Are you planning on moving your office or building a new one? If so, one thing you don’t want to overlook is your voice and data structured cabling system. Even though voice and data cabling is so integral to today’s business, it’s still one of the aspects of setting up a new office that often gets left as an afterthought.
1. Contact Your Provider.
The first thing we suggest is to contact your service provider to schedule the move of your voice and data lines/accounts. Many service providers, like Bell, for instance, can take up to 3 months to schedule a move. If you know the details of your destination address it’s best to line this up as far in advance as possible, to make sure they get it on their schedule.
2. Do Drawings!
Do you have a drawing of your new site? If so, you should have a copy that outlines where your voice and data connections will terminate. If your project is large, you would do well by contacting CORE Cabling or an engineering firm that specializes in communications to help you plot out the terminations. Multiple connections for voice and data can get very complicated very quickly. Mapping everything out properly in advance is key to a smooth installation.
3. Make Room.
Choose a network/wiring room that is the right size. This is crucial for future growth. Too often we see brand new sites allot only a fraction of the space required for a network room. You can’t just pile your racks into a coat closet and hope for the best! When you’re determining your space allotment, we also recommend you leave enough room to add at least one additional rack or cabinet in the future. Also, try to lay out your room with enough space to have an open stepladder on all sides of your racks and/or cabinets. Believe us, this will save a ton of headaches down the line.
4. Choose an Able Cable Type.
Cable type is another important factor we are asked about constantly. Category 5e and Category 6 cable have many similarities. The main difference between Cat 5e and Cat 6 cable is transmission performance and the available bandwidth between 100mhz (Cat 5e) and 200mhz (Cat 6). Consider the fact that the cost between the two cable types is not as significant as it once was, and Category 6 will give you added future-proofing as data transmission continues to evolve.
5. Wi-Fi Survey? Because.
As the next generation of data users emerges, so will the increased need for a Wi-Fi solution for your office or facility. A great ensure successful Wi-Fi deployment is a Wi-Fi survey. A Wi-Fi survey will provide the detailed information necessary to roll out a solution. Contact CORE Cabling for a Wi-Fi quote or for more information on how to predict wireless access point placement.
6. Closet Organizing.
Is your site large enough that you will require multiple wiring closets? Typically the 100m rule applies to all copper cabling. Once that limit is exceeded, cables will fail a standardized test. In order to keep things under that limit, a secondary network cabling closet will be required. These are also referred to as IDF’s. When preparing for multiple IDF’s, using fibre optic cable is the best solution. We can do a whole section on fibre alone, so feel free to reach out to CORE Cabling for a fibre solution that will meet your needs.
7. Of Your Own A COREd.
Cable pathways and floor coring often gets overlooked but is crucial for the finished look and feel of your site. For instance, do you have a boardroom? If so, you will likely want a cable or two to the middle of the table. In order to do this, you will require either a hole cored or a trench cut out of the concrete to ensure a safe transition of electrical and data/voice cabling to the middle of the table. As well, you can always look to CORE as your Connectrac installer.
8. Stay Cool.
Cooling your network room is very important and should be at (or at least near) the top of your checklist when planning your move. Please consult a qualified HVAC company for more information.
9. Feature Upgrade?
When planning your move, you may want to consider a new feature-rich phone system. There are many different types of phone systems; VOIP, hosted, digital, analog. Depending on your needs, CORE can assist you with making this important decision.
10. Smooth Move.
Just as cabling is an integral part of the network infrastructure so is the actual physical move of your desktop and server room technology, which needs careful planning. CORE can coordinate your move from start to finish. We do a full audit of your server/computer room equipment and all connections. We then “bag and tag” all of the equipment and desktop technology, then move to your new office where we re-install and verify connectivity to your internal network as well as the outside world. CORE will make your move seamless; just leave it to the experts.
Get the right advice. CORE has been installing structured data and cabling solutions for countless clients in various industries. In short, we’ve probably seen it all. Get in touch with us to tell us about your project—we’d be happy to help you make structured cabling migration a smooth part of your move.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or request a quote for your business.
