Cabling the CampusCabling the Campus
What are you trying to pull? If it's cable for a network upgrade, this case study may offer some helpful hints.
June 4, 2008
Campus environments have always been my personal favorite to tackle, and they aren’t exclusive to education, but exist in enterprise and SMBs. For you folks sitting in a building, if you have floors above or below you or expansion joints in the building, then you likely qualify for fiber, a small factoid I wanted to put out there. Our recent campus job was however in a parochial school and it proved a challenging campus.
About eight years ago, I was introduced to the school and we invested some sweat equity into learning their campus and more about their needs. Our proposals were not accepted, we never heard why and only learned a couple of years ago that the parent volunteers and two people in charge of the computer lab thought they could build the network themselves, and so they did.
Because of what they built, we were called in over a year ago to meet with a new incoming team of one- the “team” being an art teacher with an IT degree, responsible for taking charge of the computer lab and IT functions at the school. Our long-term recommendation was finally taken seriously and last summer we completed Phase I of the network build out, which was to provide a fiber (multi-mode) backbone network for the campus with 1-Gbps managed switching.
We deployed multi-mode fiber with spare pairs using an armored cable. Too often, in office buildings, we find multi-mode fiber that is patch-panel grade, which offers no protection against other contractors, no durability in pull nor resistance to the installation process (wear, tear, rip due to friction). The fiber backbone provided the highway for the campus, eliminated latent long-copper drops and removed a host of sins associated with improper cabling methods. So, it was the big bang and we still think they got the most for the bucks spent, but we all knew it still wasn’t enough. Complete replacement of all drops, including new drops for LCD overhead projectors and unmet previous needs, would provide a stable physical network infrastructure that this campus lacked.
During spring break (VoiceCon Orlando), we were asked to complete Phase II of the project, which was to re-wire the entire campus. Phase III is a WiFi solution still being considered. Because cabling is disruptive, especially when you are intruding upon workspaces and places of business, scheduling the work is critical. It’s key in this particular niche that we serve. When the customer says we want cabling over spring break and gives you wide open access, you don’t wait, hesitate or give it a second thought. You act. So consider scheduling, and this applies to off-hours operations as well. Of course we also work odd hours to satisfy the needs of each customer and a little planning and understanding other vendor schedules, such as when floor waxing, carpet shampooing and cleaning cycles are scheduled and in which buildings and times. These are a few considerations to note upfront before you undertake a project.
WHAT WE OBSERVED
Cabling: Leave it to the professionals, and this means excluding IT guys, retired telephone company technicians or anyone else that just likes to dabble in cabling. Most don’t know what they’re doing and neglect the hard tasks or obstacles and implement a substitute instead, which at first glance might seem to make cabling easier.
Cabling is often dirty and hard work. That doesn’t mean any grunt can do it, but rather that someone is willing to do grunt work with the notion and mindset of what it takes to install a good network (cable plant). I’m always amazed at someone marginalizing cabling, and we always welcome volunteers who think it’s no big deal to exercise their talents with us on a job. Some customers take some of what you tell them and form a diluted concept and then, as the folks at this school attempted and failed, they proved saving money isn’t enough when your only backing is good intentions.
Common mistakes include:
Leaving too much exposed wire (conductors) on terminations
Wire bend radius: tie wrapping cables folded over
Crimps – tie wrapping wires too tight
Pair mismatches: color code not followed or inconsistent on the patch panel and faceplate
Neatness: It’s insignificant to data traffic on the wire whether or not the installer cuts the pull strings, I know. But let me ask you- would you get on an airplane that looked in disrepair?
Wrong cable for the application, using PVC cable for plenum spaces or in high-heat ceilings or spaces subject to UV (natural sunlight)
Cabling lying on the ceiling grid and tiles: this is one of the worst, as it represents sloppy work and poses as a safety hazard to firefighters
Lack of support (weight) for bulk cable runs, not using “J” hooks, cable trays or other means to adequately support cabling
Cheap materials: It’s always the cabling. Harry Newton often said of problems, “It’s always the cabling.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
I’ve been pounding the same path to this school and I’ve walked through numerous times, met with staff, vendors and members of my team; and after each visit we come away with even more information or something we didn’t know before. It takes an investment of time to see the bigger and changing picture. Only during the past couple of weeks when we all agreed to meet onsite to collaborate with school staff, did we find additional hidden and unannounced staff needs. Turning these needs into opportunities still remains at the timing and discretion of the customer, and we are very comfortable with this.
