Is it Time to Upgrade Your Network Cabling?
Think about the following: When was your network cabling infrastructure first installed? Since this time, have you ever upgraded part of all of your cabling network? If you have not upgraded your cabling for many years, do you find that your cabling infrastructure still delivers a network performance that is adequate for your needs? It may be that you don’t have heavy demands on your network. If this is the case, then your current infrastructure may last several more years. However, if you have experienced a diminished network performance in recent times, perhaps due to equipment upgrades or increased network usage, then it’s probably time to think about upgrading your network cabling.
If your network performance is not currently lacking, but you are planning on expanding or upgrading to high-tech equipment in the near future, a reassessment of your current cabling infrastructure would also be wise. This is particularly true for those that have not had any part of their cabling network upgraded for many years. Whilst older cabling standards, such as Cat5 cabling, were more than sufficient for their time, and for many years thereafter, they generally cannot provide for the network requirements of today. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you have invested heavily in your IT infrastructure, in terms of equipment upgrades, only to find that your network performance is not as expected because you neglected to upgrade your cabling to a standard that is capable of supporting the new equipment.
There are several different types of cables, with each being suitable for different environments and for varying network requirements.
Copper Twisted Pair Cables
Of the different types of cables, copper twisted pair cabling is the one that is most commonly used in business data cabling networks. This is because these cables are cost-effective, versatile and their backwards compatibility makes them easy to patch into an existing cabling infrastructure to boost performance one stage at a time.
Cat5 cabling has been around since the 1990’s and, although now obsolete, these cables can still be found in many business networks. Cat5 was invented for LAN transmissions up to 100Mbps and can support voice, video and data. In the late 1990’s, Cat5 cabling was superseded by Cat5e, which offers an improved performance whilst being backwards compatible with its predecessor. Cat5e also offers speeds of 100Mbps, but provides a superior network performance due to its enhanced protection against crosstalk. If you’re still using Cat5 cabling and want to upgrade your network on a budget, then Cat5e is the ideal way to do this.
For a high-performance network, however, Cat6 cabling is recommended as a minimum standard. This type of cabling offers twice the speed of Cat5e and greater still protection against crosstalk. For data centres or business networks with a heavy demand, Cat6a or CAT7 cabling will be your best bet. Cat8 cabling is still under development but looks set to far supersede these standards once released.
Amongst these standards, there are two types of cables to consider: unshielded (UTP) and shielded (STP). Shielded cables will be more expensive, but will offer a better protection against interference. They are essential in networks where the cabling has to be installed outside or in close proximity to certain electrical equipment.
Fibre Optic Cabling
Fibre optic cables use light signals to transmit data, as opposed to the electrical signals used by copper twisted pair cables. Fibre optic cables offer superfast data transfer speeds and are not affected by interference, so will deliver a superior, more reliable network performance. These cables, however, are more expensive so it’s worth considering whether they will be necessary in your network.
If you think it may be time to upgrade your network cabling, talk to an expert cabling installation company. They will be able to advise you on the best cables for your business requirements now, whilst factoring in your future needs too. If you would like more information about network cabling in Worcester and the surrounding areas, contact Midland Networks today.