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Most Effective Tips for Network Upgrades – Part 2

Most Effective Tips for Network Upgrades – Part 1

How Improper Cabling Causes Network Issues – Part 1
Your employees are dissatisfied by their company’s network performance, and it is affecting their productivity. A number of factors must be taken into consideration. How many users are attempting to use resources simultaneously? Have you taken into account how much the use of devices has grown? Is your network equipment sufficient to meet demand? Answering the above questions will help, but network issues may be directly related to your company’s structured cabling.
Outdated Cabling
In many instances, the age of your structured cabling system may be responsible for poor network performance. 15-year-old cabling may have met standards when it was installed, but now it may be unable to handle the ever increasing network traffic needs of your company.
An internet service provider (ISP) provides the cable that provides the connection from your company’s network to the internet. When this backbone component fails to meet today’s bandwidth standards, bottlenecks may occur.
In situations where you are attempting to operate at speeds that are too high or carry excessive bandwidth via a cable that not rated for the capacity, it will be noticeable to users and their productivity will decline, hampering business operations.
Quality of Cabling
Cabling manufacturers rate their cables in terms of capability and performance. For example, CAT6 and CAT6a cabling have different capabilities, CAT being an abbreviation for category. A manufacturer must meet the performance standards set by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) for each category of cabling.
Cabling that exceeds minimum standards will attain higher network speeds without having to upgrade your cabling. In contrast, for cabling that only meets the minimum standards, the company network speed will be unable to expand much beyond the rating of the cable.
It is helpful to understand cable standards and ratings. Even though a cable is labeled Category 6A, it is not automatic that it meets the minimum performance standards of this category. The brand name and manufacturing quality will play a big role in the cable’s output.
Part 2 will discuss Compatibility, Patch Cords, and Poor Installation.
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 in the Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Pittsburgh and New York City areas. 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.
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Top Ten Tips for Business Data Cabling – Part 2
As discussed in Part 1, business cabling projects can be a challenge to properly design, install, and accomplish on schedule. The key to success is finding an experienced team that will provide structured cabling services of high quality. Part 2 will discuss Maintaining Standards, Planning Well, Respecting Regulations, Staying Up-to-Date, and Testing Infrastructure.
Maintaining Standards
Maintain the established standards and best practices of structured cabling. Neglecting to do so will probably reduce quality and the efficiency of a data network. For guidance, refer to the standards set forth by the Telecommunications Industry Association.
Planning Well
Planning well will help future proof your organization. Do your best in estimating what your company will need for the next five years. CAT5E is now the standard, and it can support a maximum of 1000 Mbps. If your company needs more bandwidth, CAT6 is rated at a maximum of 10 Gbps. Re-cabling soon after installation will be disruptive and expensive.
Respecting Regulations
Compliance with codes, laws, and ordinances typically protects the lives of employees and first responders. A company found to be violating regulations will be fined and required to rewire the cabling so it is up to code. In the event of injury or death that is attributable to a violation, individuals found responsible may be held financially and perhaps criminally liable.
Staying Up-to-Date
Staying current with technological developments and regulations related to structured cabling and IT infrastructure will allow you to provide guidance to your company that has foresight. Knowledge of trends will let you anticipate what your IT infrastructure will need in the future.
Testing Infrastructure
Testing IT infrastructure during the installation of cabling is good practice. For efficiency, tests should be performed in phases to detect and fix problems quickly. Testing only after the installation of hundreds of feet of cabling will discover issues far too late and result in time wasteful revisions, repair, or replacements.
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 in the Washington, D.C. and New York City areas. 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.

Basics and Benefits of Zone Cabling – Part 2
As mentioned in Part 1, zone cabling designs provide benefits in materials savings, decreased installation times, and easier MACs (moves, adds, and changes). Part 2 will continue discussing the basics and benefits of zone cabling.
Designs
Experts recommend CAT 5e and 6 UTP (unshielded twisted pair) zone cabling topology with a connecting block system within the ZE (zone enclosure). This configuration will render unnecessary the stocking of factory pre-terminated and tested interconnect cords for connections in the ZE, simplifying cable management through the elimination of cable slack.
Please note that CAT 6A UTP media is not recommended for zone cabling due to reasons involving performance and flexibility. UTP cabling is vulnerable to crosstalk in particular installation scenarios. In addition, it is not the best media for supporting remote power applications with loads of 30W or more. Because CAT 6A UTP zone deployment is dependent on modular connections inside the ZE, connections provided by pre-terminated and tested interconnect cords need to be available for rapidly enabling MACs. Affordable shielded zone cabling solutions are recommended to address these situations.
Cost Savings
Even though more CAPEX (capital expenditure) will be necessary for a zone cabling installation, assessing total costs should also account for OPEX (operating expenditure). The performance of MACs is classified as OPEX, and studies by Siemon found there are hundreds of dollars in savings from each move, addition, or change when using a zone cabling design versus a traditional cabling design. Their study also discovered a tipping point when ROI begins accruing from utilizing a zone cabling design.
IT (information technology) needs for many organizations evolve constantly, which requires being able to quickly reconfigure floor space. An improved capability of supporting MACs will allow owners of facilities to achieve considerable ROI benefits from deploying zone cabling systems in a two to five year period. According to Siemon, the combined costs of CAPEX and OPEX for zone cabling designs will be invariably less than traditional cabling designs
Part 3 will continue discussing the basics and benefits of zone cabling.
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 in the Washington, D.C. and New York City areas. 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.


