Definitions | Progressive Office Cabling

Cabling Issues

11 Apr 2013

data cabling,,DC One 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

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

Basic Structured Cabling

4 Apr 2013

Stu Kushner

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

What is “Structured Cabling”?

14 Mar 2013

Stu Kushner

Structured cabling is a telecommunications cabling infrastructure consisting of a number of standardized smaller elements called subsystems.

Structured cabling falls into five subsystems:

A Demarcation point is the connection point where the telephone company network ends and the customer’s on-premise wiring connection begins.

Equipment or Telecommunications Rooms contain equipment and wiring points that serve the users inside a building.

Vertical or Riser Cabling connects between the equipment/telecommunications rooms on different floors.
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What is “Alien Crosstalk”?

8 Mar 2013

Stu Kushner

Network Cabling, Data Cabling No, it’s not ET calling home. “Alien Crosstalk” is defined as “unwanted signal coupling from one balanced twisted-pair component, channel, or permanent link to another”.

Alien crosstalk is not generally affected by common noise from motors, transformers, or florescent lighting fixtures. Alien crosstalk is specified as “a parameter for cabling to approximate the energy present when all cabling pairs are energized”.

Shielded or Unshielded Cat6 cable?

22 Feb 2013

Stu Kushner

cat6-cabling,data cabling, With high bandwidth applications and network systems venturing into factory environments, the need for shielded Cat 6 cable has increased. In these new areas of installation, the environment where the network cable is run has large amounts of EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference). Although Cat 6 cables have improved cable twist to reject noise and handle gigabit Ethernet this by itself is not enough for high EMI environments. A shielded Cat 6 cable helps in high EMI installations. These high performance cables ensure the data within the cable will be protected from EMI, resulting in higher speeds and better data transmission.

Grounding Necessities for Shielded Cat 6 cables

Shielding helps protect the data from electromagnetic interference from outside sources that could alter or weaken the signal traveling through the copper in the cable. The shields of the two connectors are electrically tied together by the drain wire. However, they will only become grounded if the jack they are placed in has its shielding tied to ground. If you are setting up a network with Category 6 shielded cables, you should use Cat 6 shielded couplers and jacks.

Installation caveats

Category 6 and 6a cable must be properly installed and terminated to meet specifications. The cable must not be kinked or bent too tightly (the bend radius should be at least four times the outer diameter of the cable). The wire pairs must not be untwisted and the outer jacket must not be stripped back more than 1/2 inch (1.27 cm).

All shielded cables must be grounded for safety and effectiveness and a continuous shield connection maintained from end to end. Ground loops develop when there is more than one ground connection and the difference in common mode voltage potential at these ground connections introduces noise into the cabling.

network cabling,Cat6a Cabling in Atlanta

All About Cat6a Cable

11 Feb 2013

Stu Kushner

Cat6a Cabling in Atlanta It was once thought that copper cabling would never support speeds above 1 Gig, but Augmented Category 6, or Cat6a - has proven that wrong. Copper still lives and copper cabling may still be around at 40 Gig.

There has been much debate about which is the better option for supporting 10 Gig: Cat6a Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or Cat6a Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)? Both solutions have their uses, and some key information can help installers make informed decisions.

Standards and Alien Crosstalk

The IEEE released the 802.3an 10GBASE-T standard in June of 2006, which specifies 10Gbs data transmission over four-pair copper cabling. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) then began work on transmission performance specifications for the cabling. They published TIA Standard 568-B.2-10: Transmission Performance Specifications for 4-Pair 100 Ohm Augmented Category 6 Cabling in February 2008.

The new Cat6a standard extends the frequency of Cat6a cables to 500 MHz with specifications for a new performance parameter called Alien Crosstalk (ANEXT). Cat6a cables are fully backward compatible with all previous categories, including Cat6 and 5e. NEXT is crosstalk that occurs between adjacent cables and connecting hardware. The higher frequency signals of Cat6a makes ANEXT the limiting noise source for Cat6 and Cat5e systems.

Cat6a UTP vs. STP

Due to its ease of installation and familiarity among installers, Cat 6A UTP is today’s cabling of choice as it can support future bandwidth needs and 10Gb/s performance. In addition, the shield n the STP cable helps prevents electromagnetic and radiofrequency interference (EMI/RFI) on twisted pairs, helping eliminate the effects of noise from sources like machinery, generators, or medical imaging equipment, making STP systems the choice for industrial and healthcare facilities.

