 What are the structured cabling system components? Every data and telephone cabling installation is unique. However the majority of projects all consist of a similar set of structured cabling system components. The areas that they have included and the way that they will be installed all differ. Furthermore, depending on the size of the project not all elements will be present. There are six areas that are generally found in every data and telephone cabling installation. The incoming services or entrance facility. The main communications are equipment room. Separate sub-cabinets or telecommunication rooms. Backbone cabling linking them together. The general work areas. Horizontal data cabling serving the work areas. On larger projects all these will be present. However on smaller projects they may be combined. For example, the entrance facility and communications room may be the same room. Furthermore, there may only be one cabinet and therefore no sub-cabinets or backbone cabling. The incoming services or entrance facility. This area is where the incoming services enter the building and create a demarcation point. This can be for both data and telephone cabling. For example, a BT distribution point or a blown fiber housing box. In some buildings this might go directly into the communications room. However it is usually separate and then linked to the comms room. Meanwhile in a multi-tenanted building, the entrance facility will house all services. Consequently each tenant then connects their own communications room to this area. The main communications are equipment room. In short the communications room is where all the hardware and control technology are housed for a client. Likewise, this is generally the same for multi-flaws or single-flaw use. The incoming active broadband router, firewall, service storage and main hardware are generally housed in the main communications room. In addition, other technology and hardware will be housed in this central hub. These can include the following. Audio visual equipment such as satellite boxes, storage, music servers and digital signage controllers. CCTV recording equipment and screens. BMS controls. Access control. Smart lighting controllers. The building may have several cabinets throughout. However the main communications room will generally house the central hub of these services. The communications room also has to take into consideration present and future requirements. Furthermore the required power, cooling and security. However in smaller buildings, the space might just be a wall mounted cabinet on the wall of an office. Separate sub-cabinets or telecommunication rooms. Generally when the building is over a large space or on several floors, there will be more than one communication room space. Thus telecommunication rooms or satellite cabinets are created. The cabinet locations are designed to ensure that no data cabling runs exceed 90 meters. This is the standardized maximum length of any copper data cabling installation. Compared to the main communications room, they don't usually contain a lot of or any of the control technology and hardware. In this case, they house additional data switches and the patch panels for the data cabling to that dedicated cabinet or room. Generally each floor will have its own cabinet or room. However depending on size, several floors can be served from a single room. Likewise in many designs, the main communications room will house the data cabling to that floor and maybe one or two others. Furthermore in a smaller installation, there may only be one comms room that all the data cabling runs back to. As a result of creating these satellite cabinets, they require connection back to the main comms room. This is done by backbone cabling. Backbone cabling. When the project requires more than one set of cabinets, the design of backbone cabling becomes important. Generally these are fiber optic cabling installations, but can at times be installed in copper. Structured cabling design is based around a star design. Thus each outlet has a data cable that runs directly back to the comms cabinet. Similarly the backbone design follows the same pattern. All the sub cabinets will have a direct link back to the main communications room. Furthermore in some cases they will have two separate dedicated links between the two areas. In addition, these will follow two separate routes to create resilience in cases of damage to one of the links. Likewise in some installations, the sub cabinets will also have links between them to create additional resilience in case of broken or damaged cables. Thus when one cable gets damaged, then there are alternative paths for the data transmissions to travel. The backbone cabling is generally fiber optic cabling due to its great bandwidth capability. In addition it is also able to carry multiple channel connections over a single cable. For example, each of the following may require a separate connection between comms room and sub cabinet. Data connection. Voigt phone systems. CCTV. Access control. BMS. Wi-Fi. Audio visual. Fiber optic cabling achieves this by installing a 16 core single cable to cover this. Two cores per link. In contrast seven individual copper cables would need to be installed to achieve the same connections. Furthermore, the fiber optic will generally be oversized such as a 24 core to allow for future growth. In the same way that data cabling to the work areas cannot exceed 90 meters, neither can it in backbone links. Hence if the links are greater than 90 meters then fiber optic cabling must be used. Work areas. The work area is any area where work is carried out or requires coverage. This can include areas such as desks, meeting rooms, conference facilities, reception, cafes, restaurant, kitchen and welfare areas. Warehouse and storage. External areas. Bespoke working requirements. Each building or campus is different. However any area can be a work area and all follow a similar set of guidelines for cabling to them. Furthermore, they have guidelines to plan for the present and future considerations of that particular workspace. This will include the data cabling, power and containment. Furthermore the type of termination points will depend on the location. Will there be floor boxes or grommets or mounted on the wall. In addition will waterproof or IP rated termination boxes be required for external or warehouse areas. Horizontal cabling. The work areas are served by the horizontal cabling. It is referred to as horizontal cabling, as generally the cabling runs horizontally and directly from a dedicated cabinet on the same floor. However, as previously mentioned, in some cases on floor cabinets may serve several floors. The maximum distance is 90 meters from work area to cabinet. This is the same for data and telephone cabling, CCTV, Wi-Fi or any other cabling run over data. The choice of horizontal cabling will depend on the requirements of the client's hardware. For example CAT 5E and CAT 6, are suitable for gigabit transmission speeds. However for 10 gigabit, CAT 6A is recommended as a minimum cable specification. In some installations, although rarely, fiber optic cabling is installed directly to the desk. Generally this is for high security or high speed applications. This is referred to as fiber to the desk or FTTD. Summary of structured cabling system components. Each project is different and the size will dictate to how the design will go. However with the six components above, the basis of a suitable installation is built. 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