Today Cabling Plant Uses

Written by Julianus Yu

Another consideration to take into account when designing and installing a structured cabling system is the intended use of the various cables in the system. A few years ago, structured cabling system usually meant a company’s data network cabling. Today, cabling systems are used to carry various kinds of information, including the following:

• Data

• Telephone

• Television

• Fire detection and security

When designing and installing your cabling system, you must keep in mind what kind of information is going to be traveling on the network and what kinds of cables are required to carry that information. Assume that we have been know kind of cable that could be run for data, so we discuss about other type media wiring. Telephone
In the old days, pairs of copper wires were strung throughout a building to carry the phone signal from a central telephone closet to the individual telephone handsets. In the telephone closet, the individual wires were brought together and mechanically and electrically connected to all the incoming telephone lines so that the entire building was connected to the outside world. The major difference today is that telephone systems have become digital. So most require a private branch exchange (PBX), a special device that connects all the individual telephones together so the telephone calls can go out over one high-speed line (called a trunk line) rather than over multiple individual lines.

Generally speaking, today’s telephone networks are run along the same cabling paths as the data cabling. Additionally, telephone systems use the same UTP cable that many networks use for carrying data. They will usually share the same wiring closets with the data and television cabling. The wires from telephone connections can be terminated almost identically to data cabling.

Television
In businesses where local cable access is possible, television cable will be run into the building and distributed to many areas to provide cable access. You may be wondering what cable TV has to do with business. The answer is plenty. News, stock updates, technology access, public-access programs, and, most importantly,
Internet connections can all be delivered through television cable. Additionally, television cable is used for security cameras in buildings.

Television cable typically uses coaxial cable (usually RG-6/U cable) along with F-type, 75-ohm coaxial connectors. The cables to the various outlets are run back to a central point where they are connected to a distribution device. This device is usually an unpowered splitter, but it can also be a powered, complex device known as a television distribution frame. The topology is basically the same.

Fire-Detection and Security Cabling
One category of cabling that often gets overlooked is the cabling for fire-detection and security devices. Cables, which are usually UTP, must be run from each of these devices back to the central security controller. Because they usually carry power, these cables should be run separately from, or at least perpendicular to, copper cables that are carrying data.