5 More Common Network Cabling Mistakes to Avoid
Whether you’re starting from scratch or upgrading an old one, setting up your office network includes a myriad of processes that you need to finish quickly so your company can get back up and running. In trying to get everything done as quickly as possible, it’s easy for some things to be overlooked. It’s because of this that there are so many common network structured cabling mistakes, and that’s why we’re revisiting this topic with five more mistakes to avoid.
#1. Not Planning Ahead Before Laying Cable
If you don’t plan your cabling infrastructure, you’re going to end up with a mess. Just aimlessly placing cables and hooking them up to ports as you go will lead you to a cable management nightmare that could slow down your system and make maintenance an absolute hassle down the road. Save yourself and your IT team the headaches and plan out your network cabling infrastructure in advance. The results will be more efficient, neater, cleaner, and easier to work with in the future.
#2. Leaving Your Cables’ Fate Up to Gravity
Though this does fall under cable management, some do forget that it is not enough to group and label cables for easy removal and neatness. It’s very, very important to secure cables so that their own weight isn’t pulling on their connections, causing them to stretch. Stretched cables provide a lower quality signal, which can hinder your company’s productivity.
#3. Running Network Cable Parallel with Electrical Cables
Network cables run and transmit data thanks in part to a magnetic field produced by the low voltage running through them. When you run them next to electrical cables, the electromagnetic fields can be interrupted, leading to poor, slow, or even no signal transmission. Avoid running network cables near electrical cables as much as possible, and if they must cross paths, run them perpendicular to minimize the risk of disruption.
#4. Placing Network Cables in the Wrong Area
You need to be mindful of everything when working with network cables, not just electrical cables and “noisy” devices and fixtures (the latter is explained in our first article on mistakes to avoid when running network cable). Believe or not, cables can take up a lot of space even with cable management. Make sure they aren’t going to block access to other devices and maintenance points or create trip hazards along high traffic areas. You don’t want your network cables to prevent your IT personnel from fixing server slowdowns, nor do you want those cables to bar access to an important plumbing valve. Keep all these things in mind as you plan and lay cables and adjust as necessary.
#5. Using Wire Ties Improperly
Cable management doesn’t mean using wire ties (also known as zip ties) left, right, and upside down to group cables together and organize them. In fact, in many cases, this practice can do more damage to your cables, especially by over-tightening the wire tie. It can crush or crimp the cables, causing interruptions in the signal and, again, slowing it down or stopping it altogether.
Don’t Forget to Ask the Professionals for Help if You Need It
One of the biggest network cabling mistakes businesses often make is trying to handle everything when they don’t have to. When you rely on inexperienced personnel to try to run network cable, you are more likely to make these and other mistakes, which can slow down your network, hinder productivity, and cause other issues. The experts at Customer 1st Communications have extensive knowledge of and experience with network cabling standards and practices, and we work with you to create a customized, affordable cabling installation plan to meet the needs of your company. For a free consultation, call 855-TECH-C1C (855-832-4212) or contact us online.
