Structured cabling sounds important, but do you know what it is? You may know it as voice and data cabling, wiring or network cabling. No matter what you call it, structured cabling is the backbone of your office’s communication.
Where it All Begins
Believe it or not, your cabling may or may not even begin inside your building. The beginning of your infrastructure begins at what is known as the demarc. Demarc is an abbreviation for the demarcation point. It is the spot where your voice and data provider brings your service. Their equipment is then connected to the customer provided equipment. In older buildings or offices your demarc may be located on a box on the side of your building. More and more the trend is to move the demarc point inside.
What Next?
After you get your voice and data service to your office, it needs to be spread out over your space. In older set-ups, you would run a cable, more than like a 25-pair, to your equipment room, and then have to run more cabling, known as backbone cabling, from your equipment room to your telephone room or enclosure that housed your phone equipment. However, as technology is changing, so is the way that cabling is done.
Most office spaces today have combined their equipment room, telephone room, and network closet into one central location. This is typically referred to as a server room. This area will house your telephone equipment, network switches, racks, and anything else related to your voice and data needs. When planning your layout in a new office, its always a good idea to set aside a room that is big enough to house all your equipment and a little extra room for growth, as well as make sure it has proper ventilation or active cooling. All of these pieces of equipment generate a lot of heat!
Getting it Where it Needs to Go
Once your phone and internet service is in your server room and connected to all the proper equipment, it’s time for the fun part – getting the phones and computers at your work stations connected! This is accomplished through horizontal cabling. This type of cabling goes from your phone and network equipment to the wall jacks at each individual work station in the office. From there, all you have to do is plug in.
Why is Your Structured Cabling Important?
Your cabling allows you to access the outside world – in other words, to make money! Cabling that is done improperly means your phones may cut in and out, have poor sound quality, or could affect the stability of your internet. Beyond that, it can cost you money in the long run if you need to have your cabling fixed. You’ll be paying someone time to find the faulty cables, pull them out and re-run them. Make sure that when you are entering a new office space that you hire someone you can trust to build a solid plan for your cabling. If you’re moving into a space with existing cabling, you’ll want someone to come look at the structured cabling in place and test it and make sure it will meet your current needs.
We Can Help
At TCC Telecom we have the experience and the tools to help you with all your cabling needs. We have been cabling offices and other spaces in Maryland for 15 years. We use the Fluke CableIQ tester to test and certify all our cables and provide you with a PDF copy. If you’re interested in a qualified, experienced cabling expert to work in your next space give us a call at 443-201-8074 or use our Contact Us page.