Cabling Project
Your first responsibility, as the network designer, will be
to have your client specify, in writing, the desired
outcome of the project.
As the designer, you will include written documentation,
including fact-finding assessments, work-in-progress
reports, and final reports and test results.
The following list includes some of the documentation that
you should create while you are in the process of
planning/designing your network:
•engineering journal
•logical topology
•physical topology
•cut sheets
•problem-solving matrices
•labeled outlets
•labeled cable runs
•summary of outlets and cable runs
•summary of devices, MAC addresses, and IP addresses
The flowchart should include the following tasks:
•installing outlets
•installing jacks
•running cables
•punching cables into patch panels
•testing cables
•documenting cables
•installing NICs
•installing hubs, switches, bridges, and routers
•configuring routers
•installing and configuring PCs
Your plan should include the following:
•building materials
•suppliers
•tools
•date and length of time tools required
The telecommunications outlet, in a horizontal cabling
scheme, is usually mounted on a wall. EIA/TIA-568B
specifies two types of wall mounts that can be used to
position an RJ-45 jack onto a wall - the surface mount, and
the flush mount.
Next, separate out each pair of twisted wires. The first
color that appears on the left side of the jack is blue. Find
the pair of wires that contains the blue wire, and untwist
them. Lay the blue wire on the slot, on the left, that is color
coded blue. Lay the second wire of this pair on the slot, on
the right, that is color coded blue and white.
A cut sheet is a rough diagram that shows the locations of
the cable runs.
Avoid labeling cables, telecommunications outlets, and
patch panels with terms such as "Mr. Zimmerman's math
class," or "Ms. Thome's art class".
Mr. D’s
Rather than run the cable four times over the same route,
your work would be easier, and you would save time, if
you routed all four cables at the same time. To do this, you
need four spools of cable. Label each cable end.
Allow enough cable for the ends to reach all the way to
each jack location plus enough excess or slack to reach the
floor and extend another 2'-3'.
Use the labels on each spool as a reference, then mark each
cable with the appropriate room number and letter.
Whenever you work in walls, ceilings, or attics, the first
thing you should do is turn off power to all circuits that
might pass through those work areas! If you are not sure
which wires pass through the section of the building in
which you are working, a good rule to follow is to shut
off all power. Never, ever, touch power cables! Even if
you think you have cut all power to the area where you
will be working, there is no way to know if they are
"live".
Finally, if you find that you must route cable through
spaces where air is circulated, you will need to use a firerated cable.
In an Ethernet LAN star topology, the horizontal cabling
runs, which come from the work areas, usually terminate
at a patch panel.
Cable testers, sometimes referred to as time domain
reflectometers (TDRs), measure the distance to openended, or shorted cable by sending an electrical pulse
through the cable. The devices then time the signal's
reflection from the end of the cable. This test can provide
distance readings that are accurate to within 2 feet.