Deep Dive into the World of ICT: Understanding MUTOAs and Consolidation Points

Welcome to the show where we tackle the tough questions that are submitted by you , the installers , the project managers , the estimators , the ICT customers , anybody who's interested in ICT technology , where we connect at the human level so we can connect the world .

If you're watching this podcast on YouTube and you like this content , would you mind please hitting the subscribe button and hit that little bell button to be notified when new content is being created . That way , you'll be notified when new shows come out . And , by the way , we hit our first major milestone last week we hit 100 subscribers on YouTube .

Thank you guys very much . If you're listening to this podcast on iTunes Stitchers or one of the other podcast platforms that are available to everybody out there , would you mind consider leaving us a rating , preferably a five star rating . If not , let me know what I can do to fix that .

Both of these steps will help us take on that nasty algorithm so more people can hear this content , more people can hear this message and more people can become educated in the ICT industry .

Also , don't forget our after hours series , where we broadcast live on Thursdays at 6pm Eastern Standard Time , where you get to submit your questions , your ICT questions , to be answered by your favorite RCDD that would be me , of course . This broadcast is on LinkedIn and YouTube . Don't worry if you missed the live broadcast .

They are recorded and posted for later consumption on our webpage . So make sure you send your questions to questions at letstalkcablingcom .

Also , make sure that you check out that webpage while you're there , because all of our audio content is there , all of our video is there , all of our articles are there , and there's also ways that you can sign up to help support this channel , either through one of the four levels , through Patreon , or through subscription through PayPal or even through Amazon

links . Those all help play for this learning platform . So , as I mentioned , I get asked this question almost weekly . It's definitely in the top five questions that I get answered all the time or get asked all the time . So I decided to go ahead and just make this the topic of today's show , and I understand the confusion .

I really , really do , because you see both of them are in open office layout types of configurations , so they do get confusing sometimes . An open office layout is a design where an architect wants the feeling of open space .

It's a way of putting more people in a space that you could if you're putting in a traditional office space where everybody had their own offices . Now , this type of a setup has many , many benefits , both for the office personnel and the company . Open office layouts promote collaboration in teams .

It increased the closeness of a team and the better a team feels , the more productive they're going to be . It's also going to promote a sense of togetherness . That way they come together as a team and it's also going to make them more comfortable as that team .

They're going to feel better that they can communicate with each other and communications , as you know , is key to all success . There are benefits to the employer as well . An open office layout requires less floor space than a traditional floor plan does , which is going to save the company money . It's going to save them company to build it .

It also makes supervision easier and also has a lower initial cost for build out because modular furniture walls are cheaper . Probably one of the most common reasons why companies choose this type of floor plan is because this type of floor plan provides flexibility that the company needs to change the floor plan at a lower cost .

At traditional offices , modular furniture is used a lot of times in this type of environment to help facilitate those kinds of goals . While there are many benefits , there's also some drawbacks , such as over supervision , potential conflict and the lack of ability for people in a modular furniture pod to be able to focus because of the noise .

Now , cabling open office layouts , while not difficult , they do require you to have some extra planning and care during the installation and the certification of that process . We will often use either a consolidation point or a MutoA , or both , to feed that modular furniture . Now this has led to some confusion among not just ICT installers but also designers .

I've come across a lot of RCDDs who get confused by this . Despite these clusters of cubicles , we have to cram all kinds of ICT equipment like telephones , computers , fax machines , printers , network devices in an already confined area .

Even Bigsy acknowledges that this is in their TDM , because it states that the key elements of open office cabling are MutoA and a consolidation point . So let's look at each of them , starting off with the MutoA Now , before I get started with the comparison . If you're like me , you're probably going to need the use of a graphic to understand this complex concept .

And this , along with all my other audio podcasts , are also posted on my YouTube channel . So in my YouTube video with this , I will put in some graphics along with this video to help explain this concept just a little bit better , because it does get kind of confusing . So let's get back to that . Mutoa , that's M-U-T-O-A .

It stands for Multi-User Telecommunications Outlet Assembly . Now that definition comes from the Telecommunications Industry Association or the TIA . They define it as a grouping in one location of several telecommunications outlet connectors . Now I've seen MutoAs as faceplates . I've seen them as large service mount boxes .

I've seen them as small wall mounted patch panels and other devices just for this type of application . So the MutoA it can provide for both , either copper or fiber connectivity .

