Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 1.8
Patch panel termination for fiber-optic cables.
to two 4-wire jack terminations. This disadvantage is probably not too serious,
because it allows one to totally comply with the wiring standards, and special appli-
cations can always be handled as an exception with adapter cables.
Backbone Wiring Structure.
Backbone wiring may be within one building or
between buildings on a campus. All wiring between telecommunications rooms
(MCs, ICs, and TRs) is referred to as
backbone wiring
. In many cases, this back-
bone wiring will be between wiring closets on the same floor of a building, but the
classic case is the multifloor model we saw in Fig. 1.1. Some standards refer to this
as
vertical wiring
, in contrast to horizontal wiring, and because of the confusion
with logical LAN backbone segments (which may or may not run on backbone
wiring). We will simply call it backbone wiring, and point out those few instances
when we are referring specifically to a LAN standard's specification for logical back-
bone wiring.
Backbone wiring is usually simpler than horizontal wiring. It is customary to
place LAN hubs or concentrators in each TR to connect to all the workstation wires
served by that TR. Backbone wiring then connects the hubs, one to another.
