1. COPPER AND FIBER REVIEW
CABLE UPDATE
COPPER AND FIBER
REVIEW
Presented by Ken Pimental

2. Category 5 Installation
STANDARDS TO KNOW BASED ON A STAR TOPOLOGY INSTALLATION
ANSI/EIA/TIA-568B COMMERCIAL BUILDING WIRING STANDARD
ANSI/EIA/TIA-570 RESIDENTIAL/LIGHT COMMERCIAL WIRING STANDARD
WORK AREAS WIRED TO CENTRAL LOCATIONS
SUPPORT THE LISTED CABLE TYPES:
4PR 100 OHM UTP
150 OHM STP (IBM TYPE)
62.5/125 OPTICAL FIBER

3. Quick Facts: CAT 1 = POTS (PLAIN OLD TELEPHONE SERVICE)
CAT 2 = ISDN ( INTERGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK
CAT 3 = 16 MHZ 100 OHM UTP
CAT 5 = 100 MHZ 100 OHM UTP
CAT 5E = 100 MHZ with enhanced
requirements
CAT 5E = 350 MHZ same as above with
extended testing
CAT 6= Draft Gigabit Ethernet

4. NOW THE IMPORTANT STUFF!
LETS LOOK AT THE PARTS OF AN INSTALLATION THAT TYPICALLY CONCERN US THE MOST!
PULLING AND PLACING THE CABLE
FORMING AND TERMINATING
TESTING AND DOCUMENTING

5. PULLING THE CABLE AVOID SHARP CORNERS, KINKS AND TURNS
GRADUALLY PULL CABLE INTO PLACE
PULLING CAT 5 CABLE SHOULD NOT EXCEED A TENSION OF 25 LBS
NEVER JERK OR DRAG CABLE AROUND CORNERS

6. CAT 5 VS THE ENVIRONMENT WATCH PATHWAY CONGESTION
MOISTURE WILL AFFECT CABLE PERFORMANCE
HIGH TEMPERATURES INCREASE CABLE ATTENUATION

7. LET TALK ABOUT BENDING
DURING INSTALLATION KEEP THE BEND RADIUS AS LARGE AS POSSIBLE
EIA/TIA-568-B STATES THE MINIMUM BEND RADIUS IS 4 TIMES THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF THE CABLE
ALWAYS AVOID TIGHT BENDS AND SHARP EDGES
COMMON SENSE IS KEY:
MAKE PULLS AS STRAIGHT AS POSSIBLE!
USE THIRD MAN PULLEYS OR PEOPLE AT POINTS IN QUESTION

8. WHAT DOES THE STANDARD REALLY SAY ABOUT CABLE FORMING AND TERMINATION?
RUMOR: THE RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM STRIP LENGTH IS 2 1/2 INCHES FOR CAT 5 4PR. CABLE
FACT: EIA/TIA-568-B CABLING PRACTICES STRIP BACK ONLY AS MUCH CABLE JACKET AS REQUIRED TO TERMINATE CONNECTING HARDWARE

9. PROPER CABLE FORMING AVOID UNNECESSARY BENDS MINIMIZE JACKET TWISTING
REPLACE DAMAGED CABLE
AVOID HIGH TEMPERATURE AREAS
APPLY CABLE TIES LOOSELY
MAINTAIN AT LEAST A 4 TIMES THE DIAMETER BEND RADIUS

10. PROPER CABLE FORMING
CONTINUED
STORE AND RUN CABLE IN PROTECTED, MOISTURE FREE AREA
MAKE ALL CONNECTIONS VIA PATCH PANELS AND CROSS CONNECT BLOCKS
AVOID SOURCES OF EMI.
RUN CABLE AT LEAST 5 INCHES AWAY FROM FLUORESCENT LIGHT FIXTURES. EIA/TIA

11. AVOID AT ANY COSTS EXCEEDING 90 DEGREE BENDS
NEVER OVERTIGHTEN CABLE TIES
DO NOT STEP ON OR RUN OVER CABLE
NEVER SPLICE OR USE BRIDGE TAPS
USE PROPER STAPLING METHODS
AVOID OVERSTRESSING THE CABLE
DO NOT LEAVE LARGE SERVICE LOOPS

