Telecommunication Wiring (The Prentice Hall Series in Votech References)

This work offers practical information on the wiring of telecommunications equipment.

Preface

The reasons for the second edition of this book are many. Some are obvious to telecommunication professionals; others are not as obvious. The data communication field has changed rapidly since publication of the first edition of Telecommunication Wiring. The way that business operates has changed rapidly and is continuing to change at every level. The competition demands that every resource, including wiring systems, need to be utilized to their maximum.

The need for special wiring systems and greater-capacity cabling for data communication equipment has created a generation of new job categories in the workplace, such as telecommunication manager, communication wire planner, information system manager, connectivity specialist, communication wiring specialist, and so on. In our occupation areas, it is obvious that there is a need for a book dedicated to the “nuts and bolts” of telecommunication systems and cabling.

Many books have been written on higher-level subjects in telecommunication, such as local area networking, designing LANs, telecommunication systems, and so on. However, the cabling and wiring sections of such books seldom offer any practical information for those involved in designing, installing, testing, or updating of wiring systems that are critical to the operation of any telecommunication system. The cabling should be treated as a dynamic source rather than a static one. These cabling systems, whether a single coax or a complete wiring plant, should be treated as a major support subsystem.

Management will find helpful the discussion on the importance of having a complete inventory of installed cable and wiring runs to determine “ in-place capacity” versus “in-place used capacity.” The chapter on task management will assist the manager in giving direction and leadership to the installation team, the maintenance team, and upper management in preparing the proposal and evaluation of the finished product.

Telecommunication cable installers, planners, managers, and audit teams should find useful the discussion on standardization in setting up methods for identifying and labeling. This topic will be particularly helpful if the system has gone through several installations without a set of universal standards. These suggested standards should be a help in the establishment of corporate labeling standards for cabling, patch panels, wiring closets, floor locations, and equipment.

The wiring specialist and telecommunication planners/designers should find the topic on cabling systems, supports and test hardware, proper installation techniques, and wire and fiber characteristics useful in the planning of a cabling and wiring system. The chapter on planning and wiring installation offers the wiring specialist guidelines for planning, installing, and testing a cabling system. Finally, the chapter on premises wiring should aid system planners in the development of wiring plans and cabling and installation specialists in selecting the hardware in the installation.

Our attempt is to establish a reference point from which logical decisions in the design of a cabling system, selection of the media type, writing the job proposal, documenting the system, and establishing a maintenance facility can be completed. We fully understand that every company has unique telecommunication needs and that every wiring system will be different.

While the text includes certain trade names and trademark items, this is not to be taken as our endorsement of particular products. These are included to illustrate to readers some of the more successful products and telecommunication wiring techniques and alternates on the market today. There are many manufacturers and vendors for most of the items mentioned, and it is the responsibility of the professional to keep abreast of the literature. To this end, we have included names and addresses of many of the periodicals in the field, along with some of the vendors mentioned in the text. We have attempted to make the revision of Telecommunication Wiring as “state of the art” as possible, fully realizing that technology in this field changes daily.

We wish to express our appreciation to all the companies and individuals who have supplied information for both editions of the book. We will appreciate any suggestions from readers for the improvement of the book. We would also appreciate suggestions for topics for which there is a need in this field.

Finally, we wish to express our thanks to Geraldine Herrick for development and accumulation of the art for the book.

Clyde N. Herrick C. Lee McKim