A Great Start to the New School Year

About Me

A Great Start to the New School Year

I admire anyone who chooses a career in education. For five years, I served as an accounting instructor at a regional university. After leaving this teaching position, I earned a graduate degree in secondary English education. Due to my years in college, high school, and middle school classrooms, I understand the importance of the presence of state-of-the-art technological equipment in schools. Nowadays, teachers can’t sit behind a podium and lecture students for hours at the time. Today’s kids learn best with a variety of teaching methods that include technology. On this blog, you will discover the latest technological trends for the classroom. Enjoy!

How to Install Structured Cabling in a New Campus

If your organization is about to run cabling through a new campus, there are a few things to consider. Structured cabling absolutely has to be handled by a professional—it's complex. This article will walk you through the process of installing structured cabling in a new development, what will need to be done, and the complexities of each step.

Step 1: Planning the Project

It can take 6-12 months from initial design data gathering through final system testing. Time is required to assess user needs throughout the organization, inventory existing equipment/cabling, survey the building(s) that will house the new system, and create a project plan. Ideally, the process of planning should be the longest step; the more planning is done, the better.

Step 2: Installing Cable Plant Hardware

Once you have finished planning, you can start actually installing your cabling infrastructure. There are several tasks to complete before work on cable installation begins: 

  • Identify the location of each of the cables to be installed.
  • Study all of the components needed for the installation, such as cable system hardware and tools, wall plates, racks or enclosures, patch panels, and more.
  • Prepare for your own construction deadlines (getting access to pathways required to run cabling).
  • Contact each of your suppliers to begin ordering all of the equipment you'll need.
  • Contact contractors for estimates on phases of installation that are not part of your own company, such as drywall installation or paint touch-up.

This post-planning stage still includes a lot of communication, as you need to coordinate with multiple parties.

Step 3: Installing Riser Cable

Once the pathways are installed, cables are pulled through them. The horizontal cabling to individual workstations is run first in what's called a telecommunications or riser system. This set of cables includes at least one cable that will be used for network access to each floor. If you are moving network connectivity outside of the telecommunications room, even more cables will need to be installed in the riser system.

Riser-rated cable is used in this phase, since it has extra protection for fire resistance and durability in high-density areas, such as stairwells or between floors where someone walking on the cable might be hazardous.

Step 4: Installing Horizontal Cable

Once you have your riser system in place, the rest of the installation is much easier. The individual horizontal cables are laid out to reach each telecommunications closet. These must be cut to length when they get there and placed into the correct termination jacks (e.g., BNC, RJ-45).

Step 5: Installing Workstation Cables

The telecommunications system is tied to the building's structure at the main entrance and the voice and data riser and horizontal cabling connect to a patch panel using an IDC punch down connection. Cable ties are used to neatly organize the cabling run. To finish up the installation, you'll make wall plates for each location where a workstation will be connected to the network.

Installing structured cabling is extraordinarily complex. Your checklist could have five steps or fifty steps, depending. This is why connecting with an expert professional is so essential.


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