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1op 10 Cons|derat|ons for Structured Cab||ng for Un|vers|ty I1 Managers Gathered as a response to the UCISA I1 Work|ng w|th Lstates Lvent 1. Cab||ng Spec|f|cat|ons - gett|ng |t r|ght f|rst t|me CreaLlng a hlgh quallLy cabllng speclflcaLlon documenL ls an essenLlal sLarLlng polnL for any pro[ecL. lacLors such as bulldlng concepLs, Lermlnology and cabllng opLlons are key. CuesLlons such as why do we need Lhem?" and "whaL do Lhey need Lo lnclude?" should be consldered as well as Lhe poLenLlal reslsLance Lo Lhem. A good speclflcaLlon musL lnclude groundlng and bondlng, LMC proLecLlon, laser safeLy, lnsLallaLlon pracLlces and many oLher lmporLanL facLors. 2. Convergence of Low-vo|tage I App||cat|ons and CL undersLand how Lo Lurn a sLrucLured cabllng sysLem lnLo a crlLlcal bulldlng asseL. 1hls lncludes reduclng cosL, slmpllfylng appllcaLlon deploymenL, enhanclng Lhe workplace experlence and maxlmlzlng Lhe poLenLlal Lo quallfy for all physlcal layer and audlovlsual lnnovaLlon Lechnology credlLs, proposed by 8lCSl's Creen 8ulldlng 1echnology Alllance. lus, uLlllslng ower over LLherneL (oL) Lo achleve Lhls has many oLher beneflLs, lncludlng slmpllfled lnfrasLrucLure managemenL, lowered power consumpLlon, reduced operaLlonal cosLs ln Lhe case of appllcaLlons such as volce over lnLerneL proLocol (vol), and even lmproved safeLy due Lo separaLlon from Lhe bulldlng's maln AC power rlng. 3. 1he Iuture of Coo||ng |n the Data Centre urlven by new and emerglng Lechnologles such as vlrLuallsaLlon, cloud compuLlng and consolldaLlon, heaL denslLy ls lncreaslng ln Lhe daLa cenLre. WlLh Lhese Lechnologles comes more cabllng, whlch, wlLhouL forward plannlng, can resulL ln alr flow resLrlcLlons such as alr dams". 1herefore, as well as lncludlng supplemenLal coollng ln your deslgn, early conslderaLlon musL also be glven Lo Lhe cabllng requlremenLs of equlpmenL, plus Lhe resulLlng cable managemenL. 4. Data Centre Arch|tecture 1here are a number of opLlons avallable when conslderlng daLa cenLre archlLecLure and deslgn. 8y developlng a well LhoughL ouL daLa cenLre deslgn before a pro[ecL commences, lL ls posslble Lo save money and rack space, Lhus leavlng room for fuLure expanslon. Clvlng careful conslderaLlon Lo Lhe full range of Lopologles, lncludlng Lop of rack, end of row, any Lo all and polnL Lo polnL, plus Lhe role of sLrucLured cabllng, can reap long Lerm rewards. S. 1he ko|e of Standards |n Structured Cab||ng Des|gn Lxamlne Lhe lSC and 1lA SLandards and how Lhese dlrecLly lmpacL a bulldlng's sLrucLured cabllng sysLem, lncludlng Lhe physlcal lmpacL on deslgn, lnsLallaLlon & elecLromagneLlc compaLlblllLy (Ln 30174), Lhe requlremenLs for groundlng, bondlng & elecLrlcal safeLy (Ln 30310), Luropean ParmonlsaLlon of elecLrlcal sLandards for safeLy & lC1 (Pu 60364)and whaL SLandardlsaLlon & compllance really means (lSC 11801 Amd 1 & Amd 2).
6. Cab||ng L|fecyc|es and 1ota| Cost of Cwnersh|p WlLh Lhe lLLL 802.3an 10C8ASL-1 sLandard compleLe, performance demands on cabllng lnfrasLrucLures wlll conLlnue Lo lncrease, wlLh Lhe mosL slgnlflcanL acLlvlLy occurrlng ln Lhe move from 10/100/1000 Mb/s Lo 10Cb/s over Lhe nexL few years. When looklng aL how Lhls appllcaLlon performance progresslon lmpacLs cabllng cholces, lL ls lmporLanL Lo puL cabllng ln perspecLlve. 1yplcally represenLlng 2 - 3 of an overall neLwork hardware budgeL, cabllng ls noneLheless expecLed Lo perform for 10 years, supporLlng 2 - 3 generaLlons of acLlve elecLronlcs. lL ls Lhe mosL dlfflculL, labour lnLenslve and dlsrupLlve plece of Lhe lnfrasLrucLure Lo replace. Cverall llfecycle cosLs should be closely consldered. 7. 1he Importance of Cert|f|ed Insta||at|on artners 1here ls a loL more Lo cabllng sysLem performance Lhan [usL buylng good quallLy cable and connecLlng hardware. ln order Lo ensure full bandwldLh poLenLlal, a sLrucLured cabllng sysLem needs Lo be properly deslgned, lnsLalled, and admlnlsLered. lmporLanL facLors Lo conslder when chooslng an lnsLallaLlon parLner lnclude Lralnlng, warranLy, LesLlng, compllance, audlLs, eLc. 8. Data D|srupt|on due to LM |nterference ln Lheory, perfecLly balanced LwlsLed-palr cabllng ls lmmune Lo lnLerference from ouLslde nolse sources. ln acLuallLy, LwlsLed-palr cables are noL perfecLly balanced. 8alance can lmprove nolse lmmunlLy up Lo 30 MPz. AfLer LhaL, screens and shlelds musL be relled upon Lo lmprove nolse lmmunlLy. 9. Any-to-A|| vs o|nt-to-o|nt Data Centre 1opo|og|es 1he concepL behlnd any-Lo-all ls qulLe slmple. Copper and flbre panels are lnsLalled ln each cablneL, correspondlng Lo copper paLch panels lnsLalled ln a cenLral paLchlng area. All flbre ls run Lo one secLlon of cablneLs/racks ln LhaL same cenLral paLchlng area. 1hls allows equlpmenL Lo be lnsLalled and connecLed Lo any oLher plece of equlpmenL vla elLher a copper or flbre connecLlon. aLhways and spaces are planned up fronL Lo properly accommodaLe Lhe cabllng. Whlle Lhls meLhod may requlre more cabllng up fronL, lL has slgnlflcanL advanLages over Lhe llfe of Lhe daLa cenLre. lf planned properly, sLrucLured cabllng sysLems wlll lasL aL leasL 10 years, supporLlng 2 or 3 generaLlons of acLlve elecLronlcs. 1he addlLlonal equlpmenL needed for a polnL-Lo-polnL sysLem wlll requlre replacemenL/upgrade mulLlple Llmes before Lhe sLrucLured cabllng sysLem needs Lo be replaced. 1he equlpmenL replacemenL cosLs, noL lncludlng ongolng malnLenance fees, wlll negaLe any up fronL savlngs from uslng less cabllng ln a polnL-Lo-polnL sysLem. 10. 8est ract|ce for Cab|e athway Des|gn Worklng wlLh key sLakeholders such as archlLecLs, deslgners, consulLanLs and planners, before a pro[ecL commences ls essenLlal. Larly collaboraLlon wlll ensure LhaL besL pracLlce cabllng deslgns are lncluded ln Lhe speclflcaLlon documenL and lmporLanL facLors such as cable paLhway deslgn and sLandards compllance are opLlmlsed, Lhus avoldlng unnecessary lssues once Lhe pro[ecL commences.