For 25 years, Weyburn Inland Terminal Ltd. (WIT), located
just outside Weyburn, Sask., has embraced change and technological
advancement to remain at the forefront of Canada's grain handling
industry. Now, with the addition of fibre optic networking,
that philosophy stretches right to the desktop.
"WIT views fibre-to-desktop technology as the future,"
says Aaron Rubin, president of Weyburn-based computer and
networking firm, Southeastern Computer Solutions. "The
business is renowned for being cutting edge; for being the
first to do things in the grain-handling and processing field.
Fibre-to-desktop was another opportunity to achieve the future
ahead of everyone else."
A farmer-owned and farmer-managed company, WIT operates an
inland terminal and grain complex on CP Rail's Soo Line. Both
a financial success and a positive force for industry advancement,
"The Terminal" is an efficient high throughput inland
terminal designed with extensive grain cleaning, drying, storing
and shipping capabilities.
According to Rubin, the recent addition of a two-floor office
building at the WIT complex opened a window of opportunity
for LAN managers to take advantage of the falling prices and
simplified installation methods of one of the newest fibre
technologies.
"WIT weighed three options - Cat 5e, Cat 6 and 3M's
Volition™ fibre-to-desktop cabling system," says
Rubin. "Taking into consideration present and future
bandwidth and performance demands, the limitations of copper
and overall costs involved, the Volition™ system was
the preferred solution."
A complete end-to-end fibre optic network solution for Ethernet
networks, 3M's Volition™ system consists of backbone
and horizontal fibre cabling, VF-45 fibre optic connectors
and high-density, low-cost networking equipment including
non-blocking core style switches with fiber or copper ports
and media converters. The Volition™ system's VF-45 connector
is a two-part interconnect consisting of a plug and socket
similar to the RJ-45 modular jack. The VF-45 connector takes
about two minutes to install and terminates two fibres at
once. The system, which includes fibre NICs and all necessary
installation tooling, is offered in either single-mode or
multi-mode designs.
As an independent grain handler, WIT services both producers
and grain end-users. The facility includes capacity to store
over three million bushels of grain in a number of "condominium"
storage units, a fertilizer blending plant and a grain screening/pelleting
division. It was the challenge and cost associated with running
cable to these various outbuildings that made Volition™
so attractive in the first place, says Rubin.
"Fibre cabling just made more sense as we looked ahead,"
he says. "We were looking at runs of 600 to 800 feet
to reach the various buildings around the complex. By the
time you factor the money that you have to add to copper in
order to deal with its distance limitations and shielding
requirements, Volition™ fibre is very cost attractive."
Unlike the maximum transmission distance of 90 metres for
copper cabling, 3M's Volition™ fibre cables can run
as far as 550 metres away from the switch and still meet the
technical requirements of gigabit Ethernet specifications.
In addition, the fibre cabling puts an end to EMI and EMC
interference - its unique characteristics make it immune to
cross-talk, radio and electrical disturbances.
"Interference was a concern because of motors for valves
in areas for grain movement," says Rubin. "With
Volition™, there are no worries about interference,
which meant we could lay the fibre where we needed it."
