SynC · SynC Standards
Structured Cabling Systems
Contents
- 1Scope
- 2Referenced Standards
- 3Submittals
- 3.1Action Submittals
- 3.2Informational Submittals
- 3.3Closeout Submittals
- 4Quality Assurance
- 4.1Installer Qualifications
- 4.2Manufacturer System Warranty
- 4.3Listing and Compliance
- 5Environmental and Service Conditions
- 5.1Cable Listing by Space
- 5.2Termination Enclosure Rating
- 5.3Temperature and Moisture
- 6Horizontal Cabling
- 6.1Horizontal Cable Category
- 6.2Horizontal Cable Shielding
- 6.3Horizontal Topology
- 6.4Horizontal Link Length
- 6.5Power over Ethernet
- 7Work-Area Outlets
- 7.1Outlet Configuration
- 7.2Modular Jacks and Faceplates
- 8Backbone Cabling
- 8.1Backbone Copper Cabling
- 8.2Backbone Optical Fiber
- 8.3Backbone Fiber Cable Construction
- 8.4Fiber Connectors
- 8.5Fiber Termination Method
- 8.6Array Connector Polarity
- 9Entrance Facility Cabling
- 10Connecting Hardware in the Telecommunications Room
- 10.1Patch Panels
- 10.2Fiber Enclosures
- 10.3Cross-Connect Scheme
- 10.4Patch Cords and Equipment Cords
- 11Administration and Labeling
- 11.1Administration Class
- 11.2Labels and Records
- 12Installation
- 12.1Pulling and Routing
- 12.2Terminations and Dressing
- 12.3Penetrations and Abandoned Cable
- 13Field Certification Testing
- 13.1Test Scope and Instruments
- 13.2Balanced Twisted-Pair Testing
- 13.3Optical Fiber Testing
- 13.4Test Failures and Reports
- 14Delivery, Storage, and Handling
- 15Warranty
- 16Spare Parts
Download
Build a datasheet from this standard
Start a project with this standard already attached — one click, no setup.
Use in a project
1 Scope
NOTE This standard governs the passive cabling plant of a building as a product and as installed work: the cable, the connecting hardware at both ends of it, the cords that put it into service, the labels and records that make it administrable, the field certification that proves it meets its category, and the warranty that stands behind it. (1.1)
NOTE A structured cabling plant is application-independent. It is specified to a transmission category and tested to that category, not to the equipment connected to it on the day it is accepted, because the cabling outlives several generations of switches, telephones, cameras, and access points, and the plant that was built to a category can carry whatever a later generation of equipment asks of it within that category. (1.2)
NOTE The plant is organized as ANSI/TIA-568 describes it: horizontal cabling from a telecommunications room to the outlets on the floor it serves, backbone cabling between the telecommunications rooms, the equipment room, and the entrance facility, and connecting hardware at every transition, so that any outlet can be patched to any equipment port without a new cable being pulled. (1.3)
NOTE The following are governed elsewhere and are outside this standard. (1.4)
- Telecommunications rooms, equipment rooms, entrance rooms, their construction, power, and cooling, and the riser sleeves, cable tray, ladder rack, J-hooks, surface raceway, and overhead support that carry the cabling inside the building, under Telecommunications Rooms And PathwaysTelecommunications Rooms and PathwaysResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-rooms-and-pathways
- The telecommunications bonding backbone, the primary and secondary bonding busbars, the bonding of cable shields, racks, and metallic pathway, and the primary protectors on entrance cable, under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding
- Cable tray in general building spaces, its fill, and its supports, under Cable TrayCable Tray SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cable-tray; conduit, surface raceway, outlet boxes, conduit fill, and conduit supports, under Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit
- The firestop system at every cable penetration of a rated wall or floor, under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping
- Power conductors and building wire, under Conductors And CablesConductors and CablesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/conductors-and-cables
- Instrument, control, thermocouple, fieldbus, and serial cable of a plant control system, under Instrumentation And Control CableInstrumentation and Control CableResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/instrumentation-and-control-cable
- The selection of media, the active devices, the segmentation, and the network tests of a process control network, under Process Control NetworksProcess Control NetworksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/process-control-networks
