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+44 (0)1925 295 400

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Structured Cabling - The Facts

As a network administrator then you have no doubt received calls that the network is down for one reason or another. Research has shown that in many incidences of network failure is a result of inferior cabling systems.

What is structured cabling.

We at Jade specialise in the design, planning and management of structured cabling solutions working around the needs of our clients. But what exactly is structured cabling? Simply put, structured cabling is the cabling infrastructure of a building or buildings. Structured Cabling is made up of six subsystems:-

Entrance Facilities – the building entrance facilities is the point at which the outside cabling, such as telephone and internet cabling, interfaces with the buildings backbone cabling.
Equipment Room – here all the host equipment is stored which will serve the entire building and it’s users, design considerations of the equipment room for structured cabling is specified by the ISO, the Organisation for International Standards.
Telecommunications Room / Closet – house the telecommunications cables and equipment which connect the Backbone cabling subsystem and the horizontal cabling subsystem as well as the mechanical terminations.
Backbone Cabling – provides the connection between entrance facilities, equipment rooms and telecommunication rooms / closet.
Horizontal Cabling – connects the telecommunications rooms to the user work area outlets. It is important to remember that horizontal cabling should be configured in a star topology; each work area outlet is to be connected to a horizontal cross connect in the telecommunications room.
Work Area - connects the user equipment, such as telephones & PC’s to the outlets of the cabling system.

Benefits of Structured Cabling

One of the biggest advantages of having a structured cabling system is the reduction in maintenance costs of the cabling infrastructure and network as well as the following:-

Consistency – Having a structured cabling system ensures the same cabling system for Data, Voice and video resulting in fewer compatibility issues.
Compatibility – A standard structured cabling system will support a wide variety of applications and hardware from all types of vendors and will enable a mix and match of equipment.
Easy troubleshooting – Structured cabling systems allow identification of problems to be quick and easy. In addition the likelihood of the entire network to go down is greatly reduced.
Fault Isolation – With a structured cabling system the entire network is divided into manageable blocks, therefore it becomes much easier to test, isolate and correct specific points in the system with minimal disturbance to the overall network.
Future Proofing - Having a structured cabling system means that future applications can be supported such as multimedia and video conferencing with little or no upgrade requirements.

Structured cabling standards

Using Jade for your structured cabling system needs ensures that the system installed meets all industry standards for structured cabling.
The UK standards are governed by the EUs CENELEC based in Brussels.
UK Structured Cabling Standards include:-

General Requirements – BS EN 50173-1
Office Premises – BS EN 50173-2
Industrial Premises – BS EN 50173-3
Data Centres – BS EN 50173-5

In addition to there being standards on distances and set up of a structured cabling system, there are standards set out on the type and class of cables and wires to be used within the structured cabling infrastructure.
The most common used cable/ wire standards used today are Category 6 Cable (Cat-6) also referred to as Class E and Category 5e Cable (Cat-5e) also referred to as Class D.

Category 5e (Cat5e)

Category 5e (e representing Enhance) was first introduced to cabling standards in 1998 and was to be an improvement on the older Cat 5 although the Cat5e is backward compatible to the Cat5. It was introduced to support the wide growing use of 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet). Gigabit Ethernet is particularly used for video conferencing and Tele-medicine.
It is important to note that despite the stricter performance standards the Cat 5e cables do not enable longer distances for Ethernet networks, the cables are still limited to 238 feet (100m).

Category 6 (Cat6)

Category 6 was introduced in 2001 and is predicted to overtake Category 5e as the standard cable used in structured cabling infrastructure. Cat6 cables are backward compatible with Cat5e cables. As with the Cat5e standard Cat6 cables are for Gigabit Ethernet networks and can provide a performance of up to 250MHz.
As with earlier copper cable standards the Cat6 cable is made up of 4 twisted copper wire pairs, the gauge of the wire can vary as long as it meets the testing standards.

