Millennials know that Wi-Fi is superior no matter what you say. In 2019, you can play console-level games without a single cable, or even an actual physical console. You can put up a video of activity now while doing that activity, without a huge workstation setup.

We want to have seamless smart home routines and over the air software updates for our cars. We also don’t like it when our video buffers or when we experience friction in our media exchange. To make sure Wi-Fi is consistent, fast and available everywhere, a completely new industry has sprung up of Wi-Fi nodes. They help eliminate Wi-Fi dead zones.

We tend to do forget sometimes that Wi-Fi does not just exist, it’s available in the air. It comes from the router we have hidden in our closet or shoved behind the cabinet.

At the end of that router, there is an Ethernet cable. One that you do have to occasionally replace. The nature of this Ethernet cable depends on whether your internet needs are for your home or office. While there are multiple iterations of this cable, two of them are the most popular: Cat5e cable and Cat6a cable.

The main difference between them is the speed and reliability of the internet connection. This is not to say that either is bad. Cat5e cable is perfect for household uses, whereas the Cat6a cable is perfect for office-related use.

Let us walk through a general home and office use case scenario:

Home Internet Use:

Homes vary in sizes, but if you take a standard three-bedroom house, it is likely that just one router is not going to do the trick. This is where Wi-Fi nodes come in. You can use one Cat5e cable for the main router to connect to your modem, and then add the nodes simply with their power plugs around the house. This will create a mesh Wi-Fi network in your house, making connectivity that much better in all corners of the house. Say goodbye to buffering!

In a home, internet usage is generally that of entertainment or education. With a reliable connection, that is a result of this cable and the mesh network, your Wi-Fi can be better. This means you can stream movies without buffering at high resolutions, play games online seamlessly as well as take online classes and attend webinars.

For Office Internet Usage:

Now if the office only had two, three or even five devices that needed to connect to the internet, the obvious choice would be Wi-Fi. But if that is not the case, and you need to get internet access to more devices, then go with wired connections. Offices require seamless internet as their work depends on it. You should go with the Cat6a cable as it works at a bandwidth of 250 MHz.

You need to have an Ethernet cable per computer. But computers are not the only thing that requires an Ethernet cable in an office. Depending on the kind of company, it might have to maintain servers. This is where the use of the Cat6a cable really comes in handy.

The speed it gives can give instantaneous connections for over 10 people at the same time.

The difference in such Ethernet cables is not that one is superior to the other, but that their uses are generally different. There is no harm if you use these cables interchangeably, but it might affect the productivity of the office a little bit.

The advantage of such a wired connection is that they are speedier, and the obstacles that apply to Wi-Fi, don’t apply here. These obstacles include the placement of the router, walls, trees, and other objects. Wired connections don’t have such issues.

As opposed to wired connections, when you want to go with Wi-Fi, you should take care of the wiring of the router. And these cables are top of the line right now and will be for the coming wave of extensive internet usage over the next couple of years.

At SF Cable, we have Ethernet cables in all varieties, and CAT6a and CAT5e are some of the most popular amongst all. You can get them in a variety of colors and lengths.

Source: https://www.sfcable.com/blog/wired-wireless-choose-connection-type

In 2017, at the Worldwide Developer Conference, in the opening video, Apple showed a very interesting thing. They wanted to highlight the fact that the world cannot be without apps. A data center employee accidentally unplugged the servers to plug in his waterfall, and in doing so, turned off the data center. This turned off all the apps and there was an APP-pocalypse.

What this also highlighted was that without data centers, most apps would stop working! Apps heavily depend on the cloud infrastructure that Amazon, Google and Microsoft (mainly) provide. So the app that you use most could stop working if the data center stopped working.

The data center needs to run perfectly if it is going to be able to deliver that kind of consistency. To ensure that it runs smoothly at all times, you have to keep in mind 4 main things:

1. Cabling

• Structured Cabling
• Unstructured Cabling

2. Cooling
3. Security
4. Electricity

Let’s look at all of these metrics in detail:

1. Cabling:

Servers require bulk Ethernet cables and there are two ways to set the servers up in terms of cabling:

Structured cabling: This type of cabling uses predefined points of connection and pathways, based on already existing standards. The bandwidth required by the system determines the kind of cabling to use when it comes to structured design. You have to label the cables accurately. Structured cabling is a well-organized system.

Unstructured cabling: This kind of cabling is Point-to-Point cabling. It does not have defined connection points or pathways. The airflow in this type of system can be restricted and this can create cooling issues. Because it is unorganized, it can be difficult to move or add servers to this system, and it increases the downtime in case of issues that need fixing.

2. Cooling:

In a setup, that has a huge number of servers: Ethernet cables, optic cables, and constant flow of electricity, it can get plenty hot. Excessive heat is not a good thing in such close quarters. So to maintain a cooler atmosphere in a data center, you can scale back on lighting. Once set up, it only requires little daily changes, so less lighting or special lighting, depending on the frequency of humans going in, can help in maintaining the temperature. Natural ventilation can also help to some level but you would need to outfit dedicated cooling units per a certain number of racks, as well as manage the overall environment. With a smart environmental management system in place, you can make sure that your servers shut down before succumbing to fluctuations in temperature.

3. Security:

A data center houses sensitive data about apps, customer data, etc. Therefore, it is imperative that you take measures to maintain tight security. You should install security cameras in a way that you can see all corners and aisles. They should also be of the kind that let you see any activity in low light. However, it is not enough to protect it against data breaches and human errors. You also have to have measures in place in case of natural calamities. Take into account the design of the infrastructure so that it can withstand earthquakes, floods, etc. These precautions can save you a massive loss of data and expense in the long run.

4. Electricity:

Just like you have to account for other calamities, you also have to keep in mind that electricity can stop without notice, for multiple reasons. This is why you have to have a backup power supply in case your electricity fails. This way your backup power kicks in before anything goes majorly wrong.

These are the four most important things that you have to take care of in a data center. Apart from these things, there are other equally important but second level details to keep in mind, such as what Ethernet cable you want to use, how many server racks you want to have, the material for the infrastructure, the lighting you want in the data center, etc.

The world needs apps, and apps function if you take care of these four things in a data center. Keeping it connected to the internet with the right Ethernet cable is the most important thing.

If you found this article useful, here are some other articles that may be of interest.

Types of Computer Cables You Must Know About

8 Ingenious Hacks to Hide Every Cable in Your Room

Understanding the Utility and Importance of Ethernet Ports

General Information:

Cat 7 Cables:

Cat 8 Cables:

Cat 7 Vs Cat 8 Comparison

Performance:

Cabling Length:

Pricing:

Shielding:

Features Summary:

Pros And Cons:

Cat 7 Cables:

Cat 8 Cables:

Pick Your Choice!

Size And Space:

Transmission Speed:

Signal Loss:

EMI And Cross Talk:

Environmental Concerns:

• Till the date, fiber was an expensive cable. The overall economics of fiber has changed globally over the years; hence, the cost is becoming a less mitigation factor.
• Fiber is sensitive metal. It reacts on twisting and kinking. It is a complex install. It changes rapidly with newer fibers, connectors and installation tools.
• There is a huge installed base of copper, which is here to stay. Hence, many of them feel that the change of copper cables to fiber is optional.
• A huge number of devices which need to connect still have only copper connector interfaces.