- The coaxial distribution, the remote units, and the antennas of a distributed antenna system, under Distributed Antenna SystemsDistributed Antenna SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/distributed-antenna-systems, and the responder radio coverage system, under Public Safety Radio SystemsPublic Safety Radio Enhancement SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/public-safety-radio-systems
- The cameras, recorders, and the camera cabling dedicated to a video surveillance system, under Video Surveillance SystemsVideo Surveillance SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/video-surveillance-systems
- The patient stations, dome lights, master stations, and device wiring of a nurse call system, under Nurse Call SystemsNurse Call SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/nurse-call-systems
- The detection devices, control panels, and Class 2 device wiring of an intrusion detection system, under Intrusion Detection SystemsIntrusion Detection SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/intrusion-detection-systems
- Reader and controller cabling of an access control system, under Access Control SystemsAccess Control SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/access-control-systems
- Fire alarm circuits and their wiring, under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems
- The loudspeakers, amplifiers, stations, and audio transport of a paging system, under Public Address And PagingPublic Address and Paging SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/public-address-and-paging
- Floor box and poke-through housings, their service fittings, and the number of insert positions they provide, under Electrical Floor Boxes And Poke ThroughsFloor Boxes and Poke-Through DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-floor-boxes-and-poke-throughs
- Power receptacles, switches, dimmers, and their wall plates, under Wiring DevicesWiring DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wiring-devices
NOTE Active network equipment, including switches, routers, firewalls, and wireless access points, and the configuration of virtual networks, multicast, quality of service, and addressing on that equipment, are outside this standard; the cabling plant is specified so that any such configuration can be applied to equipment connected to it. (1.5)
NOTE Outside-plant cabling between buildings beyond the entrance facility, the cabling topologies and fabrics of a data center under ANSI/TIA-942, and wireless local area network design are outside this standard and are not owned by another SynC standard. (1.6)
NOTE Where a process control network under Process Control NetworksProcess Control NetworksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/process-control-networks selects balanced twisted-pair or optical fiber media, the cable, the connecting hardware, and the certification test of that media comply with this standard, and that standard keeps the selection of the media, the segment lengths, and the tests of the network itself. (1.8)
NOTE Telecommunications outlets, modular jacks, and their faceplates are furnished under this standard, and the floor box or poke-through housing an outlet sits in is furnished under Electrical Floor Boxes And Poke ThroughsFloor Boxes and Poke-Through DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-floor-boxes-and-poke-throughs with the number of insert positions that the connector schedule of this standard requires at that location. (1.9)
NOTE The field certification of the cabling plant is performed under this standard; the electrical acceptance test program under Electrical Acceptance TestingElectrical Acceptance TestingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-acceptance-testing does not include it, and where the project is commissioned, the certification reports are delivered to the commissioning authority as inputs under CommissioningTotal Building CommissioningResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/commissioning. (1.10)
1.11 The installation shall comply with Adopted Electrical CodeAdopted Electrical CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-electrical-code, including NFPA 70 Articles 725, 770, 800, and 805, and with the amendments of the Authority Having Jurisdiction.
1.12 The location of every work-area outlet, the box or housing that serves it, and the identifier assigned to it shall be as indicated on the telecommunications plans.
1.13 The pair count of each copper backbone cable, the strand count of each optical fiber backbone cable, and the spaces each backbone cable connects shall be as indicated on the telecommunications riser diagram.