As most residential systems are not faced with EMI/RFI challenges, so UTP is still the recommended cabling type for home installations.

Data Cabling, Cat5e Cat6/6a Cabling, Washington DC

Cat6 Q&A

4 Feb 2013

Stu Kushner

What is Cat6? Cat6 components are interoperable between different vendors and are fully backward compatible. Cat6 has the same nominal Impedance of 100 Ohms as Cat5 and 5e components, but with tighter tolerance on Impedance variations. Transmission parameters are specified to 250 MHz, compared to 100 MHz for Cat 5/5e.

Do Cat6 components behave differently? The diameters of Cat6 cables range between 0.21 to 0.25 inch (5.3 - 5.8 mm) compared to Cat5/5e’s range of 0.19 to 0.22 inch (4.8 – 5.5 mm). Cat6 also has a tighter twist length to reduce crosstalk interference.

What about installation? Cat6 cables and components are installed similar to Cat5/5e. There are design and installation issues that contractors and installers must pay greater attention to; including cable terminations and the pathway fill.

Will Cat6 supersede Cat5/5e? Yes. The only question is when. The installed cost for Cat6 cabling can be about 20 % higher than Cat5e, but prices will decrease as usage increases.

Will Cat6 deliver what is promised? Yes. There are no technical obstacles. Test parameters and procedures to qualify Cat6 components to ensure interoperability between different vendor’s products are in place and detailed.

What about the installed performance compared with Cat5/5e? The biggest benefit is much-improved Signal-to-Noise Ratio at the Receiver: Cat6 provides about 16 times better Signal-to-Noise Ratio compared to Cat5/5e over a wide frequency range.

Why do we need Cat6? The real question is “is Cat5e good enough for today and in the foreseeable future?” The answer is “Yes, but…”. Network switch ports are often at the “marginally compliant” limits of the IEEE standard and susceptible to cabling and temperature variations. Cat6 provides fewer bit errors than Category 5e for 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T applications.

Cat6 Cabling: What’s the Difference?

17 Jan 2013

Stu Kushner

Cabling is an evolutionary process. New challenges require new capabilities, and based on past trends and future projections, data rates will double about every 18 months. Running applications at 1 Gb/s pushes the limits of category 5e cabling, so doubling the bandwidth is like adding two or more lanes on a highway – you get faster and more efficient data “traffic flow”.

Streaming media applications such as video and multi-media are now commonplace, so the demand for faster data rates are increasing. These new applications will require the higher bandwidth of category 6 cabling.

Cat6 Installation Tips

9 Jan 2013

Stu Kushner

Always study and document the required cabling layout and the distances between the equipment to be cabled before starting a Cat6 cable installation.

Refer to ANSI/TIA/ EIA 606 Document for color coding the different functions used in the system guidance. Use either PVC or plenum cable as required depending on where the cables are run. Fiber optic and/or copper cable may be required depending on the transmission speed and type of equipment.

Cat5, 6 and 7 – What the Numbers Mean

2 Jan 2013

Stu Kushner

Category 6 Network Cable Twisted Pairs Category (Cat)5, 5e, 6 and 7 are different standards for cables used to transmit data through networks. All are twisted copper cables. The difference is based on their performance level.

Cat5 has become the world standard for connecting Ethernet devices. It is inexpensive and very effective; making it the most commonly used cable for connecting Ethernet devices. There are two types, the Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), and the Screened Twisted Pair (SCTP). SCTP adds a protective covering to protect against interference. Cat5 is ideal For long distance communications as it is rigid and has the capacity to support 10-100 Mbps and 100MHz.
The gradual shift from standard 10/100 networks to gigabit networks has challenged Cat5 as it cannot support high speeds. This led to an upgraded version, Cat5e.

Cat5e was developed to makeCat5 compatible with gigabit networks and provide extra protection from interference. However Cat5e does not completely remove interference, which results in slow and often poor performance, but Cat5e does makes networks more reliable and faster.

Cat6 is more advanced than Cat5 and Cat5e. Like Cat 5 and 5e, it uses 4 twisted pairs of copper cables, but with much better performance. The difference comes from a longitudinal separator that keeps all 4 wires separate from one another, reducing interference or “cross talk”, and a faster rate of data transfer. Cat6 can be used in any network that employed Cat5 and Cat5e. Cat 6 is the next level standard for Ethernet connection.

Cat7 is the next generation cabling device for Ethernet connections. It improves internal signaling and exterior protection over Cat5 and Cat6 and can support 10gigabit connections adaptable to standard Ethernet connectors.

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