CHAPTER 5

INFORMATION GATHERING
AND
DESIGN ANALYSIS

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System Training – Information Gathering and Design Analysis (Rev. 2011-11) Page 1 of 11
 INFORMATION GATHERING AND DESIGN ANALYSIS

General

Designing a cabling system is just one of the processes in developing an overall

telecommunications system. This overall system may comprise of a LAN, a telephone system, or a
security system. For the purposes of this course, we will simply refer to these systems as networks.

The cabling system is the foundation that these networks are built upon. It is called the
infrastructure and is one of the most crucial components. The infrastructure is comprised of the
cabling components that are typically the most difficult to install and least likely to be changed over
the entire life of the network.

Historically, the cabling system was an afterthought and only installed after all of the network
components were decided. The cabling system was basically chosen based on the network
technology that is to be implemented. With the advent of today’s technology and IT requirements,
network hardware and software may need to be upgraded every year or two. Based on this trend and
the old concept of cabling system installations, the infrastructure would have to change too in order
to accommodate the changing technology. Naturally, this would not be feasible as the costs and
disruptions to change the cabling infrastructure frequently would be exorbitant. This is one of the
key reasons that lead to the development of structured cabling standards.

Nowadays, the cabling infrastructures are designed and installed according to the industry cabling
standards. New technologies are also developed with the cabling standards in mind so as to
accommodate a larger user base. With a well-designed cabling infrastructure in place, the
maintenance costs and disruptions to the workplace will be minimised. Comparing with the short
life spans of hardware and software technologies, this cabling infrastructure is expected to last at
least 10 years. The main challenge to designing this infrastructure would be the anticipation of
future needs and technologies.

Information Gathering

Even though it may be difficult to anticipate future new technologies, some form of help in
forecasting can be done based on historical trends. Anticipating future requirements can also be
accomplished through communicating with the clients and determining the requirements for their
building and/or organisation.

Basically, the designer shall carry out a design-needs analysis to study the current infrastructure (if
any) and determine if it can satisfy the present as well as future requirements. The eventual cabling
design shall meet all criteria that were presented.

What a customer wants and what a customer needs may be two different entities. The designer
must become a problem-solver and gather the information necessary to make informed decisions
regarding the client’s cabling system infrastructure. This information may be available or gathered
through many different ways. These include RFI (Request for Information), RFQ (Request for
Quote), RFP (Request for Proposal) and Current floor plans.

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System Training – Information Gathering and Design Analysis (Rev. 2011-11) Page 2 of 11
One of the most effective methods is to understand and interview the client. Some of the key
questions that are commonly asked are:

• Who are the key players

• Who are the decision-makers and what level of decisions can they make regarding the
cabling system
• Who are the contacts and main decision-makers in data processing, telecommunications,
building and grounds, security, electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), etc

Influence Identify

Executive
Management Applications
(Cost)

Software

Hardware

Network Platform

Mid-level
Management Physical Plant
(Performance)

Once the key contact personnel are identified, the answers to other more specific design related
questions could be determined. The designer may be faced with making many crucial decisions, or
may have all of these decisions made for him/her by the architect, and/or customer. The bottom line
for any designer is to identify who the key contacts and decision-makers are and ask as many
questions as needed to qualify the design situation.

Probably, the most crucial information comes from the performance expectations, and both the
short-term and long-term investment expectations of that customer. Again, these decisions may
already have been made, but it is in the designer’s best interest to understand the criteria that the
decisions were based upon.

Given the investment budget and expected performance, it will be the designer’s challenge to
achieve this objective. Critical factors in creating this balance are the design architectures and the
media selection.

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Criteria for Media Selection

The architectures described above contribute to the decision in media selection. For instance, the
backbone distance requirements in a Distributed Network Architecture (DNA) will dictate media
selection.

Another important consideration in media selection is the network platform that the infrastructure is
expected to support (e.g. Ethernet, ATM, etc.), and the maximum distance that each type of media
is capable of supporting. To make a correct decision, it is important that designers have a good
understanding of the difference between bandwidth (Hertz) and data rate (Bits per sec.)

