Have you ever looked at a network closet and seen a tangled mess of wires that makes no discernible sense?
Every IT professional has seen this, and it’s the stuff of nightmares for people who have to work with it. And what you see in the network closet usually resembles the cabling behind the walls and ceilings.
The truth is that random cables running in haphazard patterns create problems in building, improving, or even maintaining a network. And, once a jumble of optical cables exists, it tends to get worse over time.
This is why industry experts came together to create standards that direct cabling providers exactly how they should arrange devices and run cables. Using those standards means the tangled wires are replaced with cohesive bundles that are properly mapped, labeled, and much easier to work with. IT support providers and their network administrators follow these standards so that your network is quicker to maintain, troubleshoot and fix.
Structured cabling and unstructured cabling both have a purpose and taking a few minutes to learn about business cabling could save you and your business frustration and downtime.
What Is Structured Cabling?
Structured cabling is a standardized cabling system that supports voice, data, and video communications, enhancing network performance and scalability. Specifically, when designing a network and cable runs within that network, structured efforts follow a preset industry standard. The most common standards are laid out by ANSI, TIA, ISO, or IEC. Among these standards, you will find many common strategies for cable design and layout.
This structured cabling system ensures that any Omaha managed services provider working with the network will know how the cables are utilized by simply following the correct standard. This comes with a set of advantages and disadvantages listed below.
Advantages of Structured Cabling
The benefits of structured cabling stem from its predictable and standardized design. These networks are easier to scale, as you already know where the next device should go and how it should be connected.
As your network grows, structured cabling usually costs less, as the layouts tend to be more reliable and efficient.
In that regard, you get better scalability in general. At the same time, your IT services will perform better and more efficiently when they install, upgrade, and maintain the network.
Most of all, troubleshooting gets easier since the whole network is clearly mapped.
Disadvantages of Structured Cabling
In most cases, structured cabling provides a superior network experience, but it does come with some disadvantages. Smaller and simpler networks that are static do not need the expertise or time spent on them for the scale of the operation.
What Is Unstructured Cabling?
By now, you may have grasped the concept of unstructured cabling, but let’s go through it just to be sure.
If structured cabling follows a preset standard, then unstructured cabling does not.
In such a case, cable design and layout are done according to the person building the network with no regard to the preset standards that exist.
Please note, that these standards refer to where cables are placed and how the devices connect. Unstructured cabling still uses industry-standard cables (like Ethernet or Cat5e cables). It’s just the arrangement of those cables that makes them unstructured.
Advantages of Unstructured Cabling
Ironically, the advantage of unstructured cabling is simplicity. Non-experts can build and manage their own networks. That saves time and money on cabling technicians and IT resources, and since unstructured cabling usually emphasizes direct connections for devices, if the network is simple, it will run well.
Disadvantages of Unstructured Cabling
There’s one clear disadvantage to unstructured cabling - future growth. As the network gets bigger and more complicated your cables can become disorganized and you lose scalability, performance, organization, futureproofing, easy troubleshooting, efficient upgrades, and more.
Use Cases
So, which cable structure should you use? The number of devices and the network size will dictate your decision for structured or unstructured cabling.
In general, if you utilize more than one networking device in your organization, it’s already time to consider structured cabling. If you have a single business location, and you can operate on a single modem/router all-in-one device, then you don’t need structured cabling.
Even if you use every port in a device to directly wire a workstation, unstructured cabling will work just fine.
As soon as you need a second set of ports, you can get ahead of future problems by investing in structured cabling. Remember the benefits only stack in your favor over time when choosing structured cabling for a growing network.
Understanding the Upgrade to Structured Cabling
If you don’t currently follow a structured cabling standard, making a switch might feel intimidating. It doesn’t have to be.
Learning a few aspects of structured cabling can help you think about a transition, how it will work, and why it’s more organized, efficient, and cost-effective.
Documentation
Structured cabling starts with documentation. Your IT support provider maps your existing network. This documentation should include detailed layouts of network connections, device placements, and cable types used, along with specifications for future expansion.
Once your network map is complete, you’re primed to adopt a structured standard moving forward. With this comprehensive documentation in hand, you can pace transitions as you see fit, ensuring all changes are planned and implemented effectively.
Proper documentation serves as a reference for troubleshooting, upgrades, and maintaining the overall integrity of your network.
Integrating Services
As you’re planning a transition, you can benefit from the idea of integrating services. You can roll voice, internet, video, and physical security into one cabling infrastructure framework.
Again, you don’t have to transition everything at once, but when you see how these different services work together under a single standard, it’s easier to envision the switch. Plan, so you know what you want to accomplish with the network.
Bring services into the fold one at a time, and build your documentation as you go. That allows you to structure your cabling on a time scale and budget that works for you.
Adapting Standards for Network Expansion
Most importantly, you want to utilize your cabling structure as your business grows and expands. Whatever service you expect to grow first should be the top priority for your initial documentation. Keep in mind that you don’t have to perfectly restructure your cabling before you can expand.
As long as you document your network design and have a plan for your network expansion, you can fit new resources into the structure even while you’re still bringing existing elements into the fold.
If you’re still unsure about structured cabling for your organization, start with a conversation. Talk to your Omaha or Lincoln IT provider and see what they would recommend. They can help you anticipate a change (if necessary) and fit structured cabling into your long-term strategy.
