Network Cabling is the heart of connectivity in any given building. It’s most required in offices that work out of commercial buildings in urban or rural areas since there is a great need for an uplink 24/7. Office systems of today rely on always-on connectivity to do their jobs and to connect with their customers.
This is why it’s so important to know about network cabling in your own office. Whatever you decide to do, whether to let a professional carry it out or to have a crack at it yourself, you’ll need to know a few things to get through it.
How to Install Network Cabling in your Office
Purchase Identifiable Cables
It can be very difficult to keep track of all the cables that are running through the walls if they’re not marked properly. Hence if they’re more identifiable through color, they become much easier to deal with.
Color Coding
If cables are categorized as the same type, it’ll be quicker and much simpler to troubleshoot connectivity problems. Using different colors for cables with different purposes will allow little chance of confusion.
Labeling
You should know where every cable originates and intends to go. Office networks have a multitude of wiring installed; hence labeling them will only make things easier.
Network/LAN Wiring
Category 5 UTP cabling should be used to link LAN workstations to central 100BaseT or 10BaseT Ethernet hubs. Small networks and unmanaged hubs are sufficient for lightly used LANs.
Hubs function the same way as an intercom or a PBX system. However, they differ in that the hub manages routing through the LAN.
Voice Wiring
Telephone stations should be provided 6-wire cabling in every location. Only 2 wires are required for a telephone station, but it’s better to overbuild the wiring infrastructure and be prepared for signaling and remote power with the remaining 4 wires.
You won’t need Category 5 cables for voice circuits because high-frequency signals won’t be transmitted over them. However, there’s no harm in installing Cat 5 cabling if you so wish to do so.
You could also go for the iso-synchronous Ethernet cables or isoE. It has 96 voice circuits bundled with a 10 Mbps Ethernet connection for simultaneous voice and LAN service.
Wiring Closet
The wiring closet should be terminated by a central patch bay with modular jacks. The LAN wiring should be terminated by RJ-45 (8-wire) modular jacks, and the voice wiring by RJ-14 (4-wire) modular jacks. Patch cords should then be used to connect LAN jacks to a central hub or a router. This allows them to connect to an intercom system or a PBX.
Cabling your own office can seem intimidating; however, you can look to these helpful tips in order to either monitor or do the entire thing yourself. It’s better if you call a professional of course, but using these tips will point you in the right direction.