Structured Cabling Upgrades

Cabling Solutions in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi & Alabama

As your business grows and your network needs evolve, you may discover that it’s time for a structured cabling upgrade. Too often, networks experience haphazard growth as business owners add pieces of network hardware devices—of varying quality and from differing manufacturers—one at a time. This causes network performance to slowly degrade as each new device is patched into the system.

At some point, the network will no longer support the traffic your users generate, despite the “upgrades” you’ve made. If that time has arrived for your business, State Systems is here to help you implement a carefully planned structured cabling upgrade. Consider the steps we take to ensure the changes we make to your network are able to fully support the needs of your company for the foreseeable future.

For structured cabling and low voltage solutions, call  State Systems at 901-531-6550! 

Conduct a Site Survey

A site survey gives your network designer information about your building and existing cabling system to create a starting point for the project. Here’s what a site survey typically entails:

• Determine the number and types of equipment needed for specific wired and wireless operations.
• Document configurations currently loaded onto existing devices.
• Pinpoint the existing physical layout of the network infrastructure.
• Draw in the current locations of wiring closets, cable runs, outlets on an accurate floor plan to create a physical topology for reference during the upgrade process.
• Map out a logical topology to show the path that data takes through the network and where functions such as routing occur.

Document Current & Future Network Requirements

The network designer interviews you and your staff to determine your existing network requirements. Gathering information from different departments helps to accurately forecast your company’s future network needs as well. Here’s what the technician may need to know:

• The current number of network users and how many will be added in the next 12 months.
• What applications the structured cabling system must support, such as VoIP or video conferencing.
• What new services are currently required or will be required that your system doesn’t already support.
• Reliability and uptime expectations, which are needed to create the necessary system redundancies.

Generate an Analysis Report

With the information gathered from the site survey and staff interviews, the network designer generates an analysis report to present to you. This ensures no important facts are missing and that the technician has made no errors in recording information. Once you deem the report as accurate and complete as possible, the upgrade process can begin.

Select Devices & Cabling

The selection process is all about evaluating the trade-offs in performance and cost. Prototype systems are created and tested, which presents the opportunity to identify and address any weaknesses in various designs. The cables that may be tested during the selection process include:

• Copper cabling: This type of infrastructure includes Category 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, Cat 6e, Cat 7, Cat 7a, and the latest Cat 8. Choosing a more modern standard helps to “future proof” your business. Each of these low voltage copper cables come in two versions: shielded and unshielded. Foil shielding protects from outside EMI, but in electrically quiet areas, less expensive cables lacking foil shielding may be appropriate.
• Coaxial cabling: This low voltage cable has a solid copper core and several protective layers. It supports a variety of media applications that require adherence to strict performance criteria, from nurse call systems to CCTV systems to access control.
• Fiber optic cabling: This advanced low voltage wiring option isn’t susceptible to EMI and can transmit data faster and farther than copper and coaxial cables. It comes in several varieties, including single-mode, multi-mode, and laser optimized for a highly future-proof infrastructure.

Install & Test the Upgrades

The installation should go without incident if all other plans and preparations were made carefully. If anything was overlooked, this is the time to correct them, with the goal of keeping disruption of your business to a minimum.

Review & Evaluate the Upgrades

With installation and testing complete, the design team compares the goals of the upgrade with the actual outcome. The evaluation includes costs, performance, user experience, and how optimized the design is for the application. This final step ensures your technician meets your expectations and leaves you feeling completely satisfied.

Upgrade the Structured Cabling System in Your Business

You knew the small network you initially built to sustain your business wouldn’t last forever. Bypass the pitfalls of disorganized system changes – trust State Systems to conduct carefully planned network and wiring upgrades on your behalf. We’ll create a smoothly functioning structured cabling system that will serve your business well for many years to come.

Have questions about our services or experience with structured cabling upgrades? Feel free to contact us to learn more or to set up your initial site survey and get your project underway.

For structured cabling and low voltage solutions, call 901-531-6550!

We offer structured cabling solutions and upgrades in these cities and the surrounding areas:

In Arkansas: Arkadelphia, Benton, Blytheville, Conway, El Dorado, Forrest City, Helena, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Marion, Mountain View, Paragould, West Helena, and Wynne

In Tennessee: Arlington, Bartlett, Brentwood, Clarksville, Collierville, Columbia, TN, Cookeville, Dyersburg, Franklin, Gallatin, Germantown, Hendersonville, Jackson, Lakeland, Lebanon, Martin, Memphis, Millington, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Spring Hill, Tipton and Union City.

In Mississippi: Batesville, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Columbus, Greenville, Greenwood, Grenada, Hernando, Horn Lake, Olive Branch, Oxford, Senatobia, Southaven, Starkville, Tunica, Tupelo, and West Point.

In Alabama:  Athens, Birmingham, Cullman, Decatur, Fayette, Florence, Fort Payne, Gadsden, Guntersville, Hamilton, Huntsville, Jasper, Muscle Shoals, Russellville, Scottsboro