Structured Cabling Services provided by Jade

RCDD Design
Consultation
Site Surveys
Complex Network / System Design

Intelligent Patching
Wireless Networking
Fibre Optics
Voice Migration

Click to view Structured Cabling profile: High Res



Home About Us Products Blog Service Desk Case Studies Quality Standards Accreditations Links How To Find Us Contact Us / Enquiries For additional information, please call one of our sales representatives on +44 (0)1925 295 400 or simply email us via the contact form	Structured Cabling - The Facts As a network administrator then you have no doubt received calls that the network is down for one reason or another. Research has shown that in many incidences of network failure is a result of inferior cabling systems. What is structured cabling. We at Jade specialise in the design, planning and management of structured cabling solutions working around the needs of our clients. But what exactly is structured cabling? Simply put, structured cabling is the cabling infrastructure of a building or buildings. Structured Cabling is made up of six subsystems:- Entrance Facilities – the building entrance facilities is the point at which the outside cabling, such as telephone and internet cabling, interfaces with the buildings backbone cabling. Equipment Room – here all the host equipment is stored which will serve the entire building and it’s users, design considerations of the equipment room for structured cabling is specified by the ISO, the Organisation for International Standards. Telecommunications Room / Closet – house the telecommunications cables and equipment which connect the Backbone cabling subsystem and the horizontal cabling subsystem as well as the mechanical terminations. Backbone Cabling – provides the connection between entrance facilities, equipment rooms and telecommunication rooms / closet. Horizontal Cabling – connects the telecommunications rooms to the user work area outlets. It is important to remember that horizontal cabling should be configured in a star topology; each work area outlet is to be connected to a horizontal cross connect in the telecommunications room. Work Area - connects the user equipment, such as telephones & PC’s to the outlets of the cabling system. Benefits of Structured Cabling One of the biggest advantages of having a structured cabling system is the reduction in maintenance costs of the cabling infrastructure and network as well as the following:- Consistency – Having a structured cabling system ensures the same cabling system for Data, Voice and video resulting in fewer compatibility issues. Compatibility – A standard structured cabling system will support a wide variety of applications and hardware from all types of vendors and will enable a mix and match of equipment. Easy troubleshooting – Structured cabling systems allow identification of problems to be quick and easy. In addition the likelihood of the entire network to go down is greatly reduced. Fault Isolation – With a structured cabling system the entire network is divided into manageable blocks, therefore it becomes much easier to test, isolate and correct specific points in the system with minimal disturbance to the overall network. Future Proofing - Having a structured cabling system means that future applications can be supported such as multimedia and video conferencing with little or no upgrade requirements. Structured cabling standards Using Jade for your structured cabling system needs ensures that the system installed meets all industry standards for structured cabling. The UK standards are governed by the EUs CENELEC based in Brussels. UK Structured Cabling Standards include:- General Requirements – BS EN 50173-1 Office Premises – BS EN 50173-2 Industrial Premises – BS EN 50173-3 Data Centres – BS EN 50173-5 In addition to there being standards on distances and set up of a structured cabling system, there are standards set out on the type and class of cables and wires to be used within the structured cabling infrastructure. The most common used cable/ wire standards used today are Category 6 Cable (Cat-6) also referred to as Class E and Category 5e Cable (Cat-5e) also referred to as Class D. Category 5e (Cat5e) Category 5e (e representing Enhance) was first introduced to cabling standards in 1998 and was to be an improvement on the older Cat 5 although the Cat5e is backward compatible to the Cat5. It was introduced to support the wide growing use of 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet). Gigabit Ethernet is particularly used for video conferencing and Tele-medicine. It is important to note that despite the stricter performance standards the Cat 5e cables do not enable longer distances for Ethernet networks, the cables are still limited to 238 feet (100m). Category 6 (Cat6) Category 6 was introduced in 2001 and is predicted to overtake Category 5e as the standard cable used in structured cabling infrastructure. Cat6 cables are backward compatible with Cat5e cables. As with the Cat5e standard Cat6 cables are for Gigabit Ethernet networks and can provide a performance of up to 250MHz. As with earlier copper cable standards the Cat6 cable is made up of 4 twisted copper wire pairs, the gauge of the wire can vary as long as it meets the testing standards. Structured Cabling Services provided by Jade RCDD Design Consultation Site Surveys Complex Network / System Design Intelligent Patching Wireless Networking Fibre Optics Voice Migration Click to view Structured Cabling profile: High Res
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