Structured Cabling is defined as building or campus telecommunications cabling infrastructure that consists of a number of standardized smaller elements (structured). There are six main sub-systems that are included within a structured cabling system and these include the entrance facility, main equipment room, the telecommunications rooms, individual work-stations along with backbone and horizontal cabling.

 

The main structured cabling standards are the ANSI/TIA-568 and  ISO/IEC 11801.

 

The ANSI/TIA-568 - https://standards.tiaonline.org/

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The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) originally wrote the 568 standards for structured cabling. Over the years, the TIA has revised their standards for cabling, especially as newer technologies have evolved in telecommunications. With the use of fiber-optic cabling on the rise, the 568 standards have been revised significantly in recent years.

The TIA-568 standards specifically deal with performance and compatibility for different kinds of wiring and cabling. Since structured cabling needs to work throughout a commercial building or throughout a campus, these standards are helpful in regulating the performance specifications of the most commonly used cables and cable terminations. Installation, testing and even the distance of cabling are three major parts of structure cabling that fall under the TIA 568 standards.

 

The ISO/IEC 11801 - https://www.iso.org/standard/66182.html

 

The ISO/EIC is the international standard for information technology systems. As the name suggests, it standardizes and regulates cabling systems within an IT network. The ISO standards are reviewed every five years.

Section 11801 deals with the general standards for cabling in a commercial building. The section covers data, voice and video services for cabling, along with specifications for both copper cabling and fibe-optic cabling.

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What These Standards Govern

 

The ANSI/TIA-568 and ISO/IEC 11801 are meant to regulate and govern cabling so manufacturers, data cabling companies and other vendors are using products that are up to a standard of specifications. If every manufacturer used a different type of cable, it would be near impossible to guarantee performance for structured cabling systems or IT networks.

 

Cabling Standards During Installation

 

When a data-cabling company installs a structured cabling system, the specialist should be following the ANSI/TIA and ISO/IEC standards for the layout and physical installation of the cables. It’s important that the specialist carefully lays out the cable and necessary equipment for your new system with future use in mind. If you ever add new technology or new cabling, you need to make sure it all works. This is one reason why the TIA standards in particular mandate that cables be backward-compatible. That means any newer cables have to be able to support and work with an older system. Everything within the specifications of these standards ensures performance and reliability.

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