Infrastructure
Fibre optic cabling for buildings and campuses: single mode or multimode, and where each belongs
Single-mode (OS2) between buildings and on runs beyond multimode reach, multimode (OM4) inside buildings and data rooms. Reach at 10, 40…
News and field notes
Projects, news and field notes.
Company news, project announcements and practical writing from the engineers who specify, install and support infrastructure for organisations across the UAE.
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Infrastructure
ELV design by building type: what offices, schools and hotels in the UAE need, and which systems a regulator requires
Which ELV systems a UAE office building, school or hotel must have and which are a design choice: a matrix sourced from the UAE fire code…
Infrastructure
Structured cabling certification: what the test report should show before you sign the handover
What a structured cabling certification report must contain: the test limit and configuration, wire map, insertion loss, NEXT and return…
Infrastructure
How to choose copper network cable: categories chart, shielding, jacket and the copper-clad aluminium trap
A copper cable categories chart from Cat5e to Cat8, what U/UTP, F/UTP and S/FTP mean and why a screen needs its bond, LSZH and the TDRA…
Infrastructure
ELV room, IT room or server room: what each needs in a UAE office fit-out, and who designs it
What an ELV room is, how it differs from a tenant's IT room and a server room, and what each needs in a UAE office fit-out: space, cooling…
Infrastructure
Patch cord colour code standard: what TIA-606 actually sets, T568A vs T568B wire order, and how to write a rack legend
Is there a standard colour code for patch cords? TIA-606 recommends colour coding, but the colours it lists are for termination fields, not…
Infrastructure
Cat6 vs Cat6A for a new office in the UAE: PoE, Wi-Fi 7 and the 55 metre question
Cat6 is specified to 250 MHz and carries 10GBASE-T to 55 m; Cat6A is specified to 500 MHz and carries it to 100 m. What 2.5G and 5G…
Infrastructure
What is structured cabling? The six subsystems, the standards and how a UAE installation is designed
Structured cabling explained: the six TIA subsystems from entrance facility to work area, the 100 m channel and its 90 m permanent link…
Infrastructure
What is an ELV system? Meaning, full form and the systems it covers in UAE buildings
ELV is two things at once: an electrical limit of 50 V AC or 120 V DC, and the low current package of cabling, networks, CCTV, access…
Field notes
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