The document outlines the six essential components of structured cabling systems used in data and telephone installations: the entrance facility, main communications room, separate telecommunication rooms, backbone cabling, work areas, and horizontal cabling. Each component plays a crucial role in ensuring effective communication infrastructure, with considerations for size and future requirements influencing their implementation. It also discusses specific details like required technologies and cabling standards for different applications.

1. What are the Structured CablingSystemComponents?
Structured CablingSystem Components
Everydata and telephonecablinginstallationisunique.Howeverthe majorityof projectsall consist
of a similarsetof structuredcablingsystemcomponents.
The areas that theyhave includedandthe waythat theywill be installedall differ.Furthermore
dependingonthe size of the projectnotall elementswillbe present
There are 6 areas that are generallyfoundineverydataandtelephonecablinginstallation.
6 Structured CablingSystemComponents
The IncomingServicesorEntrance Facility
The Main CommunicationsorEquipmentRoom
Separate SubCabinetsorTelecommunicationRooms
Backbone Cablinglinkingthemtogether
The general workareas
Horizontal datacablingservingthe workareas
On largerprojectsall these will be present.Howeveronsmallerprojectstheymaybe combined.For
example the entrance facilityandcommunicationsroommaybe the same room.Furthermore there
may onlybe one cabinetandtherefore nosubcabinetsorbackbone cabling
The IncomingServicesor Entrance Facility
Thisarea is where the incomingservicesenterthe buildingandcreate ademarcationpoint.Thiscan
be for bothdata and telephone cabling.Forexample aBT distribution pointora blownfibre housing
box.
In some buildingsthismightgodirectlyintothe communicationsroom.Howeveritisusually
separate andthenlinkedtothe commsroom. Meanwhile inamulti tenantedbuildingthe entrance
facilitywill house all services.Consequentlyeachtenantthenconnectstheirowncommunications
room to thisarea
The Main Communicationsor EquipmentRoom
In shortthe communicationsroomiswhere all the hardware andcontrol technologyare house fora
client.Likewise thisisgenerallythe same formulti floorsorsingle flooruse.The incomingactive

2. broadbandrouter,firewall,serversstorage andmainhardware are generallyhousedinthe main
communicationsroom.
In additionothertechnologyandhardware will be housedinthiscentral hub.These caninclude the
following
 AudioVisual equipmentsuchassatelliteboxes,storage,musicservers,anddigital signage
controllers
 CCTV recordingequipmentandscreens
 BMS Controls
 AccessControl
 Smart lightingcontrollers
The buildingmay have several cabinetsthroughout.Howeverthe maincommunicationsroomwill
generallyhouse the central hubof these services.
The communicationsroomalsohasto take into considerationpresentandfuture requirements.
Furthermore the requiredpower,coolingandsecurity.Howeverinsmallerbuildingsthe space might
justbe a wall mountedcabinetonthe wall of anoffice
We have writtenafurtherarticle of howto size anddesigna suitable commsroomspace inany
installationwhichyoucanfindhere
Separate Sub Cabinetsor TelecommunicationRooms
Generallywhenthe buildingisoveralarge space or onseveral floorsthere willbe more thanone
communicationroomspace.Thustelecommunicationroomsorsatellitecabinetsare created
The cabinetlocationsare designedtoensure thatnodata cablingrunsexceed90 metres.Thisisthe
standardisedmaximumlengthof anycopperdatacablinginstallation
Comparedtothe maincommunicationsroomtheydon’tusuallycontainalotof or any of the control
technologyandhardware.Inthiscase theyhouse additional dataswitchesandthe patchpanelsfor
the data cablingto that dedicatedcabinetorroom.Generallyeachfloorwill have itsowncabinetor
room.Howeverdependingonsize several floorscanbe servedfromasingle room.
Likewise inmanydesignsthe maincommunicationsroomwillhouse the datacablingtothat floor
and maybe one or twoothers.Furthermore inasmallerinstallationtheymayonlybe one comms
room that all the data cablingrunsback to
As a resultof creatingthese satellite cabinetstheyrequire connectionbacktothe maincomms
room.This isdone bybackbone cabling.
Backbone Cabling
Whenthe projectrequiresmore thanone setof cabinetsthe designof backbone cablingbecomes
important. Generallythese are fibre opticcablinginstallationsbutcanat timesbe installedincopper

