Cabling Structured Cabling Standards

Structured Cabling Structured Cabling is the foundation for any communications installation. An appropriate cabling installation ensures the proper operation of equipment, manageability, organization, and expandability of a communications network.

Network Cabling In the early 1980's a variety of cable types and designs were utilized. Coaxial and twin-axial cables were the most popular. Proprietary (non-standardized) designs were predominant. Today cabling and devices have been standardized in a way which makes them interoperable and compatible in almost any implementation.

Standards Bodies These organizations are composed of representatives from various distributors, manufacturers, and customers in the communications industry ANSI - American National Standards Institute TIA - Telecommunication Industry Association EIA - Electronics Industry Association

EIA/TIA-568 - first version of the standard published July of 1991. TSB-36 August of 1991 a Technical Systems Bulletin specifications for higher grades (Cat 4, Cat 5) of UTP. TSB-40 August of 1992 TSB-40 published addressing higher grades of UTP connecting hardware. TSB-40A UTP patch cords in more detail, and to clarify testing requirements for UTP modular jacks. TIA/EIA-568A/(CSA T529) Commercial Telecommunications Cabling Standard EIA/TIA-569/(CSA T530) Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces EIA/TIA-570/(CSA T525) Residential and Light Commercial Telecommunications Wiring Standard TIA/EIA-606/(CSA T528) Administration Standard for the Telecommunications Infrastructure of Commercial Buildings TIA/EIA-607/(CSA T527) Commercial Building Grounding/Bonding Requirements TSB-67 Transmission Performance Specifications for Field Testing of Unshielded Twisted-Pair Cabling Systems TSB-72 Centralized Optical Fiber Cabling Guidelines

Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A-95) Committee: TR-41.8.1 Published: October 25, 1995 Category: Telecommunications Description: This standard specifies a generic telecommunications cabling system for commercial buildings that will support a multiproduct, multivendor environment. It also provides information that may be used for the design of telecommunications products for commercial enterprises. The purpose of this standard is to enable the planning and installation of a structured cabling system for commercial buildings

TIA/EIA-569-A Title: Commercial Building Standards for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces (ANSI/TIA/EIA-569-A-98) Committee: TR-41.8.3 Published: October 24, 1990 Category: Telecommunications Description: This Standard encompasses telecommunications considerations both within and between buildings. The aspects covered are the pathways into which telecommunications media are placed and the rooms and areas associated with the building used to terminate media and install telecommunications equipment.

Purpose of the TIA/EIA-568A Standard Establish a generic telecommunications cabling standard that will support a multivendor environment Enable the planning and installation of a structured cabling system for commercial buildings Establish performance and technical criteria for various cabling systems configurations

TSB-67 Transmission Performance Specification for Field Testing of Unshielded Twisted Pair Cabling Systems TSB-67 defines the allowable worst case attenuation and NEXT for an installed link.

Scope of the TIA/EIA-568A Standard Minimum requirements for telecommunications cabling within an office environment Recommended topology and distances Media parameters which determine performance Connector and pin assignments to ensure inter-connectability The useful life of telecommunications cabling systems as being in excess of ten years

The Six Subsystems of a Structured Cabling System 1.Building Entrance 2.Equipment Room 3.Backbone Cabling Specified Topology 4.Telecommunications Closet 5.Horizontal Cabling Maximum Distances Telecommunications Outlet 8-Position Modular Jack Pair Assignments 6.Work Area

TIA/EIA 568A Sub Systems

1. Entrance Facility Point where outside plant cables and associated hardware are brought into the building. Cables from the outside end in an Equipment Room which is the main distribution point for the building. This is often called the BDF (Building Distribution Frame).

2. Equipment Room A centralized space for communications equipment. Equipment Rooms often contain cabling distribution equipment. “Patch Panels” and “Cross Connect Blocks” are used to terminate or end cables and to connect them with other cables and equipment.

3. Backbone Cabling Interconnections between closets and equipment rooms within a single building or between other buildings. Large buildings may contain several distribution points or Telecommunications Closets which are necessary to overcome distance limitations. Risers are Vertical cable runs which connect Telecommunications Closets on different floors.

4. Telecom. Closet A space where horizontal distribution cables are terminated. All cable and media types must be terminated on compatible connecting hardware. Backbone cables are also terminated in the closet. Cross connection is done with jumpers or patch cords to provide flexible connectivity.

5. Horizontal Cabling Physical media used to connect each outlet to a closet. Horizontal Cables span from Telecommunications closets to the wall jacks with which users connect their equipment. Copper Cables, Coaxial Cables, and Fiberoptic cables may be used.

6. Work Area Connections and cabling on the other side of the telecommunications jack.

Horizontal Cabling Distance Specifications

568A Implementation offers voice and data to each workstation Mandates 2 jacks (1 for voice 1 for data) per station Voice Jacks 4 pair 100 Ohm Category 3 or better Data Jacks 4 Pair Category 5 or Better or multi-mode fiber.

Media Types Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable Shielded Twisted Pair Cable (STP) Single and Multi-Mode Fiber Coaxial Cable (Grand-fathered into but not recognized by the TIA/EIA 568 A standard).

