LAN Cabling Plant Design

Because cabling is more of an implementation issue than a design issue, it is not covered in detail in this book. However, the importance of developing a good cabling infrastructure should not be discounted. Whereas other components of a network design generally have a lifetime of a few years before the technology changes, the cabling infrastructure often must last for many years. It is important to design and implement the cabling infrastructure carefully, keeping in mind availability and scalability goals, and the expected lifetime of the design. In many cases, your network design must adapt to existing cabling. Chapter 3, "Characterizing the Existing Internetwork," discussed the process for documenting the cabling already in use in building and campus networks, including the following:

Campus and building cabling topologies The types and lengths of cables between buildings The location of telecommunications closets and cross-connect rooms within buildings The types and lengths of cables for vertical cabling between floors The types and lengths of cables for horizontal cabling within floors The types and lengths of cables for work-area cabling going from telecommunications closets to workstations

Cabling Topologies Companies such as AT&T, IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), HewlettPackard, and Northern Telecom have all published cabling specifications and guidelines for developing a cabling topology. In addition, the Electronics Industry Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association publish the EIA/TIA guidelines for unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling and installation. Though the guidelines from the different organizations differ slightly, the main goal of all of them is to help a network engineer develop a structured cabling system that is manageable and scalable. Without going into detail on cabling topologies, a generalization can be made that two types of cabling schemes are possible:

A centralized cabling scheme terminates most or all of the cable runs in one area of the design environment. A star topology is an example of a centralized system. A distributed cabling scheme terminates cable runs throughout the design environment. Ring, bus, and tree topologies are examples of distributed systems.

Building-Cabling Topologies

Within a building, either a centralized or distributed architecture can be used, depending on the size of the building. For small buildings, a centralized scheme with all cables terminating in a communications room on one floor is possible, as shown on the left side of Figure 10-1. A centralized scheme offers good manageability but does not scale. For larger buildings, a distributed topology is more appropriate. Many LAN technologies make an assumption that workstations are no more than 100 meters from a telecommunications closet where hubs or switches reside. For this reason, in a tall

building with large floors, a distributed topology is more appropriate, as shown on the right side of Figure 10-1.
Figure 10-1. Examples of Centralized and Distributed Building-Cabling Topologies

Campus-Cabling Topologies

The cabling that connects buildings is exposed to more physical hazards than the cabling within buildings. A construction worker might dig a trench between buildings and inadvertently cut cables. Flooding, ice storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters can also cause problems, as can manmade disasters such as terrorist attacks. In addition, cables might cross properties outside the control of the organization, making it hard to troubleshoot and fix problems. For these reasons, cables and cabling topologies should be selected carefully. A distributed scheme offers better availability than a centralized scheme. The top part of Figure 10-2 shows a centralized topology. The bottom part of Figure 10-2 shows a distributed topology. The centralized topology in Figure 10-2 would experience a loss of all interbuilding communication if the cable bundle between Buildings A and B were cut. With the distributed topology, interbuilding communication could resume if a cable cut between Buildings A and B occurred.
Figure 10-2. Examples of Centralized and Distributed Campus-Cabling Topologies

In some environments, because of right-of-way issues or environmental obstructions such as creeks or swamps, it might not be practical to have multiple cable conduits on the campus, as shown in the topology in the bottom part of Figure 10-2. In this case, you can recommend a wireless technology (for example, a laser, microwave, or 802.11 bridged link between Buildings A and D). One disadvantage of a distributed scheme is that management can be more difficult than with a centralized scheme. Changes to a distributed cabling system are more likely to require that a technician walk from building to building to implement the changes. Availability versus manageability goals must be considered. Types of Cables Three major types of cables are used in campus network implementations:

Shielded copper, including shielded twisted-pair (STP), coaxial (coax), and twinaxial (twinax) cables Unshielded copper (typically UTP) cables Fiber-optic cables