3. Structuredcablingdesignisbasedaroundastar design.Thuseachoutlethasa data cable that runs
directlybackto the comms cabinet.Similarlythe backbonedesignfollowsthe same pattern
All the subcabinetswill have adirectlinkbackto the maincommunicationsroom.Furthermore in
some casestheywill have 2 separate dedicatedlinksbetweenthe twoareas.Inadditionthese will
followtwoseparate routes tocreate resilienceincasesof damage to one of the links.Likewisein
some installationsthe subcabinetswill alsohave linksbetweenthemtocreate additional resilience
incase of brokenordamagedcables.Thusisone cable gets damagedthentheyare alternative paths
for the data transmissionstotravel
The backbone cablingisgenerallyfibreopticcablingdue toitsgreatbandwidthcapability.In
additionitisalsoable to carry multiple channelconnectionsoverasingle cable.Forexample eachof
the followingmayrequire aseparate connectionbetweencommsroomandsubcabinet
 Data Connection
 VoIPphone systems
 CCTV
 AccessControl
 BMS
 WiFi
 AV
Fibre opticcablingachievesthisbyinstallinga16 core single cable tocoverthis.(2 coresperlink). In
contrast 7 individual coppercableswouldneedtobe installedtoachieve the same connections.
Furthermore the fibre opticwillgenerallybe oversizedsuchasa 24 core to allow forfuture growth.
In the same way thatdata cablingto the work areascannot exceed90mneithercanit inbackbone
links.Hence if the linksare greaterthan90m thenfibre opticcablingmustbe used
Work Areas
The work area isany area whenworkiscarriedout or requirescoverage.Thiscaninclude areassuch
as:
 Desks,MeetingRooms,Conference Facilities,Reception
 Cafes,Restaurant,KitchenandWelfare Areas
 Warehouse andStorage
 External Areas
 Bespoke workingrequirements
Each buildingorcampusis different.Howeveranyareacan be a work area andall follow asimilar
setof guidelinesforcablingtothem.Furthermoretheyhave guidelinestoplanforthe presentand
future considerationsof thatparticularworkspace.Thiswill includethe datacabling,powerand
containment.

4. Furthermore the type of terminationpointswill dependonthe location.Willtheybe floorboxesor
grommetsor mountedonthe wall.Inadditionwill waterprooforIPrated terminationboxesbe
requiredforexternal orwarehouseareas
Horizontal Cabling
The work areasare servedbythe horizontal cabling.Itisreferredtoashorizontal cablingas
generallythe cablingrunshorizontallyanddirectlyfromadedicatedcabinetonthe same floor.
Howeveraspreviouslymentionedinsome casesonfloorcabinetsmayserve several floors.
The maximumdistance is90m fromwork area to cabinet.Thisisthe same fordata and telephone
cabling,CCTV,WiFi orany othercablingrun overdata
The choice of horizontal cablingwill dependonthe requirementsof the client’shardware.For
example Cat5e andCat6 are suitable forGigabittransmissionspeeds.Howeverfor10 GigabitCat6a
isrecommendedasa minimumcable specification
In some installationalthoughrarelyfibre opticcablingisinstalleddirectlytothe desk.Generallythis
isfor highsecurityor highspeedapplications.ThisisreferredtoasFibre to the Deskor FTTD
Summary of Structured Cabling SystemComponents
Each projectis differentandthe size will dictate tohow the designwill go.Howeverwiththe 6
componentsabove the basisof a suitable installationisbuilt
We offerfree surveysandadvice onyourdataand telephone cablingrequirementssocall usto
discussfurther
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