Structured cabling is the cabling infrastructure architecture to carry voice and data connectivity to the workplace. Today businesses cannot exist without the dependence upon email, databases, internet surfing and telephone conversation – all of which are totally reliant upon the correct network cabling infrastructure.

Structured cabling is defined into the following categories, all of which have different parameters to run different applications.

Category 5e
Category 5e cabling standard was ratified in 1995 to allow high performing Category 5 products to run Gigabit Ethernet (1000 BASE T) and ATM 155Mbit/s. Today, Category 5e supports most current applications however in the rapidly changing IT environment, it does not provide the full future proofing of the more advanced systems as detailed below.

Category 6
The Category 6 cabling standard was ratified in 2002 to allow for the development of future IT applications at greater bandwidths. To date there is no faster system than Gigabit Ethernet, as described above, and this system will run on good quality category 5e cabling, however the equipment that is needed to run this application is very expensive, and future developments of cheaper equipment and faster bandwidths will only be developed to be run on the newer Category 6 infrastructure. As most structured cabling systems have a life expectance of at least 10 years, the additional investment in Category 6 cabling can only be described at this moment in time, as leading edge technology and future proofing for future network applications.

Category 6a (augmented)
This is a future cabling standard and cable type that will have the potential capability of supporting 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10,000 BASE T) over UTP (copper cabling), currently mainly utilized within the data centre arena or leading edge corporate companies. This system should only be considered if large bandwidth demands are required in the future and cost is not a primary consideration.

Ethernet application up to 90mt
Category 3 16mhz
Category 5 100mhz
Category 5e 100mhz
Category 6 200/250mhz
Category 6a 550mhz

E
(10 BASE T)
(100 BASE T)
(1000 BASE T)
(1000 BASE T)
(10000 BASE T)

Fibre Transmission Media
Fibre optical cabling is the transmission media for data connectivity within the backbone of the network.

Fibre cabling can be defined in the following categories, generally to overcome the distance and bandwidth parameters, of campus networks.

Multimode fibre
OM1 62.5/125nm fibre- this cable is suitable for 1000baseT networks up to 550mt, however if the lower and standard bandwidth is to be used of 850nm, this significantly reduces the transmission distance of the this media too approx. 275mt, however if lower network speeds are required i.e. 10baseT or 100baseT this media has a transmission distance of up to 2000mt.

OM2 50/125nm fibre- this cable is suitable for 1000baseT networks up to 550mt at both wavelengths 850/1300nm, the advantage of this fibre media is that the cheaper network equipment and more common 850nm wavelength can be used for distances from 1mt to 550mt, however if lower network speeds are required i.e. 10baseT or 100baseT this media has a transmission distance of up to 2000mt.

OM3 50/125nm fibre- this cable is very similar in characteristics to the OM2 fibre, however its construction is made up of the purest fibre glass material, thus should be the choice for future proofing your network, usually used in conjunction with a Category 6 structured cabling system and VCSEL transmission media.
Some manufacturers have been able to extend the transmission distance of 1000baseT over this fibre.

Single mode Fibre
OS1 8/125nm fibre- this cable is used where cable distances exceed 550mt and 1000baseT and higher network bandwidths are required. Although this is the cheapest fibre to manufacture and has the least number of limitations, the installation equipment needed to terminate this fibre is very expensive along with laser transmission media required (approx 5 times the cost of multimode fibre), this solution should only be considered if there are distance limitations or large bandwidth requirements.

When choosing a fibre network there is one other category to consider, this is the fibre outer construction as detailed below

TB (Tight buffer) this fibre construction is generally used internally within a building; it is the easiest and most cost effective fibre to install.

LT (Loose tube) this fibre construction is used internally and externally within a building or campus site within buried cable ducts.

BF (Blown fibre) this fibre is the most flexible of all fibre construction, which can be used internally or externally, for full flexibility a number of empty micro ducts are installed, then fibre cores are blown in, to suit the customer requirements, should the network requirements in time change, the existing fibre is simply blown out and new fibre cores are installed, thus reducing the re-installation cost, however for this flexibility this system has an initial increase in installation cost of approximately 25 percent.

Voice Backbone Media
This copper media cable is the interface between the structured horizontal wiring system and the building PABX, generally connectivity is in 1 pair, 2 pair or 3 pair presentation dependant of the host PABX connectivity system requirements.

CW1308
Internal PVC cabling distance limitation dependent on telephone system approx 1000mt.

CW1308b
External PVC voice cable as per above cable, but is suitable for external use, however not suitable to be installed within external cable ducts.

CW1128
External PE sheathed cable suitable for external cable ducts which are prone to flooding, can only be installed internally up to 1 metre, unless fully contained in metal containment, then can be installed up to 50mt within a building.

Category 3 multi core
Internal/external use, a higher-grade cable than standard CW1308, which is capable of supporting voice and data networks up to 10mb/sec. This cable is usually terminated in 4 pair presentation.