Networking and Communication Equipment

The networking and communication equipment industry focuses on the design of products like t elecom routers and switches, optical networking devices, firewall devices and mobile phone base stations. The engineers in this industry are faced with a variety of challenges in the thermal, mechanical and electromagnetic disciplines. Among these challenges is a continuous increase in the component power density, the drive for miniaturization and the reliance on forced air cooling as the main method of thermal management. For data centers, the thermal challenges extend further with the need to manage the heat generation of hundreds of servers or telecommunication routers and switches in a confined space. Because of strict electromagnetic emission regulations, engineers must optimize both the system's thermal management, as well as the system's overall electromagnetic emissions. All of these challenges exist within a highly competitive environment with an overall push to reduce power consumption.

ANSYS offers networking and communication equipment designers a variety of engineering simulation tools, including electronics cooling with ANSYS Icepak, mechanical reliability with ANSYS Mechanical and ANSYS Structural and electromagnetic simulation with ANSYS Emag and ANSYS Multiphysics.

Thermal management simulation products such as ANSYS Icepak and ANSYS Iceboard are used to conduct system level CFD simulation including forced air cooling, fan selection and placement, heat sink design and plenum design. ANSYS Airpak is also used to accurately and easily model airflow, heat transfer and contaminant transport in ventilation system s, as well as to optimize equipment layout in order to meet the cooling requirements of data centers.

Using ANSYS tools for mechanical simulation allows you to examine the thermo-mechanical stresses in packages and boards that develop during thermal cycling, as well as examine the stresses that develop during the standard mechanical loading of telecom enclosures. ANSYS simulation software also allows you to analyze product mechanical reliability by conducting vibration and drop test analysis.

For electromagnetic simulations, ANSYS software can conduct system level simulation and optimize the system's thermal design with electromagnetic shielding to meet various emission regulations. You can also examine signal integrity and cross talking between different components on a single board or between multiple printed circuit boards.

The depth and breath of capabilities from ANSYS enables innovation in networking and communication electronics by allowing comprehensive multiphysics optimization of the product thermal design, mechanical reliability and electromagnetic compatibility. Furthermore, ANSYS products will enable you to shorten your design cycle and reduce development and manufacturing cost by reducing design uncertainty and the need for extensive testing.