Network Cabling

• What is structured Cabling
• Wireless
• What should you consider when designing a network
• Can I run my phone system through the network cables
• What does it cost

What is structured cabling

Structured cabling embraces Category 5e, CAT 6 and CAT 7 methodologies while Fibre has typically been used to provide a backbone between networks. The purpose of structured cabling is to provide a dedicated cable for each individual network device thus providing a very high level of fault tolerance and also dedicated high data bandwidth for each individual network device. The main difference between the levels of structured cabling is the bandwidth (the amount of data that can be passed through the cable).Cat 5e which superseded Cat 5 is designed to run at 100Mbps with Cat 6 being able to handle Gigabit transfer rates.

CAT 7, which is designed to handle 10 Gigabit data rates is still in its early stages and has a very small take up around the world.In reality it is not likely to be required in a small or medium office environment as CAT 6 is able to provide very high data transfer rates which is typically more than sufficient for a normal business.

When making a decision about which type of cabling you require it is necessary to balance your potential data transfer rates against the cost of each of the technologies.Hands-On Computers are able to provide the information you require to make this decision and will then carry out the installation and full testing of the system to the highest standards.

Wireless

Although structured cabling is the most common method of transmitting data and voice around the office there are other alternatives such as wireless radio networks, which can be installed in areas where it is not possible or practical to run cables.

There is often confusion about types of wireless communications but simply put you have Bluetooth and WiFi.

Bluetooth is used for linking devices together such as your mobile phone and a headset and as such has a short range where as WiFi is comparable to network cabling as it provides a way of linking your computer devices together in the same way that structured cabling does.

WiFi has evolved over the past years and you now have the option of a number of speeds (typically 11Mbps, 54Mbps and 108Mbps).In simple terms it is always worth buying the fastest technology however there are times when there is no need to spend the extra money and thus knowing what technology to use for a particular application can save on cost.

Hands-On Computers has a great deal of experience with Wireless networks and thus are able to look at your requirements from a wide perspective and advise and implement the correct solution for your needs.

What should you consider when designing a network.

When designing a new structured cabling network you should always look to install more cables than you think you will need as it is easy to run another cable at the time of the installation but much more difficult (and thus costly) to add a cable in later.

To get an idea of how many cables to run you first need to work out where you may want to have a desk (and thus a computer) in your office.When doing this you need to consider any future re shuffle or indeed squeezing new people in should you grow beyond your expectations.

Once you have worked out the number of locations (nodes) that your office will accommodate you then need to decide on how many points each node will have.The official recommendation is that you have 4 points for every node (Computer, printer, phone and a spare).If you are looking to keep costs to an absolute minimum then you could get away with 2 points per node but experience tells that you really are better off going for the full 4 per node.

Can I run my phone system through the network cables

Absolutely.By running your phones through the network cables you are able to be much more flexible as it becomes very easy to add an remove phones from a location and to reallocate/move extension numbers throughout the office.

What does it cost

There are a few ways of pricing the installation of new network cables and on the whole this would be governed by the number of points you are looking to install.

The easiest way to cost a job is on the basis of a price per point which as standard would include the cable, patch lead, fly lead, wall box, plug in modules and the labour.This method only really becomes feasible when you are installing 50 points or more as at this level it is easier to offset the time to install the more difficult points against the easier points and the value of the overall job.

To give an indication of a price we would normally charge about £40 per point for a network with 50 points but this figure would reduce down and for 1000 points and more it is often possible to get the price down to around £20 per point.

Factors that will effect these prices are ease of access and the type of building as should you have a listed building with ornamental coving then we would need to quote for the job specifically.Another factor that will effect the price is how you want the cables run around the building.It is possible to simply loose lay the cables on the floor but this is not a good idea from the point of view of Health and Safety, longevity of the network and how it will look.The best way of running cables is to run them into the walls, ceilings and floors at the time of a refurb or new build.If you are in this position then you should speak to your electrician and ask them to quote you for running the cables as they are often able to run the cables at the same time that they are pulling the electrical cables and as long as they have marked them correctly we are happy to come in and do the final termination and testing.

If you require less than 50 points then this is not a problem as we will simply come in and following a survey provide you with a fixed price to install what ever number of points you require or indeed if you only want us to terminate and test cables that have been pulled by your electrician we will me more than happy to quote you for this as well.