Confused about data cabling in your office? Take a look at our straightforward guide. It explains all the need to know parts.

1. How does data
cabling work in
the office?
Discover the 4 key parts of data
cabling and how they work together
to keep your office working

2. Maybe you’re thinking about moving offices.
Or, perhaps, you need to upgrade your current
office to match your current needs. One of the
key elements you might need to undertake is
often overlooked: provisioning for data points
within your new space.
If you are curious as to how it all works, here’s
our guide to the different parts of data cabling
# 1: Computer / Telephone Data Connection
This is where you plug in your data cable into your computer. If you
are in an office, this cable may enable you to get your data from your
Server, and perhaps even your internet. Occasionally, your computer
may be connected to your telephone via a data cable before being
connected to a data port in the floor or on the wall.
#2: Data Point
This is where the data cable – CAT5 cable – that is connected to your
computer or telephone goes into the wall. They typically come in

3. gangs of 2, but the ones pictured here are a gang of 4 stacked on top
of one another. They usually also have a label on top of each port,
and there is more on that next.
#3 Patch Panel
So, all the wires that come from the data point terminate here. This is
known as a patch panel, because you can then patch your IT
equipment from here to the computer it needs to talk to, without
having to run a long cable from the network equipment to the
computer you are working on.
Again, all the ports here are labelled, usually with a number. You will
find that for every port that comes out of a wall, there is a port here
on the patch panel. They will have the same number or label, so you
know where they lead to. The cabling company will do this labelling
for you.

4. As you may have guessed, the picture on the previous page, isn’t as
neat as it could be. The picture below here is what your patch panel
could look like if sorted by a professional IT support company.
So, how do you get all these ports and tangle of cables to talk
together in a network? You will need a switch...
#4: Switch
What is a Switch? Simply put, it is a network device that enables your
IT equipment to talk to one another. Think of it as a roundabout with
traffic lights. It allows cars to get to where they want to go, without
crashing into each other. Except in this case the car is actually data.
It’s called a Switch because it “switches” the path of the data to
ensure it gets to the right destination.
Switches come in many shapes and forms, and you can even get
smart switches that add even more functionality to your network.
It’s a bit tricky to see the Switch when it’s all plugged up so here’s one
on the left that’s just out of the box.

5. So, how does this all fit together?
Your PC on your desk may be connected to your handset, which is
then connected to a data port in the wall or floor. This is then
magically connected to your patch panel in your comms room. From
here, the leads from the patch panel are connected to your Switch.
Other network equipment is also connected to your Switch, such as
your Firewall, Router and Server. And that’s how you link everything
up in your office!
So, there you have it. There are of course other elements that make
up your network, such as a Server, Router and Firewall, and they too
can be plugged in to your Switch and Patch Panel. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch and one of the team
will be happy to help.
http://www.prosyn.net/contact.php
0207 043 4390