|  | 8.3 |
Planning Structured Cabling: Identifying Potential Wiring Closets
| 8.3.1 | Topology as floor plan
TIA/EIA-568-A specifies that when using an Ethernet star topology, every device that is part of the network must be connected to the hub by a run of horizontal cabling. The central point of the star topology, where the hub is located, is called the wiring closet. It helps to think of the hub as the center point of a circle which has lines of horizontal cabling radiating from it, like spokes from the center of a wheel. In order to determine the location of a wiring closet, begin by drawing a floor plan of the building (approximately to scale), and adding to it all of the devices that will be connected to the network. As you do this, remember that computers are not the only devices that you will want to connect to the network; there are also printers and file servers to consider. When you have completed this process, you should have a floor plan that is similar to the one shown in the Figure .
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