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Introduction
Since 1990, the accepted way in which structured
cabling is managed has changed dramatically. For most organizations it is no longer a case
of "why should I bother to manage my structured cabling?" but instead,
"what systems are available and how should I be applying them?"
The practical issues that should be addressed
when evaluating how to implement a cable management strategy considers who should
manage the cabling, what skills are required, what budget is needed and the important
issue of how to establish and maintain accurate records. Finally, this paper considers the
different types of management strategies that can be adopted and looks at some of the
types of available software systems.
No attempt has been made to recommend a
particular solution because every prospective user's requirements and perceptions are
different. However, the paper does give sufficient detail to allow prospective users to
analyze their requirements with confidence and to apply their requirements to the systems
available.
Over the last few years the growth in the power
of business software applications, coupled with the increasing demand for communication
between individuals and businesses, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the importance
of an organization's structured cabling infrastructure. The need to store information
centrally so that it can be shared, utilize electronic mail, store and retrieve voice mail
and communicate rapidly across great distances have all grown. Video conferencing and
software applications that need to pass large amounts of data rapidly around the corporate
network are becoming the norm. The cabling system needed to transfer this quantity of data
at the necessary speeds is a far cry from the traditional voice cabling of the '60s, '70s
and even '80s. In order to satisfy this need, telecommunications and data communications
have merged into one and become a highly complex and extremely important element of our
lives.
The continuous increase in the technical
complexity of structured cabling and the never-ending push for cost reduction have
resulted in a number of notable changes in the way that internal cabling systems are
designed, managed and controlled. It is now generally accepted that organizations must
have a management strategy in place if they are to take advantage of the best technology
available. This includes both the standardization of their cabling infrastructure and the
adoption of agreed upon planning and management methodologies. Many of the organizations
that failed to recognize this in the early days have learned the hard way. They now have
to revise their methods. Those who were early adopters have reaped the benefits and have
been able to further augment their management methods.
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Management Issues
The increased technical complexity of cabling,
networks and the associated test and analysis equipment has resulted in a significant
increase in the level of required expertise. Moreover, many of these complex management
tools allow users to view and manage a complete data network, including all wide area
network (WAN) links and remote local area networks (LANs). These data networks now utilize
their telecommunications network for WAN links, and it is becoming increasingly difficult
to differentiate between the two types of network traffic. In the majority of
organizations, these issues have resulted in the establishment of centralized groups of
highly skilled specialists: structured cabling departments. The team responsible for
strategic network planning should work in conjunction with the team responsible for the
long-term cable management strategies of the company. Close communication between these
two groups enables a company to grow more easily. The team responsible for the day-to-day
management of the network system should also openly communicate with these two groups. In
many instances the long-term group and the day-to-day operations group have been combined.
This centralization caused the majority of the
work undertaken to be associated with the management of remote sites. Staff at these
remote sites, by necessity, must be generalists, often handling more than just structured
cabling related issues. As a result, management systems in place must allow for a highly
skilled planning and operational staff in central locations and a less specialized
operational staff in remote locations. These remote locations will be supplemented as
needed by a specialist staff who will visit occasionally when major moves or changes
occur.
Historically, management of the cabling has
taken second place to network management. This is no longer the case. Companies are now
realizing that structured cabling is extremely important. After all, it is the foundation
of the network. Moreover, the convergence of telecommunications and data communications
means that both services now rely on the same infrastructure and traditional separation is
coming together. Today in many organizations the "ownership" of the structured
cabling is a hot potato that cannot be ignored. In organizations where telecom and datacom
have merged into one, there is little argument as to who should manage the cabling; it
should be the responsibility of a senior manager from the merged department to ensure that
the organization is served by a competent and well-managed cabling infrastructure. Where
telecom and datacom are separate departments, it is often the case that structured cabling
systems have not yet been combined. This leads to waste, confusion and inflexibility and
is gradually becoming less and less common as organizations recable new premises and adopt
new management systems.
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A Cable Management
Strategy Should Include. . .
When considering how best to implement a cable
management strategy and determine the cost, choose an appropriate strategy. There are two
main issues that must be addressed for any strategy to be successful.
Standardization
Use of a standard set of cabling components or a standard cabling system throughout an
organization will provide significant savings in staff training, stock levels and speed of
response. The standard cabling system must be complemented by a standard and consistent
numbering system, one that is concise and easy to understand. If the numbering system is
kept up-to-date-the components from patch panels to information outlets labeled in
correspondence-a cable management system will show you what is available without leaving
your desk. When deciding on a numbering systems, consider the documentation system. The
way in which the cabling information is recorded may remove the need for the duplication
of data within any labeling. Such a system will simplify the individual elements of the
numbering.
