Technology has become a substantial part of our lives: it’s not “behind the scenes” anymore. Now we interact directly with it, and that’s why it is so important to understand it, or at least to have a general knowledge about it. This will give you, if not the power of making all the technical decisions on your own, at least the ability to realize when something is done following a standard structure (which means scalability, maintainability, and so on). Structured Cabling isn’t the name of a hardware piece; it’s a concept that arose to organize the complex components that emerge every day in our growing technology.

This characteristic of technology (its ever evolving impulse) makes us realize that we cannot rely on hardware alone, but instead we must choose to implement ideas that back the hardware and make it reusable and optimal. Generally, those ideas are based on dividing a structure in different components. Structured Cabling is based on that concept, and as an example of the benefits it provides, think of the integration of multimedia components such as audio, video, and other devices that are becoming a common communicational need.

Since it’s made of components, structured cabling will let you mix and match new systems or add and subtract them, without any unnecessary disruptions or time wasted. Moreover, because its standards define a way to organize cables, when the system administrators have to physically move components of an IT infrastructure they will find out that the structured cabling makes the move smooth and silent, without interfering with the overall performance of the network.

Another important aspect to think of is that of network congestion. It’s a well known fact that networks tend to become complex with time: new elements are added as your staff grows, hardware components are replaced, et cetera. If you don’t have an installation that meets the standards, you run the risk of reaching a dead point. But this doesn’t only mean that your network won’t be able to grow anymore: it also implies a current loss in performance.

What about compatibility?

You may ask yourself: “As there are so many different manufacturers, who can assure me that there won’t be problems regarding integration of different components?” This is a good question, and it has a good answer: thankfully, the engineers who designed and developed structured cabling thought carefully about this and, as a result, structured cabling is perfectly ready to bring together different components with relative ease. This, in fact, is one of the most recognized benefits of this system.

Although the implementation of such a system is not hard to do, and despite the fact that there are standard steps to follow, different contexts and situations require different kinds of implementations: there’s the need of a previous analysis to measure the different aspects that will determine things like topology of the network cabling, cable types, and so on. Look for the advice of a serious provider before defining and implementing the structure of your network.

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When networks go down too often, even after hardware changes have been made to improve performance, system administrators start to worry that the cause of the problem might not be so evident. At that moment, they usually regret not having followed the standards of structured cabling installations.

When the standards are met, such installation allows the integration of all media (voice, data, audio, video…) in one system, apart from providing administrative and management capabilities.

Workstations are connected individually to a centralized cross-connect in the network room or server room. This general structure and organization enables network administrators to identify cables for each individual workstation or area using a simple labeling and coloring system. So we could say that the network room is the center of the network, a place of contact between the workstations and the servers. This is why administrative changes, additions and upgrades must start there.

Before we go deeper into this concept called network topology, let’s mention two benefits of Structured Cabling Systems.

Scalability – We have already said that they are convenient when it comes to performing hardware upgrades (like adding multimedia applications or video conferencing): these changes will take little time and effort. While these upgrades won’t be welcome by what we could call a closed and hard installation, they won’t make a single noise if you’ve followed the standards of a Structured Cabling System. And later, when common issues arise, you can rest assured they will be easily identified.

Control – Centralization of data flow means easier access to information, statistics and the ability to implement internal monitoring and communication tools such as e-mail, file servers, secure messaging, automatic software updates across the entire network, and so on.

Topology of Structured Cabling Systems

Structured Cabling System design begins at the building entrance facilities. There, external cabling interfaces make contact with the internal backbone cabling of your building .

Then, the cables are directed to meet in a passive centralized cross-connect in the network room and equipment room. The interconnections between each of the telecommunications closets, the equipment rooms, and building entrance facilities are made by the backbone cabling, which may include vertical connections between floors, cables that connect equipment rooms and building cable entrance facilities. They may also incorporate cables between buildings for inter-building communication and access. This backbone cabling is what feeds centralized hubs, from which each work group is connected via what is called horizontal cabling systems.

Horizontal cabling sub-systems connect telecommunications outlet and network hubs to each individual workstation. These may be computers, data terminals, telephones, and so on; and they may need special cables, such as patch cables, modular chords, PC adapter cables and fiber jumpers, but remember that this fact won’t affect the structure of your network if it was installed following the standards.

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The last few years have been undoubtedly the setting for a technological big bang, especially regarding network traffic. This led to the conclusion that the need for a robust cabling infrastructure to support the increased bandwidth usage was no more a prediction of the near future, but a fact. The most exciting part of this story is that, right now, we cannot say that bandwidth requirements have reached a maximum; they are increasing and tomorrow, PCs might be replaced by new user interfaces that require connection to the Internet. If this were to happen, whoever is ready to switch quickly without loss of time and production, will be favored. As to what we know now, the existing LAN cabling system could become inefficient very soon.

