Structured Cabling Components

110 Block

Used to terminate cable runs in a structured cabling system. On one side, wires are punched down. On the other side are RJ 45 for network connections.

Equipment rack

A metal structure used in equipment rooms to secure network hardware devices and patch panels. Most of them are 19 in wide.Devices designed to fit in this use a height measurement called units, or U.

Intermediate Distribution Frame

A smaller wiring distribution point within a building. Typically located on each floor directly above the main distribution frame (MDF).

Patch Panel

A wall-mounted panel of data receptors into which cross-connect patch cables from the punch-down block are inserted.

Telecommunications Room

An enclosed space for housing telecom equipment, cable terminations and cross-connects. The room is the recognized cross-connect between the backbone cable and horizontal cabling.

Horizontal Cabling

Cabling that extends out from the telecommunications closet into the LAN work area

Structured Cabling

Standards defined by the Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic Industries Alliance (TIA/EIA) that define methods of organizing the cables in a network for ease of repair and replacement.

Cable Run

The length of cable installed within walls from a telecommunications room out to a jackI

Main Distribution Frame

The room that houses the demarcation point for incoming services, often the same room that holds the backbone switch for the building.