Cabling Standards Office of the Chief Information Officer Technical Note: IT-960-TN14 Effective: 05/25/2006 Last Revised: 02/17/2012 Issuing Office: OCIO 1. Purpose CABLING STANDARDS This technical note establishes standards and procedures for the design and installation of network cable (both fiber and copper) and the related network infrastructure (e.g., punch down blocks, cross-connect panels, conduit, enclosures, power outlets, fire stopping, and uninterruptible power supplies). Network cables and their infrastructure provide access to information technology (IT) systems, the data network, telephones and Automated Information Systems (AIS). NOTE: Smithsonian buildings that are not capable of meeting the standard requirements, such as trailers or sheds, will be handled on a case-by-case basis. 2. Scope and Applicability This technical note applies to all Smithsonian Institution employees, interns, volunteers, contractors, and consultants who install and maintain network cables and their related infrastructure anywhere across the Institution. This technical note applies to both new construction and renovations of existing Smithsonian buildings. It provides broad guidance to be used across the Institution and must be used with common sense when applied to buildings that range from new construction to those that predate the telephone. 3. Responsibilities A. Network Management Division (NMD). Manages and maintains all the fiber optic cable throughout the institution, the voice and data cabling infrastructure for many Institutional systems and the Institutional network. NMD also reviews and approves the implementation of voice and data network designs, plans, and installation across the Institution. B. Office of Facilities Engineering and Operations (OFEO). Manages the contractor implementing voice and data network plans, designs, installations for new construction and major renovations (i.e., requires 410 Review ) under the oversight of OCIO. Page 1 of 12
Cabling Standards 4. Procedure A. Renovations (Minor). The NMD and its contractors will plan, design, and install network cables and the related infrastructure for existing Smithsonian buildings. The exception is major renovation projects that require a SD 410, Facility Construction and Improvement Projects, review. B. New Installations & Major Renovations. OFEO and its contractors will plan, design, and install network cables and their related infrastructure in new Smithsonian buildings and major renovations (those requiring a SD 410 Review). OCIO will actively participate in these installations by reviewing and approving them. C. Cable Installation. The type of cable to be installed is dependent on its usage. Once the cable type is determined using the following table, it will be installed in accordance with the cable specifications in Appendix A, and color coded appropriately. Usage Backbone & Riser Cabling Laboratory Areas Requirements Fiber Optic cabling will be used. The choice of single mode vs. multimode can be based on the distances and technical considerations. It is recommended for all new Fiber installation that the newer 50/125 micron fiber be used instead of the 62.5 micron currently recommended. In some sites with short lengths between floors use of Cat 6e may be allowed. It is advised that a mix of single and multimode fiber be installed at the rate of three times the quantity that is required for the installation. Whenever possible, aggregate and run the cabling in Underwriters Laboratory/Electronic Industries Alliance (UL/EIA)-approved duct work such as open trays, conduit, latch duct or, in the case of fiber optic cable, in inner-duct. Recommendation is to have two 4-Pair copper installed every 6 feet of running lab bench. Instances needing fiber to lab benches will require OCIO review. Normal Desktops A minimum of (2) 4-pair of copper cable be installed, with 3 desirable Page 2 of 12
Cabling Standards Reception, Meeting Rooms & Public Gathering Areas (2) 4-pair of copper cable for every 30 linear feet of wall space. Note: All fiber and copper cabling must be tested in accordance with the ANSI/EIA/TIA-568 Standard, with hard and soft copies of the test results to be provided to the NMD Manager. Under no circumstances is a "FAIL" result acceptable. D. Color Code. Patch cables come in many colors and should be color coded based on their usage as described in the table below. Usage Cross-Over Cables VoIP and Network Cables (crossconnect & wire closet cables) Analog Voice Color Red (required) Yellow (preferred) Pink (preferred) E. Wire Closets & Enclosures. Wire closets and their enclosures must meet the minimum requirements described in Wire Closet Specifications in Appendix B. Within each wire closet, there may be one or more enclosures (e.g., cabinets, racks, boxes, patch panels). In addition, all cross connect cables for the wire closets will be sized to the shortest pre-manufactured length needed to make the connection that satisfies the requirements set forth in the table below 5. Grounding and Bonding (ANSI/TIA/EIA-607) Commercial Building Grounding and Bonding Requirements for Telecommunications. This standard specifies uniform telecommunications grounding and bonding infrastructure that shall be followed within commercial buildings. A. Purpose of ANSI/TIA/EIA 607 Grounding by attachment to the nearest piece of iron pipe is no longer satisfactory to provide ground-reference for sophisticated active electronics systems. Telecommunications equipment, frames, cabinets and voltage protectors must be grounded to busbars, as described in Section B, Design Considerations, below. B. Design Considerations Solid copper grounding busbars are installed with insulated standoffs in entrance facilities (1/4 thick X 4 high X variable length) and the equipment room, as well as each telecom closet (2 high is sufficient here). Each busbar is drilled with rows of holes according to NEMA standards, for attachment of bolted compression fittings. Telecommunications equipment, racks, frames, cabinets and voltage Page 3 of 12
