Installed Secure Networking Infrastructure in Jail Facility
Overview
In anticipation of new hardware being installed into pods for commissary and for video visitation capabilities myself and my team had drilled through concrete bricks, bent and mounted 1" conduit and boxes along the pods and terminated the ends for the kiosks that will be in place.
Challenges
Not having the proper tools at the start of the job was a pain, also working blindly without schematics of the wiring to possibly make the job easier. Working in the pods/jail and having to work with the guards to get the inmates out of the pod as we worked.
Outcome
Learned great insightful information on installation projects going down the line. Started this project at square one with no initial plan, My team and I had developed the plan on the fly and began to install our lines.
Timeline
Project Phases
Planning and Assessment
Completed
Jul 2025 → Aug 2025
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Goal
Get a good understanding of the current layout of the building, where we are running our lines to and from.
What I Did
We had walked through the facility to get an understanding of things better such as where to place kiosks in the inmate housing areas to be under surveillance.
Technical Details
Planned out where out Cat-6 lines were going to be dropped, planned out where our patch panels were going to be placed, how many lines will be patched in.
Challenges
Building was built in early 2000's so most of the documentation was not the greatest. Drilling our first few holes we ran into fully casted bricks so we needed much stronger equipment
Infrastructure prep and Cleanup
Completed
Jul 2025 → Aug 2025
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Goal
Remove existing lines that were upgraded and nobody had pulled back the old lines. Clean up server rooms to help decluttering things for installation of new equipment.
What I Did
I worked overtime to jump up and down ladders in plenum spaces, removing old CAT cables, pulling old 66 blocks off the wall and removing the 25-50 pair cable that was utilized back in that time. Labeled conduit and mapped out how conduit is flowing through the facility.
Technical Details
Had to tone out lines, verify that 66 block connectors were not currently in use by utilizing a butt-set to search for dial tone, if dial tone was found I called myself from it and noted the number associated with that line.
Challenges
Working from ground zero, working in conduit that I was unsure of at times.
Outcome
Instilled some confidence in myself on taking on projects that require some manual work, getting lines toned out and removing old hardware that the last technician had left.
Installation and Termination
Completed
Aug 2025 → Aug 2025
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Goal
Get boxes and conduit secured to the wall. Get rj45 keystones terminated in boxes.
What I Did
Routed cables, terminated cables, and verified and tested cables.
Technical Details
Bending conduit, calculating how much Cat-6 cable will be pulled on each run. Punching down keystones
Challenges
Applying the plan and improvising on the fly as we had ran into some issues with how the building was built
Outcome
Neatly and professionally mounted and tested our lines to verify that they are operable
Testing and Validation
Completed
Aug 2025 → Aug 2025
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Goal
Test and verify lines are operable.
What I Did
Brought my tools to ensure that there was no breakage in our CAT lines along with proper alignment end to end with no accidental crossovers