Physical Networking Unit 10 Assignments

Max Haney
NT1310
Physical Networking Unit 10 Assignments
11/18/2014

Physical Networking Unit 10 Assignments
Unit 10 Assignment 1 Fiber-Optic Installation –
Conduit is pipe. It can be metallic, nonmetallic, flexible, or rigid(depending upon local codes) and runs from a work area to a telecommunications room to the equipment room. One advantage of using conduit to hold the cables is that conduit may already exist in the building. A drawback to conduit is that it provides a finite amount of space to house cables. Conduit should be a maximum of 60 percent full. This margin leaves room for future growth. It is better to use conduit if it is already available and fireproofed. Cable trays are typically wire racks specially designed to support the weight of a cable infrastructure. They provide an ideal way to manage a large number of horizontal runs. The TIA-569-B standard provides for cable trays to be used for both horizontal and backbone cables. These cable trays are flexible and easy to install, and they can be installed in the ceiling space, telecommunications room, or equipment room. Best to be used if there is a large number of cables and easy access to the cables is needed. Direct burial can be as simple as placing a suitable cable directly in the ground. Direct burial methods also include placing a cable within a protective pipe or conduit and burying it.

Advantages:
Cables that are buried underground are not visible and do not obstruct the scenery.
Burying a cable keeps it out of adverse weather such as high winds, rain, snow, etc.
Unlike aerial cables, a buried cable will not break from the excessive weight of ice from an ice storm.
Disadvantages:
Fiber-optic cables buried underground are difficult to locate since they do not emit any electromagnetic energy.
Burrowing animals can damage cables buried underground.
Higher labor cost incurred due to equipment needed to bury cable.
As the aerial cable leaves the production building, it’s going to be spliced onto a fiber that is part of a messenger cable, which will be strung along a series of poles in an aerial installation. These poles already carry power lines, but they will not affect the data on the optical fiber itself because it is an insulator. If a messenger wire is not incorporated into the cable assembly used, the cable will have to be lashed to messenger wire. If the cable comes in from the provider, and the assets are in place, an aerial solution could work. It is easier to get to the cables if something needs to be repaired. A major drawback becomes apparent if there is a lot of adverse weather ( ice storms, tornados, etc). An alternative to installing cables, blown fiber is a good choice, especially in new construction, renovation, and ship construction. It is more expensive, but the tubing installed for blown optical fiber never needs to be removed because old optical fiber can be pulled out and new fiber blown in. The process of pulling out the old or damaged fiber and blowing in new fiber takes very little time in comparison to the time it would take to remove and reinstall a new cable. Article 770 of the NEC places requirements on fiber-optic cables and their installation within buildings. Applying to all fiber-optic cables installed in a building, the cable must be able to resist the spread of fire. Not only does this slow the spread of fire, it keeps the installer in the good graces of the building inspector. The optical fiber cable itself does not carry electrical power, there may be some circumstances in which the installer will have to contend with electricity. Article 770 places a grounding or isolation requirement on any fiber-optic cable entering a building that contains electrically conductive materials and that may be exposed to or come in contact with electrical light or power conductors. The metallic member of the cable must be grounded as close to the point of entrance as practicable.