Today, we live in what is widely called a “wired world,” and for good reason. People everywhere are using more PCs, laptops, cell phones and tablets, and game consoles than ever, and some of these devices can use wireless connections while on the go. While wireless technology is useful, it has not made bulk fiber optic cables, cat6 cables, or 100 ft HDMI cables obsolete, nor bulk USB cables. Rather, wireless tech is best for cell phones and laptops, while a desktop PC at an office will probably have several different cables plugged into it (and not just the power cord). In fact, a desktop PC benefits much more from cables than wireless tech, and in the home, cables are useful for home entertainment systems, golf simulators, cell phones, and the like. An office manager may ask IT professionals to install or replace all kinds of cables, from cat5 cables to bulk fiber optic cables and more, for a good day’s work. What might this entail?
Cables for the Office
Nearly all places of business today make use of PCs and laptops, and most often, these work places will have the right cables, up to and including bulk fiber optic cables, to support them. Why not go wireless? An office might have dozens of computers at once, and if they are all using wireless internet connections, they’re likely to heavily interfere with each other’s signals or overload a wireless internet provider. Using a single laptop at a coffee shop is one thing; the office is another. So, IT professionals will set up not only the computers, but also routers and cables. Cat5 and cat6 ethernet cables will plug into a router at one end and a PC at the other, and any number of cables and routers may be used this way in an office. Often, those cables are threaded throughout the building discreetly so that they are not a tripping hazard, and IT crews can drill holes through the floor and allow cables to pass through. An ethernet cable has four pairs of copper wires to transmit data quickly and easily, and it will never run the risk of interference. This allows many PCs to operate at once in the office.
What about bulk fiber optic cables? Invented in the late 1980s, bulk fiber optic cables are thin glass tubes that carry pulses of light, and they are capable of incredibly fast internet connection speeds. An office manager may hire outside crews to install these cables, and these fiber optic cables can support the internet needs of many desktop PCs at once. Often, spare “dark” cables are added too, which may come online as the office’s internet usage expands.
A data server is a dedicated room with shelf and cabinet unit that store hundreds or even thousands of computers at once, and these computers are all linked via cables to create a single, massive entity with deep storage space and fast processing speeds. Desktop PCs in the office can be plugged into this data server with cables, with allows them to share data with ease, access that deep storage space, and enjoy a boost to their processing power. Such data servers are often private and secure to protect sensitive documents and data inside. Extra computers and cables can be added anytime to expand the data server further.
Cables for Home Use
On a much smaller scale, cables can be used in the home as they are in the office, to create a home office with a solid Internet connection. Not only can an ethernet cable be used, but cables can also plug a home office PC for a printer, fax machine, and more.
Cables can be fun, too. A lightning cable will plug a cell phone into a USB slot to recharge it, and allow a phone and other device to share data. A home entertainment system is possible through cables, such as an HDMI cable that can plug a game console or a laptop into an HDTV or a digital projector for high-def visuals. Ethernet cables can plug a game console into a router for a secure internet connection, allowing for video streaming services and online gaming.