What is Structured Cabling?
A structured cabling system provides an infrastructure for telecommunications and serves a wide range of uses, such as transmitting data through a network or providing telephone service. This complete cabling system isn’t device dependent and has many uses. This article will define a structured cabling system, the subsystems, and its uses.
What Is Structured Cabling?
In the area of telecommunications, structured cabling is cabling infrastructure found in buildings that contain subsystems, such as patch cables, optical cabling, twisted pair, and others. Those who install structured cabling must follow a set of standards when wiring data or voice communications for s, homes, offices, or schools. The standards define how the cable installation technician needs to lay the cabling to meet customer needs and how to patch the outlet into a network switch.
Structured Cabling Subsystems
Six subsystems comprise a structured cabling system: the entrance facility, equipment room, horizontal cabling, telecommunications room, vertical cabling, and work area.
- Entrance facility: This area includes the cables, connecting hardware, network demarcation point, and other devices that connect with the cabling at the customer’s location.
- Equipment Room: The equipment room houses equipment and the consolidation points for the wiring, and also serves those inside the building. The equipment room is a centralized location within the building.
- Horizontal cabling: Horizontal cabling contains the horizontal cable, mechanical terminations, telecommunications outlet, and consolidation points. Horizontal cabling refers to the cabling that connects between the telecommunications enclosure and the telecommunications information outlet in the work area.
- Telecommunications enclosure: Also called the telecommunications room, the telecommunication enclosure houses the distribution frames, cross-connects, telecommunication equipment, and cable terminations in an enclosed area. The size of the service area, which is determined by the needs of the business, informs the size of the telecommunications enclosure.
- Vertical cabling: Also called backbone cabling, this cabling connects between telecommunications enclosures, equipment rooms, and the entrance facility and goes from floor to floor.
- Work area: While the name indicates the activity within the pace, it connects the communication outlets to the end-user equipment and holds the communication outlets, station equipment, and other cable components.
Uses For Structured Cabling
The pandemic created a radical shift in how people live and work, and while some companies desire to return to the traditional ways of people working on-site, other businesses recognized the benefits and are fine with remote working, which is now one of the main drivers of expansion. Remote workers often communicate with each other through video telecommunications, which requires data. Other uses for structured cabling include e-commerce, telemedicine, online gaming, video streaming, distance learning, and active video surveillance.
Contact Us
McEnroe Voice & Data is the area’s best integrator of structured cabling, business telephone systems, and video conferencing solutions. We have a great deal of experience providing exceptional communication services throughout northern Virginia and Washington D.C. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation, request a service, or simply learn more about what services we provide. We look forward to speaking with you.