About Stu Kushner

Stu Kushner began his career at Boeing Commercial Aircraft and then on to Hexcel and Case/Rixon where he specialized in CAD/CAM (computer design and robotics). In 1986, he started Progressive Office. The earliest years were about networking small businesses and providing IT support. But since 2008, the company has concentrated exclusively on providing office network cabling solutions.

Data Cabling, Fiber optic cable

About Fiber Optic Cabling

3 Apr 2014

Data Cabling, Fiber optic cableAn efficient cabling system is one of the prerequisites for a functional network and is considered to be an investment that will comply with your networking needs in the long term. Fiber optic cabling is the product of modern technology. This type of cabling conveys information from one location to another through pulses of light in an optical fiber. It is important for users to learn the advantages of fiber optics.


Fiber optic cables possess more bandwidth, or communications capacity, compared to metal and copper wires. This variety can transmit more information with greater reliability, which is one of the reasons for cable television and telephone providers to opt for fiber. The optical fiber also generates minimal power loss, thereby allowing longer transmission. Such cables are resistant against electromagnetic interference; they can operate in loud electrical environments because the interference does not have any effect on fiber cables.


Moreover, data moves at higher speeds since the fiber optic signal ensures that only a small amount of signal is lost in the course of transmission. Data is safe with fiber cables. It does not give off signals and is relatively hard to utilize. You will easily find out if the cable has been tapped or infringement has been made on the system, as this tampering causes the cable to give away light and causes the whole system to break down. Fiber optic cabling allows users to store electronics and hardware in a particular area rather than wiring cabinets with equipment.


Fiber optic cabling facilitates consistent transmission of data. The central part is fabricated from glass, an insulator, so that electricity cannot pass through. It is barely affected by ebb and flow of temperature, unlike copper, and can be immersed in water without any negative effects. Fiber optic is lightweight and thread like, but tougher than copper wiring. Specifications are a lot more than the copper cable. Although it is more difficult to terminate compared to copper, modern connectors make it easier to terminate.


The costs of fiber as well as other components are decreasing gradually but installation is more costly. Of course, fiber is more expensive than copper but it become more cost-effective in the long run due to less required maintenance, networking and downtime.


Practical users value their money. There may be certain downsides, such as installation expenses, but these are decreasing steadily each year. Fibers are also prone to damages because of the fine and smaller strands. Nevertheless, you can always institute safeguards that will address these points. Make it a point to determine the benefits of using fiber optic cabling.  Install the highest quality of optic fiber cabling that your financial resources will allow.

Data Cabling Cat5e Cat6/6a Cabling

Should you upgrade your Cat5 cable to Cat6 or Cat6a?

23 Mar 2014
cable tester ,Data Cabling, Cat5e ,Cat6/6a CablingA business decision is approaching. Most companies have Cat5/5e cable in their offices. And it has served well in providing reliable data access to servers, peripherals and the Internet. Cat5/5e runs at speeds up to 1gb (also known as 1000Base-T). Cat6 runs at 10gb but has sorter runs. Whereas Cat5 can have cable lengths of up to 100m, Cat6 maxes out at 55m. This number falls to 37m in a hostile environment.  To achieve full 100m cable lengths maximum while minimizing the risks of crosstalk, it is advisable to install Cat6a cable.

Ultimately, this decision is about costs vs. gains. And before a decision can be made, it is critically important to determine if your existing cable infrastructure is running into bottlenecks that cause traffic slowdowns at the desktop for your users. Internet might only needs about 5 - 25mb of bandwidth. But if your office has a lot of workstations and/or a group of users that are utilizing data-intensive publishing or graphic applications, you might need more speed. We have sophisticated network monitoring tools that can determine the traffic across your network. If we determine that you are using all available bandwidth, than your decision will be based on solid information.

Cat6 and Cat6a will boost your network speeds to 10gb/sec. Can you afford to upgrade to Cat6/6a? If the costs justify the expense, please contact us. We will send out one of our top network cabling technicians to analyze your network and determine if this upgrade option is a good idea for your office. And if it is, we will follow up with a proposal all at no cost to your firm.

 
Data Cabling ,Cat5e ,Cat6/6a Cabling,Network Cable Rack

Should we upgrade to Cat6a or to Cat7 cabling?

10 Nov 2023


Cat6a is a much more established standard than Cat7. It is easier to install and has less connectivity issues. We are not going to recommend or bid on a Cat7 solution. Cat6a can run at speeds of up to 10-Gigabit so if that is acceptable for the next 10 years, than we recommend Cat 6a or go to fiber.

