What Benefits Can You Enjoy from a Structured Cabling System?
In a modern office, the importance of the cabling system is hard to overestimate. If you haven't yet heard of structured cabling, you might want to investigate the matter and decide whether it makes the right choice for your office.
In a traditionally point-to-point cabling system, patch cables run directly to and from each piece of hardware, resulting in something of a pell-mell appearance, with lots of separate patch cables running along your network cabinets. A structured cabling system uses sets of patch panels that allow hardware ports to be connected right at the top of the rack. That patch panel is then itself connected to another patch panel, bringing together computers, phones, and other devices.
So, why is a structured cabling system better than a traditional point-to-point system?
Less Cluttered
The first thing you're going to notice when you look at a structured cabling system is that it is much neater than the old-fashioned point-to-point cabling system. With the latter, the number of cables linking up separate pieces of hardware can become extremely problematic. As well as looking messy, you'll often find it very hard to know exactly what you're disconnecting, which increases the likelihood of removing the wrong cable. Additionally, cables can become stretched in such a messy arrangement, potentially causing them to malfunction.
Supports Changes
A structured cabling system is able to support plenty of different network requirements. If you need to restructure your cabling system or add in something new, you'll be able to do so very quickly thanks to the system's modular design. Any changes, moves, upgrades, or expansions can be carried out quickly, with a minimum of fuss and downtime. You'll also enjoy the fact that your system will be easily scalable since upgrades and additional diverse pieces of hardware can be fitted with ease.
Better Airflow
When you use a point-to-point cabling system, the pieces of hardware that your cables are plugging into are going to become very crowded very quickly. Unfortunately, this is going to mean that those pieces of hardware are not going to enjoy very strong airflow, and impeding the airflow around your cabling system is going to cause serious problems if the units are allowed to overheat. This often means having to spend money on underfloor cooling in order to rectify the issue, though machines can still get hot after extended use. It's best to simply fit a structured cabling system, which won't present such problems.
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