Telephone symbols:

Telephone () n. An instrument that converts voice and other sound signals into a form that can be transmitted to remote locations and that receives.

The characters that appear in the Unicode Character column of the following table are generated from Unicode numeric character references, and so they should appear correctly in any Web browser that supports Unicode and that has suitable fonts available, regardless of the operating system.

Wingdings
Charact er  De c 32 33 34 35 Hex PS Name 0x20 space 0x21 pencil 0x22 scissors 0x23 scissorscutting Charact er Dec 32 9999 9986 9985

Unicode
Hex U+0020 U+270F U+2702 U+2701 Name Space Pencil Black scissors Upper blade scissors Range Basic Latin Dingbats Dingbats Dingbats

36

0x24 readingglasses

12808 U+1F45 3 3

Eyeglasses Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Bell Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

37

0x25 bell

12827 U+1F51 6 4

38

0x26 book

12821 U+1F4D Open 4 6 book

39 40 41

0x27 candle 0x28 telephonesolid 0x29 telhandsetcirc

(Candle no equivalent) 9742 9990 U+260E Black telephone U+2706 Miscellaneo us Symbols

Telephone Dingbats location sign Envelope Dingbats

42 43

0x2 A 0x2 B

envelopeback envelopefront

9993

U+2709

(Envelope with address and stamp no equivalent)

44

0x2 C

mailboxflagdw n

12823 U+1F4E Closed 4 A mailbox with lowered flag 12823 U+1F4E Closed 5 B mailbox with raised flag 12823 U+1F4E Open 6 C mailbox with raised flag 12823 U+1F4E Open 7 D mailbox with lowered flag

Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

45

0x2 D

mailboxflagup

46

0x2 E

mailbxopnflgu p

47 0x2F mailbxopnflgd wn

48

0x30 folder

12819 U+1F4C File folder Miscellaneo 3 1 us Symbols and Pictographs 12819 U+1F4C Open file 4 2 folder Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

49

0x31 folderopen

50

0x32 filetalltext1

12819 U+1F4C Page 6 4 facing up

51 52 53 54 55 56

0x33 filetalltext 0x34 filetalltext3 0x35 filecabinet 0x36 hourglass 0x37 keyboard 0x38 mouse2button

(Printed page no equivalent) (Stack of printed pages no equivalent) (Filing cabinet no equivalent) 8987 9000 U+231B Hourglass U+2328 Keyboard Miscellaneo us Technical Miscellaneo us Technical

(Mouse no equivalent)

57 58

0x39 ballpoint 0x3 A pc

(Trackball no equivalent) 12818 U+1F4B Personal 7 B computer Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

59 60

0x3 B 0x3 C

harddisk floppy3

(Hard disk no equivalent) 12819 U+1F4B Floppy 0 E disk Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

61 62

0x3 D 0x3 E

floppy5 tapereel

(5" Floppy disk no equivalent) 9991 9997 U+2707 Tape drive Dingbats Dingbats

63 0x3F handwrite 64 65 66 0x40 handwriteleft 0x41 handv 0x42 handok

U+270D Writing hand

(Writing left hand no equivalent) 9996 U+270C Victory hand OK hand sign Dingbats Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols

12807 U+1F44 6 C

67

0x43 thumbup

12807 U+1F44 7 D

Thumbs up sign

68

0x44 thumbdown

12807 U+1F44 8 E

Thumbs down sign

69

0x45 handptleft

9756

U+261C White left pointing index U+261E White right

70

0x46 handptright

9758

pointing index 71 0x47 handptup 9757 U+261D White up pointing index U+261F White down pointing index Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols

72

0x48 handptdown

9759

73 74

0x49 handhalt 0x4 A 0x4 B 0x4 C 0x4 D smileface

9995 9786

U+270B Raised hand U+263A White smiling face Neutral face White frowning face

Dingbats Miscellaneo us Symbols Emoticons Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

75 76

neutralface frownface

12852 U+1F61 8 0 9785 U+2639

77

bomb

12816 U+1F4A Bomb 3 3

78

0x4 E

skullcrossbone s

9760 9872

U+2620 U+2690

Skull and Miscellaneo crossbones us Symbols White flag Miscellaneo us Symbols

79 0x4F flag 80 0x50 pennant

12868 U+1F6A Triangular Transport 1 9 flag on and Map post Symbols 9992 9788 U+2708 Airplane Dingbats Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols and Pictographs