But not everything is lost. Structured cabling vendors have come up with new ideas, and thus enterprises have the chance to upgrade their network systems to reach a better connectivity, and -what’s more important, they have the chance to be prepared for the future; all at an affordable cost.

Common issues

You might wonder if there are typical problems that come up when installing a structured network; the answer is yes, and this is why it’s so important that you consult a company that’s especially dedicated to this technology. Just to go over some of common issues that might arise in the process, namely:
-One of the most common ones is the “pair twists issue”: pair twists not being maintained in twisted pair cables especially at the modular plug,

-Cable routing: another factor that contributes to faults. Always make sure that cables don’t run next to power or telecom lines, since this could affect the number of twists in the UTP cable.

-Large cables (that are very common sign of unstructured computer networks) can also cause problems.

-Vague documentation can bring you big headaches when it comes to making changes to the network. Ensure the entire structured cabling layout is well documented.

Working with digital information is, as everybody knows already, very favorable. Once information is digitalized, different programs can be used to process that information and generate statistics, classify the data, save it in a reduced space, make copies, and even find archived information incredibly fast. If you adopt IP protocol as a platform of communication, you open your business to the “trade rout” of information. Various types of media will be at your hand. VoIP, Videoconference protocols, and so on. But this information is so massive that if you’re not ready from scratch, it can be harmful to your system. And re-organizing all your data after some time might be tedious and take years, literally. That’s why it’s advisable that you implement a structured cabling system as soon as you can.

Although we already mentioned the abstract or general ideas behind this concept, let us give you some specific examples of its advantages:

-Your network will be safer;
-It will work faster;
-It will be scalable (meaning it will be ready to grow or grow smaller without causing problems in the process).
-It will be ready for new protocols.

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We’re going to give you some tips to have in mind before you sign a contract with a wiring company. As you know, installing a structured cabling system will definitely simplify your business, but that doesn’t mean that the process of installation is something easy to do. Are you aware of what type of cables you need? Is it copper cable or fiber? And how about the topology of the network?

All these issues must be considered carefully before you make your plan. Now, let’s summarize the main items to take into account:

1)What’s going to be the layout? The typical components of an implementation plan contain: vertical cabling, horizontal cabling, the backbone media, and user points. Layout always must be considered before any design plan starts.

2)Is your company made of two or more nearby buildings? If so, you’ll need external cabling (apart from internal). Internal cabling is, as its name suggests, the group of lines through which intra-building information runs, and it can connect various floors (what’s called vertical cabling) or it can connect different devices from the same floor (horizontal cabling).

3)Make a list that maps your requirements to the available technologies. That way, you’ll have a clear display of your different options, so you don’t run short on resources or end up spending too much money. Measure your necessities. (For example, it’s much more convenient to install a fiber-optic backbone for external cabling.)

4)Some special things concerning internal cabling: when it comes to the cabling that connects your inner devices, pay attention to its design; it must be designed to fulfill your current needs as much as your potential needs. Internal cabling happens to be much more complex than external cabling, so a poor or unsuitable design can be a time bomb and bring you a lot of problems in the future.

5)Robustness: One of the top priorities. Without this, you’ll never even come to think of extending your network, because it won’t work. Robustness is the ability of your network to deliver fast and uninterrupted heterogeneous traffic.

6)Consider fiber for its lack of interference: although more expensive than other types of cabling, fiber is fully ready for the future. EMI and RFI don’t affect it. Two core tight-jacketed cables are generally used for these applications.

7)Think of the future, and be ready! Soon, desktop speed will reach the gigabit. This means that 10-gigabit backbones will be a must element for those applications that need high information/time rates. Whoever doesn’t take this aspect into account might stay out of communication channels such as streaming video, complex graphics (like 3D mappings), etc.

Of course there are more detailed issues, which require the use of technical language, but we’ve gone through some of them, just to help you get ready for the implementation process. If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to give your structured cabling installer a call; they’ll be ready to answer any technical or strategic question you may have.

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A recent study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that data centers can be as high as 40% more energy intensive than traditional office buildings – which means that greening them can mean significant energy savings that translates to both lowered costs and taking steps towards greening your business.

How do you design a green data center?  First of all, from the design phase forward, energy monitoring must be built in so that you can always see what the actual energy consumption is.   Microsoft Windows Server 2008 provides power monitoring options that help with this goal, and many third parties offer power management and monitoring software that take this to the next level.  It makes sense to use a metering scheme that breaks down energy usage to the component level, so you that you know where your areas of highest power usage are.

