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Cabling Trends - 2003
As we approach the new millennium, companies are seeking ways to "future-proof" their communication cabling investment. Developments in the networking industry have pushed potential performance beyond the realm of what was deemed possible only a few years ago. Structured cabling systems can be designed to provide incredible network speed and throughput. How is this being accomplished? The following represent some of the key trends in the communication cabling industry:
Enhanced Category 5: Skipping past the history of the cable "Category" system, recent developments are allowing cable manufacturers to produce copper twisted pair cable capable of transmitting at ATM (155mB/sec) and Giga (1000mB/sec) speeds. Cables capable of these levels of performance are classified as Category 5, Level 6 and Category 5, Level 7. (At this time, there is only one manufacturer with a qualified Level 7 product) As network traffic increases and the need for greater bandwidth becomes apparent, these cable designs will supplant what is now the de facto standard, Category 5.
Bandwidth/Speed: Fast networks aren’t necessarily the end-all. Complex semiconductor designs, molecular modeling, and three-dimensional CAD drawings are but a few of the types of packets that could clog a network. The answer? Bandwidth. To get it, you must integrate the right networking equipment, backbone cable, station cable, and termination components. Any weakness among these links and your network suffers.
Fiber to the Workstation: What has traditionally thought to be cost-prohibitive, is now becoming reality. Installing fiber optic cable to the workstation provides nearly unlimited bandwidth and network speed. The electronic components for this technology continue to reduce in price, and for some, the benefits far outweigh the incremental cost.
Zone Wiring: This is an interesting adaptation of a design technology that has been around for years. Phone service was often allocated in large facilities by placing high pair count cables strategically in the ceiling and running smaller cables off to the users below.
This same concept has been applied to a data communications application – pulling 25 pair Category 5 cables to strategic locations throughout a building, and as users require, they are connected to the network with short segments of 4 pair Category 5 cable. This dramatically reduces the labor required to do Adds, Moves, and Changes, while still providing a viable high performance network to the users.
As networking becomes increasingly more important to the productivity of American industry, the effective design, installation, and maintenance of a cabling network is critical. Seek out the experts. It is an investment that will yield huge returns.
For further information, please contact Steve
Brisentine, T&R Communications, Inc.
Visit our website at www.trcomm.com
Send an Email: steve.brisentine@trcomm.com
1411 S. Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, CA (408) 945-5700
fax: (408) 945-2910