Best Installation Practices and

Termination Techniques
Network Platform Summary
Common Applications Using Balanced Twisted Pair Cabling
Application Cabling System Cabling System Recommended Cabling System
Required (Min) Performance Cabling System Performance
PBX Class A Cat 1 100 KHz Class C Cat 3 16 MHz

10 Base-T Ethernet Class C Cat 3 16 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

100 Base-T4 Class C Cat 3 16 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

Fast Ethernet
Token Ring 4 Mbps Class C Cat 3 16 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

Demand Priority Class C Cat 3 16 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

100 VG AnyLAN
100 Base-TX Class D (1995) Cat 5 100 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz
Fast Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

Token Ring 16 Mbps Class D (1995) Cat 5 100 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

TP-PMD (CDDI) Class D (1995) Cat 5 100 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

ATM 155 Mbps Class D (1995) Cat 5 100 MHz Class D Cat 5e 100 MHz

ATM 1.2 GBps Class E Cat 6 250 MHz Class E Cat 6 250 MHz
ATM-1200/Cat 6
10G Base-T Class EA Cat6A 500 MHz Class EA Cat6A 500 MHz
Ethernet
Suspended Ceiling Area
Most common and cost effective pathways for running cable
are cable trays and catenary

Use neat random lay of cables. Do not over-fill Catenaries,

Support Wires
 Cable must be supported on 1.0m (3.3’) centres. (Cat5e)
 Random distances of approx 0.3m (1’) for Category 6
 DO NOT USE CEILING SUPPORT SYSTEM.
 Max 24 -32 cables per catenary strand. (Cat5e)
 Max 24 per catenary strand for Category 6
 Strongly recommend Velcro style ties
Power Sources
When routing UTP cable, to prevent interference, SCHNEIDER
ELECTRIC recommends the following minimum distances
from power sources when practical:
-30cm (1ft) from high voltage lighting (including fluorescent)
-90cm (3ft) from power lines of 5 KVA or greater
-100cm (3.3ft) from transformers and motors

Industry Standards state minimum separation that meets

local Electrical & Safety Codes
Installation
Remember:

Category 6 & 6A is a significant step forward in performance

requirements of modular plugs & jacks

Poor installation practices WILL result in poor performance

Category 5 & to a certain extent Category 5e installations are

very forgiving when less than premium practices are
employed category 6 does not provide this luxury
Installation (cont…)
Avoid kinks in the cable during pull

Do not stretch the cable

Support cable at all points

Maintain bend radius

Installation (cont…)
Use Nylon cable ties with care

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC suggests using Hook & Loop Ties,

example (Velcro), for neatness & flexibility (Especially for Cat6
or Cat6A cable)
 Installation Practices
DOs DON’Ts

Don’t use cable ties, or compress jacket of outer cables on

Use hook and loop cable fasteners bundle
Install no more than 24 cables in a Don’t install long looms of large
long bundle numbers (>24) of parallel cables
 Installation Practices
DOs DON’Ts

Monitor cable de-reeling for kinks and smooth any incurred

Don’t allow any kinked cable to be installed
Use cable bend radius guides at IDC, & bend cable no more
Don’t bend cable too sharp, or provide insufficient support
than 4 x cable diameter
at IDC
Installation Practices
DOs DON’Ts

Maintain pair twists at IDC Don’t untwist pairs any more than 12mm (0.5”) at IDC
Don’t unsheathe cable any more than 25mm (1”) at IDC
Maintain cable sheath close
to IDC
Maintain all wires sited to
IDC bottom
Untwisting of Wire Pairs
Preserve wire twists as closely as possible to the point of
mechanical termination

Maximum untwisting of pairs

- 12mm (0.5 inch) for Category 5e or 6 & 6A cable
- 76mm (3 inch) for Category 3 cable

Also consider the separation of conductor pairs

Cable Jacket
Recommended, to strip back only as much cable jacket are
required to terminate

Requirement imposed to:

-Minimize untwisting of pairs
-Minimize separation of conductors in a pair
Always Use Proper Cable Strippers
Cable strippers only
score the cable
jacket/cable sheath

When properly sized, the

cable stripper does not
negatively impact the
cable geometry, it merely
“floats” the blade around
the cable.
Avoid This Condition

It is very easy to nick the conductor, even

with a cable stripper
Use Appropriate Blade for Jacket/Sheath

Always check your blade depth when stripping

cable jacket
Spread out the Pairs

568A 568B

Two up, two down

 Make the transition out of the cable as smooth

as possible
Ensure of T568B at Both Same Ends of
the Cable

Cable geometry will differ depending on which end

you are working on
Always minimize the change in cable geometry to
maximize performance
Lace In and Punch Down

** Always keep the cut side on the outside of the jack

110 Tool Punch Down

Important: 110 tool slightly raised (shown here)

to favor the blade/cut side
Avoid These Conditions
C

A. Bad termination. Wire is not properly terminated and sited into

IDC contact
B. Do not lace in from side, it is not the best performing route
C. Bending pairs back will drop performance of Noise Immunity and
NEXT especially at higher frequencies
Properly Punched Down

Jacket in between IDC towers

Pair un-twist minimized and sited to bottom of IDC

contact (perform inspection and ensure this part!)

