As the program manager for a cabling company I often am asked during my performing a 'site survey',"What is structured cabling?".
It is cabling based on a hierarchical star architecture called ‘Star Topology’. First developed by Lockheed in the early 1960’s, it has become the standard for networked cabling.
The cable to an outlet in a commercial building is called the ‘horizontal cable’ the cable to an outlet in a residence is called an ‘outlet’ cable. Same cable, same outlet but different names.
It is designed to connect work areas to telecommunications rooms or closets, streamlining Moves, Adds, or Changes at the horizontal cross connect location, normally at what is called a 'patch panel'. Structured cabling is designed and installed independent of equipment to support multiple applications over its lifecycle.
Investing in a structured cabling infrastructure for your current and future needs can be a relatively insignificant investment, especially when considering the time and resources it will save, and the benefits it can provide in the future. Having a structured cabling infrastructure provides the support for a wide variety of applications while ensuring peace of mind that the infrastructure should continue to support applications well into the future.Structured cabling allows for any equipment or service to be attached to the horizontal cabling based on the needs of the user. It supports a variety of voice, data, video, and building automation services effortlessly, and all without disturbing the horizontal cabling.
A single, high performance cabling system is the first step to achieve true integration. Both cat5e and cat6 cabling will support the convergence of voice and data full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet traffic on links up to 100 meters in total length.but it takes an augmented cat6 to support 10 gigabit Ethernet, to insure the bandwidth necessary.
VOIP? (Voice Over Internet Protocol)
The structured cabling system is shared for supporting the data and the VOIP transmissions. This includes, for example the riser cabling subsystems and routers. VOIP signals can be transmitted over the Internet directly or can assess specialized VOIP carrier services.
Anyone considering implementing VOIP should first look at their current network and invest in a high-performance cabling system that will remain flexible while taking care of the convergence and it’s ongoing needs. Many already have the high quality cabling (cat5, cat5e, 6) on their voice network and can move to VOIP with little or no problem.
The features and benefits of this are numerous. IP telephony lets all moves, adds and changes to be administered with the same tools used to control the network, thus saving time in labor and cutting down service costs.
Wireless Applications?
There is no such thing as a wireless LAN. Every Wireless Access Point is hard wired to it’s associated switch. There are no wires from the wap to the laptops, which it communicates, but there are always wires (cables). You must remember that a wired LAN connection delivers 800 times higher performance than a wireless LAN.
Last year was the first year shipments of laptops surpassed the desktop computers. Nearly all of those came equipped with Wire-less cards. The performance of wireless local area networks is known to be mediocre.
But they are popular because most users do not need high bandwidth or performance to handle routine communications like e-mail and Internet browsing.
There are some other factors to consider when going wireless.
Power:
You will have to provide power to the wireless access point. This will have to be fairly close to the point itself or you can use Power Over Ethernet, which means the cable which goes from the access point to it's switch can also be used to provide the access point with power when you use what is called an injector.
Distance:
A W.A.P. (Wireless Access Point) might have an effective reach of 100 feet in an office environment. However, there is no law against installing more than one wap.
Speed:
At your desk connected to a wired LAN connection you are plugged into a 100-Mbit a second fast Ethernet switch and enjoy 100 Mbits of personal, full-duplex bandwidth.
When you then unplug your laptop and carry it to where you use a wireless access point. Under various conditions you may have a 5 Mbits a second data rate, although 1 or 2 Mbits a second are not unusual. With better and better WAP’s being produced, your rate may vary.
Interference:
The 2.4 GHZ used by many wireless applications creates a wave-length that happens to match almost exactly the common 4–inch nail, so sources of interference, reflections and absorption are everywhere. (Air conditioning, electrical conduits, lights)
Many other devices use the same bands also, including microwave ovens, portable phones, Bluetooth devices, X10 cameras, medical telemetry devices, remote lighting control systems and home automation systems. It is quite common for home WLANs to get knocked down whenever a portable 2.4 GHZ phone get picked up and activated in the vicinity of an operating laptop.
Security:
Encryption hardens access to uninvited users. With additional measures WLANS can become more secure also. You will also need to perform signal survey checks to consider the stability of your WLAN at scheduled intervals. The variability is an inevitable consequence of the nature of wireless applications.
Factors favoring a wireless network:
- Providing an overlay network for mobile and guest users.
- Application specific requirements, such as inventory readers
- Temporary network connections where high performance is not needed.
- Inability to pull cables or access the workspace easily.
You will want to conatct a good local cabling contractor in your to perform a 'site survey' or even consult with you before you make any determinations. |
