Ultimate Guide to Structured Cabling, Part 2: Components

Welcome back to the ultimate guide to structured cabling from IES Communications. In Part 1, we defined structured cabling, its benefits, and what types of organizations use it. In Part 2, we’re diving deeper with a look at the different components of structured cabling.

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Understanding the Different Components of Structured Cabling Systems

As we discussed last time, structured cabling is a method of organizing and connecting a data and telecommunications network infrastructure throughout a facility, or a group of them.

Today, professionally designed and installed structured cabling is necessary for any commercial or public-facing organization seeking to ensure regulatory compliance, data integrity, and security. But it also delivers a host of other benefits, like helping to:

• ensure quality, consistency, and reliability in data transmissions and video conferencing;

• make managing and maintaining those networks more efficient, cost-effective, and secure; and

• provide the flexibility and scalability needed to easily expand those networks at a time of rapidly evolving technological functionality.

But those benefits don’t always come automatically! They depend on getting everything right, from design to installation to the components that make up each structured cabling system.

What are the 6 Components of Structured Cabling?

Professional structured cabling installation requires a number of specific components or sub-systems — usually six, although some experts also include a seventh. And each component plays an important role in the overall structured cabling system.

The commonly accepted list of structured cabling components is based on guidelines from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Initially offered in 1991 to offer universal standards in cable length and quality, connector quality, electrical transmission and resistance and other critical areas for commercial enterprises, they’ve been often updated since, with the latest published in 2020.

Component 1: Entrance Facilities

An entrance facility is where an internal system links to an external source — think ISPs or other access providers, like telecom companies. Also sometimes called a service provider integration point, an entrance facility serves as the connection point — and the boundary — between an organization’s network and the outside world.

• What to know: Entrance facilities must be able to accommodate the infrastructure of the service provider — usually high-grade cabling like copper, fiber-optic, or coaxial. And because they connect with the outside world, regulations may be more closely watched or strictly enforced.

• What to include: Sub-components of an external facility may include network connectors, entry pathways, termination points, and other demarcation point(s); protection devices, grounding systems, and patch panels, and other related equipment. They may also house uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to ensure continuous power and protect critical network equipment from outages or power fluctuations.

More about UPS Systems

Uninterruptible power supplies are essential for maintaining continuous power during outages or electrical disturbances. Beyond protecting critical IT infrastructure like servers, switches, and routers, UPS systems also ensure that building automation, life safety, and security systems like access control, cameras, and environmental monitoring remain operational. The constant power availability they provide is also vital for maintaining communication, safety, and control across all connected systems within a facility.

Component 2: Equipment Rooms

Linked directly to the entrance facility, equipment rooms serve as a structured cabling system’s central hub or distribution point, often housing equipment that’s usually associated with data centers — think core components like mainframes and servers.

• What to know: For optimum performance, organization, safety, and power use, equipment rooms require a controlled environment with strict temperature and humidity controls, grounding, and labeling. And, like all components, they also require safety features like surge suppression and protection against fire, floods, or other incidents.

• What to include: Among other related accessories, sub-components of an equipment room often include mainframes, servers, routers, switches, and UPS systems, as well as fiber distribution frames (FDFs), patch panels, and main cross-connects (MCs), intermediate cross-connects (ICs), and horizontal cross-connects (HCs).

Component 3: Telecommunications Rooms (or Enclosures)

A telecommunications room is a distribution point that serves as a hub between the main hardware found in an equipment room and individual work stations. It can be a dedicated space, or a section of a larger room. A telecommunications enclosure is a smaller version, used by smaller facilities — or larger ones looking to supplement the “one-per-floor” rule of telecommunications rooms.

• What to know: Like all distribution points, telecommunications rooms and enclosures must be environmentally controlled, with cooling and ventilation, power redundancy, cable routing, and proper clearance all in place.

