WIRED/FIXED NETWORKS |
| Historically there were at least 2 cables at every location needing connectivity – 1 for telephone, and 1 for computer/data. These cables were generally unshielded twisted pair (UTP) with a CAT 3 for voice – generally grey in color, and CAT 5 for data, generally blue in color. Today, voice and data are generally one-and-the-same. It is clearly best to run the same type cable to every location. The principle questions are: |
|
| Types of cable |
| At present, there are 3 principle types of UTP cable: |
|
| Category 7 cable is under development and is not yet an EIA/TIA standard. It is expected to support 10Gbps. Which type of UTP cable should be used – CAT6 or CAT5e? Basically it’s a trade-off between cost and speed. In either instance, cost is a factor. CAT 6 cable has become the standard. It is slightly more expensive than Cat5e. Additionally, the cost of CAT6 connector components is a bit more and the labor to properly terminate CAT6 is slightly longer. However, data rates tend to increase regularly and can be expected to do so in the future as streaming media applications such as video and multi-media become commonplace. Demand for faster data rates will increase and spawn new applications that will benefit from the higher bandwidth offered by Category 6. For “future proofing”, it is better to install the best cabling available because it is difficult to replace installed cabling inside walls, in ducts under floors. It is thought that cabling will last at least 10 years and support multiple generations of equipment during that time. If future equipment running at much higher data rates requires better cabling, it will be very expensive to pull out existing cabling at a later time and replace it. PVC or PLENUM Cable? The difference is in fire code safety standards for different types of buildings. Both cable types have the same speed performance. Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), is the material the outer insulation jacket around the copper wires is made of. When it burns, it emits a toxic smoke like burning plastic. PVC can be used in almost all inside wall or floor applications in business or residential properties. PVC is used in well over 90% of all cabling applications. PVC cable is about 1/3 the price of Plenum Rated cable. Plenum rated cable uses a special insulation - TEFLON® - jacket that has low smoke and low flame characteristics. It burns at a much higher temperature and is not nearly as toxic. Plenum cable is mandated to be installed in any "air handling space” where the return air is forced through the ceiling (may include drop down ceilings), rather than being ducted through air conditioning tubes. Many large office buildings use the ceiling to return air to the AC unit. This qualifies the ceiling as a plenum ceiling. Plenum cable must be used in this situation to prevent toxic smoke from being flushed through the whole building in the event of a fire. In some locations the Building and Safety Department may require Plenum even if the cable is being installed in a non-plenum ceiling or floor. Check with local building officials to see if plenum cable is required. Plenum cable costs more because the TEFLON® material required for the insulation, must meet the standards for plenum cables while meeting the EIA/TIA Category standard. This material is relatively expensive. How many cables should be run to each location? Cabling is one area where we can all understand the old adage ‘do it right the first time’. No one wants to find out that the cable plant cannot handle the new requirements or does not have enough cabling. Savings can be had in converged voice and data networks by running just one cable. The IP Phone plugs into the wall jack, and the PC plugs into the phone. However as more and more devices may be connected to the network, it may not be wise to have just one cable per location. We would recommend at least two and possibly three to be fully “future proofed”. It is far easier to run extra cable initially rather than trying to add more later. Cabling Standards Resources The Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association (EIA/TIA) develops all standards for cabling infrastructure. Here are some of the standards, past and present which can be ordered online at www.tiaonline.org. EIA/TIA-568-A (January 1995) Commercial Building Wiring Standard (superseded by EIA/TIA-568-B series) EIA/TIA-568-A-1 (September 1997) Commercial Building Wiring Standard, Addendum 1 - Propagation Delay and Delay Skew Specification for 100 Ohm 4-pair Cable (superseded by EIA/TIA-568-B series) EIA/TIA-568-A-2 (August 1998) Commercial Building Wiring Standard, Addendum 2 - Corrections and Additions to EIA/TIA-568-A (superseded by EIA/TIA-568-B series) EIA/TIA-568-A-3 (December 1998) Commercial Building Wiring Standard, Addendum 3 to EIA/TIA-568-A (superseded by EIA/TIA-568-B series) EIA/TIA-568-A-4 (December 1999) Commercial Building Wiring Standard, Addendum 4 - Production Modular Cord NEXT Loss Test Method for Unshielded Twisted-Pair Cabling (superseded by EIA/TIA-568-B series) EIA/TIA-568-A-5 (February 2000) Commercial Building Wiring Standard, Addendum 5 - Transmission Performance Specification for 4-Pair 100 Ohm Category 5-e Cabling (superseded by EIA/TIA-568-B series) EIA/TIA-568-B.1 (May 2001) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 1: General Requirements (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.1-2001) EIA/TIA-568-B.1-1 (May 2001) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 1: General Requirements - Addendum 1 - Minimum 4-Pair UTP and 4-Pair ScTP Patch Cable Bend Radius (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.1-1-2001) TIA-568-B.1-2 (February 2003) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 1: General Requirements - Addendum 2 - Grounding and Bonding Requirements for Screened Balanced Twisted-Pair Horizontal Cabling (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.1-2-2003) TIA-568-B.1-3 (February 2003) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 1: General Requirements - Addendum 3 - Supportable Distances and Channel Attenuation for Optical Fiber Applications by Fiber Type (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.1-3-2003) EIA/TIA-568-B.2 (May 2001) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted Pair Cabling Components (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.2-2001) EIA/TIA-568-B.2-1 (June 2002) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted Pair Components - Addendum 1 - Transmission Performance Specifications for 4-Pair 100 Ohm Category 6 Cabling (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.2-1-2002) EIA/TIA-568-B.2-2 (December 2001) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling Components - Addendum 2 (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.2-2-2001) EIA/TIA-568-B.2-3 (March 2002) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling - Addendum 3 - Additional Considerations for Insertion Loss and Return Loss Pass/Fail Determination (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.2-3-2002) EIA/TIA-568-B.2-4 (June 2002) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted Pair Components - Addendum 4 - Solder less Connection Reliability Requirements for Copper Connecting Hardware (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.2-4-2002) TIA-568-B.2-5 (January 2003) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard - Part 2: Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling Components - Addendum 5 - Corrections to EIA/TIA-568-B.2 (ANSI/TIA-568-B.2-5-2003) EIA/TIA-568-B.3 (April 2000) Optical Fiber Cabling Components Standard (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.3-2000) EIA/TIA-568-B.3 (April 2000) Optical Fiber Cabling Components Standard (ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B.3-2000) TSB-162 (March 2006) Telecommunications Cabling Guidelines for Wireless Access Points |
NEC Advanced Business Phone System - VoIP Capable
Includes (3) 24-button executive display speaker phones & voice mail for
$1,099
Includes (3) 24-button executive display speaker phones & voice mail for
$1,099