Cabling Standards protectors must be grounded to these busbars. Busbars are connected by a backbone of insulated, solid copper cable between all closets and rooms (minimum B AWG, 3/0 AWG recommended). This backbone is connected to a main grounding busbar in the telecommunications entrance facility, to an earth ground in the electrical entrance facility, and to structural steel on each floor. Bonding conductor cabling shall be colored green or labeled appropriately. C. Terms Telecommunications Main Grounding Telecom Bonding Backbone (TBB) Telecom Grounding Busbar (TGB) Telecom Bonding Backbone Interconnecting Bondin Conductor (TBBIBC) D. Schematic of Grounding/Bonding Network The following schematic shows the grounding/bonding network. Schematic of Grounding/Bonding Network Copy of http://web.anixter.com/anixter/anixter.nsf/0/ 50D625459124753A86256CB0005E0847?OpenDocument, with some modifications TGB Detail To Upper Floors Variable 2" { ¼ Telecom Equipment Panel TBB 6 AWG Minimum TGB Structural Steel Electrical Entrance Grounding??? System Telecommunications Entrance Telecom Equipment 2'-1 1/8" Equipment Room Telecom Equipment Panel Panel IMGB IGB Page 4 of 12
Cabling Standards 6. Technical Note Change Log Date of Revision Description of Changes 2/8/2012 Combined the responsibilities of the Network Operations Branch and general OCIO and placed all under the Network Management Division (NMD). In Appendix A, corrected recommended type of fiber connectors. In Appendix B, added several requirements for wire closets. Added Appendix C: Standard Rack Guidelines Diagram 4/21/2009 Revised color coding. Specified use of racks. In Appendix A, noted that use of lockable front panels in cabinets, if deemed necessary by OCIO and revised specifications for special purpose cabling. In Appendix B, revised specifications of wire closets. 5/20/2008 Minor revisions 3/22/2007 Added color coding info for Cat6 and jacks at work site. Made minor revisions to Appendices A and B. 5/25/2006 Extensive update of grounding information 7/28/2004 Initial release. Page 5 of 12
Appendix A: Cable Specifications Cable Specification Copper Project Type Specification for Copper Cable Connectors & Conduit New Construction and Renovation (Major & Minor) ANSI/EIA/TIA-568 standard for testing, length, plenum rating, bend radius Cat 6 IEEE 802.3ab standard Connectors for Cat6 cable will be EIA approved RJ-45 connectors. No inline RJ-45 extenders will be used. In the wire closet, all worksite cable running from the workstation to the closet will be terminated on IEEE Cat6 approved patch panels equipped with a lockable front panel, if deemed necessary by OCIO. All non-plenum rated cable will be placed in conduit, or installed to local code and OFEO design specifications. Page 6 of 12
Cable Specification Fiber Mode Applicable Specification for Fiber Cable New Construction Renovation Connectors & Conduit Multimode ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B standard for testing, length, plenum rating, bend radius 50/125 micron ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-B standard for testing, length, plenum rating, bend radius 50/125 micron unless extenuating circumstances require 62.5/125 micron Unless otherwise specified it is recommended that SC type connecters be used for terminations and fiber distribution boxes and panels. All new fiber installation between distribution and access switches should be 50/125 micron. Single mode ANSI/EIA/TIA 568-B standard for testing, length, plenum rating, bend radius ANSI/EIA/TIA 568-B standard for testing, length, plenum rating, bend radius All termination and cross connect panels will be EIA approved. All panels will be secured and lockable. 8.2/125 micron Single mode 8.2/125 micron fiber All fiber cable will be installed in metal conduit, and all elbows and boxes will meet the EIA/TIA/569 standards for bend radius for the particular cable that is being installed. All non-plenum rated cable will be placed in conduit, or installed to local code and OFEO design specifications. Page 7 of 12
Cable Specification Special Purpose Cable Type New Construction Specification Renovation Connectors & Conduit New multi purpose antenna systems for wireless Cable specifications are determined by the design. Cable specifications are determined by the design. Cable specifications are determined by the design. Armored cable (outdoor or hazardous installations) Wireless Access Points - ISO/IEC TR 24704 Information Technology Customer Premises Cabling Shielded CAT 5e or CAT 6 Shielded CAT 5e or CAT 6 Shielded CAT 5e or CAT 6 Standard CAT 5e or CAT 6 Standard CAT 5e or CAT 6 Standard CAT 5e or CAT 6 Page 8 of 12
