STRUCTURED CABLING
Fusion Systems supplies and installs the Network Sciences structured cabling systems manufactured in the UK by HT Data – part of the £500m Spirent Group plc.
We design and install structured cabling systems for all sizes of premises from a handful of points to installations featuring several thousand points. Our portfolio not only includes all of the key elements for the installation, but we stock a range of accessories including Patch Leads, shelves, cable management strips, power adapters etc to enhance any installation.
Computer and telephone systems typically share a common structured cabling system. The star typology of copper cable based unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring systems provides for numerous outlets located around an office and each outlet has a cable that runs back to a central computer room or equipment room where they are terminated in a patch panel usually contained in a cabinet. Short ‘patch cables’ and fly leads are then used to connect particular outlets to active computer devices such as an Ethernet Switch or to a telephone system and the device on the staff members desk.
Presently there are two common standards of UTP cabling systems that are installed into buildings, Category 5e and Category 6. As cabling systems have a long life and are a fundamental foundation to any ICT infrastructure it is important that a competent and qualified supplier installs the right system. Fusion’s Network Sciences installations are provided with test certifications for each outlet to prove conformity to standards and the whole installation is provided with a performance guarantee of 15 or 25 years depending on the system installed.
Category 5e
This standard based on a 100Mhz bandwidth is a development of Category 5 to give the standard sufficient headroom to support 1,000Mb/s (1 Gigabit) data speeds on Ethernet. It is a cost effective system to install completely compatible with Ethernet, telephony and many other data standards. Primarily it is installed where a low cost installation is required whilst providing support for the highest currently available data transmission rates.
Category 6
This standard was finally ratified in June 2002 provides for even higher headroom as a consequence of its 250Mhz bandwidth to support the anticipated future network standards as well as supporting those already available today. As such it is the system of choice for installing into new buildings or in refurbishments where there is a long term view and a maximum return on investment is required. The 25 year performance guarantee backs up this long term view. Category 5e and Category6 systems use the same RJ45 plug and jack format to retain compatibility between equipment of different standards.
Category 6A – 10 Gig
HT Data’s Deca10 solution provides 10GB data rates over copper and fibre cables and is ideal for computer room and data centre applications where high data rates are required. The copper cables used in 10GB solutions differ from the slower standards in that a foil shield is included and this introduces particular requirements in termination. A standard RJ45 plug form factor has been retained. HT Data’s Deca10 solution has been independently certified by Delta test labs to meet or exceed all link and channel requirements of the TIA Category 6A standard, ANSI/TIA/EIA‑568‑B. 2‑10, and the more demanding ISO/IEC Class EA standard, ISO/IEC 11801:2002.
Fibre Optic Cabling
The limitation of copper cabling in Category 5e and Category 6 systems is that the overall length between device on a staff members desk and the equipment that it is attached to in a computer room is 100 metres. Whilst in many small to medium sized offices this can be easily accommodated it does provide an issue in multi floor offices or very large floor plan offices.
Fibre optic provides two key factors to overcoming this limitation. Firstly and perhaps most significantly the line length of fibre optic cabling is determined only by the type of cable used and the transmission equipment used at each end. This can range from tens of metres to thousands of kilometres as used in inter continental links.
Secondly fibre optic supports very high data transmission rates enabling high speed, high capacity backbone links to be established. A further benefit is that as there is no electrical conduction over fibre optic cable networks are segregated electrically.
In a large, multi floor building it would be typical to provide copper cabling from each outlet to a data cabinet to server the entire floor. Each floor would be separately linked backed to a main computer room either by fibre optic or possibly copper cabling if distances permit.
Comparatively fibre optic is harder to work with and costs more to install than copper cables so it’s use is carefully considered when designing an infrastructure.
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