So engage and discuss with your team to focus and listen, because site surveys are used to unmask “the hidden” or “unknown”, reveal what’s on a customer premises and what brings to light any obstacles facing installation efforts. Then, lastly, put the sales process behind you and present the issues and the plan. Service still comes first.
This customer is learning to use and leverage some good strategies for themselves, and they hope to develop a model for the other associated schools. Here’s a peek:
Leverage all 125 schools into a consortium to gain buying power. Currently all schools are autonomous and can remain so, but buying in bulk is a good thing.
Develop and maintain “technology committees” at each school to develop and translate needs and wants into technology plans, budgets and then convert them to installation.
Develop a best practice blueprint or boilerplate to acquire and implement technology and communications including key communications elements:
a) telephone system
b) paging
c) emergency notification
d) school clocks
e) school bells/announcement system
f) ISP and backup/alternative route
g) Video streaming
h) Class-2-Class conferencing (audio and video)
i) Live video of science lab and hands-on applications
THINK DIFFERENT
Of course, I’m borrowing an old Apple theme, but it still rings true today. We’re invited to a campus whose mission is to teach grades K-8. When a teacher or staff member says, “video to the classroom would be great” then you know you will need to invest a lot more time in discovering what that means.Building a campus network or any network isn’t just about connecting wires and fiber in an orchestrated effort. The users have needs and wants, and discovering those needs is just as important to the IT guy as it to the guy building the network. We always try to anticipate a certain level of growth, since customers do tend to either over-buy or under-buy. The reasons are many, but the key is to right-buy and allow enough wiggle room for the future. We use the time-tested method of “management by walking around,” to learn more and ask more questions. Taking inventory of a customer premise isn’t just determining how many drops are needed; anyone can do that, but the real value comes into play in understanding what the customer does, and wants to do in the near future. These incremental investments of time always have a way of paying off.
WHAT WE FOUND
“Seeing is believing” – and sometimes, even after you see something- you still really can’t believe it until you stop thinking like a contractor. Then, it makes sense, in a strange way.
Liquid Nails: In the past, someone thought of using Liquid Nails (a construction adhesive) to glue the former network cables to the classroom walls. The downside to using this construction adhesive is it was the wrong type and the glue permeated the outer jacket of the old Cat5 wiring. So the glue type was incompatible with the PVC wiring. The biggest benefit that we could determine was cost deterrence of wire-mold. Look carefully at the picture below. Liquid Nails leaves a gummy sticky appearance and any attempt to pull glued cable off the walls strips the outer jacket and leaves a mess on the wall.
The effect of Liquid Nails
Non-Plenum Wiring: Used in the school air plenum, this was a huge oversight. The former wiring Cat 5 that we found installed was mostly CMR- not CMP-rated wiring. (All cabling has printed on the outer jacket details about the product). The 1950s-era construction of the hallways used sky-lit breezeways that also served as the air plenum to the classrooms. This kind of mistake compromised public safety and misapplied technology--using PVC in a space that is hot and subject to UV. (PVC {CMR} is not UV resistant but Teflon {CMP} cables are UV-permanently-stable, and perform better in enclosed spaces subject to heat as are most ceilings/plenum spaces)
Oddball Wiring: It took me awhile to run down the two types of wiring that really caught our attention on the initial site surveys. The first type of wire was an under-carpet Cat5 wire and the other wire used was intended for bulk use in making patch cables. Patch cable wire and horizontal wire are very different. I don’t know the effects of using under-carpet wiring for horizontal wiring, if any, other than it was a donation that probably came off of someone’s truck or jobsite, because this type of cabling isn’t cheap.
Split the pairs: The photograph below is even more revealing. Northern Telecom manufactured a patch panel, rated Cat5, which splits the pairs and provides two connections by using just one Cat5 cable. (Two pairs are terminated on Jack A and two pairs are terminated on Jack B- remember, every Cat5 has 4-pairs or 8 conductors) The faceplate ends were duplex jacks splitting pairs while the Nortel patch panel did the same at the other end. I don’t know the original purpose of the Northern Telecom patch panel- maybe it was intended as we found it, or perhaps it was intended for something else. If you know- you win a prize: great satisfaction for knowing!
