New Trend of Structured Cabling and Standarization

Written by Julianus Yu

Typical business environments and requirements change quickly. Companies restructure and reorganize at alarming rates. In some companies, the average employee changes work locations once every two years. Each time, the telephone, both networked computers, a VAX VT-100 terminal, and a networked printer had to be moved. The data and voice cabling system had to support these reconfigurations quickly and easily. Earlier cabling designs would not have easily supported this business environment.

Cabling has changed quite a bit over the years. Cabling installations have evolved from proprietary systems to flexible, open solutions that can be used by many vendors and applications. This change is the result of the adaptation of standards-based, structured cabling systems.

The components used to design a structured cabling system should be based on a widely accepted specification and should allow many applications (analog voice, digital voice, 10Base-T, etc.) to use the cabling system. The components should also adhere to certain performance specifications so that the installer or customer will know exactly what types of applications will be supported.

In the mid-1980s, consumers, contractors, vendors, and manufacturers became concerned about the lack of specifications relating to telecommunications cabling. Before then, all communications cabling was proprietary and often suited only to a single-purpose use. The Computer Communications Industry Association (CCIA) asked the EIA to develop a specification that would encourage structured, standardized cabling.

Under the guidance of the TIA TR-41 committee and associated subcommittees, the TIA and EIA in 1991 published the first version of the Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard, better known as ANSI/TIA/EIA-568 or sometimes simply as TIA/EIA-568. The Standard addresses the following:

• Subsystems of structured cabling
• Minimum requirements for telecommunications cabling
• Installation methods and practices
• Connector and pin assignments
• The life span of a telecommunications cabling system (which should exceed 10 years)
• Media types and performance specifications for horizontal and backbone cabling
• Connecting hardware performance specifications
• Recommended topology and distances
• The definitions of cabling elements (horizontal cable, cross-connects, telecommunication outlets, etc.)

The ANSI/TIA/EIA-568 Standard was developed and has evolved into its current form for several reasons:

• To establish a cabling specification that would support more than a single vendor application
• To provide direction of the design of telecommunications equipment and cabling products that are intended to serve commercial organizations
• To specify a cabling system generic enough to support both voice and data
• To establish technical and performance guidelines and provide guidelines for the planning and installation of structured cabling systems