Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
How can you plan a migration to higher-speed network cabling? First,
unless you are designing a completely new facility, or planning to replace all of
your existing network cabling, you should find where you are right now.
For example, if you currently have a Category 5e facility, you can
upgrade from 100 to 1000 Mbps easily. You will not be able to use
1000BaseTX or ATM-1244 at all, without replacing your cable with new
Category 6 or AC6 cable. On the other hand, if you already have Category 6
cable, you can upgrade to any of the 1000 Mbps technologies—that is, if that
cable was installed to Category 6 standards.
If you already have fiber installed, you are probably set for any of the cur-
rently envisioned higher speeds. At the worst case, you may have to adapt the
connectors or reterminate the fibers, replacing SC connectors with newer SFF
connectors. You can also get to the higher speeds by installing new fiber, or by
including a fiber run along with conventional twisted pair to each workstation
area.
New installations that will initially employ lower-speed networking have
a special problem. How can the network manager plan for the future imple-
mentation of these higher speeds when the exact technology choice is not yet
known? The best bet is to put in the highest grade facility you can afford. It
would be ideal to pull both fiber and copper to each work area. However, if
your budget limits you to twisted pair, you should at least put in a full AC6
cabling system, so you will get all the bandwidth possible. And remember, any
decisions you make now may still not keep up with the future, but perhaps
they will at least last through the 5- to 15-year useful life projected for most
cabling systems.
“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes
all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get
somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” …and Alice
began to remember that she was a Pawn, and that it would soon be time for
her to move.
Lewis Carroll
(
Through the Looking Glass
)
Well, one thing you can do is to plan for the future. Design new cable systems
so they meet tomorrow's needs as well as today's. If you are installing a 100BaseT
network, that means you should install a cable facility that can go to the next step,
1000 Mbps. If you have an existing facility, add Category 6/AC6 cabling and hard-
ware when you add workstation drops. Plan the additions so the old cable can even-
tually be converted to the new system. A graceful migration such as this can be
accomplished over a period of time to minimize the budget impact.
Proper planning can give a cable system an extended life. Providing for the
future may cost a little more now, but it will simplify change when it eventually
comes.