• What to include: This is the place where different types of cables cross-connect and terminate; as such, it will use jumpers, patch cords, and patch panels. It may also include power distribution units (PDUs), UPS systems, hardware ports, routers, network switches, ICs or MCs, and other auxiliary and connecting equipment like punch-down blocks or keystone jacks.

What’s a Consolidation Point?

Equipment and telecommunications rooms may also be called consolidation points. These are spaces that provide intermediate distribution hubs where different types of cabling connect or terminate, and which may also contain other heavy-duty equipment.

An entrance facility may also be considered a type of consolidation point, but of a slightly different nature, focused more on outside compatibility than internal synchronicity.

• What to know: All consolidation points must be environmentally controlled, strategically located, and safeguarded against unauthorized access and tampering as well as internal hazards like fire or leakage. They must also be provide easy access for enable technicians or maintenance professionals.

Component 4: Vertical (a.k.a. Backbone or Riser) Cabling

Vertical cabling connects different sections or floors of a building — or different facilities — with the main servers in the equipment room, and with telecommunications enclosures and entrance facilities. They’re called vertical because they’re usually housed on vertical risers.

• What to know: Vertical cabling is usually high-grade, consisting of fiberoptic cables or high-performance copper wiring to support high-speed and high-bandwidth data transmissions. (When connecting with an entrance facility, those standards are usually established by the external carrier.)

• What to include: Vertical cabling often uses patch cables, conduits, raceways, and through-floor sleeves to allow for placement.

Component 5: Horizontal Cabling

Horizontal cabling connects the equipment in the telecommunications enclosure to work stations within a building, and to the devices used there. As such, it directly enables the use of critical applications like data and voice transmission.

• What to know: A number of different types of cables can be used here, as we discussed in Part 1. But today, high-capacity ethernet cabling and fiber-optic wiring are generally required for the best performance. The limit for horizontal cabling is 90 meters; installation standards also include separation from power lines and limits to bending.

• What’s included? Sub-components of horizontal cabling can include connectors, patch panels, patch cords, termination points, jumpers, and similar equipment needed for proper placement, connectivity, and organization.

What’s the Difference between Horizontal and Vertical Cabling?

Vertical cabling connects hubs like entrance facilities, equipment rooms, and telecommunications enclosures, while the sole purpose of horizontal cables is to connect telecommunications rooms to individual work stations.

• What to know: Horizontal cabling is typically copper-based Ethernet or fiber-optic to support fast and reliable data transmission, while vertical cabling is usually comprised of a multi-fiber assembly to enable even faster, large-scale transmission.

Component 6: Work Areas

If the entrance facility is the starting point in a structured cable system, the work area is the final destination. This is where devices like PCs and phones connect to the telecommunications room and, through that hub, to the main equipment room and entrance facility, letting users access the main network for data, voice, video, or whatever’s needed.

• What to know: Work area components are considered an integral part of a structured cabling system, and the purchase and configuration of devices like computers, phones, printers, and more should be strategized with this in mind. They should allow flexible connections (and disconnections), support high speeds, and be strategically placed.

• What to include: Work area connectivity usually utilizes wall outlets, jacks, patch cables and cords, and device connectors and adapters, as well as any auxiliary equipment needed to ensure reliable connectivity.

Sub-Component 7: Pathways

Some sources refer to pathways as a seventh component of structured cabling, and with good reason. They’re every bit as important in providing the physical structure needed for a well-designed, high-functioning system. As such, they shouldn’t be an afterthought, but given the same level of consideration as any other structured cabling component.

• What to include: Pathways often include conduits, raceways, cable trays, raised flooring, as well as mechanisms that allow for proper routing and separation from electrical systems, airflow management, and ease of access and expansion.

Trust Your Structured Cabling to the Experts

Selecting, installing, and maintaining structured cabling components is too important of a job to be left in the hands of anyone but certified experts. At IES Communications, we specialize in designing, implementing, and maintaining the systems that work best for your needs, wherever you may be, all across the United States.

Trust the experts with your structured cabling: Contact us today for a quote or consultation.

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