81 82 83

0x51 airplane 0x52 sunshine 0x53 droplet

U+263C White sun with rays

12816 U+1F4A Droplet 7 7

84 85 86

0x54 snowflake 0x55 crossoutline 0x56 crossshadow

10052 U+2744

Snowflake Dingbats

(White Latin cross no equivalent) 10014 U+271E Shadowed white Latin cross (Celtic cross no equivalent) 10016 U+2720 10017 U+2721 9770 9775 2384 9784 9800 9801 9802 9803 9804 9805 9806 9807 Maltese cross Star of David Dingbats Dingbats Miscellaneo us Symbols Dingbats Dingbats

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94

0x57 crossceltic 0x58 crossmaltese 0x59 starofdavid 0x5 A 0x5 B 0x5 C 0x5 D 0x5 E crescentstar yinyang om wheel aries

U+262A Star and crescent U+262F U+0950 U+2638 U+2648 U+2649 Yin Yang

Devanagar Devanagari i Om Wheel of Dharma Aries Taurus Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo

95 0x5F taurus 96 97 98 99 10 0 10 0x60 gemini 0x61 cancer 0x62 leo 0x63 virgo 0x64 libra 0x65 scorpio

U+264A Gemini U+264B Cancer U+264C Leo U+264D Virgo U+264E Libra U+264F Scorpio

1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 0x66 saggitarius 0x67 capricorn 0x68 aquarius 0x69 pisces 0x6 A ampersanditlc & 9808 9809 9810 9811 38 U+2650 U+2651 U+2652 U+2653 U+0026

us Symbols Sagittarius Miscellaneo us Symbols Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Ampersan d (italic, lowercase) Ampersan d (italic) Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Miscellaneo us Symbols Basic Latin (Garamond)

10 7  10 8 10 9  11 0

0x6 B 0x6 C 0x6 D 0x6 E

ampersandit

&

38

U+0026

Basic Latin (cursive font) Geometric Shapes Dingbats

circle6 circleshadowd wn square6

9679

U+25CF Black circle

10061 U+274D Shadowed white circle 9632 9633 U+25A0 Black square U+25A1 White square

Geometric Shapes Geometric Shapes

11 0x6F box3 1 11 2 11 3 0x70 box4 0x71 boxshadowdw n

(Bold white square no equivalent) 10065 U+2751 Lower right shadowed white square Upper right shadowed white square Dingbats

11 4

0x72 boxshadowup

10066 U+2752

Dingbats

11 5 11 6

0x73 lozenge4

11047 U+2B27 Black medium lozenge 10731 U+29EB Black lozenge

Miscellaneo us Symbols and Arrows Miscellaneo us Mathematica l Symbols-B Geometric Shapes Dingbats

0x74 lozenge6

 

11 7 11 8

0x75 rhombus6 0x76 xrhombus

11 9 12 0 12 1

0x77 rhombus4

0x78 clear

0x79 escape

12 2 12 3 12 4 12 5

0x7 A 0x7 B 0x7 C 0x7 D

command

rosette rosettesolid quotedbllftbld

9670

U+25C6 Black diamond Black diamond minus white X

10070 U+2756

11045 U+2B25 Black medium diamond 8999 U+2327 X in a rectangle box APL functional symbol quad up caret Place of interest sign White florette Black florette

Miscellaneo us Symbols and Arrows Miscellaneo us Technical Miscellaneo us Technical

9043

U+2353

8984

U+2318

Miscellaneo us Symbols Dingbats Dingbats Dingbats

10048 U+2740 10047 U+273F

10077 U+275D Heavy double turned comma quotation mark ornament

12 6

0x7 E

quotedblrtbld

10078 U+275E Heavy double comma quotation mark ornament 9647 U+25AF White vertical rectangle U+24E A U+2460 Circled digit zero Circled digit one Circled digit two Circled digit three Circled digit four Circled digit five Circled digit six

Dingbats

12 0x7F .notdef 7 12 8 12 9 13 0 13 1 13 2 13 3 13 4 13 5 13 6 13 7 0x80 zerosans

