Point-to-point cabling used to be the go-to solution for building communication and data infrastructure. However, point-to-point cabling requires a lot of wiring, which was messy and expensive, and had other limitations. Structured cabling is much more organized, which provides other benefits:

• Flexible System: Changes, moves, and expanding the system are much easier and require less material.
• Reduced Downtime: There is much less chance of human error in a structured cabling environment. Point-to-point cabling is a mess and increases the odds that mistakes are made.
• Time-Saving: The logical and organized layout of a structured cabling system makes it easier to find and resolve issues.
• Cost-effective: Structured cabling systems typically require less power and have lower maintenance costs.

Structured cabling is a broad term to describe the entire telecommunication infrastructure. It is what allows the modern business or organization to communicate and process data. There are six subsystems to a structured cabling system:

• Entrance facility – Where the signal and power are received from an external source.
• Equipment room – Houses most of the equipment and acts as a wiring consolidation point.
• Telecommunications room – Houses telecommunications equipment. 
• Backbone cabling – Fiber optic, coaxial cable, unshielded twisted-pair or shielded twister-pair cabling that connects the entrance facility and the equipment rooms.
• Horizontal cabling – Connects the telecommunications room to work stations, typically running below the floor or in the ceiling and can be Ethernet or fiber optic cable.
• Work area – Where an end-user connects devices to the network or communication outlets.