If you do nothing else, weigh these considerations carefully.
Applications
Your system should support data, voice, video, and multimedia applications now and well into the future. You should anticipate applications involving VoIP, PoE, wireless, and security.
Lifecycle
Plan on a lifecycle of 15–20 years, with 10 years as the minimum. Your cabling system should have the longest life cycle of any component in your network. Compare that to a network switch, which has an average life span of five years.
Compatibility
Your system should be based on open standards and be able to support multiple applications regardless of the vendor. Modular, open-standard
systems enable easy changes and easy expansion without changing the cabling and equipment.
Bandwidth
The demand for it just keeps growing. The more, the better. Enough said.
Growth
Anticipate how many users you’ll need to support 10, 15, and 20 years down the road. See bandwidth above.
MAC (Moves, adds, changes)
Your network should facilitate and accommodate frequent changes.