It all started with the computer. As people became comfortable with, and indeed dependent, on the machine's ability to help manage their personal and professional lives, it wasn't long before a second or third PC joined the family. At first, homeowners simply doled out the cash to buy each computer its own printer, scanner and other peripherals. Assigning each PC a different system is certainly a fine setup, but there is a more economical and efficient way to give every computer access to a set of peripherals. Networking systems effectively tie together an assortment of home office products so they can communicate seamlessly even if they are located many rooms apart.
Because networking systems are so easily obtained and fairly inexpensive, many owners of multi-PC households have successfully implemented wireless networking systems. Again, there's nothing wrong with that setup, either. But according to most home systems professionals, nothing beats the performance, the reliability and the flexibility of using wire to link PCs as well as other electronic devices together. With a wired network, you won't pick up the interference you might with a wireless networking system, plus it's more secure.
But not any old wire will do. When many types of products - from PCs and phones to security cameras and TVs - start talking to each other, it becomes increasingly important that the wiring inside the house be well-organised, that the connections to wall outlets be well-labelled, and that the ability to modify and add components to the network be ever-present and simple. That's why so many homebuilders, home systems installers and homeowners are now opting to install preconfigured systems of high-speed cabling, otherwise known as structured wiring.
Structured approach
Most structured wiring systems are composed of three main parts: wiring, outlets and a hub (also called a panel or enclosure). Typically, the wiring included is Category 5 (or 5e) communications cabling and RG-6 coaxial cabling. These are considered ‘high-speed' wire. Category 5 or 5e (the e stands for enhanced) distributes data from the Internet, telephone calls, and sometimes music to wall outlets located throughout a home. The RG-6 cable distributes all forms of video, be it cable TV and satellite programs, pictures from security cameras or movies from a DVD player, to every connected TV. Both the Category 5 and the RG-6 cables are bundled together inside a protective sheath.
Basically, the more high-speed wire in your home, the better. Some builders, for economic reasons, skimp by pulling just a couple of runs of Category 5 cabling and a couple of runs of RG-6 coaxial cabling to a couple of outlets, known in the industry as drops. They might proclaim this infrastructure as ‘state-of-the-art' and ‘ready for the future', but in fact, you're merely getting exactly what you got 20 years ago — phone and cable TV to a couple of rooms.
Ideally, at least two runs of Category 5 and at least two runs of RG-6 coaxial cabling should be able to run to at least one location in each room. Why two runs of each type of wire?
One run of Category 5 cabling can handle the incoming telephone calls, while the other handles the distribution of data between the Internet and your computers. On the coaxial side, one run distributes cable TV signals, while the other distributes signals from internal sources, such as security cameras and DVD players, to multiple TVs. In a nutshell, one cable cannot carry every type of signal.
