THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE ...

Why structured cabling matters
Structured cabling is the backbone of your network. When cabling is done correctly, it allows IT Engineers to locate faults, rogue devices, problematic systems and take action. When cabling is done poorly, IT staff can spend days and weeks trying to locate rogue systems on a corporate network. While it would appear that all contractors provide products that are all very much the same, this could not be further from the truth. The symptoms of a good vs bad installation are as follows:

A poorly deployed cabling system:

• Cabling is usually done incrementally (section by section)
• Cabling is done by different contractors
• Second hand equipment has been used to cut costs
• Cabling points have not been labelled
• Cabling floorplans were never created or were lost
• No guarantees or warranties exist
• No spares are available from suppliers
• Network performance is inconsistent
• Not all points work, electrical shorts sometimes occur
• Cable routes are sub-optimal and electrical induction occurs
• Fire, vermin and environmental factors are likely to disrupt reliability
• No single set of standards have been adopted for the rollout
 

A professionally deployed cabling system:

• Connected computers all have fast connections
• Wifi Access Points show as constantly available from monitoring servers
• All wall points are clearly labelled
• All wall points are certified and have been tested
• All wall points are marked on a site floorplan
• Cabling installations carry a warranty against installation defects
• Cabling installations offer guarantees of spares availability
• Cabling is neatly grouped and secured in conduits, ceiling cavities and trunking
• Backbones have redundant pathways
• Spare capacity has been catered and planned for
 
 
By far the former system is the norm. Companies often have small setup budgets and deploy on a need driven basis. This translates into unexpected failures and wasted time troubleshooting. We offer an alternative. By deploying the system correctly, it is possible to avoid many of the problems described above. In addition to deployment, we supply parts, expertise and project management services for a smooth rollout.