Network cabling always has to be protected from the environment and the weather. Most of the time, network cabling is located in an office space where the climate is controlled, and this isn’t a major obstacle. However, in some cases, network cabling is located in a plant, warehouse, or other harsh environment. In cases like these, the necessity of protecting the cabling is particularly essential and challenging.
Fortunately, there are many types of cabling available, including cabling that is intended for just these conditions. Plant cabling is designed for use outdoors and in harsh conditions. These types of cabling have special features, such as a thicker jacket or a layer of gel inside the jacket for added protection.
There are other steps that can be taken to protect cabling in harsh conditions, as well. Check out these network cabling tips for extreme work conditions.
Tips for Preparing Your Work Site in Extreme Conditions
Take some precautionary steps when you are prepping your work site. This will help to make the installation go more smoothly.
- Use a stud sensor to locate wall studs so that you know what space you have to work in. This will help you to avoid accidentally running into a stud.
- When cutting into the drop location in the wall, cut from the top down, not from the bottom up. This makes it easier to run the rods and wiring directly down the wall so you don’t encounter any surprises behind the wall.
- When you are ready to cut the hole in the wall for the faceplate, be sure to move your wiring from behind the cut zone. You don’t want to accidentally cut the wiring that you just ran.
- Consider installing a four-port faceplate instead of a two-port faceplate. If additional drops are added later on, you will already have the ports that you need, and it will minimize the amount of work that needs to be done later on.
Tips for Running Cable in Extreme Work Conditions
Once your work site is ready, you can start actually running cable. Use these tips to help you protect the cable in harsh workplace conditions, like warehouses and plants.
- Mount of a piece of conduit on the wall, from the ceiling all the way down, to protect the cabling. This way, you don’t have to worry about someone or something bumping into the cabling or nicking it.
- Along with the conduit, attach an outlet box with housing for the network jacks and telephone jacks in the faceplate. This way, the jacks are protected as well as the cabling.
- Consider also running conduit along the entire length of actual network cabling from the server room. If the budget is a concern, remember that the ceiling area is usually less of a concern, as there is little activity near that area.
- Never run cable next to electrical lines. If you absolutely must run cable next to electrical lines, then the cable should be encased in conduit. The proximity of the cable to the electrical lines creates too much interference, which can result in the loss of signal. You certainly don’t want to have to worry about losing signal every time a piece of equipment is started up.
These tips will help to make running cabling in harsh work environments a little bit easier. If you need cabling supplies, contact SEGI Sales Pros. We provide network cabling and data center solutions for all types of work environments.