Documentation
Accurate and comprehensive documentation is the key to any successful strategy. In
devising a strategy, the purpose of the documentation must be carefully considered.
Planning for moves, adds and changes; fault analysis and rapid recovery from problems; and
the long-term storage of information concerning the infrastructure for analysis are all
functions that must be considered. Although some individuals will spend a long time using
the documentation and the associated systems, others will be only occasional users. For
these reasons, any system must be simple. It must also be fun to use (at least not
frustrating); if it is not, users will avoid the system. As a result, the quality of the
documentation will rapidly deteriorate to the point where it becomes useless.
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The Financial Implications
When looking at the costs of implementing a
cable management strategy, do not consider these costs in isolation. The costs should be
compared with the alternatives and analyzed over various time frames. The comparison
between the cost of doing something and the cost of doing nothing is of fundamental
importance. The payback period for any investment and the long-term savings can be derived
from this comparison.
The costs associated with doing nothing can be
huge. There are organizations that moved offices because their cabling system became so
out-of-control that fixing it had become unrealistically expensive. The costs of this type
of situation include not just the moving cost but also the inevitable disruption and lost
business. The implementation of a sound cable management strategy produces the following
savings:
Reduced time required to perform moves, adds
and changes
Savings in time and minimization of business disruption are both a result of good records.
Good records make it possible to plan easily and ensure that the planned solutions are
right the first time.
Reduced downtime when rectifying faults
Minimization of downtime is directly related to the speed with which faults can be
identified and then rectified. The financial costs of downtime can vary enormously and are
always significant.
Increased life of cabling system
The longer a cabling system can be used, the lower the annual depreciation costs. Good
management of cabling allows the system life to be extended and also reduces the amount of
additional cabling or network electronics needed when, due to poor documentation, capacity
is apparently reached.
Reduced level of expertise needed at remote
locations
Standard procedures, numbering systems and documentation methods allow a staff to quickly
learn how to interpret the provided information. Therefore, a person in a remote location
needs less specialized expertise and can be a generalist. This is a far more
cost-effective solution than keeping an underused specialist at each remote location.
The typical cost of implementing a computerized
management system can be relatively low in comparison to the savings. Costs would include
a PC, software, any training and support agreements and, if budgeted separately, the
initial data entry. It has been assumed within the costs below that the initial data entry
is done as part of a new installation by the cabling installer. An optional price has been
included in case the cost of either data entry or an audit has to be contracted out and
therefore has to be separately budgeted. Additionally, it has been assumed that a single
user license will be purchased during the first year. This is optionally supplemented by a
second user license in the second year. The time saved from the implementation of a
computerized management system will more than outweigh the efforts necessary to maintain
the system. Indeed, once the system is established, its use will probably be quicker and
easier than maintaining a paper system.
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When to Start
The traditional and possibly easiest time to
implement new procedures is when an organization moves to new premises. At this point, it
is also relatively easy to ensure that the cabling and associated network equipment is
well documented. Installers can be contracted to provide the documentation in the format
required. However, this process is not always problem-free. The cabling industry does not
always deliver the documentation on the day a handover takes place. As a result, a period
of time normally exists when an organization is making changes and has no system to
capture the information concerning the change. Many organizations never catch up and start
on the slippery slope to cabling anarchy on the very day they start to use their new
network and cabling system. To avoid this, organizations must insist that their
documentation is delivered on the day that the network and cabling system is handed over.
Additionally, they must have the internal systems in place to ensure that they are able to
maintain the documentation accurately as moves, adds and changes commence. This is not an
easy job and should not be underestimated. Often, the first few weeks in a building are
confusing and will inevitably coincide with the implementation of the new systems.
Organizations that do not relocate must make
other plans. Many are now recognizing that if they are to stay in their current location,
they have to get their cabling back under control. To do this they must audit, tidy and
document while the network remains live and the structured cabling staff continues with
their normal jobs. As a result of this, a number of third parties are now offering
documentation services and have become specialists in the provision of high-quality
documentation.
Two fundamental methods can be adopted to get a
cabling system under control. The "blitz" method involves the use of a team
normally working after hours auditing sections of the building or site and combining the
information in a database to gain a complete picture. A less aggressive way is to bite off
small chunks over a longer period. By auditing and documenting the horizontal cabling of a
floor, it is possible to identify which of the circuits are live and hence which of the
patches and jumpers are redundant. These redundant cables can then be removed. Done floor
by floor, this rapidly gets the cabling system back under control and allows the vertical
cabling, communications rooms and specialized areas to be audited and documented with less
time pressure.