2 Referenced Standards
2.1 Equipment, materials, and installation shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
2.2 Where the contract documents, the Authority Having Jurisdiction, or two referenced standards impose conflicting requirements, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
| Standard | Title |
|---|---|
| ANSI/TIA-568.0 | Generic Telecommunications Cabling for Customer Premises |
| ANSI/TIA-568.1 | Commercial Building Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard |
| ANSI/TIA-568.2 | Balanced Twisted-Pair Telecommunications Cabling and Components Standard |
| ANSI/TIA-568.3 | Optical Fiber Cabling and Components Standard |
| ANSI/TIA-569 | Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces |
| ANSI/TIA-606 | Administration Standard for Telecommunications Infrastructure |
| ANSI/TIA-607 | Generic Telecommunications Bonding and Grounding (Earthing) for Customer Premises |
| ANSI/TIA-1152-A | Requirements for Field Test Instruments and Measurements for Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling |
| ANSI/TIA-526-7 | Measurement of Optical Power Loss of Installed Single-Mode Fiber Cable Plant |
| ANSI/TIA-526-14 | Optical Power Loss Measurements of Installed Multimode Fiber Cable Plant |
| ANSI/TIA-598 | Optical Fiber Cable Color Coding |
| ANSI/TIA-TSB-184-A | Guidelines for Supporting Power Delivery Over Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling |
| ANSI/NECA/BICSI-568 | Standard for Installing Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling |
| NFPA 70 | National Electrical Code (Articles 725, 770, 800, and 805) |
| UL 444 | Communications Cables |
| UL 1651 | Optical Fiber Cable |
| UL 1863 | Communications-Circuit Accessories |
| UL 969 | Marking and Labeling Systems |
| IEEE 802.3 | Standard for Ethernet (Clause 55, 10GBASE-T; Clause 145, Power over Ethernet) |
NOTE ANSI/TIA-607 is listed because the shield bonding and the bonding busbars this standard refers to are specified to it; the bonding work itself is under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding, and ANSI/TIA-569 is listed for the same reason with respect to the pathways under Telecommunications Rooms And PathwaysTelecommunications Rooms and PathwaysResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-rooms-and-pathways. (2.3)
3 Submittals
3.1 Action Submittals
3.1.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for review and return before any cable or connecting hardware is procured:
- Product data for each cable type, identifying the manufacturer, the category or fiber type, the construction and shielding, the conductor size, the UL listing type, the outside diameter, the bend radius, the pulling tension, and the published transmission performance
- Product data for each modular jack, faceplate, patch panel, fiber enclosure, adapter panel, consolidation point enclosure, and cross-connect block, identifying the category, the shielding, the listing, and the mounting
- Product data for patch cords and equipment cords, identifying the category, the shielding, the conductor stranding, the lengths, and the listing
- Shop drawings consisting of the riser diagram with every backbone cable, its pair or strand count, and the spaces it connects, the floor plans with every outlet and its identifier, and the layout of patch panels, fiber enclosures, and cable management on each rack and backboard
- The administration plan, giving the identifier format for every cable, outlet, patch panel, fiber enclosure, and space, the label material and method, and the color scheme for terminations
- The warranty registration documentation of the connectivity manufacturer, where a system warranty is selected, identifying the products that constitute a warranted channel
- A sample of each outlet faceplate with its jacks and label, and a sample patch panel termination, for review of workmanship before production termination begins
Action Submittalscheckbox
☑ Cable product data
☑ Connecting hardware product data
☑ Patch cord and equipment cord product data
☑ Riser diagram, floor plans, and rack layouts
☑ Administration plan
☑ Warranty registration documentation
☐ Outlet and patch panel workmanship samples
3.1.2 No cable or connecting hardware shall be procured until the product data for it has been reviewed and returned, and no production termination shall begin until the workmanship samples have been reviewed and returned.
NOTE The administration plan is reviewed with the floor plans because the identifier on every label is derived from the room, the rack, the panel, and the port that the plans define; a labeling scheme invented after the cable is pulled is the one that never matches the record drawings. (3.1.3)
3.2 Informational Submittals
3.2.1 The Contractor shall submit the following with or before the action submittals:
- The qualifications of the installing firm and of the supervising technician, and the certificate of each technician who terminates or splices optical fiber
- The manufacturer's certification of the installing firm for the system warranted, where a system warranty is selected
- The field test plan, identifying the test instruments by model and serial number, the accuracy level, the adapters, the firmware version, the test limits to be applied, and the calibration certificate of each instrument
- The optical loss budget of every optical fiber link, computed from the cable attenuation, the connector count, and the splice count
- The bundle-size calculation or the manufacturer's compliance statement for every pathway carrying Power over Ethernet of Type 3 or Type 4
Informational Submittalscheckbox
☑ Installer and technician qualifications
☑ Manufacturer certification of the installing firm
☑ Field test plan and instrument calibration certificates
☑ Optical loss budgets
☐ Power over Ethernet bundle-size calculations
NOTE The field test plan is submitted before testing begins so that the test limits, the link configuration, and the instrument level are agreed before a result exists to argue about; a test run to the wrong limit or with an uncalibrated instrument is a test that is run twice. (3.2.2)
3.3 Closeout Submittals
3.3.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before the cabling plant is accepted:
- The certification test results for every balanced twisted-pair link and every optical fiber strand, in the native file format of the test instrument and as a summary report listing every link, its result, and every link that was corrected and retested
- The record documents under ANSI/TIA-606 at the administration class selected: the as-built riser diagram, the floor plans with every outlet identifier as installed, the patch panel and fiber enclosure layouts as installed, and the cable record in an electronic format the Owner can edit
- The executed system warranty certificate from the connectivity manufacturer, where a system warranty is selected, and the Contractor's installation warranty
- A signed receipt from the Owner for the spare parts delivered
Closeout Submittalscheckbox
☑ Certification test results, native files and summary report
☑ Record documents and cable record under ANSI/TIA-606
☑ System warranty certificate and installation warranty
☑ Spare parts receipt
3.3.2 Record documents shall be assembled and delivered in the form required under Closeout ProceduresCloseout ProceduresResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/closeout-procedures, and the items listed above are the cabling content of that package.
