Structured Fiber Cabling

A lot has been said recently about the evils of Structured Cabling and the threat it poses to the electric grid. In reality, however, structured cabling is one of the key technologies that helps protect the electric grid from potentially devastating outages. There are a number of misconceptions about structured cabling that need to be addressed. First and foremost, it's not low voltage wiring that causes problems on the electric grid, it's inadequate maintenance and installation of low voltage systems that eventually cause problems. Second, every layer of the electric grid is connected to each other. So if there is an issue with one part of the network, it can quickly cascade throughout the entire system. Structured cabling can help prevent this from happening by providing a reliable high-speed data transmission path for electric utilities. In short, structured cabling is a vital part of maintaining and protecting the electric grid – it's simply not as bad as some believe.

Structured cabling involves using multiple types of cabling with their own advantages and disadvantages to create a communication network that is simple to manage and maintain. There are several types of cabling that can be used in structured cabling systems. These include Category 5 for high-speed data traffic and Category 3 for medium speed data traffic. Category 2 is for voice circuits and category 5e (or higher) for video and sound.

There are two main standards of structured cabling: Category 5 and Category 6. Category 5 cabling is used to connect devices in a centralized authority environment, such as telephone exchanges or cable headends. It has a stringent gauge requirement and is capable of transmitting gigabits of data per second. Category 6 cabling is designed for connecting devices in an distributed authority environment, such as offices and homes. It has a smaller gauge requirement and can transmit up to 100 megabits per second.

Structured cabling refers to the connection of computers, peripherals and telecommunications equipment via compliant cabling systems. These assets can be organized into intelligent networks using different types of cabling. Coaxial cables are used in LANs, while twisted-pair copper wires are used for WANs.