In choosing our wiring plan we were forced to discuss and evaluate many different options. This was due to the complexity of the building we were working on, along with the fact that all 32 rooms required two different drops. The plan we settled on will hopefully save the University both time and money to execute.
We will be making use of Category 5, unshielded twisted pair, or 100BaseT, data Cable.
Instead of running conduit and wires throughout both the front and back of the building, we instead will be making use of an existing conduit system. Century Cable company which is the cable provider here in Las Vegas put in place, during the construction of the Arrott House, conduit in which to run cable TV into each unit. This conduit runs through the front of the building and has a central joining location in the middle portion of the front of each floor. The location where the wires are connected in the middle of the panels. Once again, each floor has a central location in which the wires are connected, each protected by a locked service box. The conduit running to each room is one inch thick, and the conduit connecting each floor is three inches thick. We will therefore place a 12 port hub and patch panel, on the first, second, and third floors in the boxes previously mentioned, and run or data cable through the existing conduit. Our hubs will be daisy chained together being that they are placed in a central location, each above the other.
The process we will use to run our wires through the existing conduit will require that we first pull the TV cable that runs to each unit. Before we pull the cable we will attach string and run the string as we pull the cable. When we are ready we will connect our data cable and phone line and pull them back into the units.
Our plan to install the drops in the back of the building will be somewhat different. The arrott House has a fairly large boiler room located in the the middle of the first floor which serves as equal access to each part of the building. This boiler room will serve as the location for another 24 port hub and 12 port hub and related patch panels. These hubs will be where our main feed comes in the the Arrott House, along with data cable service to the backside of the building. From our hubs in the boiler room, we will run our wires out he back and along side of the back of the building in weather proof three inch conduit. From this conduit we will branch one wire down to each room using one inch weather proof conduit. The hubs and patch panels in the boiler room will also be connected to the hub on the first floor in the front of the building. We will use one inch conduit to run our connection between the hubs in front of the building and the hubs in the boiler room.
Our plan is also unique because along with our data cable, we will be running new phone lines to each room in order to connect the Arrott House the New Mexico Highlands University phone system. Phone lines also make use of patch panels, and these panels will be placed in the same locations as our data line hubs and patch panels.
Our plan to wire this building will offer a somewhat easier and more cost efficient approach to the other options available. Our hub and path panel locations are also all centrally located and provide easy access for maintenance and repair. By making use of and existing conduit system, to wire half the building we will hopefully save the University both time and money.