Point-to-point cabling runs a cable directly from each device to whatever it connects to. Structured cabling runs everything back to a patch panel in a rack, and short patch cords make the connections from there. The first is cheaper to install. The second is cheaper to own.
What structured cabling actually is
Every outlet is wired permanently back to a patch panel in the rack. Nothing moves after installation. Connections are made and changed with patch cords between panel and switch.
The permanent link never gets touched again — which is the whole point. Cable inside walls and ceilings is the expensive part to install and the expensive part to change, so it is installed once and left alone.
What point-to-point costs later
Direct runs work until something changes. Then:
- Moving a desk means pulling new cable rather than swapping a patch cord
- Faults take longer to trace, because there is no single documented point where every link appears
- Adding devices means another run from wherever the switch happens to be
- Growth compounds the mess — each new cable takes its own route
The saving on day one is real. It is repaid, usually with interest, the first time the office is rearranged.
Where point-to-point is still sensible
Two or three devices in a small room, a temporary setup, or a single link across a workshop. Below roughly ten outlets, the rack and panel overhead may not earn its place.
Above that, structured cabling wins on almost every axis.
What a structured install needs
- Cat6 UTP cable for permanent links, solid conductor
- Information outlets and faceplates at each position
- Patch panels sized for outlet count plus growth
- Factory-terminated patch cords at both ends
- A rack with cable management between each panel and switch
- A switch with ports for outlets plus growth
The discipline that makes it work
A structured install done carelessly is just point-to-point with a panel in the middle. Three habits separate them:
Label both ends of every link as it is terminated, and record the scheme somewhere that outlives the installer.
Cable managers between panel and switch, so patch cords stay within bend radius and later changes do not disturb live links.
Order panel and switch capacity for growth. Filling every port on commissioning day means adding a second panel later and re-dressing cable already tied in.
Cabling supply across Chennai
We supply the full structured cabling package — Cat6 cable, information outlets, faceplates, patch panels, patch cords, racks and cable managers from Molex, Honeywell, D-Link and CommScope. Star Networking Services has supplied networking products in Chennai since 1998, across more than 300 projects for IT companies, hospitals, factories, offices, system integrators and contractors.
Send us your floor plan or outlet count and we will work out the quantities. See our Cat6 range, or request a quote.