Cabletron Systems 100BASE-FX, Cabling Manual

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Facility Cable Management 13-9
Cabling Devices
Surface Mount Box
A surface mount box is a type of wallplate which, instead of being mounted in a
hole in the wall is attached to the wall with an adhesive. The surface mount box is
typically used in locations where connections to end user stations are to be made
from a wall which is constructed of a material that is not easily cut through.
Firewalls, cinderblock, and packed-earth are some of the wall types that should
not be punctured to run cabling.
Facility Cable Management
The devices described in the following sections are used to organize and control
the placement of cable in a facility. Cable management is an often-overlooked, but
exceptionally important, part of installation planning and maintenance. The
devices described below can prove very useful for facilitating easier installation,
troubleshooting, and expansion of the network.
Conduit
Conduit is pre-installed PVC or metal pipe which is run through a building to
ease the installation of cable. Most conduit is 1.25 cm (0.5 inch) in diameter or
larger. Conduit is commonly used to provide readily-accessible paths for cable
between floors in a facility or to simplify the installation of cable through firewalls
and around obstacles such as elevator shafts and structural supports. Conduit in
plenum environments should be steel piping. All conduit should contain
pullstrings for cable installation.