – a long misunderstood and virtually unknown technology – and my journey with it throughout my professional career.

So Why the Focus on Computer Networking?

I considered naming this book after my consulting company, because so many people ask me what kind of telecom problems I solve. But I knew the story was much bigger than just the telecom industry, like the Bellhead vs. Nethead² discussion back in the late twentieth-century, which I’ve been telling my advanced computer networking students at the University of Houston about since 2007. Incidentally, the Netheads, or the information technology (IT) folks, won that battle in the end. And the new buzz word in the industry is information communications technology (ICT), which more accurately reflects what is taking place in the convergence of the two technologies.

Dan Poynter, author of Writing Nonfiction…Turning Thoughts into Books, said the first word in the title was the most important and should reflect the subject of the book. The more I thought about it, especially in the age of the Internet of Things, the word computer is more accurate than telecom to best describe the main usage of today’s network. The subject matter really is about computer networking and what we in the telecom industry have learned over the years that can help these networks achieve higher performance and reliability.

The First Book

When I wrote my first book in 1982 for Lee’s abc of the Telephone—Power Line Interference; Problems and Solutions, hereinafter referenced simply as the abc book—I was accused of writing it just to build a case for the INT. Even the publisher had concerns, so I restructured it to avoid coming out too strong in that regard, even though I can’t deny that was my strategy!

Basically the approach was the same as I had for my infamous three-day seminars that I conducted throughout the world in the 1980s (discussed in chapter 10).

I began each seminar with some history of how the physics hadn’t changed in over a one hundred years, what the interference problem now looked like in today’s environment, and how we had gotten to this point in the industry. I’d then describe mitigation philosophy in general and discuss many standard techniques the telecom industry employed that fell in that category, but that didn’t have the same kind of negative connotations as the INT. I’d then get into the details of power interference parameters, explaining how the power system operates and why there’s only so much power engineers can reasonably be expected to do to help solve the problem. This parameter usually took up the first day of the seminar and, by the end of the day, telephone people were usually tired of hearing about this part of the story. They just wanted to know what it was going to take to solve the problem. But I did give them one successful mitigative technique in this section: the Harmonic Suppression Reactor (HSR), which is the topic of the next chapter in my abc book.