Structured Cabling

This article provides a brief overview of structured cabling.

According to Wikipedia’s article on “Structured Cabling” there are six subsystems into which structured cabling falls:

  • Entrance Facilities – The termination point of the communications company’s network and the beginning point of one’s on-premises cabling.
  • Equipment Rooms – Consolidates cabling generally within the same floor.
  • Backbone Cabling – Usually runs between the various equipment rooms, which are often on different floors.
  • Horizontal Cabling – Cabling that runs from an equipment room to an individual outlet.
  • Telecommunications Rooms / Telecommunications Enclosures – Connects backbone cabling to horizontal cabling.[1]
  • Work Area Components – From the individual outlets (horizontal cabling) to the user’s equipment.

The standards for structured cabling are provided by various organizations (CENELEC, IEC, ISO, TIA), see above Wikipedia article for a listing of ANSI/TIA standards.

  1. [1]I am unsure what the difference is here between equipment rooms and telecommunications rooms, seems as if they would be one and the same?