Expedia Takes Brand-Rex Route to Category 6 Structured Cabling

Leading online travel company builds future-proof, cost-effective and scalable Category 6 / Class E cabling system delivering Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to more than 2000 outlets throughout its new head office in central London.

Expedia is an Internet-based travel agency with local sites in 15 countries. Its head office in the UK is responsible for overseeing the company’s European operations and currently comprises some 380 staff. Sustained business growth has prompted a recent relocation to new premises in London’s Covent Garden and called for a flexible structured cabling system to support high-speed network connectivity, plus the scalability to accommodate an increasing number of personnel, and moves, adds and changes (MACs).

“The London office move was crucial to the continued expansion of our offices and since the structured cabling system forms the foundation of our network infrastructure, a smooth roll-out was key to the project’s success,” said Andy Brennan, Senior Project Manager – IT, Expedia.com Ltd. “The Brand-Rex Cat6Plus system delivers the high-performance we required and was chosen because it was the most cost-effective, reliable and scalable solution in the market. The network will provide us with more flexible hot-desking facilities and allow for significant head-count expansion.”

Deployed by Brand-Rex’ accredited installer Dimension Data, it delivers Gigabit Ethernet connectivity across five floors and a central comms room, and incorporates all the structured cabling requirements of Expedia’s new building.

Throughout the project, some 70km of Category 6 UTP cabling has been installed, together with V-12 Patch Panels and tool-free Snap-In-Jack modules. Compatible with 10BASE-T, the tool-free jack reduces cable termination times to just 45 seconds by eliminating the need for specialist tools and flat-surface termination. It also provides greater headroom on the channel, therefore increasing end-to-end performance.

Additionally, by using the tool-free jack in conjunction with the V-12 angled patch panel, Expedia has been able to eliminate the need for horizontal cable management bars in its server cabinets, creating the space to logically manage high volumes of patchcords. By turning the jacks through 90 degrees and developing a multi-‘V’ panel that dresses the patching cables to the sides of the patching frame, the V-12s ensure greater port density per rack and greater spacing between ports to better accommodate moves, adds and changes (MACs).

“Expedia is a premier, market-leading company that requires quality and reliability from their IT systems. The Brand-Rex Cat6Plus System exceeds the performance requirements laid down in the Category 6 / Class E standards and ensures that Expedia has a future-proof and scalable structured cabling system that can meet its continued expansion,” said Craig Urmston, Account Manager, Brand-Rex Ltd. “The company has also benefited from our novel V-12 range of managed patch panels, which are crucial for maintaining the quality of electrical performance and providing easy access to conduct moves, adds and changes, while our tool-free Snap-In-Jack modules have ensured a fast and simple install at Expedia’s new head office.”