An Introduction To High Performance Office Cabling Systems

The massive increase in intelligence being accessed from the workplace puts severe demands on office planners and managers as they work to resolve two somewhat conflicting objectives. On one hand they want a robust voice and data cabling system capable of accurate high-speed transmissions and to avoid network down time that can be extremely costly . On the other hand they must accommodate an increasingly dynamic and constantly changing workplace where ongoing moves, adds and changes (MACs) to work areas reflect a trend toward office reconfigurations that best support the types of work being done. These MACs traditionally meant disruptions to the workplace as cabling systems were taken down, rerouted and reconnected to serve a revised floorplan.

This paper will familiarize office planners and managers with advances in cabling technology and selected industry standards useful in crafting requests for proposals (RFPs) and evaluating claims made by vendors of office cabling systems. A companion white paper “Advances in Modular Office Furniture Systems” provides a similar reference to guide the specification and purchasing of systems designed to the realities of today’s office practices.

Cost of Upgrades vs. Cost of Obsolescence

The explosive growth of the Internet, coupled with high-capacity company-wide (intranet) networks and links to key suppliers and customers (extranets) can play havoc with underpowered cabling systems. Tempers fray and costs mount as employees wait impatiently for file downloads or to complete on-line transactions. Indeed, underpowered networks can come crashing down when too many people try to do too many tasks at the same time. The World Wide Web becomes the “World Wide Wait.”

As bandwidth-intensive data and video applications continue to push the need for high-performance networks, companies must grapple with the cost of upgrade vs. the cost

of obsolescence. The question is not so much whether to upgrade the cabling infrastructure but to what extent. The obvious answer, that is to install the highest speed network available, can be rendered less obvious when costs and performance standards enter the picture. The following paragraphs will look at these issues.

With the advent of Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T), vendors are now offering cabling and connectivity products capable of transmitting data at a billion bits per second across companies’ Local Area Networks (LANs). In addition to accommodating massive file downloads, Gigabit Ethernet supports full-motion video to the desktop. Gigabit Ethernet is provided over two categories of copper cabling systems designated by the TIA/EIA as category 5e and category 6 . Category 6 systems generally cost from 25% to 30% more than category 5e systems. This poses two questions. What are the added benefits to be gained by a category 6 system, and is there a risk in specifying a system having unpublished standards.

By: Christopher Cartre

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