LM_NET 11/20/98: No Subject

 My firm does network design and project management for cabling
 projects in the midwest.

 It is something that needs to be reviewed and determined what
 the strategy will be, however generally speaking the following
 guidelines may prove of some benefit.

 Fiber should be used between wiring closets in large buildings
 and connecting over greater distances.

 Ethernet cabling Category 5 will be no farther than 295 feet
 from a wiring closet, this is to follow the TIA/568 standards
 for structured wiring.

 You will not see any improvement in the speed at this point by
 using fiber over copper, category 5 cable will, if installed
 properly, run 150% of it's rated capicity which is 100
 megabits.

 The cost in fiber vs copper is in the electronics required.
 A good network design is a must in today's ethernet
 environment.

 Our firm works on many building projects with architects, it is
 amazing to me that many people will run 4-6 data drops to a
 classroom at an average cost of $350-400/drop when 2 drops
 would suffice and an ethernet mini hub or splitter could be
 used for greater flexibility and provide the total drops
 required.

 Category 3 cable as was indicated in another response is what
 is used for voice drops.

 Model classrooms we develop are configured as follows:
 1 voice drop - Category 3
 2 data drops - Category 5
 Video - coax - 1 drop
 Fiber connecting wiring closets.

 If you need further information please contact
 Dave Sorensen
 Integrated Data Systems
 (218) 728-4114 or email ids@cp.duluth.mn.us
 Are Fiber Optics Necessary to Meet Future Needs?

Robert Brinkley (rbrinkle@iglou.com)
Fri, 24 Nov 1995 11:00:09 EST

I know of several school districts that are now cabling schools with copper
using fiber backbones. It depends on your vision and needs. The
technology plan of our district includes two way video also, but we don't
plan to hold videoconferencing from every classroom. We would go to another
classroom to have the conference.

Many schools are pulling 4-6 copper cables to each room and will use those
for electronic mail, netscape, instructional software and telephone.

The two way video system uses copper also. This system has a dedicated T1
line.

Pulling fiber to the classroom assumes you also have budgeted for the most
expensive portion. You will need fiber hubs and patch panels. The patch
panels probably won't cost much more than their copper counterparts, but the
hubs will.

There is no doubt that fiber to the classroom is as good as you can get, but
it isn't necessarily the best solution.
******
Another observation regarding fiber to the classroom. I think when a new
school is built, at least some of that cable to the classroom ought to be
fiber. Some schools are installing distributed multimedia systems. These
are marketed by companies such as Dukane and Dynacom.

Robert Brinkley, Director of Instructional Technology
Hardin County Schools
4110 South 2nd Street
Louisville, KY 40214 (502) 364-0412
electronic mail: rbrinkle@iglou.com
_____________________________________

Re: Fiber to the classroom

David Taylor (davta1@ix.netcom.com)
Sun, 26 Nov 1995 20:21:21 EST


School media people should also consider alternatives to such fiber
(and $$$) intensive distributed multimedia solutions offered by Dynacom
and Dukane. One excellent alternative is offered by AMX/Synergy,
allowing the use of fiber or copper base-band, distributed RF broadband
or any combination of the three. You can learn more about Synergy at
AMX's home page on the net: <www.amx.com>

I've also seen an excellent description of effective media
retrieval/distribution by Joe Huber at Greenwood Middle School:
<jhuber@estel.uindy.edu>

I agree that fiber is generally the best solution in a perfect world...
unfortunately, most of us live in world beset by imperfections imposed
by limited resources.

_________

On Sunday, Nov. 26, David Taylor <davta1@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>School media people should also consider alternatives to such fiber
>(and $$$) intensive distributed multimedia solutions offered by Dynacom
>and Dukane. ....(snip)

It should be noted that Dynacom is the <only> company that requires a
baseband, homerun topology. And yes, they have pushed fiber in the past
because of its superior bandwidth. (Who knows what kind of video we'll be
trying to squeeze down it in 5-10 years?) On the other hand, Dukane, AMX,
et al can use a baseband or broadband distribution system. All they ask is
that you have a couple extra pair of UTP for the control signal. And that
can be star or homerun configuration. The Video distribution is really a
secondary issue. You put in what you can afford, and are willing to
accept.
As far as the big $$$ issue goes, the up-front costs are high. BUT, you
save in the long run by making better use of the resources (hardware and
software).

And while we're plugging WWW sites, check out Dukane's at:
http://dukaneit.com/dukaneit/

Jim Jaeger
Instructional Technology Group
jimbsa@aol.com