Network Design. Guide to Cabling.

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Network Design.
Guide to Cabling.

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 Network Design. Guide to Cabling.

Introduction
As a network is designed, the channels that facilitate the data flow must be developed. The way this is most
often done today is with Ethernet cables.

Ethernet cable can be used for long runs from your patch panel to your network jacks. Furthermore, it can be
used for patch cables to connect your router to the outside world. Without these cables, your data would never
make it off of your host devices.

With regard to Ethernet runs to your patch panel, the best time to make sure these are done correctly is at the
beginning. Here are some things to consider.

Length Requirements
Here is why knowing the length specifications of Ethernet cables is important, and what to consider in this
regard when choosing the right grade of cable for your situation.

Issues to Be Considered
Here are the factors to be taken into consideration when choosing the right type of Ethernet cable for your
specific network.

ʼn Quality degradation. Cable runs that are longer than the specification allows for may incur a degraded
traffic flow. This should be avoided at all costs.

ʼn Cost. The higher the quality of the cable, the more it costs. Managed service providers should offer a cost
analysis to verify that businesses aren’t paying for something that they don’t need, or negatively affecting
their network by cutting costs.

ʼn Limitation of failure points. When cable runs aren’t long enough, network switches can be used to bridge
the gap. This is an effective solution, but it creates an additional point of failure. The number of these
should be kept to a minimum.

Specific Length per Cable Type

ʼn Cat 5 - Both Cat 5 and Cat 5e are limited to 100-meter runs.

ʼn Cat 6 - Both Cat 6 and Cat 6a, like Cat 5 and 5e cables, are limited to 100-meter runs.

ʼn Cat 7 - Cat 7 cable runs can be up to 100 meters, but the speeds actually start to degrade after 15 meters.

Speed Ratings
In addition to length specifications, the speed ratings of each type of cable need to be considered as well. Here
we explain why knowing the speed ratings of your cable is important, and give examples of speed ratings for
different cable types.

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Why Speed Is Important

Your network is only going to be as fast as its slowest communication point. This concept, known as
bottlenecking, means that you need to know what speeds your network needs before selecting your cabling.

Issues to Be Considered
When considering the speeds your network connection needs in order to avoid bottlenecking, there are three
main concepts to review.

ʼn Speed of internet connection. Internet service providers will typically offer different packages for internet
speeds. Be sure that your network cable supports the speeds of your internet connection.

ʼn Speed of local network. In today’s network, each switch, router, and ethernet card should support at least a
gigabit connection. Slower 10/100 interfaces will bottleneck your network.

ʼn Future growth. This is just as important as your current network situation. Select cabling that will allow for
the speeds that you will need in the future, as well as today.

Specific Length per Cable Type

ʼn Cat 5 - Due to the fact that Cat 5 is older and outdated, transmission speeds max out at 100 Mbps, and 100
MHz of bandwidth.

ʼn Cat 5e - An upgrade to Cat 5 cables, Cat 5e supports 1 Gbps transmission speeds. Like Cat 5, bandwidth
tops out at 100 MHz.

ʼn Cat 6 - A huge step up from Cat 5e, Cat 6 offers bandwidth up to 250 MHz. Cat 6 transmission speeds top
out at 1 Gbps.

ʼn Cat 6e - The transmission speeds and bandwidth offered by Cat 6e are a great improvement on Cat 6.
Transmission speeds are up to 10 Gbps, and bandwidth is doubled, up to 500 MHz.

ʼn Cat 7 - With specifications very similar to Cat 6e, Cat 7 Ethernet cable offers transmission speeds up to 10
Gbps, and bandwidth up to 600 MHz.

Color Coding
Ethernet cable comes in all sorts of different colors. Managed service providers should use color coding as a way
to organize cabling. Here is how to do this.

Why Use Color Coding?

Ethernet cables have different purposes. A great way to offer a quick indication of what each cable in your

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network is doing is color coding. Runs to wireless access points should have a different color than runs to wired
wall ports. Cables used for servers or patching PCs can have their own color as well.

A Color Coding Example

Here’s one example of how a managed service provider can use cable color to indicate purpose.

ʼn Blue - used for direct ethernet runs to wall ports

ʼn Black - used for runs specifically for voice-over-IP phone technology.

ʼn White - used for cable runs to wireless access points.

ʼn Green - used for patch cables for connecting wired devices to wall ports.

ʼn Red - used for patch cables in the network room for connections between server devices and network
switches.

Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest two mistakes made with color coding are overdoing it, and under-doing it. Be sure to only use the
number of colors that makes sense. Our example offered a code system of five different colors; if that’s too
much, cut it down a bit.

If you don’t plan on color-coding your cables, at least make an effort to use one single color throughout your
network. This way, if you add on options such as wireless access points or VoIP technology later, you can use a
different color.

Cable Organization
Keeping your cables organized is the key to simpler troubleshooting in the future. Here are some examples of
cable organization, tools to use, and mistakes to avoid.

Examples of Organization
It’s important to see that the cable organization is done the right way in each location. Here’s a breakdown of the
three main places to verify that everything is under control.

ʼn In the network room. Most network racks offer cable organization features that should be taken full
advantage of. In some cases, managed service providers skip using a patch panel and run cables directly to
the switch.

ʼn In-wall organization. Cable runs should be organized from front to back - including everything in between.
Keeping in-wall cable runs organized helps to prevent broken cable issues during any additional
construction processes.

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ʼn On the desktop. Managed service providers can take customer service to another level by offering some
cable management solutions at a desk-side level.

Tools to Use
Managed service providers should take full advantage of all of the cable management tools at their disposal.
Here’s a look at three different organizational tools, each having a best-use scenario depending on the situation.

ʼn Conduit - This is a type of tubing that is used to channel cabling through walls, floors, and ceilings. When
choosing the right conduit for the job, it’s important to distinguish those designed for electrical work from
those designed for networking.

ʼn Cable Clips - These are fairly effective in tying up loose cables and grouping them together. Many cable
clips can be used to attach the organized cable to other surfaces.

ʼn Network Rack - Many network racks feature cable management channels for running patch cables between
patch panels and networking equipment. If you don’t take advantage of this, network racks can become
disorganized fairly quickly.

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Mistakes to Avoid
As with any practice, there are a number of mistakes to avoid when it comes to organizing cable. Here are the
top three to consider.

ʼn Leave room for cable removal - It can be hard even to think about removing cables that are currently being
run and patched through - but it is sure to happen in the future. As the cables are organized, especially in
network racks and desk-side, make it simple to remove and replace in the future.

ʼn Overfilling of management tools - Conduit, cable clips, and cable management features on network
racks should certainly be utilized, but be sure only to use them for the appropriate amount of cable.
Overcrowding will end up having a negative effect and make the cabling situation disorganized.

ʼn Creating cable tangles. Running long lines of cable - especially through walls, floors, and ceilings with
difficult visibility - can be hard to organize. If at all possible, attempt to do this all without creating cable
tangles. Doing straight runs one at a time is the most effective way to make this happen.

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Conclusion
Managed service providers should have an understanding of the features and limitations of each cable they
choose. Furthermore, it’s a good idea to take advantage of color coding and organizational tools. A well-designed
network backbone will make future troubleshooting easier and help the MSP to have a clear advantage over
others.

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