Businesses, like human beings, need fully functioning organs to grow and thrive. In this sense, your business’s data center is like a person’s nervous system, as it is responsible for sending, receiving, and processing information for the entire body to function properly. To ensure that your company’s nervous system is communicating properly with other parts, you should use the correct cabling for certain business components.
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With all the different business tools you use such as computers, VoIP phones, servers, and more, you’ll need different types of cabling to ensure each component is working optimally. Understanding the roles and features of each type of cable will also help you achieve optimum performance.
Here are the different types of cabling offered by Online Computers, as well as their common uses:
Fiber optic cabling
Fiber optic cables carry light rather than electrical signals. These are made of glass or plastic fibers that are capable of carrying huge amounts of data at high speeds. Fiber optic cables are immune to interference and provide data transmission rates of up to 1 terabit per second (or around 125 gigabytes per second).
Fiber optic cables are designed for high-performance networking and telecommunications. They’re also great for long-distance cabling, so keep this in mind if your office requires some extreme cabling requirements. The reliability and performance of fiber optic cables is why they are the preferred data transfer medium for VoIP networks.
Unshielded twisted pair cabling
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables are cables consisting of four twisted pairs of copper wires used for data transmission and power distribution. These cables are used mainly as Ethernet and/or telephone cabling.
Most UTP cables are Category 5e or 6, but higher-bandwidth Cat8 cables are becoming popular these days because of their lower latency. These cables are usually terminated by RJ45 connectors used for Ethernet network installations. UTP cables are the most common type of cable used in modern businesses, as it is immune to interference and can provide data transmission rates of up to 1,000 megabytes per second.
Shielded twisted pair cabling
Shielded twisted pair (STP) cables are similar to UTPs, but have an extra layer of insulation around each pair of twisted wire called the shield. This shield keeps any electromagnetic noise generated by nearby electrical equipment from interfering with the signals carried by the wires within the cable. The shield typically comes in the form of a foil wrapping or copper braid jacket that envelops the UTP before it is encased in its outer jacket.
The downside of STPs is that they are thicker, more rigid, and less flexible, making them more difficult to install. They also have special connectors that are usually not compatible with UTP connectors, so if you decide that you want to replace STP cables with UTP, this can become an issue.
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Coaxial cabling
Cable operators, telephone companies, and internet providers all use coaxial cable to transmit data, video, and voice communications to clients across the world. This type of cable has also been utilized in homes as a piece of telecommunications technology since the early 20th century. Coaxial cabling is known for efficient and accurate transmission of signals, but its main drawback is that it can be prone to interference from fiber optic and wireless signals.
Online Computers cabling solutions
Our friendly support staff will help you determine the cabling types and components that best suit your needs. Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries about our cabling services. We’re here to help!