Why Late Summer Is the Right Time for a Network Cabling Assessment

By late summer, most organizations are already looking ahead. Summer projects are wrapping up. Employees are returning from vacations. Schools and universities are preparing for a new academic year. IT teams are turning their attention toward fall initiatives, year-end priorities and plans for the year ahead. It is also an ideal time to take a closer look at something that is easy to overlook, the physical infrastructure behind your network.

Network cabling rarely gets much attention when everything is working. It sits behind walls, above ceilings and inside network closets, quietly connecting the technology your organization relies on every day. But "working" does not necessarily mean "ready." A cabling assessment in late summer can give your IT team a clearer picture of what is currently in place, what may need attention and whether your infrastructure is prepared for what comes next.

A Lot Can Change in a Year

Think about how much may have changed within your technology environment since last summer. New wireless access points may have been installed. Cameras or access control devices may have been added. Employees may have moved offices. New workstations, phones or network equipment may have come online. A renovation may have changed part of the building. Individually, these changes may seem minor. Over several years, however, moves, additions and upgrades can leave the physical infrastructure looking very different from what was originally designed.

Documentation does not always keep up either.

That can leave IT teams with a surprisingly difficult question:

Do we know exactly what is behind our network today?

Why Late Summer Makes Sense

There is no wrong time to evaluate network infrastructure, but late summer offers a particularly useful planning window. For many organizations, the next several months will bring new projects, budgeting discussions and technology decisions. Understanding the condition of your cabling now can provide valuable information before those decisions are made.

Instead of discovering an infrastructure limitation in the middle of a wireless deployment, camera installation or network upgrade, an assessment gives you an opportunity to identify those concerns earlier. It can also help IT teams distinguish between infrastructure that truly needs to be replaced and infrastructure that may simply need better organization, documentation, testing or remediation. That distinction matters when you are planning budgets.

Look at More Than the Cables

A useful cabling assessment should involve more than identifying whether your organization has Cat6, Cat6A or fiber. The surrounding environment matters just as much. Network closets should be evaluated for organization, accessibility and available room for expansion. Patch panels should be clearly labeled. Cabling pathways should be properly routed and supported. MDF and IDF spaces should be reviewed. Fiber infrastructure should be understood and documented. Power and UPS capacity should also be considered as equipment is added.

Good documentation is another important piece of the puzzle.

If only one person on your team understands where everything goes, that knowledge can quickly become a vulnerability when someone is unavailable or leaves the organization. Your physical infrastructure should be understandable and serviceable by the people responsible for supporting it.

Your Fall Technology Plans May Depend on It

One of the most important reasons to assess cabling now is that many of the technology projects organizations are planning depend on it.

Better Wi-Fi still requires a strong wired network.

IP phones rely on network connectivity. Security cameras and access control systems may rely on both connectivity and Power over Ethernet. New switches can support greater performance, but the cabling connecting them to devices needs to be capable of supporting that performance as well. The same applies to IoT devices, displays, building systems and other connected technologies. Before investing in the technology at the end of the cable, it makes sense to understand the infrastructure underneath it.

Warning Signs May Already Be There

You do not have to wait for an outage to discover that your cabling environment needs attention.

Take a walk through your network closets and ask a few questions:

* Are cables, ports and patch panels clearly labeled?
* Are there tangled or excessive patch cables?
* Are abandoned cables still present?
* Are racks and cabinets becoming overcrowded?
* Are there intermittent connectivity issues that have been difficult to explain?
* Is your cabling documentation current?
* Is there enough room and capacity for future equipment?
* Would someone unfamiliar with the environment be able to understand how everything is connected?

If several of those questions are difficult to answer, it may be time for a closer look.

An Assessment Does Not Mean Replacing Everything

This is an important point. The purpose of a cabling assessment is not to walk into an environment assuming that everything needs to come out. In some cases, the existing infrastructure may be perfectly capable of supporting the organization's plans. The bigger need may be labeling, documentation or cable management.

Other environments may have individual connections that should be tested or remediated. A network closet may simply need to be reorganized. Older infrastructure may need to be addressed gradually as part of a longer-term modernization plan. The goal is to understand what you have before deciding what comes next. That gives IT leaders the information they need to prioritize projects and make better infrastructure decisions.

Start Fall With a Better Understanding of Your Network

At Total Communications, we look at structured cabling as part of the larger technology environment. Our team works across copper and fiber infrastructure, network closets, racks and cabinets, testing and certification, labeling and documentation, infrastructure upgrades and new installations.

Because Total also works across networking, wireless, communications, cybersecurity and managed technology, we understand what the cabling needs to support, not simply where the cables need to go. Late summer is an opportunity to get ahead of the next project instead of discovering problems during it.

What's Behind Your Network?

To coincide with this year's late-summer planning season, Total Communications has released our new eBook, What's Behind Your Network? A Practical Guide to Assessing Your Cabling Infrastructure. The guide takes a deeper look at the warning signs IT teams should watch for, what should be included in a cabling assessment, how to evaluate future-readiness and a practical checklist you can use to walk through your own environment. If you are not sure what condition your cabling is in, you do not have to wait for a connectivity problem or major upgrade to find out.

Download the new eBook and take a closer look at what's behind your network.

And when you're ready for a professional evaluation, schedule a free cabling infrastructure assessment with Total Communications.

Assess. Organize. Modernize. Build for What's Next.