We were asked to bid on a cabling project that was fairly straight-forward. It involved replacing the existing Cat5e cable with either Cat6a, Cat7 or fiber cable. The site was an open, standard modern office with a drop ceiling and hollow office walls. The client needed 64 single drops to existing faceplates, three new 24-port patch panels and patch cables.


The need for higher speeds by the client was created by a demand for faster access to larger files from the Server. This potential client was involved with heavy drafting and multimedia applications that require more bandwidth through the cabling system. Cat5e yields up to 1000Base-T, 1-Gigabit, data transfer speed.


The challenge is in deciding on which type of cable to use. Cat6a and fiber are very standard solutions. But Cat7 is not  at all a standard installation yet (and might not ever be one). The problems with Cat7 are that the cable is very heavy,

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,Cat5e ,Cat6/6a Cabling, RackOld Ratary Phone

Microsoft is Ma Bell

12 Jan 2014

Remember the 60s? I do. We had a rotary phone and it made phone calls. Our number was Whitehall 6-4990. And it was an amazing device that allowed us to talk to our friends and family by simply spinning the dial for each number and waiting for someone to pick up the phone on the other end. Back then, Ma Bell had a monopoly and most people probably thought that was fine. Phone service was reliable. The technology seemed like a blessing. The service was affordable although long-distance calls were very, very expensive.

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Data Cabling Cat5e Cat6/6a Cabling

Abandoned Cable Liability Issue

17 Oct 2013
 Cabling,Data Cabling Cat5e Cat6/6a Cabling

As tenants come and go in a commercial building, the cabling infrastructure sometimes leaves behind abandoned Cat5, Cat6 and coax cabling. All that needs to happen is for the new tenant to request a reconfigured layout that relocates the main wall closet. Or, sometimes the old tenant will cut away the cabling in order to take the patch panels with them. If possible, keep the wall closet location. And always offer to buy the patch panels from a departing tenant.



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Network Cabling Data Cabling

How to Install a Patch Panel

27 Jun 2013

The process of installing a patch panel onto a wall begins with the preparing the wall to hold the rack. Most offices have drywall walls. Sometimes the walls are concrete if they lie along the structural boundaries of the building. This installation involved mounting the patch panel onto a wall that is drywall on top of concrete.


The photos below will illustrate what is involved in mounting a rack that holds the patch panel and switch.

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network cabling, data cabling

Perfect Patch Panel Installation

4 Jun 2013
This project involved installation of 28 double drops into two 48-port patch panels. Each wall plate has two connections with one dedicated to data and the other dedicated to voice. Price Benowitz has a lovely office at 409 7th Street, NW. The building is historic but renovated into a modern office. So, the drop ceilings and hollow walls facilitated a straight-forward installation of the Cat5e network cabling system.
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Network Cabling, Data Cabling ,Cat5e ,Cat6/6a Cabling

RJ-45 Connectors Made Easy

18 Apr 2013
 Network Cabling, Data Cabling ,Cat5e, Cat6/6a CablingWhat is the difference between a Cat5 and a Cat6 RJ45 connector?

The easy answer is:  they are both cable connectors with a standard network plug and socket, often called an “Ethernet jack”.

Cat 5 and Cat 6 are UTP, or Unshielded Twisted Pair cables.  The difference defines the cables as Category (Cat) 5 or Cat 6 UTP cable. Both are terminated by RJ45 connectors.
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Network Cabling,data cabling,,DC

Cabling Issues

11 Apr 2013

data cabling,,DCOne of the most important things about cabling is to purchase cable not just for what you’re using now but for what you may run in the future.   A rule of thumb is to install the highest-grade cable that your budget allows.


The standard is Ethernet. That means there are two basic types of cables to use: copper Ethernet and fiber optic Ethernet. Copper Ethernet cabling is generally used to connect the data center equipment to the end-user, while fiber optic cabling is used to network the infrastructure and to

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Network Cabling, Data Cabling ,Cat5e, Cat6/6a Cabling

Basic Structured Cabling

4 Apr 2013
Cables,Network Cabling, Data Cabling, Cat5e ,Cat6/6a Cabling

"Structured cabling” is a complete system of cabling and associated hardware which creates a telecommunications infrastructure. This infrastructure can serve a range of tasks, such as providing telephone service or data transmission through a computer network.

Every cabling system is unique. Variations in the structure of the facilities housing the installation, the specific cabling and connections needs, use and function, as well as customer needs requires standardization to ensure acceptable system performance from increasingly complex systems. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the responsible organization
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