[Tfug] Cabling

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Tyler,

On 12/1/2013 4:05 AM, vaca at grazeland.com wrote:
> I'd respectfully disagree that custom cable from the jack to the host
> is custom done frequently.

How do you define "custom"?  My comment was that it is not done with
"COTS, preterminated cables".

Whether you want to farm it out to a "wiring crew" or tackle it yourself
is a business decision.

However, most folks think "network wiring" is "just wire".  And, forget
that there are still Codes pertaining to how it is deployed.  And,
deployment issues that affect the effectiveness of the cable as
a communications medium.

> Heck, that job in some groups is a user task.

And these are the groups that will toss it up above the ceiling tiles
(which violates at least two, often three Code constraints) thinking
themselves "clever" in how they managed to get it "out of sight" so
easily.  :>

Or, hang it from a cable tray (another code violation)

Or, break a fire barrier (yet another)

Etc.

It's actually a somewhat specialized field -- most Electricians will
stumble on *some* aspects of a network wiring job!  Better to find
a crew that is "well versed" in just this sort of thing (not Joe &
Larry who work out of the back of their pickup truck).

> Out to the desks is usually infrastructure, not patch.

So, if I reword my description and say I have four *workstations*
in a small room -- along with some servers, printers, etc. -- does
that allow me to justify treating THESE wires as "infrastructure,
not patch"? :>

> Anyway food for thought.

Like most things, answers are easy.  Getting the *right* one
takes a bit more work!

IMO, industry will eventually have to deal with the wiring nightmare
for SOHO users.  After repeated attempts at making wireless work,
it's still an impractical solution.  And, nowadays, almost *every*
home has "modem"/AP/router, printer and one or more "computers"
hacked together in some sort of ad hoc arrangement.  Running CAT5
down the bedroom hallway just isn't going to cut it.

I suspect there will be a real push for something like HomeNet/PLC
modems.  The idea resurfaces periodically but never seems to
catch on.  (and, technology keeps raising the bar in terms of
expectations)