Author Archives: Stu Kushner

Planning the network upgrade for a company requires careful consideration. Similar to other projects, a need is determined, and then the upgrade process is planned from its start to conclusion. Every sound network upgrade plan will make an analysis determining each aspect of SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This SWOT analysis will help project managers create a clear plan that defines the tasks required and the order of the workflow.

Overview

A network constructed as a hodgepodge of devices attached using a combination of protocols and technologies is a sign of substandard initial planning. This lack of forethought results in networks that are prone to downtime, challenging maintenance, and difficult troubleshooting. This poor kind of network is commonly found at small businesses that undergo rapid and unanticipated growth. Big companies also experience this when their networks suddenly expand after a merger with or acquisition of another company. In cases where growth is expected, a company will have a better opportunity to properly plan a network upgrade that is less problematic and provide users adequate service.

Five Phases

Network upgrade planning starts after completion of the initial site survey and report. The plan will be typically divided into five phases as listed below, and each will be then discussed individually.

• Gathering of Requirements


• Selection & Design


• Implementation


• Operation


• Review & Evaluation

1) Gathering of Requirements

Once adequate data has been gathered from visits to the customer and site, the ISP design team will make an evaluation that will determine network requirements and write an analysis report.

2) Selection & Design

After the completion of the analysis report, equipment consisting of devices and cabling will be selected. Several designs will be drafted by the design team, and these will be submitted to other project members for feedback.

This process with allow participants to consider the LAN from a point of view of documentation and assess trade-offs in terms of cost and performance. In addition, design weaknesses will be discovered and solutions will be considered. Moreover, this phase will allow prototyping to determine optimum methodology. Prototypes let designers see how the network will operate before final implementation.

Part 2 will cover the next three phases, Implementation, Operation, and Review & Evaluation.

Union Network Cabling

When union work requires a unionized cabling group, call on Progressive Office Cabling for your commercial Cat5e/6/6a and fiber cabling projects. Specializing in cabling for data, voice, security and even the latest WiFi and LiFi solutions. Phone: (202) 462-4290

Nowadays offices and homes utilize either a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection or wired network connection. Usually faster than Wi-Fi, wired connections also have lower latency. These two types of network connection continue to progress technologically, providing users ever increasing speeds.

In the case of home networks, the speed of the internet connection is typically the issue, and the cabling may not be a factor. However, a company must consider the specifications of particular cables and how these would meet its requirements in order to properly decide which to select. There can be a vast difference between the network speeds of the various Ethernet cables.

Types

Cables are differentiated by standard categories. Category has been abbreviated to “Cat” by the industry. Currently, the most common cables in use are Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6, and Cat 6a. The newest type is Cat 7. Every type is backward compatible, allowing users to insert a newer cable into a device that was manufactured for an older cable without any compatibility issues arising.

Progress

With every new cable category, users were provided increased speed and decreased crosstalk. Newer category cables provided faster speeds at increased lengths of cable. The following offers comparisons at 100 meters of cable, illustrating the differences between the ethernet cable categories:

Cat 5 - Considered slow and inadequate for business networks, providing up to 100 Mb/second at 100 Mhz.

Cat 5e - provides up to 1 Gb/second internet speed at 100 Mhz.

Cat 6 -provides up to 1 Gb/second, and cable lengths up to 55 meters can give internet speeds of 10 Gb/second at 250

Cat 6a -can provides speeds up to 10 Gb/second, to 100 meters of cable length, at 500 Mhz.

Cat 7 - provides speeds up to 10 Gb/second to 100 meters of cable, at 600 Mhz.

History

Cat 5 was the standard in 1995, Cat 5e became standard in 2001, and Cat 6 was introduced in 2002. Arriving in 2008, Cat 6a is typically the newest cable the majority of companies have used because it is not considered necessary to update to Cat 7 yet. Cat 7a and Cat 8, which were respectively released in 2010 and 2013, are still waiting in the wings.

Union Network Cabling

When union work requires a unionized cabling group, call on Union Network Cabling for your commercial Cat5e/6/6a and fiber cabling projects. We specialize in cabling for data, voice, security and even the latest WiFi and LiFi solutions. Phone: (202) 462-4290