Geometric Shapes Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics

9450

0x81 onesans

9312

0x82 twosans

9313

U+2461

0x83 threesans

9314

U+2462

0x84 foursans

9315

U+2463

0x85 fivesans

9316

U+2464

0x86 sixsans

9317

U+2465

0x87 sevensans

9318

U+2466

Circled Enclosed digit seven Alphanumer ics Circled digit eight Circled digit nine Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics

0x88 eightsans

9319

U+2467

0x89 ninesans

9320

U+2468

13 8 13 9 14 0

0x8 A 0x8 B 0x8 C

tensans

9321

U+2469

Circled number ten

Enclosed Alphanumer ics Enclosed Alphanumer ics Dingbats

zerosansinv

9471

U+24FF Negative circled digit zero Dingbat negative circled digit one Dingbat negative circled digit two Dingbat negative circled digit three Dingbat negative circled digit four

onesansinv

10102 U+2776

14 1

0x8 D

twosansinv

10103 U+2777

Dingbats

14 2

0x8 E

threesansinv

10104 U+2778

Dingbats

14 0x8F foursansinv 3

10105 U+2779

Dingbats

14 4

0x90 fivesansinv

10106 U+277A Dingbat negative circled digit five 10107 U+277B Dingbat negative circled digit six

Dingbats

14 5

0x91 sixsansinv

Dingbats

14 6

0x92 sevensansinv

10108 U+277C Dingbat Dingbats negative circled digit seven 10109 U+277D Dingbat negative circled digit eight 10110 U+277E Dingbat Dingbats

14 7

0x93 eightsansinv

14

0x94 ninesansinv

Dingbats

negative circled digit nine 0x95 tensansinv 10111 U+277F Dingbat negative circled number ten Dingbats

14 9

15 0 15 1 15 2 15 3 15 4 15 5 15 6 15 7   15 8

0x96 budleafne 0x97 budleafnw 0x98 budleafsw 0x99 budleafse 0x9 A 0x9 B 0x9 C 0x9 D 0x9 E

(Bud and leaf north east no equivalent) (Bud and leaf north west no equivalent) (Bud and leaf south west no equivalent) (Bud and leaf south east no equivalent)

vineleafboldne (Bold vine leaf north east no equivalent) vineleafboldn w (Bold vine leaf north west no equivalent)

vineleafboldsw (Bold vine leaf south west no equivalent) vineleafboldse circle2 (Bold vine leaf south east no equivalent) 183 8226 9642 U+00B7 Middle dot U+2022 U+25A A U+25C B Bullet Black small square White circle Latin-1 Supplement General Punctuation Geometric Shapes Geometric Shapes Miscellaneo us Symbols and Arrows

15 0x9F circle4 9 16 0 16 1 16 2 0xA square2 0 0xA ring2 1 0xA ring4 2

9675

11093 U+2B55 Heavy large circle

16 3 16 4 16 5 16 6

0xA ring6 3 0xA ringbutton2 4 0xA target 5 0xA circleshadowu 6 p 0xA square4 7 0xA box2 8 0xA tristar2 9 0xA crosstar2 A 0xA pentastar2 B 0xA hexstar2 C 0xA octastar2 D 0xA dodecastar3 E 0xA octastar4 F

(Extra bold white circle no equivalent) 9673 9678 U+25C9 Fisheye U+25CE Bullseye Geometric Shapes Geometric Shapes

(Upper right shadowed white circle no equivalent) 9642 U+25A A Black small square Geometric Shapes Geometric Shapes

16 7 16 8 16 9 17 0 17 1 17 2 17 3 17 4 17 5

9723

U+25FB White medium square

(Black three pointed star no equivalent) 10022 U+2726 Black four Dingbats pointed star Black star Six pointed black star Eight pointed black star Twelve pointed black star Eight pointed pinwheel star Miscellaneo us Symbols Dingbats

