| 4.
Network and Wiring (continued)
That’s a lot to
think about, even only related to the wiring. And there is more. For
example, we only looked at a “standard” network. But what if you
introduce high performance technologies like Gigabit Ethernet
(1,000Mbit/s) or Fiber Optic cable. You’ll need better quality cabling
with much more restrictive mechanical requirements (specifically when you
use fiber technology). In some cases, however, you may have to bite the
bullet on the additional headaches. If you have to use these network technologies you should seek the help
of professionals rather then attempting to set them up yourself. In any
case you’ll be well advised to pull some extra cable and leave it in the
wall unused. That’s much cheaper in the long run because fiber cable will
break! It’s just a question of when.
On
the server side, because you’d typically co-locate the patch panel, the
network equipment and the servers, you should not need to deploy Fiber
cables. It will be ok to utilize copper-based Gigabit Ethernet connections
to increase the power of your server on the network due to the limited
cable lengths. The IT industry uses the term “throughput” for this
measure of power. What happens is that if you have a server that is
accessed by multiple users, the server tries to send and receive data to
and from these users’ workstations simultaneously. The compounded
traffic maxes out the server’s ability to transport data to the network.
You can boost the server’s ability to send and receive data by
increasing the network connection speed. This is typically not a valuable
investment for machines that don’t have enough power to sustain this
high transfer rate, though. And it only works if the network equipment
supports the higher transfer speed.
Networking
is not a trivial factor in the solid operation of your computer
environment but continues to be underestimated. Keep in mind: The fastest
computer doesn’t perform well over a faulty, distorted cabling system.
(read
on ...)
Copyright (c) 2008 by In Scope-Solutions,
Inc.
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