One way of running a small business or home network with no new wires is by moving to a powerline networking scheme, which has been the subject of much study and interest due to its simplicity.  However appealing this simple scheme may be, it is not suitable for all networks and does have its pros and cons.

The pros of this technology are obvious – most rooms have multiple electrical outlets so there is no need to run new wires or add additional terminations; printers now no longer have to be located near computers; the newest power line technology called PowerPacket runs at 14MBps so it is quite fast compared to earlier power line networking; and kits to install this technology are inexpensive (around $50-100 is all that is needed).  Companies like Cisco and Netgear offer off-the-shelf power line networking switches and routers that are very cost-effective and easily installed.

This technology does have its cons, however, which is why it is not more popular than wireless technology today.  Although chip manufacturers claim that their chips circumvent this problem, users of the technology say that network performance varies with electrical usage.  This means you could have difficulty downloading a large file while running your dishwasher, for instance.   Quality of electrical wiring varies from home to home and business to business – and some older buildings have very poor wiring.  If you are in an older building, it is probably best to run some new cat 6 or cat 6e Ethernet cabling and call it a day.

Also, the adapter you need to plug in to run a home powerline network cannot be plugged into a surge protector, which may be inconvenient in some cases.   Plus 14Mbps is not nearly enough bandwidth to allow video streaming or a good quality VoIP phone system to run properly.

If you have a simple one or two man office that doesn’t require streaming media usage or large file downloads and want to minimize wiring changes and expense, then powerline networking may be the way to go.  It also may be a good supplement to an existing network in hard to wire zones such as warehouses or garages where the Internet is only used for data entry and to look up the number for your local pizza delivery guy.

But for most modern businesses and state-of-the-art smart homes, this technology still has some growing up to do!

If you would like a professional consultation on the suitability of powerline networking for your home or business needs, contact experienced network cabling installers. Their professionals will do a comprehensive assessment of your unique situation, and recommend the most cost-effective technology solution available.

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Copper UTP Cat 5 or Cat 6 cabling is the most typical medium used to carry Ethernet signals within a corporate data network, as it is the least inexpensive and easiest to install.  However, with no shielding, it is also the easiest for a corporate spy to “sniff” and cannot be considered truly secure.

In contrast, 100Base FX fiber optic cable carries the data signals over glass fibers, which cannot be sniffed as the electromagnetic signals are transformed into light signals before being transported by the optical media.

The downside is that fiber optic cable is both more expensive and harder to install, which translates into higher installation costs as well.

The solution?  Use fiber optic cable where it matters most, and then convert the data signals into less expensive copper cabling using an efficient and inexpensive media converter such as those available from Allied Telesyn.  Or install a dual copper-fiber optic network, and use switches and routers that support both mediums – available from wide variety of providers.  Media conversion switches are also available, as are media conversion switches that source PoE (Power over Ethernet) for the copper portion of the network.

The downside to this approach is that your network will be hard wired in the wall – so if you choose to move the location of the group that requires the fiber optic cabling to a new location within the building just to keep people on their toes, you will have to upgrade wiring in that new location as well.   Another downside is that fiber optic cable does not allow the use of PoE or Power over Ethernet to be deployed.

But the added peace of mind that increased security brings for locations such as legal and accounting may be well worth this lack of future mobility.

It pays to plan your network infrastructure such that the fiber runs are kept as short as possible to minimize your overall cost.  Structured cabling installers can help you with this planning, which may mean relocating Finance or Legal (balance the costs of the move against the added costs of longer fiber runs) before the network upgrade happens so that shorter runs can be used.

Fiber optic cable also makes sense in areas where a telepresence system is to be installed, as fiber is not subject to EMI interference like copper UTP can be.  This leads to cleaner signals and better quality video service.   If you have areas that have a lot of electromagnetic noise or sources for interference, fiber cabling may make sense here too.

Last but not least, as signals don’t degrade as readily along fiber cabling as they do on copper cabling, fiber cables can be run for incredibly long distances.  This can be costly, but if you need to have a run longer than 500 meters (the limit for coaxial cable), then fiber is definitely the way to go.  This cable can be run underground as well.

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Most data networking cables are referred to as UTP – which stands for Unshielded Twisted Pair cabling.  This is perfectly adequate for many data networking applications as the twisting of the pairs is thought to cancel out any electromagnetic interference from external sources as well as undesirable cross talk.

Whether or not this is truly adequate depends on a number of factors, one being whether or not the twisting is preserved when the cable is installed.  In some mission critical applications, shielding is desirable just to give added stability to your infrastructure.

Shielded Twisted Pair cabling is primarily used in Europe for general installations, or in noisy electrical environments and combines the protection offered by twisting with an electromagnetic shield.  It was originally developed by IBM for Token Ring data communications, and termed STP at that time.  It is more expensive than UTP cable, harder to install, and can create some additional issues if the shields are not properly terminated.  If a shield is not properly terminated, it acts as an antenna and the resulting signal degradation is worse than if UTP were used!

Two types of Shielded Twisted Pair are commonly found – FTP or Foiled Twisted Pair uses a thin layer of foil as a shield, and S-FTP or Shielded Foiled Twisted Pair which uses both foil and an outer conductor of braided shielding.

If you are running Ethernet cabling near repeaters, routers, power sources, radio towers, or any electrical equipment that could create interference, it makes sense to use shielding in these areas just to be safe.   Remember, once the cable is in the wall, it is tougher to change it than to choose the right cable in the first place.

Shielding also provides some protection against security breaches.  Cable sniffers can detect and decode data packets being carried by sensing the electromagnetic emanations from the cable.   Added shielding makes this harder to do, although not quite providing the amount of protection offered by the use of more expensive fiber optic cable.

Coaxial cable offers the next level of shielding, as the second wire in the pair also acts as the shield – and a layer of insulation covers both.  Although more costly than UTP, coaxial cable allows longer overall cable runs to be made without signal degradation.  For example, UTP can run up to 100 meters (some manufacturers recommend only 90 meters), but coaxial cable can be run for 500 meters with no loss of signal integrity.  If you must have a long cable run, coaxial cabling is the way to go.

Data installation professionals can help you make the determination as to whether or not you need shielding, and if so, where in your network it should be used.   Call them today and they will provide you with a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade plan that includes cable types and installation details.  Your network will thank you, and so will your employees when their network operates more reliability – making them more productive.

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