Bandwidth (MHz) vs. Data Rates (Mbps)

Bandwidth is part of the technical performance specification applied to premises cabling systems.
The bandwidth of a transmission channel, made up of components such as copper or fiber cable,
patch panels, jacks, and patch cords, is the frequency range over which the channel can deliver a
signal in usable condition. To put it in simple terms, bandwidth (Hertz) is the frequency range
which these components and systems are specified. It is not based on any particular application or
data rate.
1
1 second second
1,000,000

Voltage Voltage

1 cycle 1 cycle
Frequency of 1 Hz Frequency of 1 MHz

Data communication on a LAN is achieved by signaling a series of binary bits, 1s and 0s from a
transmitter to a receiver. This binary information is usually represented as a square pulse. Data Rate
(Bits per sec) describes how fast data can be pump data through a system within a given bandwidth.
The fundamental signaling element (carrier frequency) is represented as a sine wave with a period
of 1 second.

The key to increasing data throughput is to introduce more than one bit (pulse) per signaling
element. This is dependent on the network platform and the signalling method called encoding. The
encoding scheme typically formulates the rate and methods of carrying information over a given
frequency. Using different encoding schemes, different bit-rates can be related to the same number
of periods per second (Hz).

Some encoding schemes are more efficient in their use of bandwidth than others. By bandwidth, we
mean comparable frequency of the signal. There is not necessarily a one-to-one relation ship
between data rate (Mbps) and frequency of the signal (MHz). In some cases, MHz and Mbps will be
equal and in other cases they will not be equal.

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System Training – Information Gathering and Design Analysis (Rev. 2011-11) Page 4 of 11
The table below provide a list of the common network applications and the encoding schemes
employed.

Encoding Data Rate Bandwidth Min. Cabling

Application
Scheme (Mbps) Used (MHz) System Required
4 Mbps Token Ring Manchester 4 4 Class C
10 Base-T Manchester 10 10 Class C
16 Mbps Token Ring Diff. Manchester 16 16 Class D
100VG-AnyLAN NRZ 100 15 Class C
TP-PMD NRZ + 4B5B 100 62.5 Class D
155 Mbps ATM MLT3 + 4B5B 155 48.4375 Class D
100 Base-T4 8B6T 100 12.5 Class C
100 Base-TX 4B5B + MLT3 100 31.25 Class D
1000 Base-TX PAM 5 1000 100 Class D

Platforms and Media

Telecommunications is the transfer of information across a distance. The information, in its native
form can be voice, data, images or video. There must be a transmitter (source) and at least one
receiver (destination). In order to support the transmission, some sort of medium must be used. All
mediums make use of some form of electromagnetic energy that can be in the form of electricity,
light or radio waves. There are two broad categories of transmission media – conducted (cable) and
radiated (wireless).

When it comes to cable selection for premises infrastructure, the designer basically has a choice
between balanced copper (twisted pair) cable and optical fibre cable. But that choice is based upon
many variables revolving around the network platforms, bandwidth, and distances.

The table below provides a brief summary of the recognized media types, its performance
specifications and the associated connectors. It also includes the typical utilization.

Media Type Bandwidth Connectors Typical Utilization

IDC Cross-connect/
Category 3 16 MHz
8 positions Modular 1, 2 & 4 pairs applications
Connector
Category 5, IDC Cross-connect/
100 MHz
Category 5e 8 positions Modular 1, 2, 3 & 4 pairs applications
Connector
IDC Cross-connect/
Category 6 250 MHz
8 positions Modular 1, 2, 3 & 4 pairs applications
Connector
Category 6a/ IDC Cross-connect/
Augmented 500 MHz 8 positions Modular 1, 2, 3 & 4 pairs applications
Category 6 Connector
IDC Cross-connect/
Category 7 600 MHz 8 positions Modular 1, 2, 3 & 4 pairs applications
Connector
IDC Cross-connect/
Category 7a 1000 MHz 8 positions Modular 1, 2, 3 & 4 pairs applications
Connector
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System Training – Information Gathering and Design Analysis (Rev. 2011-11) Page 5 of 11
 Media Type Bandwidth Connectors Typical Utilization
OM1 200 MHz·Km (850 nm - OFL) ST, SC & SFF High bit rate data
(62.5 µ m) 500 MHz·Km (1300 nm – OFL) Moderate distance
OM2 500 MHz·Km (850 nm - OFL) ST, SC & SFF High bit rate data
(50 µ m) 500 MHz·Km (1300 nm – OFL) Moderate distance
1500 MHz·Km (850 nm - OFL) ST, SC & SFF
OM3 Very high bit rate data
500 MHz·Km (1300 nm - OFL)
(50 µ m) Moderate distance
2000 MHz·Km (850 nm - RML)
N.A. (1310 nm) Very high bit rate data
OS1, OS2 ST, SC & SFF
N.A. (1550 nm) Long distance

