Upgrading Legacy Networks: How to Reuse Existing Conduit and Save Big
The most expensive line item in a network upgrade proposal isn't the cable. It isn't the switches. It isn't even the wireless access points. It is the labor and the restoration. If you are upgrading a school, an office building, or a historic home, the cost of opening up walls, trenching through parking lots, and repainting drywall can dwarf the cost of the technology itself. This is the "construction tax" of IT upgrades. However, there is a hidden asset in many buildings that can save you thousands of dollars: Existing Conduit. Years ago, a forward-thinking electrician or low-voltage installer likely laid a network of PVC or EMT pipes inside your walls to run the original Cat5 or phone lines. Those pipes are your golden ticket. If you can reuse them, you bypass the demolition phase entirely. But reusing conduit isn't as simple as pulling on one end and pushing on the other. Modern Ethernet networking cables are physically different from their ancestors. ...