Factors affecting cable performance and their placement in cable routing

There are many factors that affect cable performance, including ultraviolet radiation, heat, water, mechanical damage, grounding, and total routing length. The placement in cable routing also plays a critical role in these factors. For example:

Installation impact: Proper installation is the key to improving cable performance. If installed improperly, it may cause cable tension, resulting in signal loss and delay. At the same time, cables may scatter during transportation, changing the spacing between the centers of wires, causing crosstalk and return loss, and making them more susceptible to the influence of surrounding electromagnetic/radio frequency interference.

Ultraviolet radiation: Do not apply cables without ultraviolet protection to environments with direct sunlight, as ultraviolet radiation can reduce the service life of cables.

Heat: The temperature of cables in metal pipes or cable trays is very high, and many polymer materials will reduce their service life at this temperature.

Water: The moisture in LAN twisted pair cables can increase the capacitance of the cables, thereby reducing impedance and causing near end crosstalk problems.

Mechanical damage: The repair of optical cables is very complicated and expensive, so it is necessary to prevent mechanical damage to the cables as much as possible.

Grounding: If the shielding layer of the cable needs to be grounded, the corresponding standards must be followed.

Total routing length: For outdoor grade LAN twisted pair cables used between buildings, the total length should be limited to within 90 meters. If the distance of laying is between 100 meters and 300 meters, optical cable should be selected.