Touro University, Vallejo: Campus Building Renovation

Touro University: a campus building on the campus backbone#

Touro University in Vallejo renovated a campus building, and the low voltage scope of that renovation covered four systems: network cabling throughout the building, the buildout of the IT room that serves it, a wireless network, and the fiber backbone connecting the building to the rest of the campus.

A campus building was not a standalone project. The building’s network had to plug into a campus with its own standards for cabling category, labeling, rack layout and wireless platform, and its backbone had to land in a campus telecommunications infrastructure that already existed. The campus also kept operating during the renovation, so the work was coordinated with the university around its calendar and the activity in the surrounding buildings. Telelink Business Services is a licensed C-7 Low Voltage Systems Contractor, CSLB License #472017. This project is the basis for our education approach.

Scope Telelink performed#

Fiber backbone. A fiber optic backbone connecting the renovated building to the campus network, installed to ANSI/TIA-568.3-D with outside plant practice per TIA-758 where the route left the building, spliced and terminated at both ends, and tested with an OTDR and a light source and power meter so the traces and loss figures could be delivered with the closeout.

Network cabling. Horizontal cabling from the IT room to the classroom, office, lab, wireless and equipment locations in the building, installed to ANSI/TIA-568.2-E with the cable rating the ceilings required, supported on pathway sized for the drop count, firestopped at rated penetrations, and labeled to the university’s scheme.

IT room buildout. An IT room built to TIA-569 and the campus standard: backboard, racks, ladder rack, fiber and copper patch panels, cable management, and a bonding busbar with the racks and ladder rack bonded per TIA-607. Dedicated circuits and the bond from the busbar to the building grounding electrode system were the electrician’s scope.

Wireless network. A managed wireless network for the building, designed from a site survey of the finished spaces, cabled to each access point location, and configured on the platform the university’s IT department specified.

Fire alarm systems fall outside the C-7 classification. Telelink does not design, install, or service fire alarm systems and coordinated with the project’s fire alarm contractor.

How the work was phased#

Inside the building, the renovation schedule set the sequence. Pathway, boxes and sleeves were set during framing. Cable was pulled and dressed after drywall and before the ceilings closed, in time for the above-ceiling inspection. The IT room was built out ahead of the network equipment delivery so the university’s switches could be racked, patched and uplinked as soon as they arrived.

The backbone ran on a separate schedule. Fiber between buildings depends on the campus pathway, so the route, the conduit fill and the entrance points were confirmed with the university before the cable was ordered, and the splicing and testing at the campus end were scheduled with the university’s IT staff so the existing network was not disturbed. Work outside the renovated building was coordinated with campus operations, with the crew checked in and identified according to the university’s rules and kept clear of the areas in use. Terminations, testing and labeling were completed room by room, and the wireless was validated by a walk test after the access points were live.

What the owner received at closeout#

The university received at turnover:

• Permanent link test results for every copper drop, in the tester’s native format and as PDF, organized by the labeling scheme.
• OTDR traces and loss measurements for the backbone fiber strands.
• As-built drawings showing outlet, access point, pathway, backbone route and equipment locations.
• Rack elevations and patch panel schedules for the IT room, including the fiber panel.
• A labeling schedule matching every outlet, panel and cable, following TIA-606.
• Wireless validation results and the access point configuration record.
• Manufacturer documentation and warranty letters for the installed equipment.

Next step#

If your campus has a building renovation, a backbone extension, an IT room or a wireless project coming, send the drawings and the campus cabling standard and we will return a bid phased to the academic calendar. Start at request a bid. General contractors and construction managers on campus work can read how we support your bid and submittals on the general contractor page.