Components and balanced cables are defined as categories, however, the link is defined a falling
into one of the four classes. The standard divides installed copper links:-

• Class A - Includes speech band and low frequency applications. Copper cabling links
supporting Class A applications are specified up to 100 KHz.
• Class B - Includes medium bit rate data applications. Copper cabling links supporting Class
B applications are specified up to 1MHz.
• Class C - Includes high bit rate data applications. Copper links supporting Class C
applications are specified up to 16MHz.
• Class D - Includes very high bit rate data applications. Copper links supporting Class D
applications are specified up to 100MHz.
• Class E - For 10Gb Ethernet applications up to 55 meters. Copper links supporting Class E
applications are specified up to 250MHz.
• Class Ea - For 10Gb Ethernet applications supporting 100 meter channel link. Copper links
supporting Class Ea applications are specified up to 500MHz.
• Class F - Future applications. Copper links supporting Class F applications are specified up
to 600MHz.
• Class Fa - Future applications. Copper links supporting Class Fa applications are specified
up to 1000MHz.

For copper cabling links, link classes A to F are specified such that they will provide the minimum
transmission performance. Fortunately, the industry standards have helped to streamline the
choices. Category 5e cable and termination hardware are designed with sufficient bandwidth (100
MHz) to work with most of the LAN systems on the market today, including 100BASE-T and
1000BASE-T (the standard for Gigabit Ethernet over twisted-pair copper cable).

Category 6 cabling system has greater bandwidth (250 MHz), and offer great potential for upgrade
to future LAN systems without re-cabling.

Considerations must also be given to the equivalent shielded version of a balance cabling system,
which may provide better EMC performance.

Optical fiber has greatest bandwidth offering compared with any twisted pair copper systems.
However, optical fiber may also be chosen as LAN cabling for greater distance support, EMI
immunity requirement, and security, rather then for bandwidth.

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System Training – Information Gathering and Design Analysis (Rev. 2011-11) Page 6 of 11
Beginning with the typical network platforms, the designer should understand the minimum media
requirements. The required channel lengths as well as the class of applications to be supported will
determine the choice of the components. The table below provides a brief summary of the common
network platforms and the minimum class of cabling system (100Ω balanced twisted pair) required.

Common Applications Using Balanced Twisted Pair Cabling

Application Cabling System Cabling System Recommended Cabling System
Required (Min) Performance Cabling System Performance
Class A Class C
PBX 100 KHz 16 MHz
Category 1 Category 3
10 Base-T Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
Ethernet Category 3 Category 5e
100 Base-T4 Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
Fast Ethernet Category 3 Category 5e
Token Ring Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
4 Mbps Category 3 Category 5e
Demand Priority Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
100 VG AnyLAN Category 3 Category 5e
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
(ADSL) Category 3 Category 5e
Very High Bitrate Digital Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
Subscriber Line (VDSL) Category 3 Category 5e
Integrated Services Digital Network Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
(ISDN) Basic Rate Interface (BRI) Category 3 Category 5e
Integrated Services Digital Network Class C Class D
16 MHz 100 MHz
(ISDN) Primary rate interface (PRI) Category 3 Category 5e
100 Base-TX Class D (1995) Class D
100 MHz 100 MHz
Fast Ethernet Category 5 Category 5e
1000 Base-T Class D Class D
100 MHz 100 MHz
Gigabit Ethernet Category 5e Category 5e
Token Ring Class D (1995) Class D
100 MHz 100 MHz
16 Mbps Category 5 Category 5e
TP-PMD Class D (1995) Class D
100 MHz 100 MHz
(CDDI) Category 5 Category 5e
Class D (1995) Class D
ATM 155 Mbps 100 MHz 100 MHz
Category 5 Category 5e
ATM 1.2 GBps Class E Class E
250 MHz 250 MHz
ATM-1200/Cat 6 Category 6 Category 6
Class E Class Ea
10GBase-T 250 MHz 500 MHz
Category 6 Category 6a