12. KEEP IN MIND MAXIMUM HORIZONTAL RUN:
295 FT OF HORIZONTAL CABLING OR 90 METERS
RECOMMENDED WORK AREA CABLE (MAX) 3 METERS OR (10 FT)
RECOMMENDED JUMPER/PATCH CORDS 7
METERS OR 23 FEET (MAX OF 2 PATCH
CORDS PER HORIZONTAL RUN)

13. THE STANDARD TELLS US EIA/TIA-568-B ALLOWS THAT OVER THE
LIFETIME OF A CABLING PLATFORM BOTH
VOICE AND DATA WILL PROBABLY BE
REQUIRED AT EACH INSTALLED WORK
STATION, SO IT DICTATES WIRING AT
LEAST A MINIMUM OF TWO OUTLETS

14. THE STANDARD ALSO TELLS US THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THE MEDIA CABLES SHOULD BE
4 PR 100 OHM UTP FOR VOICE
THE OTHER CAN BE:
4 PR 100 OHM UTP OR
2 PR 150 OHM STP FOR DATA
2 STRAND, 62.5/125 MULTIMODE OPTICAL FIBER FOR FUTURE APPLICATION/NEEDS

15. WHAT ABOUT COMPOSITE ?
A HYBRID CABLE IS WHEN MORE THAN ONE (RECOGNIZED) CABLE IS PLACED UNDER ONE SHEATH
WHEN ALL THE CABLES UNDER THE SHEATH ARE EIA/TIA-568-B COMPLIANT, THE CABLE MAY BE USED IN THE HORIZONTAL!

16. HOW ABOUT A LITTLE FIBER
ALTHOUGH THIS PRESENTATION IS MOSTLY ON COPPER, WE STILL NEED TO ADDRESS FIBER IN THE HORIZONTAL RELATING TO PULLING AND TERMINATION
BE AWARE THAT YOU DO NOT EXCEED THE MANUFACTURERS RECOMMENDED PULLING TENSION
INNERDUCT IS TYPICALLY USED ON THE BACKBONE ONLY, BUT IF CONDITIONS DICTATE IT MAY BE NEEDED IN THE HORIZONTAL

17. MORE FIBER STUFF
FIBER IS AVAILABLE IN BOTH PVC AND PLENUM, AS IS INNERDUCT:
DETERMINE CABLE ENVIRONMENT
CHECK ANY LOCAL CODE
SELECT PROPER TYPE CABLE
FIBER AND INNERDUCT COME IN VARIOUS COLORS
WHILE NOT A STANDARD, MULTIMODE IS TYPICALLY ORANGE JACKET AND SINGLEMODE IS YELLOW JACKET.

18. STILL MORE FIBER STUFF
AS A RULE MORE PULLING TENSION MAY BE EXERTED ON FIBER THAN ON CAT 5 COPPER
MANY MANUFACTURERS MAKE FIBER ENDS RE: SC OR ST TYPE AND THEY ARE AVAILABLE IN ADHESIVE, EPOXY, CRIMP CONFIGURATIONS
TRAINING IS AVAILABLE FROM MANUFACTURERS AND THE BICSI INSTALLATION COURSES AS TO PROPER FIBER TERMINATION
NOTE: FIBER IN THE HORIZONTAL HAS THE
SAME DISTANCE PARAMETERS AS COPPER!

19. LET’S TALK TESTING THE SYSTEM IS NOT INSTALLED UNTIL IT’S TESTED
PROPER TESTING INCLUDES
PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF INSTALLED CABLE AND TERMINATIONS
INSURE TRANSMISSION BY ACTUAL TESTING WITH A DIAGNOSTIC TESTER WHICH UTILIZES TSB67 PARAMETERS
DOCUMENTATION OF ACTUAL TEST RESULTS

20. Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT)
Defined as the induction of a portion of the signal from one pair into the adjacent pairs, measured from each end
Maximum value determined by the formulas shown in TSB 67
Measured in dB

21. Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio (ACR)
Definition:
A ratio comparing the received signal with the near-end crosstalk on a cable
It is not a test
It is a comparison of the attenuation
test and NEXT test used to give an
indication of how problem-free the
cable line will be