Structured cabling
Structured cabling is cabling used for transmitting a form of data that is built into a structure instead of being run haphazardly. For example, if you wire a new phone simply by adding a splitter to an existing jack and running the cords between the splitter and the phones, it would not be structured wiring. If you instead drop a new cable and terminate the new outlet where other outlets are terminated in the building, that would be structured wiring.
A structured cabling system provides a universal platform upon which an overall information system's strategy is built. With a flexible cabling infrastructure, a structured cabling system can support multiple voice, data, video and multimedia systems regardless of their manufacturer. Wired in a star topology, each workstation links to a central point and facilitates system interconnection and administration. This approach allows communication with virtually any device, anywhere, at any time. A well-designed cabling plant may include several independent cabling solutions of different media types, installed at each workstation to support multiple system performance requirements.
A structured cabling system consists of several building blocks: Backbone cable: originates at the main distribution point and interconnects all telecommunications closets in a building. Cross-connect products: provide a means for terminating cable while establishing a field for moves, adds and changes Horizontal cable: the medium over which communication services are transmitted to the workstation. Information outlets: the termination point for cable at or near the workstation Patch cable assemblies: connectorized cables that attach workstation equipment to information outlets--these make moves, adds and changes quick and easy. The six subsystems of a structured cabling system