# Networking & Structured Cabling

> Structured cabling is the permanent network infrastructure of an office: racks, patch panels, backbone and horizontal cable runs, data outlets and containment, laid out against the desk plan. Because the cable is expected to outlast the equipment, its category, point count and routes are settled at installation and each link is certified before handover.

## What we deliver

**Structured cabling, network racks, patch panels, data outlets and
containment** — laid out against the desk plan, installed with the fit-out, and
tested before handover.

Network cabling is the one piece of an office's IT that lives inside the
building. Equipment gets replaced every few years; the cable in the ceiling is
expected to last the fit-out. Getting its quantity, category and routes right is
far cheaper at installation than at any point after.

## Scope of works

| Stage | What we deliver |
| --- | --- |
| Planning | Points per desk, AP and device locations, rack position |
| Containment | Trays and conduits sized for growth |
| Backbone | Rack-to-rack and riser links |
| Horizontal | Rack to outlet cabling |
| Termination | Patch panels, outlets, labelling |
| Rack | Rack installation, cable management, power |
| Testing | Link certification, labelled test results |
| Handover | Cabling schedule and certification records |

## Where projects go wrong

- **Points planned exactly to today's headcount.** Every addition later is a new
  run through a finished ceiling.
- **No certification.** Intermittent faults that are close to impossible to
  trace afterwards.
- **Data sharing containment with power.** Interference and confusion at every
  future change.
- **Rack room without ventilation or power planning.** Heat shortens equipment
  life.
- **No labelling.** The next person to touch the network spends hours tracing
  cables.

## Why Hagerstone

**Networking is part of our stated MEP scope**, laid out from the same drawing as
the desk plan and the small power — so outlets land where the desks are.

**In-house technicians and electricians**, under ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 and 79+
quality checkpoints.

## Standards referenced

Generic cabling for customer premises to **ISO/IEC 11801**. Commercial building
telecommunications cabling to **TIA-568**.

## Frequently asked questions

### Cat 6 or Cat 6A for a new office?

Cat 6 handles most office needs today. Cat 6A supports higher speeds over the full channel length and better handles the power-over-ethernet loads that wireless access points, cameras and some lighting now draw. For a fit-out expected to last a lease term of several years, Cat 6A for backbone and high-demand points is the safer choice; the cable is the part that is expensive to replace later.

### Why does cabling need to be certified?

Because a cable that connects is not the same as a cable that performs. Certification tests each link against the standard for its category — and a link that fails certification will cause intermittent faults that are extremely hard to diagnose later. Certification results should be part of the handover documentation.

### How many data points should we plan per desk?

Most offices plan at least two per workstation, plus points for printers, meeting room displays, wireless access points and security devices. The expensive mistake is planning exactly to the current headcount — adding a point later means a new cable run back to the rack through a finished ceiling.

## Sources

- [ISO/IEC 11801](https://www.iso.org/standards.html) — Generic cabling for customer premises
- [TIA-568](https://tiaonline.org/) — Commercial building telecommunications cabling

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/services/mep/networking-and-structured-cabling