Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base Image

The Maxxam Knowledge Base provides background information on many aspects of the structured cabling industry, including cabling standards, copper and fibre optic cabling, planning and installation practices, testing and labelling. It is designed to provide a quick reference to support more formal training. The information contained herein has been taken from various sources, including standards documents and these should be referred to for more comprehensive information.

With ever changing standards and technologies it is often difficult to keep abreast of up to date information. The details in the Maxxam Knowledge base are current as of April 2016.

The Maxxam Knowledge Base is designed to cover all of the key topics needed to understand how to best design and install structured cabling solutions. For Maxxam Installer Partners it forms the basis of any point of reference when determining good installation practices, although relevant, current published standards will always be the final arbiter.

To download a copy of the Knowledge Base please click here.

Should you have any questions concerning structured cabling in general, Maxxam products and solutions, their use or the applications that run over them the please contact our support team on 01276 405780 or email sales@maxxam.co.uk

Cable types used for structured cabling

Copper cables used for structured cabling have 4 twisted pairs of wires but there are a number of different types of construction .....

Unscreened Vs Screened Cables

The decision to use Unscreened or Screened cables will depend on a number of factors .....

Current Cabling Standards

There are four main standards bodies, all producing their own series of standards documents for the design, installation and testing of copper and fibre optic cabling solutions.

Categories & Classes

There has, for some time, been confusion over the use of the terms Category and Class to define the performance of structured cabling solutions .....

Cross Connect Vs Interconnect

The differences in design between a Cross Connection and Interconnection configuration together with an overview of the relative merits and disadvantages.

What is the difference between Permanent Link and Channel?

This article outlines the differences between the Permanent Link and Channel and highlights the relative merits of each when it comes to testing.

Cabling performance and application support

An overview of the speed of Ethernet protocol supported by different Categories and Classes of cabling infrastructure.

40G Ethernet and Cat 8 Cabling

There is already talk of Cat 8 being the next big thing in cabling. This article aims to provide some clarity regarding the next generation of Ethernet and the cabling that will be developed to support it.

Maximum Cable Length

How to determine the maximum Channel length depending on the number of connectors and the mixture of solid core and stranded core cables.

Types of Optical Fibre

An introduction in to the different types of optical fibre, their construction and the supported distances of various applications.

Fibre Optic Cable Types

The differences in construction between Loose Tube and Tight Buffered fibre optic cables, their relative merits and recommended termination techniques.

Fibre Optic Connector Types

An explanantion of the different types of connectors, adaptors and ferrules.

Fibre Optic Connector Termination Methods

An overview of the different ways in which fibre optic cables can be terminated to connectors, including Epoxy, Crimp, Pre-terminated and Splicing.

Cable Installation Practices

Guidelines on the correct practices that should be adopted when planning cabling routes and pulling in and securing cables. Includes guidance on earthing, grounding and bonding.

Copper Cable Termination

Key practices to be observed when terminating unshielded and shielded copper twisted pair cables.

Labelling

A guide to best practices for the labelling of the various elements of a structured cabling system, including eaxamples.

Copper Cable Testing

Guidance on the test equipment and procedures that should be used for certification testing of copper structured cabling solutions.

Fibre Testing

An overview of test practices and equipment to be used when testing fibre optic cabling in Local Area Networks.

Handover Documentation

This section looks at the key contents of the documentation pack (O & M Manual) that should be handed over to the client on completion of the cabling installation.