9733

U+2605

10038 U+2736

10036 U+2734

Dingbats

10041 U+2739

Dingbats

10037 U+2735

Dingbats

17 6 17

0xB registersquare 0 0xB registercircle

(Square register mark no equivalent) 8982 U+2316 Position Miscellaneo

7 17 8

1 0xB cuspopen 2

indicator 10209 U+27E1 White concavesided diamond 8977 U+2311 Square lozenge

us Technical Miscellaneo us Mathematica l Symbols-A Miscellaneo us Technical

17 9 18 0 18 1 18 2 18 3

0xB cuspopen1 3 0xB query 4 0xB circlestar 5 0xB starshadow 6 0xB oneoclock 7

(Question mark in white diamond no equivalent) 10026 U+272A Circled white star 10032 U+2730 12833 U+1F55 6 0 Shadowed white star Dingbats Dingbats

Clock face Miscellaneo one oclock us Symbols and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo two us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo three us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo four us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo five us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo six oclock us Symbols and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo

18 4

0xB twooclock 8

12833 U+1F55 7 1

18 5

0xB threeoclock 9

12833 U+1F55 8 2

18 6

0xB fouroclock A

12833 U+1F55 9 3

18 7

0xB fiveoclock B

12834 U+1F55 0 4

18 8

0xB sixoclock C

12834 U+1F55 1 5

18

0xB sevenoclock

12834 U+1F55

seven oclock

us Symbols and Pictographs

19 0

0xB eightoclock E

12834 U+1F55 3 7

Clock face Miscellaneo eight us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo nine us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo ten oclock us Symbols and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo eleven us Symbols oclock and Pictographs Clock face Miscellaneo twelve us Symbols oclock and Pictographs

19 1

0xB nineoclock F

12834 U+1F55 4 8

19 2

0xC tenoclock 0

12834 U+1F55 5 9

19 3

0xC elevenoclock 1

12834 U+1F55 6 A

19 4

0xC twelveoclock 2

12834 U+1F55 7 B

19 5 19 6 19 7 19 8 19 9 20 0 20 1

0xC arrowdwnleft1 (White arrow pointing downwards then curving 3 leftwards no equivalent) 0xC arrowdwnrt1 4 0xC arrowupleft1 5 0xC arrowuprt1 6 0xC arrowleftup1 7 0xC arrowrtup1 8 0xC arrowleftdwn1 9 (White arrow pointing downwards then curving rightwards no equivalent) (White arrow pointing upwards then curving leftwards no equivalent) (White arrow pointing upwards then curving rightwards no equivalent) (White arrow pointing leftwards then curving upwards no equivalent) (White arrow pointing rightwards then curving upwards no equivalent) (White arrow pointing leftwards then curving downwards no equivalent)

20 2 20 3 20 4 20 5 20 6 20 7 20 8 20 9 21 0 21 1 21 2 21 3 21 4   21 5 21 6

0xC arrowrtdwn1 A 0xC quiltsquare2 B 0xC quiltsquare2in C v 0xC leafccwsw D 0xC leafccwnw E 0xC leafccwse F 0xD leafccwne 0 0xD leafnw 1 0xD leafsw 2 0xD leafne 3 0xD leafse 4 0xD deleteleft 5 0xD deleteright 6 0xD head2left 7 0xD head2right 8

(White arrow pointing rightwards then curving downwards no equivalent) (Quilt square 2 no equivalent) (Black quilt square 2 no equivalent) (Leaf counterclockwise south west no equivalent) (Leaf counterclockwise north west no equivalent) (Leaf counterclockwise south east no equivalent) (Leaf counterclockwise north east no equivalent) (Leaf north west no equivalent) (Leaf south west no equivalent) (Leaf north east no equivalent) (Leaf south east no equivalent) 9003 8998 U+232B Erase to the left U+2326 Erase to the right Miscellaneo us Technical Miscellaneo us Technical

(Three-D top-lighted leftwards arrowhead no equivalent) 10146 U+27A2 Three-D Dingbats top-lighted rightwards arrowhead (Three-D right-lighted upwards arrowhead no equivalent) (Three-D left-lighted downwards arrowhead no

 

21 7 21

0xD head2up 9 0xD head2down

8 21 9 22 0

A 0xD circleleft B 0xD circleright C

equivalent) (Circled heavy white leftwards arrow no equivalent) 10162 U+27B2 Circled Dingbats heavy white rightwards arrow (Circled heavy white upwards arrow no equivalent) (Circled heavy white downwards arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed leftwards arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed rightwards arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed upwards arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed downwards arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed north west arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed north east arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed south west arrow no equivalent) (Wide-headed south east arrow no equivalent) (Heavy wide-headed leftwards arrow no equivalent) 10132 U+2794 Heavy Dingbats wideheaded rightwards arrow

