01 / Capability · Data & IT Infrastructure

Building Networking

Tower and multi-tenant network architecture — shared backbone with clean per-tenant separation.

Backbone networking for residential and commercial buildings — risers, IDFs and MDFs.

Residential tower in Dubai served by a building-wide network

02 / The foundation

A building network is a shared backbone with per-tenant provision on top of it. The design has to serve tenants, common-area services and building systems from the same infrastructure — cleanly, and without the tenants stepping on one another.

Zentrum designs building networks as part of the wider infrastructure so tenants, operations and the building itself each get what they need.

Part of Data & IT Infrastructure.

03 / System anatomy

How the infrastructure is put together.

Riser sizes, equipment rooms, hand-off points on each floor and the segmentation strategy that lives on top of them decide whether the building is easy or painful to let. Getting them right at design stage is what allows tenants to move in without months of retrofit.

  1. 01 /

    External connectivity

    Carrier entry, demarcation and the space reserved for it while the building is still on paper.

  2. 02 /

    Main equipment environment

    Core switching and main distribution, with power, cooling and access planned around maintainability.

    • Core switching
    • Power
    • Cooling
  3. 03 /

    Fibre backbone

    Riser and inter-building fibre with counts and grades sized for a later refresh, not only for day one.

  4. 04 /

    Distribution

    Floor or zone cabinets holding patching, PoE switching and the labelling that keeps the plant legible.

    • Patch fields
    • PoE switching
  5. 05 /

    Network services

    Segmentation, addressing and capacity separating guest, staff, building-system and management traffic.

    • Segments
    • Capacity
    • Management
  6. 06 /

    Endpoints

    Access points, workstations, cameras, readers, displays and control devices sharing one plant.

    • Wi-Fi
    • Security
    • AV
    • Controls

Outcome /

One backbone every other system can depend on.

Documented, labelled and tested, so future work extends the infrastructure instead of duplicating it.

Conceptual network backbone diagram: external connectivity enters a main equipment environment, a fibre backbone reaches distribution cabinets, network services segment the traffic, and endpoints across Wi-Fi, security, audio visual and controls share the same infrastructure.

04 / Design principles

What we hold the installation to.

  • Shared backbone

    Riser and horizontal cabling and switching that serves every floor.

  • Tenant provision

    Per-tenant demarcation, patching and hand-off points on each floor.

  • Common-area services

    Networks for lifts, BMS, security and public-realm systems.

  • Segmentation

    Clean separation between tenants, building systems and common-area services.

  • Management

    Building-side monitoring and management for the operating team.

01 /

Tenant churn and re-cabling cycles

02 /

Coordination with low-current and electrical contractors

03 /

Pathways, containment and fire-stopping at penetrations

05 / Applications

Where this goes in.

Workplaces and headquarters

Offices where the systems are judged on how little attention they need day to day.

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Hotels and resorts

Guest-facing and operational systems planned together, and commissioned around opening.

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Also delivered in: Residential towers · Commercial towers · Mixed-use developments · Hospitality.

06 / Coordination and delivery

How the package runs.

  1. 01 /Understand the tenant mix and the common-area service brief.
  2. 02 /Design a backbone with clean segmentation between tenants, systems and common areas.
  3. 03 /Coordinate risers, equipment rooms and hand-off points with the architect and MEP.
  4. 04 /Install, configure and validate — segment by segment.
  5. 05 /Hand over management, monitoring and documentation for the operating team.
  • 01Fibre risers between IDFs and the main equipment room
  • 02Structured cabling for tenant floors and common areas
  • 03Switching architecture sized for current and future tenants
  • 04Documentation, labelling and as-built drawings
Turnkey delivery →Assessment and support for existing systems →

07 / Related systems

What connects to this.

Data & IT Infrastructure
The backbone rides the structured cabling plant across the tower.
Seamless Wi-Fi Networking
Common-area wireless is planned as part of the building network.
Electronic Security
CCTV, access and intercom for the building ride the shared backbone.
Connected Communication
Tenant and building telephony share the underlying infrastructure.

Technology ecosystem /

Cisco logo

Next step /

Send us the drawings.

Planning network infrastructure for an office, residence or hospitality project?

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