Upgrading the Structured Cabling of Your Company – Part 1
When your company expands and network requirements change, it may be a great opportunity to perform a structured cabling upgrade. As is frequently the case, networks undergo unpredictable growth, resulting in technicians adding a variety of hardware of inconsistent quality from several different manufacturers one device at a time.
Typically, network performance decreases with each new item of equipment added. There may come a moment when the network is incapable of supporting user traffic. This article will discuss steps a business can take to prevent this situation.
Site Survey
Performing a site survey will allow the network development team to gather information regarding your facility and current cabling system. The study will provide data that will be the project’s foundation. A site survey will usually involve the items summarized below.
- Determination of the amount and kinds of devices required for particular wired and wireless functions.
- Note the configurations loaded onto current devices.
- Create the physical layout of the current network infrastructure.
- Sketch locations of cable runs, wiring closets, and outlets on a floor plan, making a physical topology a reference during the upgrade.
- Map logical topology to display data pathways and locations of functions like routing.
Network Requirements
The network development team will meet with company personnel to determine current network requirements. Interviewing all departments will provide the most accurate projection of future network needs. The information the team will need is summarized below.
- The present count of network users and the number expected to be added over the next year.
- Which applications the network infrastructure must support. For example, will video conferencing and VoIP need to be supported by the structured cabling?
- Which new services are presently needed or will be needed that the existing network does not now support.
- Expectations regarding uptime and dependability will help determine required system redundancies.
Progressive Office Cabling
Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking cost-effective solutions. Working together, Progressive teams are committed to getting your data cables installed and operating while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.
The Four Main Advantages of Structured Cabling
If you want to get the advantages of a structured cabling system, you will first have to switch from your outdated point-to-point cabling system.
Point-to-point makes it hard for a network to expand and increase its capabilities with new technology. As networks get bigger, rapid transmittals of large volumes of data become even more important, and doing so is very difficult with a point-to-point system.
In order to cope, a growing number of companies are making the transition to structured cabling. Below are the advantages for those who modernize.
Aids Future Planning
The effective service life of a cabling system averages 15 years, which is up to three times the lifespan of most devices. It will be impossible to perfectly project the growth of your business and the IT equipment your company will acquire. Fortunately, a structured cabling system can play a significant part in future proofing your IT infrastructure.
Decreases Repair Downtime
A structured cabling system is divided into several groups of devices that are connected to their own local cabling panel. This configuration will help your IT staff find problems and solve them faster. In addition, the work of employees will not suffer disruption if the cabling panel that is being serviced is not connected to their devices.
Flexibility
Structured cabling will ease the process of replacing devices as your business grows. IT staff can quickly disconnect an outdated device and connect a new one to the nearest cabling panel. Making changes in the network itself as your company expands will also be much easier and faster.
Investment for the Future
Making the switch from a point-to-point to structured cabling system will not be inexpensive. Installation expenses can range from $100 to $500 per connection. Organizations located in older buildings that have limited easy access to ceilings and subfloors should anticipate more costs. However, the outlay will eventually bring dividends by enabling employees to become more productive and reducing IT expenses over time.
Progressive Office Cabling
Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking cost-effective solutions. Working together, Progressive teams are committed to getting your data cables installed and operating while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.
Structured Cabling Basics for Your Business
What gives structured cabling an edge over point-to-point cabling is its cost effectiveness, reduced maintenance, flexibility, easier revision/repair, and longer service life due to future proofing? This article will discuss these important advantages for a company’s IT infrastructure.
Overview
Perhaps a basic understanding for a business owner is what structured cabling looks like when compared to point-to-point cabling. What you often see with point-to-point is a tangle of cable runs that scatter everywhere in a facility. In contrast, structured cabling appears streamlined and more organized. It is a system based on best practices, resulting in much better organization.
Structured cabling’s success is based on its centralization at the Main Distribution Area (MDA). The MDA is a structured cabling system, which features several patch panels and trunks that are the foundation of a coherent infrastructure.
This cohesiveness results in hardware ports being easily joined to patch panels, and these are then readily connected to more patch panels. Rather than disorganized cables, a system utilizing structured cabling is capable of letting storage units and servers connect to one primary communication center. This is a huge differentiation from point-to-point cabling, which often results in several infrastructures.
Advantages for Companies
Most companies will obtain advantages from implementing structured cabling. From small startups planning to expand to established medium-sized enterprises that require very reliable data transmission for a large number of users, structured cabling will deliver speed and efficiency, promoting increased productivity.
Supporting the bandwidth required by modern businesses, structured cabling provides outstanding reliability. This is due to its ability to offer scalability, flexibility, and future proofing. Moreover, problems that arise in structured cabling can be much more easily addressed than in a point-to-point type infrastructure. This will save a company both time and money.
Progressive Office Cabling
Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking cost-effective solutions. Working together, Progressive teams are committed to getting your data cables installed and operating while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.
Properly Planning the Cabling of Your New Office – Part 2
As discussed in Part 1, relocating your company to a new office can be quite challenging and costly. This article will discuss several factors to be considered while properly planning the cabling of your new office. Part 2 will discuss Health & Safety, Future Expansion, Structured Cabling, and Early Consultations.
Health & Safety
An important consideration is the wiring layout methods used in terms of the safety and mobility of employees and visitors in the new office location. Tangles of wires connecting equipment or lying on the floors uncovered will be hazards. Improperly stored cabling can block emergency exits and block the ventilation for cooling server rooms. Check with a professional cabling firm regarding compliance with regulations.
Future Expansion
After studying market projections, you may anticipate your company growing and expanding, so your team will need to prepare for accommodating more bandwidth, computers, servers, phones, power usage, data storage, and upgrades. Consideration should be given regarding your existing setup and how the new office can be configured to allow flexibility for revisions and expansion in the future.
Structured Cabling
Improvised installations of cabling for data, networking, and communications by several different contractors will likely prevent the creation of an efficient and integrated IT infrastructure. In addition, the costs for the management and maintenance will be more expensive because of the various systems and mixture of equipment.
A structured cabling system will be much easier to utilize, maintain, reconfigure, and repair. This is made possible by using best practices for the configurations and connections for cabling, power, and communications. Adaptability is one of the great advantages of structured cabling because it allows the future proofing of infrastructure.
Early Consultations
Holding early consultations with engineers, cooling technicians, communications and network experts, and cabling contractors will be necessary because there will be numerous projects and tasks to properly plan and coordinate while meeting deadlines and staying within the budget.
Progressive Office Cabling
Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking solutions on behalf of our clients. Efficiently working together, Progressive teams get cabling installed and operating as fast as possible while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.