22 1 22 2 22 3 22 4 22 5 22 6 22 7 22 8 22 9 23 0 23 1 23 2

0xD circleup D 0xD circledown E 0xD barb2left F 0xE 0 0xE 1 0xE 2 0xE 3 0xE 4 0xE 5 0xE 6 0xE 7 0xE 8 barb2right barb2up barb2down barb2nw barb2ne barb2sw barb2se barb4left barb4right

23

0xE

barb4up

(Heavy wide-headed upwards arrow no equivalent)

3 23 4 23 5 23 6 23 7 23 8 23 9

9 0xE A 0xE B 0xE C 0xE D 0xE E 0xE F barb4down barb4nw barb4ne barb4sw barb4se bleft (Heavy wide-headed downwards arrow no equivalent) (Heavy wide-headed north west arrow no equivalent) (Heavy wide-headed north east arrow no equivalent) (Heavy wide-headed south west arrow no equivalent) (Heavy wide-headed south east arrow no equivalent) 8678 U+21E6 Leftwards white arrow Arrows

24 0xF0 bright 0 24 0xF1 bup 1 24 0xF2 bdown 2 24 0xF3 bleftright 3 24 0xF4 bupdown 4 24 0xF5 bnw 5 24 0xF6 bne 6 24 0xF7 bsw 7

8680

U+21E8 Rightward Arrows s white arrow U+21E7 Upwards white arrow U+21E9 Downwar ds white arrow Arrows

8679

8681

Arrows

11012 U+2B04 Left right white arrow 8691 U+21F3 Up down white arrow

Miscellaneo us Symbols and Arrows Arrows

11008 U+2B00 North east white arrow

Miscellaneo us Symbols and Arrows

11009 U+2B01 North Miscellaneo west white us Symbols arrow and Arrows 11011 U+2B03 South Miscellaneo west white us Symbols

arrow 24 0xF8 bse 8 24 0xF9 bdash1 9 25 0 25 1  25 2 25 3 0xF A 0xF B 0xF C 0xF D bdash2 11010 U+2B02 South east white arrow 9645 9643 U+25A D U+25A B White rectangle White small square Ballot X Check mark

and Arrows Miscellaneo us Symbols and Arrows Geometric Shapes Geometric Shapes Dingbats Dingbats

xmarkbld checkbld boxxmarkbld

10007 U+2717 10003 U+2713 9746 U+2612

Ballot box Dingbats with X (fontweight:bol d) Ballot box Dingbats with check (fontweight:bol d)

25 4

0xF E

boxcheckbld

9745

U+2611

25 5

0xF F

windowslogo

(Windows logo no equivalent)

The Basics of Structured Cabling

A structured cabling system is a complete system of cabling and associated hardware, which provides a comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure. This infrastructure serves a wide range of uses, such as to provide telephone service or transmit data through a computer network. It should not be device dependent. We further define a structured cabling system in terms of ownership. The structured cabling system begins at the point where the service provider (SP) terminates. This point is the point of demarcation (demarc) or Network Interface Device (NID). For example, in a telephone system installation, the SP furnishes one or more service lines (per customer requirements). The SP connects the service lines at the point of demarcation. Every structured cabling system is unique. This is due to variations in: The architectural structure of the building, which houses the cabling installation; The cable and connection products; The function of the cabling installation; The types of equipment the cabling installation will support -- present and future; The configuration of an already installed system (upgrades and retrofits); Customer requirements; and Manufacturer warranties. The methods we use to complete and maintain cabling installations are relatively standard. The standardization of these installations is necessary because of the need to ensure acceptable system performance from increasingly complex arrangements. The U.S. cabling industry accepts the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), in conjunction with TIA/EIA, as the responsible organization for providing and maintaining standards and practices within the profession. It has published a series of standards to design, install, and maintain cabling installations. These help to ensure a proper cabling installation. The benefits of these standards include: Consistency of design and installation; Conformance to physical and transmission line requirements;