Patch panel
Anyway, please don’t split the pairs. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” citing a Nortel executive a couple of VoiceCons ago. The practice of splitting pairs to avoid running two drops has caused businesses a lot of pain and suffering, not to mention service degradation. Also, forget about “structured” in the structured wiring concept or the use of PoE with split pairs. Splitting pairs is always a quick and dirty fix, but there’s still a price associated with doing so.
Hubs & cheap switches galore: They were everywhere. The IT contractor used an empty video cart to pick them up after we re-patched everything into the new network. This gear contributed to the instability of their network even after we’d put in a 1-Gbps fiber backbone the previous year. The fiber covered or masked many sins, but the new managed switches revealed them. Managed switches with port statistics often go unnoticed until you need the data, and the details to show the customer what’s going on in the network.
No thought to cabling layout: Was given to minimize latency, distance of cable drops and to minimize cabling costs. We used a blow-up aerial view of the campus to determine new fiber locations and to streamline the cabling effort. Planning time upfront always pays off, and we can effectively deliver more drops or do more for the same price. But it’s not without planning and remembering that the location of servers or switches is key.
Cheap imports: reading the cable jackets and the labels on old boxes of left-behind Cat5 wiring revealed “Cat5 verified 350 Mhz” on the cable jacket, but on the old boxes (still with the same wire), the labels read “tested and verified to 100 Mhz.” We did trace the wire back to a cheap (online) importer out of Los Angeles. Cost is still a good measure- if you are getting “cabling” materials at a great price, be cautious. Once a cable plant is pulled- it’s done. There’s no fixing it, because it’s the wrong kind or type of wire; it then becomes a replacement project.
Hand-made patch cords & old, worn patch cords: Adds to the list of cabling sins. Whenever we do a campus cabling job- we always include new, factory made patch cords. ALL the old stuff goes to the scrap yard, no exceptions. Hand-crimped patch cords don’t hold their weight.
Now, to reiterate about old cabling- just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Any structured wiring in place should be evaluated before putting it to the scrap yard. Obviously, we evaluated this former cable plant and determined early on that it had to go, and we had no resistance from the customer. Abandoning this wiring did make sense and it was too risky to reuse.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Although I won’t give them all away, here’s just a sampling that may be helpful to you as a customer, installer, or contractor.
In the past I’ve discussed the issues with removing abandoned wiring on customer premises and the challenges it presents to the contractors and customers. In this case, we knew that the old Cat 5 wiring plant would be abandoned after we completed our installation of a new cable plant. The old wiring consisted of cable jackets with the colors of white, grey, blue, green, yellow and red. So I decided upon a new color and that would be orange. This way, there would be no mistake in which cables would not be touched. I really like the color because it reminds me of fiber orange—so no one dares to cut orange cables.
Before & After: Something that I learned when first installing IP-PBXs was to take a snapshot of the network, and in this case we used the statistics from the managed switches showing all the metrics of the LAN ports. The idea is to use the statistics “before” to weigh against performance after new cabling is installed. This proved worthy, and the discarded packet count on some LAN segments pegged 30% before the new wiring was in place. However, a full-blown network assessment at this juncture was not in the budget. The ADTRAN Netvanta 1524 ST managed switches port statistics showed the immediate issues above:
Create piles: The human visual experience always counts. The IT contractor piled the hubs and switches removed from the campus onto one big heap. We purposely did the same thing with the scrap, old patch cords and plumbing PVC used to route the old cable drops. The visual is always effective, since customers do remember. The picture below is only a small pile of what we removed from the Principal’s office (hanging above her desk), and she does remember the mess hanging above her for the past several years. We made other and larger piles as visuals.
How'd you like to have this hanging over your head?
Perform Inventory: Since my guys were in all the nooks and crannies, we learned what other wiring was in place for the existing telephone system, intercom, clocks and bells. Any future work will be a little easier and at least we know now, what’s there and what’s useable. These details won’t be uncovered from site surveys, especially when you “get into” the job and inside these concealed spaces. Documenting what’s there, along with a collection of digital pictures, go a long way in detailing new and future projects, especially since memories do fade.
