Category 5 Cabling Guidelines

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Hawaiian Telcom’s Hosted Voice solution leverages VoIP technology to deliver both voice and data across a single network. The quality of the cable can affect data and voice quality. Therefore, Hawaiian Telcom recommends that Cat5 cables be run according to the following guidelines and wiring scheme:

Guidelines:

• Individual cable runs should not exceed 295 feet (90 meters).
• Patch Panel should be mounted within 3 feet of the new Telephone Equipment being installed.
• Damaged and/or repaired cables should not be used.
• Don’t run telecommunications cabling in the same conduit or through the same metal stud opening as power wiring - Cat-5 cable is sensitive to electro-magnetic interference.
• Don’t lay data cables directly across ceiling tiles, grids, or fixtures - use cable tray or other methods to support the cables and keep them at least 6 inches away from fluorescent or HID light fixtures.
• Strapping Cat5 wires together should be performed using Velcro Straps and not zip ties. Also, be sure to never over tighten.
• Don’t bend Category 5 cables more tightly than eight times the cable diameter (a 2-inch bend radius).

Wiring scheme:

• When creating connectors, follow the 568B wiring scheme as shown below:

568B Connectors

Pair #	Wire	Pin #
1) White/Blue	White/Blue Blue/White	5 4
2) White/Orange	White/Orange Orange White	1 2
3) White/Green	White/Green Green/White	3 6
4) White/Brown	White/Brown Brown/White	7 8

568B Wiring	568B Jack
586B Patch Panel
The photo above shows a typical Category-5e patch panel with patch cables connecting each network link switch (hub) ports.	The photo above shows the backside of a typical Category 5 patch panel. The connections here are accomplished with insulation displacing connection (IDC) 110 blocks. Note that the connection diagram shows both 568A and 568B wiring schemes. The 568B wiring scheme is the Required Wiring Plan.