Why to Choose Pre-terminated Copper Trunk Cable?

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For
data center and enterprise deployments, pre-terminated copper trunk cable is a
wonderful choice to achieve simple and quick installation. It can fit most
patch panel port densities and improve better airflow and cable management.
With the right upfront planning and coordination, these copper trunk cables can
offer major benefits over terminating twisted-pair cables in the field. This
article will take you to explore the pre-terminated copper trunk cable.

 

What
Is Pre-terminated Copper Trunk Cable?

Pre-terminated
copper
trunk cable is a kind of cable which has gone through the same
procedures with other cables. But their connectors have already been
terminated, properly polished, and the entire cable assembly tested on either
both or one end in the factory. Copper trunk cables are typically comprised of
bundles of 6, 8, or 12. Since they are bundled together, there is no need to
worry about the cable mess. Pre-terminated copper trunk cables provide a quick
“plug-and-play” solution for links between switches, servers, patch panels and
zone distribution areas in the data center.

 

Advantages
of Pre-terminated Copper Trunk Cable

Increase
the speed of deployment

Compared
to field terminations, pre-terminated cabling can reduce installation time by
up to 75 percent.

 

Improve
cable management

Pre-terminated
solutions are ideal for data centers, which are designed with consistent
distances between cabinets and rows.

 

Remove
the need for transmission performance testing

For
pre-terminated copper trunk cable, the transmission testing is performed by the
manufacturer before shipment.

 

Avoid
time-wasting rework

Pre-terminated
copper trunk cables are terminated in the factory, and many of them are
provided in a cassette format. This format allows installers to “plug and play”
multiple connections with one cassette, which reduce installation time obviously.

 

Termination
Types of Trunk Cable

When
selecting copper trunk cables, to choose the right termination type is a very
important step, which is based on the layout of the data center or
telecommunications room. it’s worth noting that the accessibility of the active
equipment (including servers, switches, etc.) and the proper patching solution
should be considered during the process of selection. Generally, there are four
common termination types: jack-to-jack, jack-to-plug, plug-to-plug, and jack-to-open.
Different types have different requirements for installation. The following
will introduce these four termination types respectively:

 

Jack
to Jack: This termination type is typically used in cabinet-to-cabinet
permanent link trunk. In general, it is installed into empty patch panels on
both ends in common interconnect and cross-connect architectures. The use of
patch cords is used to complete the connectivity between the active equipment
and the physical layer.

 

Jack
to Plug: Typically used for in-cabinet or cabinet-to-cabinet equipment cord
harnesses, the jack-to-plug type is installed into the patch panels on one end
and switch ports on the other end for switch port replication applications,
eliminating one cross-connect point by having the cable plugged directly into
the active equipment.

 

Plug
to plug: Typically used to make a direct connection between active equipment,
e.g. server to switch, eliminating cross-connect capabilities. It can also be
used in an open-space work area as a bundled patch cord group.

 

Jack
to Open: This type is similar to jack-to-jack configuration, but one end should
be cut to length and field-terminated to a target termination place, such as
110-style panel, patch panel or wall plate. Field testing of the drops is
necessary after the cables have been terminated in this case.

 

Deployment
Considerations

1.
Copper Cable Type

Copper
trunk cables using Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat7 cables are all available in the
market.

 

2.
Cable Count

The
most commonly used copper cables usually have 6 or 12 cables in one bound.
Higher or lower cable counts are also available.

 

3.
Breakout Length

Breakout
length refers to the dimension from the end of the braided sleeve to connectors
at the end of the cables. This dimension is part of the overall length, not in
addition to the length measurement. The primary consideration for breakout
length is to have flexibility to route the cables as needed.

 

4.  Proper Length

For
pre-terminated copper trunk cable assemblies, length is a very important
parameter to be ordered which help users to achieve the best performance.