Risk aversion that is common amongst IT managers means redundancy is the order of the day.  Does everything have to be redundant, even if it means higher energy costs?  Excess equipment leads to significant waste in expenses as well as energy use. Determine what is mission critical and what is not, and eliminate some excess redundancy or make sure it is properly managed with respect to power when not in use.

Enable power throttling in server CPUs, and measure energy consumption under a variety of loading conditions so that you can accurately model energy usage under all conditions.

Creating an energy savings plan that has built in incentives and rewards will make sure that data center energy conservation is key in the minds of your IT staff as well.

Contracting a professional network cabling installer to build out your next data center means that you will have a data center that meets your IT requirements, is as green as possible, and costs you less in energy bills to maintain and run.

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There are many tradeoffs to consider when choosing between fiber and copper structured cable.  Besides the obvious cost differential, another key difference is that PoE or Power-over-Ethernet is available when using copper-based wiring.

The PoE standard allows you to eliminate the need for a separate power cable when powering most routers, switches, IPPBXes, and Ethernet phones.  This not only streamlines the amount of structured wiring that needs to be run, it makes your equipment more portable as you don’t have to locate it near power if Ethernet cabling is properly run.

PoE allows your entire network to be easily fed from a battery bank in the event of a power outage, which means you can continue critical business operations in an emergency and not lose data.  PoE also replaces old-school “wall wart” converters that use energy poorly and are quite vulnerable to power surges and brownouts.  So moving to a PoE architecture also means taking a step forward to “greening” your organization!

Last but not least, your offices and cubicles will look less “cluttered” as less power bricks and wires will be under foot.

Implementation of PoE means upgrading to at least cat 5 Ethernet cabling throughout your organization.  You will also need to choose some PoE sourcing equipment, such as PoE switches or routers, which are commonly available.

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VoIP or voice-over-IP is a great money saver for many small and medium businesses today, and for the most part, the quality is great.  Easy availability of SIP trunking means that end-to-end VoIP connections are now easy to establish and control.

Yet many businesses still have voice quality issues, and the last place they typically look for root cause is in their very own networks.  Early network cabling installs were designed to support just data as no one foresaw VoIP becoming as ubiquitous as it is today.  Would you have run your landlines over frayed and crumbling RJ-45 cable?  We think not.

Before you take a step backwards to the PSTN, call a professional structured wiring installer for a comprehensive troubleshooting exercise.  They will look at your signaling and measure your packet loss to see if you have a network misconfiguration or a cabling issue.  Tools such as Packetsmart from Packet Island (now part of Broadsoft) are available that allow us to pinpoint the source of your dropped or poor calls, make recommendations for cable or systems upgrades, and then address your issues so you can continue saving money.

VoIP requires a good quality Internet connection with adequate bandwidth so that large file downloads don’t disrupt phone calls.  Depending on how many employees you have, you will need at least a solid business quality DSL line with little oversubscription.  Sniffing your WAN connection will tell us whether or not your service provider is living up to their side of the bargain, by fulfilling their SLA (service level agreement) to you.

Structured wiring inside your building should be at least a good quality cat 5 or cat 6 Ethernet cable, with proper shielding, grounding, and terminations.  Older cabling or cat 3 cabling may work to start, but will not be scalable as your business grows.   The installer can easily review your cable infrastructure, show you the weak points, and run new cable so that your network is ready for this year’s communications challenges.

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Telepresence systems are the wave of the future, and can provide very quick ROI through travel cost savings and improved communications with remote sites and customers.  Newer telepresence systems are the next best thing to being face-to-face. But telepresence has much tighter requirements for infrastructure than normal data networks, or even VoIP as video quality is highly dependent on how the signal gets there!

Most companies have infrastructure that was designed for data-only networks, with older cable that is not optimized for carrying combined voice-video-data traffic.  A structured cabling installer can perform a comprehensive preassessment of your network infrastructure to determine whether or not your structured cabling is ready to support a telepresence system like those offered by Cisco and Polycom. If not, they will provide you with a detailed description of how to get there.

Today’s telepresence systems require at least good quality cat 5 or 6 Ethernet cabling that is properly terminated and shielded, and routed for efficiency.  If security is a concern for you, then fiber optic Ethernet connections would be preferable, as fiber is much harder to sniff and decode.   The installer can handle your fiber cabling upgrade with ease, so you can rest assured that you are getting a quality install at a reasonable price.

Don’t want to pay premium install prices for the telepresence system itself?  The right installer will be able to handle all your audio, video, and lighting installation too so that your new system works right from the start with no glitches.   They can also recommend the system that is right for your current and future needs, and show you how to manage it throughout the lifecycle of your network.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.intsysinst.com as the original source).