Structured cabling system or structured wiring refers to all of the cabling and components installed in a logical and organized way. It's designed to be relatively independent of the type of equipment that uses it.

A properly designed structured cabling system will allow you to just plug into what you need, phones, cable, video, audio, computers and other electronics all work with a standard network faceplate, from anywhere in your facility. Things change, advances in technology and changes in your life style or how you want to use technology can be accommodated if you plan correctly.

Structured cabling design and installation is governed by a set of standards that specify wiring data centers, offices, and apartment buildings for data or voice communications using various kinds of cable, most commonly category 5e (CAT-5e), category 6 (CAT-6), and fibre optic cabling and modular connectors. These standards define how to lay the cabling in various topologies in order to meet the needs of the customer, typically using a central patch panel (which is normally 19 inch rack-mounted), from where each modular connection can be used as needed. Each outlet is then patched into a network switch (normally also rack-mounted) for network use or into an IP or PBX (private branch exchange) telephone system patch panel.