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Methods and Systems
The types of cable management systems can be
broken down into three distinct groups: the traditional paper system, computerized
techniques using standard software and computerized techniques using specialist software
applications.
Paper systems
The traditional system of paper and pencil has now been largely replaced by computerized
techniques. Paper systems are prone to human error and have no built-in methods of
checking to ensure that the entered information is consistent and logical. As a result,
accuracy deteriorates over time. Additionally, the paper itself eventually deteriorates
and must be replaced. Although simple, paper systems rely on a numbering system so
sufficiently comprehensive that every element of the circuit can be fully and individually
identified. For example, outlet numbering normally includes floor, zone and often floor
box information, as well as the outlet number. This is necessary because there is no
cross-referencing possible within a paper system.
Standard and specialist software applications
Spreadsheets have been used for some time for cable system documentation. This use has
generally been to provide a direct replacement for a proven paper system. This, however,
only solves a couple of the problems associated with paper systems. It does not provide
validity checks and is therefore still prone to human error. It also does not allow
organizations to reconsider and simplify their numbering systems.
The first specialist applications for cable
management were released in 1987. Through the late '80s and early '90s, the market and the
products that serve this market have evolved rapidly. Early software systems were of two
distinct types: database applications and computer aided design (CAD) applications. The
majority of today's software applications are database oriented.
CAD applications use a building drawing as the
basis for the documentation. Items on the drawing have database records attached to them;
a parallel database is used to record the circuits that result from established
connections. The primary user interface is through the CAD system.
Database applications record all of the basic
information within a database and cross-reference as necessary. Some also have the
capability to display location information on an imported CAD floor plan. This gives the
flexibility for the same application to be used with or without floor plans.
Specialist software systems
When selecting any software system, prospective purchasers should be wary of slick sales
presentations and promises of future development plans. A system should be evaluated on
the basis of the available product features at the time of the demonstration, the
stability of the software house that developed the application and the anticipated payback
period associated with the system's use.
In order to perform a thorough evaluation of the
product under consideration, it is worth talking to others who use the product. Although
their cabling system and management procedures may differ from your own, they will
certainly be able to tell you how robust the software is, how well supported it is, how
easy the system is to learn and use, and how often it is enhanced.
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Considerations for
Prospective Users
Type of system
Organizations must make a choice between a database-oriented system and a CAD-based
system. A number of factors will determine which is most suitable. The obvious starting
point is to ask if all of the drawings are available. If they are, then the decision will
probably be based upon whether or not the cable management must be integrated with any
space planning tool that might be used by the facility management team. If it must, the
solution is probably to take a CAD-based system. If it does not, then the advantages of
database-oriented applications are obvious. Database systems are simpler, faster, more
flexible and can be integrated more easily into other non-CAD-based systems. They will
also use less powerful hardware to achieve the same performance.
How many users?
Many systems claim to be network-able but this does not necessarily mean they are truly
multi-user. An organization must decide whether or not it needs a multi-user system and
whether or not access to the information will be required over a wide area link. If it is,
then the speed of data retrieval over a low bandwidth link must be considered. The method
of licensing is also important because it may affect the price. If the system is to be
multi-user, it is preferable to use a system with concurrent user licensing rather than
application copy licensing.
Ease of use
This is of paramount importance and is probably the determining factor in whether the new
system succeeds or not. One tell-tale sign is the length of the recommended training
course. If a long course is recommended then the system is probably complex. Do not be
fooled by how long it takes to set up the first copy because this may involve a
significant configuration exercise which will not need to be repeated for subsequent
installations. This is particularly true for highly configurable systems.
Data import and export
Many of the systems have relatively closed databases, which can mean that all data must be
hand entered rather than imported -- significantly increasing the cost. Possibly of
greater importance is the ability to export data. If the chosen system falls behind the
competition and the decision is made some time in the future to change systems, it must be
possible to transfer from one data system to another. If this ability is not present, an
organization is tied into the original system and as a result is saddled with an
out-of-date system.
Working practices
The chosen system must be flexible enough to be configured to match existing or planned
procedures. It is no good if the software defines the procedures. While it might perfectly
match today's procedures, it will inevitably not match tomorrow's.
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Conclusion
Modern structured cabling infrastructure
requires modern management methods if it is to be used to its full effect. This is now
possible through the advent of mature specialist software applications designed
specifically for the task of structured cabling infrastructure documentation and
management. The savings provided by these software systems justify their cost.
Organizations that have recognized this fact are already benefiting through reduced
operational costs and improved service to their users. Downtime is reduced, which
increases productivity and saves time and money. This philosophy is now widely accepted
and the question that is now most commonly asked is "which system should I use?"
rather than, as in the past, "why bother?"
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