In its simplistic terms , a MutoA is what the patch cord from the telephone or the computer or the printer or whatever I-seats of device you're trying to connect is going to plug into the MutoA . So MutoA is often used as an end user interface and it's used when the customer wants to perform small moves , adds and changes .

That way they don't have to bring an ICT technician out to do those small things . I did a QA inspection once on a project in Lake Mary , florida for a branch office for a company that I used to work for at the time .

Each cluster furniture had a 24-port patch panel mounted inside the modular furniture cluster and each ICT device was connected to that patch panel . That is MutoA . It's not always a faceplate . Now let's talk about some of the considerations that you're going to need to address while you're actually installing or maybe even designing the MutoA .

Because of the nature of the floor plan , space is going to be limited , so you need to take that into consideration during your installation . So the MutoA should only serve a maximum of 12 work areas . If each work area had one faceplate and they installed the faceplates per the standards , then we know that there's going to be two cables at each faceplate .

That means it's going to serve 24 cables , because 2 times 12 is 24 . One of the main reasons the MutoA is kept to this size is because a larger MutoA would also have to serve more modular furniture and you may be outside the allowable length that's allowed for patch cords because we have limits that we got to stay within .

Also , because the MutoA is typically not going to be very accessible , and it's critical to design in growth . Make sure you build for the future . You might do that by using high density patch panels .

Now , since this involves the use of patch cords , it's worth mentioning that the maximum length for a single patch cord is 5 meters , or about 16 feet of cable . The use of a MutoA , though , will allow you to go past that 5 meter length , provided the permanent length cable is shorter than the 90 meters or 295 feet that the standard calls for .

So when a signal is sent down a cable , it goes down as an electron . As it goes down the cable , the signal is going to get weaker as it travels through the cable . This is known as insertion loss , or for us old gray haired communication installers , we used to call it attenuation .

The shorter the permanent length cable is , the stronger the signal that's coming out of it . So , a cable that's going to be 250 feet , the signal coming out of that will be stronger than the signal coming out of a cable that's 295 feet , because it goes less distance .

While you can run longer patch cords , it is not open season and you have to be careful If you want to geek out on the math . There's a formula in the TDMM on page 460 . You can really figure it out .

But if you want to take the easier route , like I like to do sometimes , they have a table on page 461 which tells you how long a patch cord can be depending on the length of the permanent length . Now there are two tables . One is for 24 gauge patch cords , the other is for 26 gauge patch cords .

A 24 gauge patch cords can have 20% more attenuation and a 26 gauge patch cord can have up to 50% more attenuation . So if your patch cord will exceed the 22 meters or the 72 feet , then you want to absolutely stay away from using a 24 gauge patch cord Because your patch cord will be long .

They're going to have to run through people's desks , they're going to have to run behind piles of paper and personal effects . It is wise to label both ends of that patch cord . Now the ends of the patch cord that plugs into the mutowa should have the label that says which work area that it's going to serve .

Now on the other end of that patch cord the work area side you want to label to the Mutoa that it goes back to and which port it plugs into on that Mutoa . That's gonna make your life easier when you go to do troubleshooting and , trust me , your service technician will thank you .

One additional label that you really should consider when installing a Mutoa is put a label on it that says what is the maximum allowable length for a patch cord that can be used ? Now remember that distance is going to be dependent on the length of the permanent link .

So you want to put that label on there so that way you understand , when you come back a year later to do work there , how long a patch cord you can use . When mounting Mutoa , it should be placed in areas that are accessible and will not be limited . So avoid placing them , for example , in a ceiling or under a floor or in some type of enclosed space .

Remember , the whole purpose of the Mutoa is so that you or the end user can access it easily to perform moves , ads and changes . If you block it with modular furniture , if you block it with a printer or a file cabinet , you just defeated the whole purpose of this exercise .

Since most modular furniture is free-floating , meaning it's not attached to anything , you don't want to put that Mutoa inside that furniture either , unless that first piece of furniture is bolted to permanent building structure .

Now the Mutoa should also be at minimum of at least 15 meters , or just about 50 feet away from the horizontal cross-connect in the telecommunications room . This is gonna help you reduce the effects of EMI , like crosstalk and if you wanna learn more about that , I did a podcast on that previously and also it's gonna help you with return loss .

Now some of the manufacturers can alleviate this requirement because their cable and their connectors are tuned for the maximum performance . They are their matching characteristic impedance are matched to the point where they can get you down to even lower distances .

