—By J Brand (https://jbrand.co.uk/)—
Network and data cabling associated technology is moving faster now than at anytime I can remember in my career. If your system is not primed to take full advantage of that, the downsides will bleed into the running of your network and consequently disrupt your whole business.
What Does ‘Future-Proofing’ Mean?
Ensuring that your cabling is installed and maintained to the highest standards, which will both improve the current performance and also put in place the infrastructure to embrace new technology with minimal cost and disruption.
There is every chance that when your original network was installed, it wasn’t designed to deal with the pressure it does now. That can lead to a slowing of the network at high times, and as more devices are added that will only worsen over time.
Qualified engineers, such as those at J Brand, can map your topology, update the design and help the network to run faster, reliably and with additional resilience. It isn’t just the network itself that needs attention, so often a communications cabinet will be in such a state that it’s slowing the whole process down whilst also potentially causing health and safety issues.
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Unnecessary wiring, loose fittings, confusing patching, unlabelled systems, it’s all too easy for these problems to add up over the years. It’s nobody’s fault, but it needs to get sorted. Often what is required is a full cabinet refresh, complete with an up-to-date patching schedule, power supplies correctly labelled and the load spread out to give maximum resilience and efficiency.
In an average building, the structured network cabling can be up to 20 years old with a wild mix of categories depending on when the installation took place. Networks tend to grow organically, rather than to a master plan, and that can lead to confusion and unpreparedness in terms of the latest technology.
Take Power over Ethernet for example, this is where the power is passed along the same cable as the data, lowering infrastructure costs, reducing the number of cables and allowing greater reach for various electrical applications. It’s state-of-the-art cabling technology which is already transforming how networks operate. For new builds we are kitting out, it’s not seen as an added luxury, but an expected feature. Is your system fully capable?
The more equipment that moves away from traditional power to PoE, the more pressure there will be on the data cabling and network infrastructure in general. This includes wireless networks, all good Wi-Fi needs good cabling! Companies like J Brand can carry out a full network cabling audit, telling you what you have, what capacity it is and give recommendations on how to lift the installation to the highest standards, including Power over Ethernet.
Carrying out these works now will undoubtedly reduce potential cost and disruption in the future. Without a fully functional network, your business can’t succeed, proper preparations now will set you and your company well for the future.
—By J Brand—