Giveaways: We always drop off extra cables even when not asked. It’s a habit that won’t likely go away because you do learn to manage your drops and how much wire is being used, and there’s usually wire left over. This buys a lot of goodwill, and contractors know how to manage wire. The old JCO (Job Change Order) attitude doesn’t buy goodwill unless it’s absolutely necessary and fair.
The last niceties are pull-strings. Leave pull-strings tied in the ceiling or concealed spaces, it’s a cheap guarantee to save a lot of unnecessary work if you need just one more drop and besides, needs always change. Pull-strings save hours of labor once they’re in place.
Food & drink: This was an extreme cabling job with unique challenges. Keep the cabling crew well fed and hydrated. Everyone was thankful that this job was done during spring break and not during summer break. So consider this factoid in your planning because concealed spaces get very hot year round and this slows down work progress.
Housekeeping: “Make it look pretty” will always bring customers back. Whenever and whatever you install, if it looks sloppy, disorganized or out of place, then it’s a reflection on your work. Appearance is half the battle. Cleanup isn’t optional, either. Most complaints about contracts in general and cabling projects are about the mess that cabling efforts cause. We are all train-able and yes, we have vacuum cleaners on the trucks and know how to use them.
WHAT WE DID DIFFERENTLYLast year when we planned and installed the backbone fiber network for this campus, we also installed “dual conversion” Minuteman Endeavor UPSs at every node. The school staff and IT contractor knew the power conditions in the campus were poor. So we wanted to ensure that the network wouldn’t dive because power influence was causing cheaper UPS models to miss the mark. For example, true sine wave vs simulated sine wave UPSs are two totally different products. The simulated sine wave isn’t the same, and some networks and equipment will detect the difference in the small amount of time it takes for the UPS switchover from the grid to the battery. That momentary dip in the sine wave (simulated) can wreak havoc on some gear. Then, the dual conversion UPS is a better solution against really bad power or loss of neutral.
We decided upfront and early on to have the school staff designate on their classroom walls where they wanted the drops terminated; thus we would avoid any undocumented CHANGES of the mind later. (A painters’ tape X marks the spot, as shown in the photo below.) Dealing with wire mold on walls that are not straight and in an old building slowed down the installation process. The good news is everyone got what they wanted, where they wanted it, and so far no change orders to move wire mold. Why were two jack insert colors used (Red & White)? Here’s a hint: the photo was taken before we tested and labeled the jacks.
"X" marks the spot
The customer is interested in installing WiFi, and we used the floor plans as a makeshift aerial map to place Cat6 (not Cat5E) drops for access points. Wireless, IMHO, seems to be accelerating faster and I just couldn’t see installing Cat5E drops. It was a gut feeling. I know we’ll be going back, and I can hardly wait to begin testing the wireless solution for penetration. We placed those drops for the access points in hallways. We can easily extend to either side of the hallway, especially since the hard part is having a good wire to extend, and that part is over.
A few tidbits to remember about WiFi:
Access points in public spaces must be secured and still serviceable
Note the construction of walls, ceilings, floors, doors and materials used, including wall depths, ceiling heights
Access points don’t belong in closets
Use an aerial view as a vantage point
Higher is almost always better (Access Points)
There is no substitution for bringing WiFi onsite and documenting the penetration
The IT contractor wanted all the old wiring removed. We don’t just cut wires. We’re very reluctant and slow to move unless we are absolutely sure where the cables go-to and from. So as in years gone by, “Never cut cables,” even when asked or prodded to do so, is still true today. Thus, we ended up coming back, to restore one phone that was spliced into different cables at different places in the building that the IT contractor just wanted out. To redeem ourselves, we were asked by the customer to restore another phone cut off during past remodeling of the teachers lounge.
To summarize: fiber is the best means for interconnecting LAN segments, dual conversion UPS power protects your assets, Cat6 wiring is a hedge for future developments in WiFi, and never cut out old wiring unless you are absolutely certain that the IT guy telling you to do so is willing to let you place earth magnets on all his gear if he is wrong.
WHAT (WHO) WE FOUND
Every building has its skeletons and closets. Only this one has a crawl space that runs from one end all the way to the other, and then there’s an interconnecting crawl space between the two wings. While the crawl spaces don’t interconnect to the other buildings, they do get within reach of the underground conduit connecting them.
