Structured Cabling · Cat6A Specification
Eight Cat6A drops from the central server room to 7 AP locations plus one pre-pulled spare — 193 m measured on the routed plan, longest run 34 m. This page is the buildable spec: cable grade, run schedule, containment, the difficulty points on this floor plate, the rack build, and the acceptance criteria that gate final payment. The routed paths are interactive on the 2D plan.
Cable specification
The cable verified
Cat6A U/UTP · 23 AWG · solid pure copper
One grade, no substitutions. 10GBASE-T is unconditional at these lengths (all runs ≤ 34 m vs. the 100 m channel limit),
which is exactly what the U7 Pro XGS's single 10 GbE port needs. Jacket: CM/CMR is code-acceptable above a
ducted-return drop ceiling (PEC Ch. 8 mirrors NEC 800); switch to LSZH if the landlord's fit-out manual
requires it, or CMP if the ceiling void is a return-air plenum
verify with landlord.
reject CCA Copper-clad-aluminum "Cat6A" is rampant on Lazada/Shopee — it fails Fluke certification and overheats under PoE++. Specify pure copper by brand (Belden / D-Link / Panduit class) and require certifiability in the PO.
Why not F/UTP (shielded)
Alien crosstalk — the 10GBASE-T problem shielding solves — is a bundle-density phenomenon. Eight loosely routed runs of 10–34 m never trigger it; F/UTP buys nothing here at ≤ 45 m. What it does add is a hard requirement for 360° shield termination and bonded panels/jacks at both ends: a pigtail-grounded shield loses up to ~90% of its effectiveness, and local installers routinely get this wrong. A badly bonded F/UTP plant is worse than a good U/UTP one — floating shields become antennas. U/UTP has no such failure mode.
Why not Cat6
Cat6 carries 10GBASE-T only conditionally, to roughly 37–55 m per TIA TSB-155, with zero headroom and no alien-crosstalk margin. Our longest run (34 m) would sit just inside that window — a spec that "technically works" on day one and can't be certified to Cat6A limits or extended later. In a new 2026 fit-out the cost delta is a few thousand pesos per box; there is no professional case for pulling Cat6 to WiFi 7 APs.
Cable schedule measured on routed plan
Lengths = horizontal ceiling path + 2 m rack/AP drops + 5 m service loop & termination slack per run, rounded up. Home run for every cable: server room rack (4.97 sqm room at the core, x≈10.2 m / y≈14.0 m). See the routes drawn live on the 2D plan.
| Run | To | Routing notes | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | AP1 · Open-plan North | Corridor spine north, over open-plan ceiling past y 24.7 | 26 m |
| C2 | AP2 · Open-plan Center | Corridor spine, west over open plan | 19 m |
| C3 | AP3 · Open-plan South | Corridor spine south, west over open plan | 19 m |
| C4 | AP4 · Conference Room | Spine south, crosses conference glass front — in-room drop; fire-stop if partition is rated | 26 m |
| C5 | AP5 · South Amenity | South hallway ceiling, avoids pantry wet wall | 23 m |
| C6 | AP6 · Reception / Entrance | Shortest run — straight out of server room | 10 m |
| C7 | AP7 · North Block / Meeting | Longest run — corridor spine full north | 34 m |
| C8 | SPARE · Meeting Rm 01 zone | Pre-pulled spare (future MR02 / 8th AP) while ceiling is open | 36 m |
| Total (incl. 2 m drops + 5 m service loop each) | 193 m | ||
Box math — single pull
193 m used + ~10% offcuts ≈ 215 m → 1× 305 m box covers all 8 drops with ~90 m to spare. Adequate if the budget is hard-capped, but it leaves nothing pulled for the future.
Box math — double pull recommended
Pull 2 cables to every AP location while the ceiling is open (one live, one spare): ~386 m → 2× 305 m boxes. Marginal cost now ≈ ₱15,000–20,000 estimate (second box + jacks + marginal labor) vs. roughly 5× that to re-open a finished ceiling later. Cheapest insurance in the whole project.
Containment
| Segment | Spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Server-room exits | 25 mm (1") EMT stub-ups | Conduit stubs out of the rack room up into the ceiling void; bushed ends, no sharp edges. |
| Corridor spine | wire-basket tray or J-hooks | J-hook spacing max 1.5 m; tray/hooks anchored to the slab or structure — never to ceiling hanger wires, never resting on ceiling tiles. |
| Final AP whips | 20 mm flexible conduit | Last few metres from spine to each AP box; MPTL or biscuit jack at the end (see rack section). |
| Power separation | 300 mm parallel · cross at 90° | PEC/NEC 800.133 code minimum is 50 mm; 300 mm from parallel unshielded branch circuits is the good-practice figure. Stay clear of the elevator machine-room feeders and any VFDs at the core. |
Difficulty points on this floor plate
The six things that will actually cost money or schedule if missed. Flag every one of these in the vendor walkthrough.