Maximum performance expected

Which Example is Worse for the Cable?

Example A is a sharper bend than B

Because A disturbs the cable geometry more, it is

more of a detriment to the performance.

This is why cable support and minimum bend radius

are so important to the longevity of a system
Other Installation Issues
Do not untwist the cable itself during installation

May distort the cable geometry causing the pairs to

separate

Eliminate cable stress

-Support cable every 1.2~1.4m (4 to 5 feet) apart with
J hook
-Avoid tightly cinched cable bundles
-Recommend Velcro tie (for Cat6/6A UTP)
-Nylon cable tie should be able to turn freely
Bend Radii of Cables
4 Pair twisted pair cable
 minimum bend radius is 4 times the diameter of the cable

Multi-pair twisted pair cable

 minimum bend radius is 10 times the diameter of the cable

Optical Fiber cable

 minimum bend radius is 10 times the diameter of the cable

Consult with cable manufacturers & comply with their

specifications
Pulling Tension For Cables
Media Max. Min. Radius Min. Radius
Tension w/ Tension no Tension

UTP 100N(25 ft. lbs) * 4x

ScTP 200N(55 ft. lbs) STP 10x

Multipair Copper * * 10x

2 and 4 Fiber 100N(50 ft. lbs) 2” 1”

Zip Cord

Outside Plant F.O. 2500N(600 ft. lbs) 20x 10x

* Manufacturer’s recommendation
BREAK
TIA/EIA 568-C
 ISO – Cabling Organizations
ISO is the international organization responsible
for the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI)
standards
TIA Engineering Committee TR-42
User Premises Telecommunications Cabling Infrastructure

Nine Subcommittees:
– 42.1 Commercial Building Cabling
– 42.2 Residential
– 42.3 Pathways & Spaces
– 42.4 Outside Plant
– 42.5 Terms, Definitions and Abbreviations
– 42.6 Administration
– 42.7 Copper Components
– 42.8 Optical Fibre Components
– 42.9 Industrial
 TIA/EIA-568-C Update (2008)

Published in 1995 Published in 2001

Terminology Comparison Between
568-C.0 & C.1
 568-C.1 Technical Changes
Inclusion of Category 6 balanced twisted-pair cabling

Inclusion of Augmented Category 6 twisted-pair cabling

Inclusion of 850 nm Laser-optimized 50/125 μm MM fiber

Inclusion of telecommunications enclosures (TEs)

Inclusion of Centralized Cabling in the main body of document

A recommendation to select 850 nm Laser-optimized 50/125

μm as the multimode fiber for commercial buildings
568-C.1 Technical Changes (cont…)
Removal of common information (this was moved into 568-
C.0)

Removal of 150-Ohm STP cabling

Removal of Category 5 cabling

Removal of 50-ohm and 75-ohm Coaxial cabling

Removal of balanced twisted-pair cabling performance and

test requirements (these will be in the ANSI/TIA-568-C.2
document)
 568C.3 Update

 Noteworthy resolutions

 Added ISO 11801 nomenclature (OM-1, OM-2, etc.) to Table 1

 Connector and adapter colour coding refined, but not mandatory

 Minimum OFL bandwidth for 62.5/125μm fiber raised from

160MHz·km at 850nm to 200MHz·km at 850nm

 Annex A test parameters align with IEC 61753-1, Category C

TIA/EIA 942
Data Centre Cabling Topology
TIA-942 Standard
Data Centre Cabling Topology (Cont…)

OM3/OM4
Cat6/6A OM3/OM4
LC, SC, ST, FC RJ45 LC, SC, ST, FC
Data Center Structured Cabling System
9 Elements Comprise TIA-942

1. Computer room
2. Telecommunications room
3. Entrance room
4. Main distribution area
5. Horizontal distribution area
6. Zone distribution area
7. Equipment distribution area
8. Backbone cabling
9. Horizontal cabling
Data Center Cabling Spaces
Main Distribution Area Telecommunications Room
Horizontal Distribution Area

Entrance Room

Main Equipment Area

Computer Room
Zone Distribution Area
TIA/EIA 606
ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-B Update
Objective:
 Label Standard with new and improved identifiers
 Reconcile 606-A with TIA/EIA-942 Data Centre Standard

1. Creates new identification formats for horizontal links, backbone

cables, telecommunications outlets/connectors, equipment
outlets, splices, consolidation points and outdoor
telecommunications spaces.
2. Administers backbone cables by pair groups or corresponding to
ports.
3. Administers grounding (earthling) and bonding systems.
ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-B Update (Con’t)

Example: AG19-L35:01-06/AP26-R18:04-09

AG09 = Rack or cabinet at grid location AG19 within the data

centre
L35 = Patch panel located 35 RUs from the bottom in rack AG19,
on the left side of the cabinet
01-06 = Port 01 to 06 in patch panel located 35 RUs from the
bottom of rack AG19, on the left side of the cabinet
/ = Separator for near end/far end location description
AP26 = Rack or cabinet at grid location AP26 within the data
centre
R18 = Patch panel located 18 RUs from the bottom in rack AP26,
on the right side of the cabinet
04-09 = Port 04 to 09 in patch panel located 18 RUs from the
bottom of rack AP26, on the right side of the cabinet