So make sure you check with your manufacturer to make sure if you can go less than 50 feet , don't assume it automatically . And finally , if there's a wireless access point in close proximity to the Mutoa , do not plug the WAP or the wireless access point into the Mutoa .

Instead , connect that WAP directly back to the horizontal cross-connect that's gonna be located in the telecommunications room . Never connect it to the Mutoa . So just to recap , a Mutoa is at the end of the permanent link .

It provides access for the faceplate or the service mount box or some other type of Mutoa device to be connected to all the work areas in the furniture that it's serving via a patch cord . That is what a Mutoa is . Now let's talk about a consolidation point .

The Big C ICT terminology handbook defines a consolidation point as a connection facility within the horizontal cabling subsystem for interconnection of optical fiber cables extending from the building pathways into the furniture .

Even though the ICT terminology handbook says that , the TDMM says that you can do both copper and fiber for the consolidation point , the TDMM says that the consolidation point can be used for balanced twisted pair cabling or optical fiber cabling .

Now , unlike the MutoA , the consolidation point is somewhere within the permanent link , somewhere between the horizontal cross-connect and the faceplate . It's usually going to be closer to the furniture than it will be to the telecommunications room . The cable will be installed between the horizontal cross-connect .

That will go into the ceiling or underneath the floor and it's going to route somewhere to the consolidation point . It's going to be terminated .

It's going to terminate on a patch panel or some type of a termination block or something similar to that , and then a separate cable will run from that consolidation point again through the ceiling or through the raised floor and then it's going to go to the modular furniture that it's serving and it's going to terminate on a faceplate in that furniture or patch

panel or some type of termination block . If the furniture is moved and the cable will not reach the new location of the modular furniture , then all you got to do is run a new cable from the new location of the modular furniture to the consolidation point . You don't have to run a cable all the way back to the horizontal cross-connect .

That's going to save you time , that's going to save you labor , that's going to save you headaches . So a consolidation point is going to give you flexibility within that open office environment where maybe the furniture locations are going to be moved , but maybe not as often as they would need to be .

For Mutewa , call centers are a type of open office environment where the furniture may be moved quite often . They move them to meet all kinds of goals and rearrange teams . The installation of the consolidation point also introduces another connection point within the permanent link .

Now this is going to increase the potential failure and an additional insertion , loss or attenuation . A consolidation point is really nothing but a splice , a fancy name for a splice .

Now you can have a consolidation point and a Mutewa all on the same channel , because the consolidation point , though it will not enable you to extend your permanent link length beyond that 90 meters that the standard allows . But you can still have a Mutewa and a consolidation point all in the same channel .

Part of the reason for the confusion between consolidation points and Mutewas are in the design considerations . The consolidation point also should be served only a maximum of 12 work areas and have space designated for growth .

If the consolidation point is mounted to the modular furniture , then modular furniture should also be , or shall also be , permanently secured to building structure . And finally , the consolidation point also needs to be located 15 meters or about 50 feet away from the horizontal cross-connect in the telecom room when using twisted pair cabling .

So you see why it gets kind of confusing . But here's some other things you need to consider . If it's allowed by the authority having jurisdiction , you may find a consolidation point located in areas such as above the ceiling , below the access floor or within the modular furniture itself . So you see there are some differences .

Here are some of the differences between the consolidation point and the Mutewa . Don't place more than one consolidation point within the permanent link . Only one consolidation point period . Don't use the consolidation point as a cross-connection point .

Don't use the consolidation point as a direct connection to equipment and if the consolidation point is mounted in the ceiling or underneath the floor , ensure that it's compliant for any plenum-rated areas . Tiles may be permanently labeled as a consolidation point . Never place an active piece of equipment inside of a consolidation point .

The heat will cause premature failure of that equipment and pose a potential fire hazard . And , generally speaking , the consolidation point is for the ICT technician , not for the end user . So just to recap the consolidation point it is located somewhere within the permanent link , not on the end .

Like the Mutewa , the consolidation point should not be used to make direct connections with equipment . Unlike the Mutewa , the consolidation point generally is not for the end user and must not have active equipment inside of that same consolidation point , which is different from a Mutewa .

I hope this helps you understand better the differences between a Mutewa and a consolidation point . If it did , let me know in the comments below . If you have any additional questions about Mutewas or consolidation points , put them in the comments below . So until next time , be safe .