January/February/March 2021 I 19
How to Properly
Deploy and Test
POLs to Support
Growing Demands
By Stéphane Chabot
To remain current and competitive, enterprises need fast, reliable communications systems linking employees,
departments, work groups, and devices to enable best collaboration and data access. Traditionally, Cat 5 and
Cat 6 copper cabling has been used to deliver Ethernet connectivity in the enterprise, but alternate optical
fiber-based choices have emerged as wide area network (WAN) and LAN technology continues to evolve.
Driving that evolution is the need for seamless enterprise network deployment, easy maintenance, minimal
disruption to enterprise end users, and cost effectiveness. Enterprise networks relying on copper-based cable
connectivity often require forklift upgrades when Ethernet switches reach end-of-life. Removing and replacing
the network hardware and even the cabling is disruptive to productivity and financially draining. Typical
solutions to adapt legacy LANs to meet increased demand have been complex and demanding of technicians'
time, creating increased pain points and opportunity for error.