These charts can be used as a design aid for the designer to help determine what media type would
be a required minimum for a particular network platform. At this point in time, Category 5e
balanced cable can handle most horizontal bandwidth requirements, but the designer must always
think about the future and plan the cabling infrastructure for 10 years.

Once again, this information is for the higher-level decisions making and will typically be discussed
and decided upon at the beginning of the design process – typically between the customer, and the
network designer, the consultant and the cabling system designer (unless they are one in the same).

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Backbone Cabling Platforms

Data Rate
Evolving Backbone Network Cabling Platforms Mbps

10 Gigabit
Ethernet

ATM 2.5 Gbps

Gigabit Ethernet

ATM 1.2 Gbps

ATM 622 Mbps

FDDI
ATM 155 Mbps
10BASE-F Fast Ethernet

1984 1986 1988 1995 1998 2002

Building Multimode Fibre

Backbone Singlemode Fibre

Multimode Fibre
Campus
Backbone Singlemode Fibre

The platforms continue to evolve from a point in the past, where OM1 (62.5/125 µm) multi-mode
fibre could handle anything in data communications to the present, where the OM2 (50/125 µm)
multi-mode bandwidth is preferred, and the future that appears to be bringing more and more OM3
fibre into the building. OS1 single-mode fibre or composite cable may also be used for building
backbone or campus backbone connectivity between buildings.

The designer should remember that the media should be planned for approximately ten years. Even
though the platforms dictate the media type to be used, if there is a borderline decision to make
regarding media selection, it may come down to several other criteria and comparisons.

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Horizontal Cabling Platforms

Data Rate
Evolving Horizontal Network Cabling Platforms
Mbps

10 Gigabit
Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet

Fast Ethernet
ATM 155 Mbps
Token Ring
16 Mbps
10BASE-T

1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2002

Class C / Cat 3

Cat 4
Class D (1995) / Cat 5
Class D / Enhanced Cat 5
Class E / Cat 6

Class F / Cat 7
Multimode Optical Fiber

The chart represents these platforms, and their minimum media options, from where they evolved
from to the present, and to where they may be heading.

The limits of Class D / Enhanced Cat 5 are being stretched to its limit. Class E / Category 6 (up to
250 MHz) was developed and has been ratified since June 2002. There have also been new
activities with the ratification of CAT 7 / Class F (up to 600 MHz) by ISO/IEC.

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Media Criteria Comparison

There are other criteria involved in the decision process of media selection, including EMC (Electro-
magnetic Compatibility), distance, performance and costs.

Some of these criteria (usually cost) may be affected as the designer proceeds through the actual
design process (i.e. placement of spaces). The objective for the designer is to find a cost-effective
solution that will support current and future application and bandwidth requirements.

Cabling System Horizontal Backbone Bandwidth Applications Initial Long

System EMC Distance Distance Support Support Cost Term Cost
UTP Good Best Good Good Good Lowest Low
FTP Better Good Good Good Good Higher Higher
Much Even
PiMF Better Better Better Better Higher
Better Higher
Optical
Best Best Best Best Best Highest Lowest
Fiber

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Review

1. Given the investment budget and expected performance, it will be the designer’s challenge
to achieve this objective. Critical factors in creating this balance are the design architectures
and the __________ ______________.

2. _________________ is the frequency range which these components and systems are
specified. It is not based on any particular application or data rate.

3. ________ ________ describes how fast data can be pump data through a system within a
given bandwidth.

4. UTP cable has better EMC performance than ScTP cable. True or False?

5. The minimum grade of cabling system required for 1000 Base-TX is ______________.

6. Which is the best media (transmission performance) for use in premise cabling? Answer:
________________.

7. A minimum of one _______ ________________ should be provided for every floor.

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