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Why is Proper Data Cabling Installation Important?
Companies often overlook or undervalue the importance of proper data cabling installation. First of all, the data cabling that goes from your IT room to each individual device is the backbone infrastructure for speed and reliability. If the infrastructure is poor, your technology endpoints will not work properly.
Purchasing a car is a good analogy for this scenario. Now, let us say you purchased a Ferrari. It sounds exciting and you are ready for the experience. You then take the Ferrari out to roads that are poorly maintained with a lot of pot holes and bumps. At this point, no matter how fast the car may be, you will have to drive it slowly. It is not the cars fault. It is the infrastructure on which it was driven.
Even if you have the best servers, Internet, computers and tablets but a poor cabling infrastructure, then you will have a poor experience. Furthermore, cabling is very expensive to retrofit or modify. This is especially true if you plan on staying in the same building for many years. You have to move furniture, disrupt work flow, etc…
What Do Some People do Wrong in Data and Fiber Cabling?
In Houston, Austin and San Antonio, ICS has seen several mistakes that customers and vendors make regarding data cabling installation.
First of all, too many people view cabling as simply “pull the cable from point A to B” philosophy. While you may be able to get the cable to function, it will not function at the required performance level. The IEEE Standards Organization cabling specifications help ensure interoperability and optimal performance of your cabling. Small things like tying cable to electrical conduit, allowing cable to rest on lights and having too many 90-degree bends in a cable can keep the data from running through the copper at advertised speeds.
Furthermore, properly terminated cables may perform at intermittent speeds and reliability. Simple things like stripping the cable back too far and untwisting the cable can lower its performance.
Importance of Data Cabling Testing
It is important that you have your cabling installation certified with a Fluke or equivalent tester. These tests provide a printed report proving proper termination, throughput and distance. Although this can increase the cost of your data cabling installation, it can also provide a longer warranty and ensure better performance.
In summary, if you are going to invest in data cabling infrastructure, remember to consider the future. Data cabling installed to specifications will minimize issues and using a professional company that utilizes certification tools like Fluke will minimize issues and increase reliability.
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Further reading
ICS is a Texas-based 40-year-old technology company specializing in Managed IT, VoIP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance solutions for US and International businesses. ICS has over 4000 regional installations and specializes in multi-site businesses between 25 and 2500 employees. ICS’s customers enjoy the experience of ICS’s Total Care program which provides clients flat fee services with obsolescence and growth protection. Whether a customer elects to deploy their IT, Video Conferencing or VoIP in the cloud or on the customer’s premise, ICS can provide a full turn-key solution for our clients under one flat monthly fee.