Media and Connecting Hardware Performance Specifications of the 568 Standard 100 Ohm Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cabling Systems Horizontal Cable Backbone Cable UTP Connecting Hardware and Cords

150 Ohm Shielded Twisted Pair (STP-A) Cabling Systems Horizontal and Backbone STP-A Cable 150 Ohm STP-A Data Connector 150 Ohm STP-A Patch Cable Optical Fiber Cabling Systems Optical Fiber Cabling Media Optical Fiber Connector Optical Fiber Telecommunications Outlet TSB-67 Standard

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Developed by IBM for Token Ring Rated at 20 MHz Newer STP 568 A systems can achieve 300 MHz Electrical Performance of Twisted Pair Cable Uses electrical signals to carry data STP cabling systems are more expensive and harder to install and maintain than UTP cabling systems, but are not necessarily better.

UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) Most Common type of cable installed in buildings. Most common media for Ethernet and LAN cabling. Often used in conjunction with Telephone distribution Unshielded Twisted Pair is smaller, more flexible, and less expensive then Shielded Twisted Pair.

UTP Cables A communications cable using one or more pairs of wires that are twisted together. When driven as a balanced line, the twisting reduces the susceptibility to external interference and the radiation of signal energy.

Four Pair, 24 Gauge 100 Ohm copper cable Unbalanced PVC or Plenum Jacket Types of UTP Cable: Category 3, 4, 5, and “Enhanced Category 5” or Category 6

Twist Pitch used in UTP cabling to identify the different length distance of different pairs within a single cable. The twist pitch varies between pairs to reduce the affects of NEXT or signals jumping from one pair to another.

Category 3 Transmission Frequencies up to 16 MHz Intended for low speed data, telephone, 4 Mbs Token Ring, and 10 Mbs Ethernet applications. Category 4 Transmission Frequencies up to 20 MHz Suitable for all category 3 applications as well as 16 Mbs Token Ring

Category 5 Transmission Frequencies up to 100 MHz Most popular for high speed applications Suitable for all Category 3 and 4 applications as well as any copper based voice, video, or data application such as: 100 Mbs "Fast Ethernet", CDDI (FDDI over Copper), and possibly Gigabit Ethernet over copper.

Enhanced Category 5 and Category 6 High frequency applications such as Gigabit Ethernet and certainly ATM will require better and higher bandwidth cables than originally specified by the Category 5 standard. While Gigabit Ethernet should be compatible with Category 5 cabling, it is suggested that cabling for high speed applications including Fast Ethernet should exceed Category 5 standards. New standards are under development for such cabling, however “enhanced Category 5” cabling is available now.

UTP Installation Considerations Unshielded Twisted Pair is smaller, more flexible, and less expensive then Shielded Twisted Pair. The Entire link or infrastructure (including jacks and cross connect blocks) must be composed of Category 5 components. All cables and components must be installed and terminated properly to achieve Category 5 standards.

Maximum distance of horizontal cabling is 295 feet (90 meters). Patch cords max length 6m Horizontal Cabling 90 m Equipment Cords 2 m Maximum pull tension for Category 5 UTP is 25 foot lbs. (to avoid stretching the twists of the pairs). 12" Minimum distance from florescent lighting 5" Minimum distance between power and data cables. Minimum bend radius of 1 to 4 inches Cables must be dressed, labeled, and managed Cable ties must not be tightened (Velcro is better) No staples At termination points the jacket should be striped as little as possible < 1/2 ".

Stranded UTP vs.. Solid UTP usually used for patch cables wires or conductors are made of many flexible strands in order to make the wire stronger and more flexible. stranded UTP is not suitable for longer distances due to its lower efficiency than Solid UTP.

Solid UTP usually used in horizontal wiring (wiring to jacks) in which the wires or conductors are solid. Solid UTP cables are less flexible and more brittle than stranded cables, however they are cheaper and more efficient.

TIA/EIA 568-A/B Modular Plug Termination 8 Pin Modular plugs are used to terminate UTP patch cables. Such cables are identical on either end (strait through) Two “standards” are available. 568A and 568 B.

TIA/EIA 568-A/B Modular Jack Termination Modular Jacks are used in patch panels and wall jacks for termination of UTP cables. Modular Jacks follow the 568A or 568B similar to Modular Plugs. All parts of a Category 5 implementation must be Category 5 certified for proper operation

Optical Fiber Uses Light pulses to transmit data. Impervious to EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) and RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) Light looses signal strength much slower than electricity which is good for distance. Fiber offers greater Bandwidth 1 pair of fiber can offer greater bandwidth than 1,400 copper pairs in a voice system. Consists of a glass core surrounded by a protective coating.

Multi-Mode and Single Mode Fiber Multi-Mode fiber Uses LEDs to transmit data Offers a number of "paths" for light to traverse or travel down a cable. Light travels down the core with a layer outside of the glass core reflecting the signal back to the core. The number of modes is determined by the wavelength of the light source and the size of the core. 2Km max distance for multi-mode fiber.

Single Mode Fiber Single Mode Fiber Uses a laser to transmit data (rather than an LED) More focused single path for light to travel down. Used in long distance high bandwidth applications