Major Installations, Case Studies & Articles

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What exactly is the structured cabling industry doing online in the new Web 2.0 world? Get introduced to some of the groups  available to anyone interested in joing the conversation.

In the real world of security camera installations, often a workstation outlet or junction box cannot be located near the camera. Therefore installers are direct attaching the horizontal cable to the camera. Berk-Tek is looking at ways to test and warrant this plug-ended solution. 

One of the biggest concerns to of security system designers when designing a network camera scenario is the Ethernet distance limitations. Find out how to stay within these borders and how to push beyond.

2009 was a year that brought major industry cabling standards up-to-date. See our pick of the top three that will change the face of cabling, while getting a peek into important standards’ working groups for 2010.

Did you know that the color of the outside jacket of a fiber optic cable should define the fiber properties? Know the difference when selecting yellow, orange or aqua, but know your manufacturer…  

"Icky-pick" is the term coined for that icky gel that is placed within an outdoor-rated cable (both fiber optic and copper cables). Installers don't like it, but it has its purposes to protect the cable conductors and fiber strands.  Berk-Tek developed an alternative solution.

It’s a fact that round fiber optic cables have their advantages in the data center space. Round fiber optic cables vs. ribbon style are the way to go for backbone cables! This article compares the MDP to traditional ribbon cables.  Read on.
 

 Enemy #1 of telecommunications cable is liquid. They simply do not mix. It is a misconception that because copper (UTP and FTP) cables are covered with a durable plastic-based jacketing material to protect copper conductors, that they are also impervious to water or any fluids. Not so. Read on...

Buyer beware if you do not know the cable brand before buying and installing. The price may be lower, but the product can produce higher costs in the long run.

Category 6 vs. Category 5e is the never-ending debate in the copper cable world.  Does it come down to asking, “Is it a need to have or a nice to have?”  And, what are some of the decision criteria?  Simply put the main advantages are higher bandwidth and better performance. But what about cost and diameter?

The AAA National Office (Heathrow, FL) provides support services to the network of AAA and CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) clubs serving 1,500 members across North America. In a recent redesign of their data center, which includes the NetClear GTX 10-Gigabit UTP copper solution running 10GBASE-T as the backbone, they increased their capacity, enhanced redundancy, and doubled previous cooling capacity. Read the details in this article (reprinted from Cabling Business Magazine, October 2008)

Ever wonder how twisted pair cable is manufactured? In answer to a curious mind, the REEL TIME article takes a step-by-step look at the manufacturing processes of a twisted pair cable. Read the entire article….

Paint and telecom cables are not a good mix.  The March 2009 Reel Time article discusses how a cable's properties can be affected when exposed to paint.

What does it mean for cable to be balanced?  Cable balance is a critical electrical characteristic that will affect the performance of your entire network.  Get the details.

Defining OM (Optical Multimode) cables, as designated by ISO/IEC 11801 international standards, includes characterizing fiber performance (bandwidth), light sources and distance relative to bandwidth. This article takes a look at OM1, 2, 3 and proposed OM4.

 “Skew” affects both UTP and fiber cabling. But, as bandwidth requirements are being defined in the 40- and 100-gigabit range, skew will become a major factor in defining fiber cable performance.

This article asks industry experts their definition of structured cabling. Read the many varied answers.

When it comes to video, cable selection does make a difference in the picture. Read how and see the pictorial comparison.

This article takes a look at the logic and history behind the color-coding of UTP conductors.

The June 2008 Reel Time article clarifies and defines how the cabling industry can participate and gain benefits in the environmental programs currently taking shape.  

The April 2008 Reel Time article explores the possibilities for fiber cassettes in the data center.

Why are there so many Category 6 copper cabling options available on the market today? And how different are they from one another, really? Read the March 2008 Reel Time column to get answers to these questions and others.

When selecting armored fiber, what additional steps are required to ensure proper grounding & bonding? Read this August 2007 Reel Time Article for an in depth look at this question. 

What can you do to protect your fiber optic cable plant while also reducing installation time and expense? Read this February 2007 Reel Time article to find out.

What can structured cabling manufacturers do to help green the planet? This December 2007 Reel Time column explores the reality, and the hype surrounding the green movement in the structured cabling industry. 

This article is intended to provide you with some field experience that will help you avoid the “gotcha’s” possible when working with tight buffered optical cabling.

 As technology evolves in every industry, everything that gets smaller, also seems to get better – from cell phones to iPODs to cameras. So, why should it be any different in the cable industry? This article will look at recent developments in copper and fiber cabling technology and attempt to answer, “Why is cable getting smaller and why is this better?”

Interlocking armor cable was developed to be installed indoors in both plenum and riser spaces without the use of conduit. Soon after, indoor/outdoor versions became available. Armored cable is robust, but yet special care and consideration must be taken to properly install the cable. This article details the best practices for such operations.

Utmost consideration must be given to the detailed planning and designing of an efficient data center for reliability and longevity, whether the scenario is large or small. This article (Cabling Installation & Maintenance, December 2006) examines the pros and cons of various optical fiber cable constructions.

Now that Ethernet 10GBASE-T (IEEE 802.3an) is ratified and published, specifiers and end users are looking at the cable options to assure an efficient 10 GbE channel for their networks. The major­ity of U.S. installers tend to narrow the selection to Category 6 UTP, FTP or Augmented Category 6 (otherwise known as CAT 6A). However, there is one approved Category cable that seems to get very little attention in the U.S. that would provide future proofing to beyond 10 Gb/s, namely Category 7. (Originally published in Cabling Business Magazine, November 2006)

A major contractor was challenged with providing a consistent structured cabling layout for multiple applications and multiple networks. For this REL TIME column, we are presenting a real life installation scenario. The original system design, which encompassed a fairly straight-forward 50-micron fiber backbone and Category 6 copper for the horizontal data, voice and video cable runs, quickly turned into a mélange of applications and complex networks. Read how the installer was able to readjust the infrastructure design to fit the customer’s needs.