 A basis for examining a proposed system expansion and other changes; and Uniform documentation. The industry standard term for a network installation that serves a relatively small area (such as a structured cabling installation serving a building) is a local area network (LAN). There are also metropolitan area networks (MANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Structured cabling installations typically include: entrance facilities; vertical and horizontal backbone pathways; vertical and horizontal backbone cables; horizontal pathways; horizontal cables; work area outlets; equipment rooms; telecommunications closets; cross-connect facilities; multi-user telecommunications outlet assemblies (MUTOA); transition points; and consolidation points. The entrance facility includes the cabling components needed to provide a means to connect the outside service facilities to the premises cabling. This can include service entrance pathways, cables, connecting hardware, circuit protection devices, and transition hardware. An entrance facility houses the transition outside plant cabling to cabling approved for intrabuilding construction. This usually involves transition to fire-rated cable. The entrance facility is also the network demarc between the SP and customer premises cabling (if required). National and regional electrical codes govern placement of electrical protection devices at this point. The location of the entrance facility depends on the type of facility, route of the outside plant cabling (e.g. buried or aerial), building architecture, and aesthetic considerations. The four principal types of entrance facilities include underground, tunnel, buried, and aerial. (We will cover only aerial entrances in this article.) In an aerial entrance, the SP cables provide service to a building via an overhead route. Aerial entrances usually provide the lowest installation cost, and they're readily accessible for maintenance. However, they're subject to traffic and pedestrian clearances, can damage a building's exterior, are susceptible to environmental conditions (such wind and ice), and are usually joint-use installations with the power company, CATV company, and telephone or data service providers. Backbone cabling. From the entrance facility, the structured cabling network branches out to other buildings, as well as from floor to floor within a building on the backbone cabling system. We use the term backbone to describe the cables handling the major network traffic. The ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A standard defines backbone cabling as follows: "The function of the backbone cabling is to provide interconnections between telecommunications closets, equipment rooms, and entrance facilities in the telecommunications cabling system structure. Backbone cabling consists of the backbone cables, intermediate and main cross-connects, mechanical terminations, and patch cords or jumpers used for backbone-to-backbone cross-connection. Backbone cabling also includes cabling between buildings."

Interbuilding and intrabuilding are two types of backbone cables. Interbuilding backbone cable handles traffic between buildings. Intrabuilding backbone cable handles traffic between closets in a single building. This standard identifies two levels of backbone cabling. First-level backbone is a cable between a main cross-connect (MC) and intermediate cross-connect (IC) or horizontal cross-connect (HC). Second-level backbone exists between an IC and HC. The main components of backbone cabling are: Cable pathways: shafts, conduits, raceways, and floor penetrations (such as sleeves or slots) that provide routing space for the cables. The actual cables: optical fiber, twisted-pair copper, coaxial copper, or some combination of these. (Note: You should avoid areas where potential sources of EMI or electromagnetic interference may exist when planning the routing and support structure for copper cabling.) Connecting hardware: connecting blocks, patch panels, interconnections, cross-connections, or some combination of these components, and Miscellaneous support facilities: cable support hardware, firestopping and grounding hardware. Note: The terms horizontal and backbone (previously called riser) evolved from the orientations typical for functional cables of these types. However, the physical orientation of the cabling has no bearing on classifying the cable as horizontal or backbone. The useful life of a backbone cabling system consists of several planned growth periods (typically three to 10 years). This is shorter than the life expectancy of the premises cabling system. Cabling connectors. A connector is a mechanical device you use to interface a cable to a piece of equipment or one cable to another. The role of the connector is to provide a coupling mechanism that keeps loss to a minimum. In the case of fiber, it allows light impulses to transfer from one connector to another. For copper, it allows electrical signals to transfer from one connector to another. A good connection requires aligning the connectors, preventing the connectors from unintentional separation, and efficient transferring of light or electricity from one connector to the other. A connector demonstrates durability by withstanding hundreds of insertion and withdrawal cycles without failing. We calculate this as mean time between failures (MTBF). Connectors are as essential to the integrity of the entire telecommunications network as is the cable itself. Connectors align, attach, and decouple the media to a transmitter, receiver, another

media of same or similar type, an active telecommunications device, or a specified passive telecommunications device.