Now some folks believe that I am an interconnect company and that means to them that I am willing to go down into a crawl space, dark places, crevices and other long forgotten areas that not even the building maintenance people want to visit. Maybe 30 years ago when I didn’t know any better, but not now. That’s why every school has a scout leader or should have one.
The computer lab had just one lone cable protruding through the floor, spliced to an overhead (over the heads of the students) to another patch cord plugging into a hub. The drop extended through the crawl space all the way to the opposite end of the building and then underground via a 4 inch conduit into another building. First of the all, the drop was well over 300 feet in length and the crawl space was wet, as in “pools of water,” according to the scout leader. My partner in crime offered a free piece of fiber and a free box of Cat5 plenum (temporary run only) to anyone willing to pull them from the computer lab to the conduit feeding the other building. This wasn’t even part of our cabling contract, it was just a suggestion. Thinking back, and knowing that the guy who willingly did this was bigger than either of us, free fiber must have sure sounded tempting--but the devil in trying to get him out if he got stuck? I don’t think we had enough cable lube in all the trucks to free him if he did. I could also tell his wife was not happy. Several days later, the scout leader reappeared. Well, okay, it was hours. It seemed like days as his wife faithfully stood by, silently waiting. Mission accomplished. “Wait until he gets home” was all I could think about. Now, enlisting volunteer work isn’t always a bad thing--support them (Cheering, which we did), provide them with resources (Radio, glow-stick fish rods for pushing through conduit.
In the process of figuring out the logistics (what to do if the scout leader got stuck or lost in the crawl space) we happened upon the athletic room. There we found another demarc – not really an IDF although it was meant to be. Next to the cabling enclosure, we discovered yet another enclosure on an old swing gate, still connected, plugged in and powered on. Being how we are all energy conscious, I made the quick move to turn it off and unplug it. Not to worry- they’re no longer using 1A2 key equipment anywhere in the area. This wasn’t a rare find but just a reminder to those building managers that these old Western Electric power supplies consume a little over 200 WATTS of power. (200 WATTS x 24 hours x 365 days / 1,000 = 1752 kWh of juice per year) These power supplies are largely unused, plugged in and still sucking power all over the country.
Several weeks ago, I promised a few that emailed me that I would be including examples that Telecom is the Place for Entrepreneurs. Property managers may need a wake up call to clean up their wiring closets since what’s in their closets is likely old and unused gear, still plugged in and wasting energy. Then, scrap prices are up and there are tons of unused disconnected wires literally hanging around and you can gently remind them that the National Electric Code calls for removal of unused cabling.
END NOTES
Since putting this article together, we were invited back again to the campus to bring in a WiFi solution and test the penetration, which we did with support from ADTRAN using the Netvanta 1335. We came up short--two access points in areas we already knew would be problems. The penetration however was excellent. We surveyed the entire campus and hope to get invited back again for another installation.
This doesn’t begin to give you all the details, tricks, methods, or even touch on the many building codes and considerations in existing vs. new construction. It’s a moving target. What you should formulate, I hope are key management issues and concerns along with some buying tips of what to look for and what to avoid and still get the cable plant that works best for you. Granted, these examples may seem extreme, but don’t think for a minute that any enterprise or SMB is exempt from bad cabling practices, because they are really quite common and short cuts are in many cable plants. It’s a construction process to learn and appreciate, and in spite of ever-changing technology, the technology itself can be rendered useless without good cabling. Wireless is changing that, faster than I ever imagined and yet, probably not quite fast enough for those wishing to avoid further investments in copper.
In all the years of doing this work, no one has ever asked me to look at the materials, and we’ve often volunteered and taken time to show customers what I discussed here. Once installed, cabling becomes known as a fixed asset to the property and something that you want years and years of in-service life. Whatever the brand, be consistent. The jacks, inserts, patch-panels and patch cords could use some uniformity. I know it seems inane to some, but in a world where not many seem to appreciate details, sometimes those many details are deserving of your attention.
Cabling today cost more than yesterday and will likely cost even more next week than last week. So it deserves attention, getting it right, buying the right stuff and rightly buying so you meet your needs today and hopefully long into the future.
Matt Brunk is president of Telecomworx, a Maryland-based interconnect. He is also a blogger for No Jitter, and a regular speaker at VoiceCon.