Elevator core — route around, never through
The 4.14 × 9.57 m core (concrete shear walls, hoistway, machine room) sits mid-plate. Cables must never pass through a hoistway (code prohibition) and the machine room / VFDs are an EMI source. The spine detours around the west side of the core — already reflected in the measured lengths above (adds ~5–8 m on northern runs).
Conference room glass front (C4)
AP4 is an in-room drop behind the full-glass front — the cable enters over the partition head. If that partition carries a fire rating, the penetration needs a listed fire-stop system. Confirm the rating with the fit-out contractor before coring.
Pantry wet wall (C5)
C5 to AP5 is deliberately routed via the south hallway ceiling to stay clear of the pantry's wet wall (plumbing risers, condensation, future maintenance access). Do not let the installer shortcut it straight across the pantry — it saves ~3 m and creates a permanent water-exposure liability.
Fire-rated wall penetrations
Server room walls and the exit-corridor walls are likely rated. Every penetration needs intumescent fire-stopping (sealant or pillows) from a listed system, photographed before closure, and landlord sign-off. BFP can hold the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate — and therefore occupancy — over unsealed penetrations.
Ceiling type unconfirmed
The design assumes a suspended tile ceiling (2.7 m ceiling / 3.4 m slab) with an accessible void. Verify: ceiling type, slab-to-slab clearance, beam positions (get the reflected ceiling plan + structural grid), and whether the void is a return-air plenum — plenum means CMP-rated cable, a real price delta.
Coordinate BEFORE the ceiling closes
The single biggest cost/schedule lever on this page. Rough-in while the ceiling is open is routine work; after boards/tiles close, the same job costs 3–5× in labor, tile damage and after-hours landlord rules. Get the data cabling onto the PECE-signed auxiliary drawings in the fit-out permit and schedule the pull the week before ceiling closure (target mid-July, per the timeline).
Server room — 12U wall rack
600 mm wide, ≥ 450 mm deep wall-mount cabinet in the 4.97 sqm server room. Confirm room cooling/exhaust — a sealed room at Cebu ambient with ~200 W continuous load will cook a UPS.
Termination & bonding
Server-room end: every drop lands on the keystone patch panel — never direct-to-switch. Factory Cat6A patch cords panel → switch.
AP end: MPTL (field-terminated RJ45 plug straight into the AP, recognized by TIA-568.2-D for ceiling devices) or a surface-mount biscuit jack within 1 m of the AP plus a factory cord. Either is professional — certify to the matching limit set (MPTL or permanent link).
Grounding: bond the rack (and panel) to the electrical panelboard ground bar with an insulated 8 mm² copper conductor. PEC-required equipment bonding; also the prerequisite if any shielded cabling ever enters this rack.
PoE budget context: 7× U7 Pro XGS at 29 W nameplate = 203 W — this is why the switch is the 10-port (400 W budget), not the originally requested 8-port (155 W). Full reasoning on the network design page.
Acceptance criteria
Contract deliverables — tie to final payment
- 100% Fluke DSX certification to TIA-568.2-D Cat6A limits (permanent-link or MPTL as terminated) on every link — wire map, length, delay/skew, IL, RL, NEXT/PSNEXT, ACR-F. Deliver LinkWare PDF + native .flw files per link. No reports, no final payment.
- TIA-606-C labeling both ends + panel ports (machine-printed, e.g.
SR1-PP1-01 ↔ AP-01). - As-built drawings: AP coordinates, actual routes, conduit/tray sizes, penetration locations.
- Post-install validation walk: RSSI ≥ −65 dBm on 5 GHz at every desk (design target from the coverage model), per-AP throughput proof.
- Fire-stop photos of every rated penetration before ceiling closure, plus landlord sign-off.
Sources & data
Cable schedule measured from the routed paths in data/floorplan.json (digitized architect DRAFT 02) — interactive view on the 2D plan. Research base: data-raw/structured-cabling.json — key primary sources: U7 Pro XGS techspecs (PoE++/29 W, 10 GbE), PH government structured-cabling TOR (MARINA) — containment & test-parameter practice, PEC Ch. 8 / NEC 800 — separation & listings, RA 9292 — PECE sign-and-seal, Cat6A U/UTP vs F/UTP. Standards background and glossary: knowledge base. Costs roll up on BOM & costs.