Being a bright spark

Data cabling is one of the most important infrastructure needs of a business. Proper data cabling ensures that you get the right connectivity for your computers, phones, teleconferencing, printers and fax machines among other devices in the work area. Well-installed cabling makes it easy to service, repair and trace connections.

Unfortunately, not many people can tell whether their data cabling is good or bad. In a simple and non-technical description, read on to learn how you can quickly evaluate your cabling quality:

Around the workstations:

Works stations form the tail end of the data cabling network:

1. The first thing you should see from a well-installed cabling job is no sign or tangled or errant cables. All connected cables should directly be running to the machine they are connected to.
2. Two, the cables should not be connected in such a way that they hinder movement or pose a danger to the staff.
3.  Thirdly, data cabling outlets should be easy to access. They should also be situated close to the machines that need connectivity to avoid having long exposed cables running from the wall/floors.

Cables on the floor, for example, can easily trip someone walking by. Instead of being on the floor, the cables should be pulled through from the wall or floor and attached to devices in a discreet manner.

Around your walls or ceilings:

For your cabling to get to your workstations, they have to be pulled all the way from the data room. The data room can be located on the same floor, above or below your floor. This necessitates that cables be pulled (connected) across rooms. A professional cabling job should leave no visible cables around the walls and ceilings. The cables should be pulled either behind walls, above the ceiling or under the flooring. If cables have to be exposed, they should be well pinned or tucked inside conduits.

In the data room:

The data room holds your data machines and is the origin of your cables. In there, your cables should be neatly connected to their respective ports. Cables from each machine should then be tied neatly, pushed to the side and grouped according to where they are going.

Although you may not tell which cable goes where, it should be easy to tell that they have been grouped in a certain order. It should be easy to trace the wires too. If your cables are all jumbled up in a mass web, the job is not professional at all.

Lastly, don't forget the most important thing; make sure your installed data cables are working as they should. No connectivity may mean loose attachments, broken internal cable wires or a wrong connection. To learn more, contact a company like Foreman-Sheean Electrical & Communications with any questions you have.