Cat5/6, Fiber Or Coaxial
Structured Cabling Services
Structured cabling is critical because it streamlines the cable infrastructure installation process, helps simplify troubleshooting, and ensures all telecom elements are designed according to the latest standards.
Our experienced team has been providing structured cabling services in southern California for well over 20 years. Let us help you with your upcoming cabling project.
Structured Cabling Subsystems Explained
Structured cabling systems comprise six distinct subsystems, serving as the physical backbone of the building’s internal network. Here’s how each one functions.Entrance Point (MPoE)
The Entrance Point (EP) is also known as the Minimum Point of Entry (MPOe) or Entrance Facilities (EF).
Although it contains an array of cables, connecting hardware, and network protection devices, the most crucial element of the EP is the demarcation point or demarc. The primary purpose of the demarc is to separate your building’s (internal) network from the telecom company or internet service provider’s (external) network.
Equipment Room Wiring
An Equipment Room (ER) is telecom jargon for any room inside a building or office containing what is known as consolidation equipment: routers, network switches, PBXes, and additional cables. Server rooms are a specific type of ER.
Most equipment rooms contain dense concentrations of electronic equipment, all of which generate significant amounts of heat. For this reason, an ER must be tightly climate-controlled to combat overheating and eliminate humidity.
Patch panels inside ERs connect the Entrance Point to the building’s telecom rooms via the backbone cabling system.
Backbone Cabling
The backbone cabling (sometimes called riser cabling) is the dense array of twisted-pair or fiber optic cables running through your building. The purpose of backbone cabling is to connect equipment rooms to horizontal cross-connects, where horizontal cabling begins.
Although all backbone cabling runs from equipment rooms, they may fulfill one of two purposes down the line:
- Connecting the main cross-connect to the intermediate cross-connect
- Connecting the intermediate cross-connect to a horizontal cross-connect
Backbone cabling must adhere to the standards outlined in ANSI/TIA 568. 568.0 regulates the backbone cabling standards for residential buildings, whereas 568.1 covers commercial buildings.
Horizontal Cabling Array or Horizontal Cable Management
The horizontal cabling array is the collection of cables, cable terminations, and cross-connects running from a telecommunications room to the outlets inside a work area.
As with backbone cabling, horizontal cabling is regulated and must conform to the standards outlined in ANSI/TIA 568. For instance, according to TIA 568-B, horizontal cabling connecting an outlet to a cross-connect is subjected to strict maximum length requirements; they cannot exceed 90 meters (295 feet).
Telecommunications Room Cabling
A telecommunications room or telecoms room (TR), also called a telecoms enclosure (TE), is a room that houses jumpers, patch cords, and horizontal cross-connects. TRs/TEs are where backbone cabling ends, and horizontal cabling begins.
Most office buildings usually have one TR/TE per floor, distributing the network’s vertical (backbone) cabling into a series of horizontal connections.
Work Zone Cabling
A work zone or work area is any room in the building where you can find equipment operated by the end-users. Examples include desktop PCs, laptops, wirelessly connected devices equipped with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and other equipment designed to be plugged into a wall outlet.
Besides the end-user equipment, the telecom cabling in a work zone also comprises Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi receivers, patch cables, and other outlets. Work zone cabling is designed to be as simple as possible, so end-users can add, upgrade, or remove equipment by themselves.
Network Cabling Services by ASi
ASi-Networks offers a complete array of Structured Cabling Services In Los Angeles and low-voltage cabling services to ensure your business is equipped with all of the technologies you need to focus on growing your business:
- Cabling system installation
- Data wiring
- Voice services
- Video conferencing
- Office move and relocations
Common Types of Cables Used
Structured cabling arrays primarily use three types of cables: fiber optic, twisted-pair, and coaxial.
Fiber optic cable
Fiber optic cables fall into two categories: single-mode and multi-mode. Each type has its own pros and cons. Single-mode cables support longer cable distances (up to 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles) but have a limited maximum data transfer rate (up to 10 GB/s). Multi-mode cables support much shorter distances (the OM5 standard supports between 100 and 550 meters or 330 to 1800 feet, depending on data rate) but much higher maximum data rates (up to 100 GB/s.)
Twisted-pair cables
Twisted-pair cables are cables comprising two copper connectors and insulation sleeves twisted together. A common type of twisted-pair cable is the RJ-45 connector used in Ethernet cables.
Twisted-pair cables come into two variants: shielded (STP) and unshielded (UTP).
- STP cables are used for high-bandwidth, long-distance communication.
- UTP cables are found in short-distance cabling, are less expensive and don’t support high bandwidths, nor are they protected against electromagnetic noise.
Coaxial cable
The RG6 coaxial (coax) cable is one of the most common connectors for relaying cable television, satellite signals, and high-bandwidth internet applications.
They have been used for several decades and are well-known for being easy to bend and install while also offering excellent shielding against interference.
Common Uses
Structured Cabling
- Audio/video needs: An office’s structured cabling includes all necessary high-quality cables and connectors to meet your A/V needs, from call centers to videoconferencing.
- Data center management: Structured cabling systems enhance data center management, making it easier to scale up or down, add new hardware, and reduce cabling footprint.
- Network cabling: Structured cabling helps streamline and tidy your building’s network, making it easier to manage.
- Security systems: Structured cabling supports modern security and surveillance systems, from access control and CCTV to IP-enabled security.
Frequently Asked Questions
Structured Cabling Services
A structured cabling network helps businesses of any size or type manage their devices and technological needs, no matter how complex their IT needs. They are also easy to scale up or down, ideal for fast-growing companies.
No. Structured cabling systems should be installed by IT professionals; only they have the licensing and expertise to install this cabling legally.
If you move to a new location after installing structured cabling, you must contact an IT services professional to survey the new site, remove old wiring, and install new cables.
Although your networks will be unavailable during installation, the primary advantage of professionally installed structured cabling is organization and reduction of IT downtime.
Rates vary from one IT service provider to another. The equipment cost depends on the quality, technologies employed, conformity with the latest standards, and your business’s location.
The top fiber optic manufacturers include Corning, Furukawa Electric, HTGD, and Sumitomo. Top twisted-pair cable manufacturers today are Lansan Industries, OTSCable, and Belden.
