In the cabling industry network engineers often work to make network and cabling as neat and easy to use as possible. However, many don’t realise how their structured data cabling can be affected by the elements or other scenarios. Here we are going to discuss damaging structured data cabling scenarios and how to overcome them.
Structured data cabling
There is a range of elements that can affect your data cabling or data centre containment. You should be making a few check to ensure that all data cabling is safe not only for yourself but others. The last thing you want is to have a perfectly working network, and then damages bring the network down, affecting business, customers unable to use the network and potential loss of profits. So its always important to complete a monthly checklist through your cabling solutions and if you have one your data centre.
Intermittent faults
Unfortunately, network engineers cannot always identify an issue straight away, in some cases, it can take them a few days to diagnose a problem depending on the size of a network or data cabling. Intermittent faults are one of the most common issues within cabling and can have a detrimental effect on structured data cabling networks.
There are a few things to consider when trying to find the source of an intermittent fault. You will want to check and see what time of day you are having this issue if you are finding it is within the working hours of those using the network it could possibly be down to too much traffic. It could be down to file sizes employees are trying to download on the network.
If you don’t have fibre optic cabling, you might find an interference issue arises. A common cause of none fibre optic cabling such as copper is that it can experience electromagnetic interference from electrical equipment releasing high-frequency radio waves. If you have large electrical equipment near your cabling systems, you can find it might induce large spikes into the network. An easy way of fixing this would be to install fibre optic cabling. Your network can transport large files quicker and better quality. You will also find your network becomes much safer and your less likely to have any issues such as hacking.
Wifi
We all think Wi-Fi is impressive. However, if installed incorrectly, it can cause a host of issues including poor coverage or intermittent connectivity. Something that people are unaware of is having multiple devices that require different Wi-Fi standards can be a common cause of the issues you might be facing. You may also find the Wi-Fi itself could, in fact, be faulty, additionally, if you have them installed in the wrong position this could pose as an issue to the connectivity.
These small issues can affect workforce productivity especially if they are experiencing intermittent connection; there is possibly nothing more frustrating when trying to get something done that can potentially be time critical. With this issue in mind, you might always encounter employees becoming less efficient, and work starts to slow down, this can be harmful to projects.
Consistency
We often come across a few business whereby a multitude of contractors has been in to install, maintain or repair their data cabling. Most of which has resulted in their structured cabling systems becoming jumbled, this then causes unnecessary expenditure for companies who have to source additional support to fix the issue.
You may also come across further issues that can be extremely inconvenient when working with multiple contractors. Mismatched cabling is something we come across often. You might find if your structured data cabling isn’t consistent it can cause electrical mismatching between components. For people who don’t know what they are looking for it can be extremely difficult to spot.
We always recommend you do your research and find a company that can work to your specific needs and requirements. It’s always important to find a contractor that is consistent in their work, here at Puffin Solutions we expect all our engineers to leave structured data cabling and data centres in perfect condition, with no exposed cables and ensure our clients know where parts are located.
Water damage
Water damage can be one of the most destructive scenarios you can face with data cabling, data centres or server rooms. In fact, water damage causes roughly around 25% of data centre outages. Something that a lot of business have to ensure is to maintain a leak if you have dripping pipework you need to stay on top of it. If you are unable to fix this use yourself, we highly recommend you get a professional plumber in like JF Plumbing Services, who can access the issue and provide you with a high-quality service.
There are a few things you can do to ensure that you are not in a predicament where your whole data centre or network has been shut down due to water. Install environmental sensors on all pipes and in all data centres or server rooms. You can purchase water sensors for piping from Aqualeak Detection Ltd; you can install them in specific areas within a room to ensure all pipework can be detected for any leaks or dripping. By having them installed it will allow you to shut anything down if water damage is possible.
Get your data centre water system regularly checked, if you have air conditioning unit or water pumps they should be checked every few months. We also recommend if you suggest any repairs or replacements on these units, you pay the price, don’t leave it until last minute, it could cause some serious damage.
Summary
We always recommend you stay on top of any scenarios that may occur with your structured data cabling, data centre or network. The effect it can have on your business can be detrimental; it can cause serious disruption to the workforce and productivity, you might also experience an interruption to your services or product and finally profit loss. We always recommend that you stay on top of any repairs or replacements that need to be made. Find yourself a contractor that can work for your specific needs and requirements and is consistent with their work.
