Most small businesses are unable to afford someone on staff that has the expertise to coordinate a Cat 6 cable project. Most of the time this duty falls on the shoulders’ of the business owner, office manager or someone else in the organization that have other primary roles to fill, so it’s important that a business have a outside cable installer that is knowledgeable and trustworthy to assist in organizing the project from start to finish and asking the right questions to make sure the project will do the intended job.       

Care must be taken when installing Cat 6 cables this is why the selection of the installer to perform the installation is a very crucial step in implementing the desired Cat 6 gigabit Ethernet network that can deliver peak performance for your organization. If you want to get the maximal speed out your network first start with a properly installed Cat 6 structured cable systems. Using quality Cat 6 cable and hardware is only part of what consists of a good structured cable system; how it’s installed is equally important.

If you know someone that uses a particular cable installer ask if they would recommend this person (company). Make sure you ask them if they are happy with the installation, price, and warranty work if any Did they make suggestions while they were installing to make sure that it would fix the problem or make way for a future increase. Did the installer take pictures?

 

 Hopefully you can see the work that the installer did by going -site to look at the work that was done. If so Look at the network jacks, see how well they are attached to the walls. They should be tightly flushed against the walls. Each jack should be labeled on according to TIA/EIA 606 standards. ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-A standard states that each label must be mechanically generated, not handwritten. If the jacks labels are handwritten this could be sign that you may not want to use this installer for your project. Next check out the patch panels the same standard applies here; ports on the panel should be labeled. Estimates show that only about half of installers are following the current 606-A standard. Don’t forget to look at the back of the patch panel. Each Cat 6 cable should be neatly dressed and have an Identification labeled on the outer cable jacket closest to where it’s terminated on the back of the panel.

 

 A proper installation will ensure that when a network problem arises it will be less likely that the cause will be a fault in the cable system. When it comes time to move a device on the network if the jacks and patch panels are labeled there won’t be a need to bring in a tech to do it; you can do it yourself and save time and money. Most anyone on the company staff can successfully make the change.  

Mike Stephens is president of Net Services Inc a structured cabling company in St. Louis Mo. To find out more about cabling for voice data and video see http://www.netservices1.com

 To find a qualified Installers Provider with ratings and reviews, please visit: http://www.netservices1.com