STP cabling was widely used in Token Ring networks in the 1980s and 1990s. Most Token Ring networks have been replaced by Ethernet networks these days. Ethernet generally uses UTP and fiber-optic cabling, although it is possible to make Ethernet work on STP cabling. (The fact that Ethernet can run on STP cabling may ease the migration from Token Ring to Ethernet for any installations that have been reluctant to migrate due to the perceived need to recable the network.) Coax cable was popular in the early days of LANs. Thick Ethernet (10BASE5) used a double-shielded, 50-ohm coax cable that was about 0.4 inches in diameter, and thin Ethernet (10BASE2 or "Cheapernet") used standard RG-58 cable that was about half that size. IBM terminals used 75-ohm coax cable, or, in some cases, twinax cables. The cabling was usually installed in a bus topology and was hard to manage in large installations without multiport repeaters. With the introduction of standards for running LAN protocols on UTP cabling (such as 10BASE-T Ethernet), coax cable became less popular. Coax and other types of shielded copper cabling are generally not recommended for new installations, except perhaps for short cable runs between devices in a telecommunications closet or computer room, or in cases where specific safety and shielding needs exist. UTP is the typical wiring found in most buildings these days. It is generally the least expensive of the three types of cables. It also has the lowest transmission capabilities because it is subject to cross talk, noise, and electromagnetic interference. Adherence to distance limitations minimizes the effects of these problems. There are numerous categories of UTP cabling, including the following:

Category 1 and 2 are not recommended for data transmissions because of their lack of support for high bandwidth requirements. Category 3 is tested to 16 MHz. Category 3 is often called voice-grade cabling, but it is used for data transmission also, particularly in older 10BASE-T Ethernet and 4-Mbps Token Ring networks. Category 4 is tested at 20 MHz, allowing it to run 16-Mbps Token Ring with a better safety margin than Category 3. Category 4 is not common, having been made obsolete by Category 5. Category 5 is tested at 100 MHz, allowing it to run high-speed protocols such as 100-Mbps Ethernet and FDDI. When four pairs are used, Category 5 supports Gigabit Ethernet. Category 5 Enhanced (Category 5e) is suitable for 100-Mbps Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and ATM. Many companies sell 350 MHz Category 5e cabling, although the standard for the cabling (Addendum 5 to TIA/EIA-568-A) states 100 MHz. Category 6 is suitable for 100-Mbps Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and ATM. The standard for the cabling (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1) states 200 MHz, although vendors support higher bandwidths.

New installations should run a minimum of Category 5e. Although Category 5e costs a little more than Category 5, it is worth it. As of this writing, Category 6 cabling is not widely deployed, but it may be soon. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) recommends that Category 6 be installed to support future applications that will demand high bandwidth. Category 6 improves performance characteristics such as

insertion loss, near end cross talk (NEXT), return loss, and equal level far end cross talk (ELFEXT). These enhancements provide a higher signal-to-noise ratio. Fiber-optic cables are quickly becoming a standard for new facilities. As the prices for cables and connection devices drop, it becomes practical to install fiber-optic cabling for vertical and horizontal wiring between telecommunications closets. Some companies also use fiber-optic cabling for work-area wiring, but the cost of network interface cards (NICs) with fiber-optic support is still high, so that is not common yet. Fiber-optic cabling has been used between buildings for many years. Fiber-optic cabling is not affected by cross talk, noise, and electromagnetic interference, so it has the highest capacity of the three types of cables. With new technologies, such as wave-division multiplexing (WDM), a single strand of fiber-optic cabling can handle a capacity of 40 gigabits per second and beyond. One disadvantage with fiber-optic cabling is that it can be difficult to install, which can add to the cost of deployment. When connecting an optical source to fiber or when coupling two or more fibers together, even a small deviation from the ideal position of the connector can result in misalignment and unacceptable signal loss. Some connectors introduce more loss than others. When selecting connectors, research their ease of use and the decibel (dB) loss associated with the connectors. Fiber-optic connectors can also introduce reflection noise by reflecting light back into the optical source. Reflection noise is reduced by index matching gels, physical contact polishes, and antireflection coatings. When selecting connectors, reflection noise is one more parameter that you should research. Fiber-optic cabling is either single-mode or multimode. A "mode" means an allowable path for light to travel down a fiber. With multimode fiber, there are multiple modes or paths that light can follow. Some of the paths are longer than others, which means that the time it takes for light to travel down each path differs, resulting in intermodal dispersion of the light as it exits the fiber cable. Intermodal dispersion limits multimode bandwidth. Single-mode fiber has a smaller core diameter than multimode fiber. The small core ensures that only one path is taken which eliminates intermodal dispersion and means that single-mode fiber supports higher bandwidth rates over longer distances than multimode fiber. The smaller diameter makes it harder to couple sufficient optical power into the fiber, however, which adds to the cost of manufacturing and installing connectors. Singlemode interfaces for switches, routers, and workstations are also more expensive than multimode interfaces.