Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Network technology was no
longer a trivial endeavor, but had become the basic currency upon which our net-
work economy is founded. Now, education and training are necessities.
To understand the nature of wiring complexity, one needs to appreciate the science
and engineering involved in modern networking. To some, LAN wiring may seem
to be a simple matter of connecting tiny wires in the right order. This approach is
similar to simple telephone wiring, which almost anyone can do. Perhaps the sim-
plicity is seemingly apparent to anyone who has connected a basic telephone jack in
a home, or who knows how to plug the modular cord into an inexpensive phone,
but the simplicity wanes when you approach the first cross-connect. A quick glance
at the mass of cables and wires that exist in the average telephone room will con-
vince anyone that even telephone wiring is not a simple matter. That is exactly why
we have spent so much of this topic describing the twisted-pair wiring devices and
their corresponding wiring patterns and installation practices.
In fact, high-speed network wiring adds one or two layers of complexity to the
already complex field of telephone wiring. At the speed of networks today, the sim-
ple twisted pair has become a radio-frequency transmission line. The design of the
components that create this high-speed network is a marvel, as well as a radical
change for the cabling component manufacturers. They routinely use RF-engineer-
ing tools and practices in the creation of everything from low-crosstalk connectors
to geometry-stabilized cables. In fact, most of the new terms, such as attenuation
and return loss, come from that RF domain. Just ask any microwave engineer.
Microwave? Well, the definition of microwave frequencies is any frequency at or
above 1000 MHz, which certainly includes the base frequency of Gigabit Ethernet.
Now, in reality, we do not place frequencies quite that high on our copper cables—
yet—but we are close enough for many of the same concepts to apply.
In addition to proper design of these near-microwave network components,
their proper installation is critical if we are able to reach the very high performance
levels needed for our modern networks. We no longer have the luxury of simplicity.
We must lay out and install our networks to very exacting standards. Although
every installation is different, we have a system of rule-based design standards and
installation practices that help us through the fray. However, rules are only as good
as the players, and we need the certification referee to ensure the players are prop-
erly trained.