Appendix B: Wire Closet Specifications Closet Physical Backer Board Environmental Requirements Minimum floor space of 10 feet by 8 feet. Room/closet must be secured with either badge reader access (preferred) or key access. The door to room/closet should swing out to maximize usable space. Must have wall mounted fire-rated plywood backer board. Two walls should have 21mm (0.75 in.) A-C plywood 2.4m (8 ft.) high. Positive ventilation and air conditioning is required to remove the heat load generated by the equipment. HVAC requirements to maintain temperature the same as adjacent office area. A positive pressure shall be maintained with a minimum of one air change per hour or per code. Overhead HVAC units are not to be used in the IT closets. The preferred method is that these spaces have their own thermostat and be served by external HVAC units. Lighting shall be a minimum of 500 lx (50 foot candles) and mounted 2.6m (8.5 ft.) above floor. Standard work place lighting is required. At least one proper code approved ground bus bar for each closet is required. Page 9 of 12
Closet Electrical Requirements Technical Note: IT-960-TN14 Dedicated grounded electrical feeds. Minimum of two dedicated 20 Amp, non-switched, duplex electrical outlet receptacles (or equivalent); each on separate branch circuits. Additional convenience duplex outlets placed at 1.8m (6 ft.) intervals around perimeter, 150mm (6 in.) above floor. The manufacturer s installation site requirements guide for each device should be used to determine the NEMA outlet specification, and the voltage and current requirements. When equipment has redundant power supplies, the electrical outlets/supplies for each power supply in the device should be on a separate dedicated electrical line. Unless otherwise specified, electrical receptacles should not be installed on or above the IT racks. The receptacles for IT equipment should be tied to emergency backup power systems whenever possible. Closet Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Requirements The UPS should be sized to support each piece of equipment located in the wire closet. One UPS is used per electrical supply line. When equipment has redundant power supplies, one power supply is connected directly to a dedicated electrical outlet and the other is connected to a UPS on a different dedicated electrical outlet. All equipment must be properly grounded according to code. Page 10 of 12
Closet Enclosures (e.g., box, cabinet, two-rail rack) Requirements Technical Note: IT-960-TN14 The upper part of any wall mounted equipment, racks or cabinets shall not exceed 6 in height from the floor so that they can be safely managed without the use of ladders or other means necessary for elevated access. All enclosures for cable terminations will comply with the applicable EIA standard for the type of cable being installed. All enclosures for communication equipment will meet EIA standards, as well as the device site requirements specified by the equipment manufacturer. Enclosures will be attached to a ground bus bar in the closet. If deemed necessary by OCIO, all communication fiber optic patch panels will be lockable and use the recommended Master Lock product # 1520D combination lock. The combination of the lock will be managed, changed, and maintained by OCIO. Unless otherwise specified, 7 ft high 2-post open frame 19 inch racks are the standard for mounting patch panels, fiber enclosures and equipment. Rack elevations should follow the guidelines below: o Fiber enclosures should be situated at the top of the rack (2U to 4U depending on fiber quantities). o 2U RJ45 48-port patch panels should be installed below the fiber enclosure(s), beginning from the upper part of the rack and working down. o A single 1U RJ45 24-port patch panel should be installed immediately above the first 2U RJ45 panel for the termination of a 25 pair cable for analog lines. o 2U horizontal cable managers should be installed below the fiber enclosure, between each RJ45 panel, and one below the last panel. o Each side rail should be equipped with vertical cable managers (4 wide minimum). Adjacent racks can share a single vertical manager. See Appendix C, Standard Rack Guideline Diagram, for more information. Labeling of copper ports & fiber links All copper pairs will be labeled with the wireclosetroom#-room#- [a-z]. All fiber links will be labeled with wireclosetroom#-[01-99]- wireclosetroom#-[01-99] Page 11 of 12
Appendix C: Standard Rack Guidelines Diagram Units 45 44 Fiber Termination Box 43 42 (2RU or 4RU) 41 40 39 38 37 2U Cable Management 1U 24 Port RJ45 Patch Panel 48 Port CAT6 Patch Panel 36 35 2U Cable Management 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 4" C a b l e 48 Port CAT6 Patch Panel 2U Cable Management 48 Port CAT6 Patch Panel 2U Cable Management 4" C a b l e 26 25 48 Port CAT6 Patch Panel 7' 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 M a n a g e m e n t 2U Cable Management 48 Port CAT6 Patch Panel 2U Cable Management M a n a g e m e n t 13 12 11 10 OCIO Network Equipment 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 30" Page 12 of 12