4 Quality Assurance
4.1 Installer Qualifications
4.1.1 The installing firm and its supervising technician shall hold the qualifications indicated in the datasheet.
Installer Qualifications Requiredcheckbox
☑ Supervising technician holds a current BICSI Technician credential or an equivalent industry credential
☑ Installing firm holds the low-voltage or telecommunications contractor license the jurisdiction requires
☐ Installing firm has completed three structured cabling installations of comparable size within the last five years
4.1.2 Each technician who terminates or splices optical fiber shall have completed the connector manufacturer's or the splicer manufacturer's training for the termination method furnished, and the certificate of that training shall be included in the informational submittals.
4.1.3 Where the parties disagree whether a prior installation is of comparable size, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
NOTE A balanced twisted-pair termination that fails is usually a pair untwisted too far or a jacket stripped too far back, and a fiber termination that fails is usually a scratched or contaminated end face; both are the work of a hand that has not been trained on the product in use, and the retesting and re-termination they cause cost more than the training they replace. (4.1.4)
4.2 Manufacturer System Warranty
4.2.1 The cabling plant shall be furnished with the manufacturer system warranty indicated in the datasheet.
Manufacturer System Warrantyradio
● Registered system warranty issued by the connectivity manufacturer through a certified installer
○ No system warranty, component warranties only
NOTE A registered system warranty covers the installed channels against defects and warrants that they support the applications the category is rated for, and it is issued only when the cable and the connecting hardware are the manufacturer's own or its named partner's and the installer is one the manufacturer has certified, so it fixes the source of every component and narrows the bidders to certified firms; it is the arrangement on most specified commercial and institutional projects, which is why it is the default. Component warranties alone open the cable and the hardware to any listed manufacturer and any qualified installer, and leave the Owner with a warranty on each product rather than on the channel, which a small project or a renovation that extends an unwarranted plant is served by. (4.2.2)
4.2.3 Where a system warranty is selected, the cable, the modular jacks, the patch panels, the fiber connectivity, and the cords of every warranted channel shall be products of the connectivity manufacturer or of the partner that manufacturer names in its warranty program, and the installing firm shall hold that manufacturer's certification at the time of installation.
4.2.4 Where a system warranty is selected, the Contractor shall register the installation with the manufacturer and shall deliver the warranty certificate within 60 days after the certification test results are accepted.
4.3 Listing and Compliance
4.3.1 Balanced twisted-pair cable shall be listed to UL 444, optical fiber cable to UL 1651, and connecting hardware, outlets, and cords to UL 1863, each by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, and each shall be marked with its listing type.
4.3.2 Cable and connecting hardware shall comply with ANSI/TIA-568.2 for balanced twisted-pair components and ANSI/TIA-568.3 for optical fiber components, verified by a third-party component test program or by the manufacturer's published test data for the product furnished.
4.3.3 Installation workmanship shall comply with ANSI/NECA/BICSI-568.
5 Environmental and Service Conditions
5.1 Cable Listing by Space
5.1.1 Cable installed in spaces that the clauses of this article do not otherwise govern shall carry the listing indicated in the datasheet.
Baseline Cable Listingselect
Plenum, Types CMP and OFNP
Riser, Types CMR and OFNR
General purpose, Types CM and OFN
NOTE The listing is set by the space the cable passes through under NFPA 70 Articles 770 and 800: a plenum listing is required wherever the cable runs in a space used for environmental air, a riser listing wherever it runs vertically through a shaft or from floor to floor, and the general-purpose listing is permitted everywhere else. A plant specified plenum throughout removes every question of which ceiling is a plenum and costs more per foot, a plant specified riser or general purpose costs less and depends on the mechanical design to say which ceilings return air, and a renovation that cannot verify every ceiling is usually specified plenum for that reason. Whether most ceilings on the project are return-air plenums decides the baseline, so the field carries no default. (5.1.2)
5.1.3 Cable installed in a space used for environmental air shall be listed as Type CMP or Type OFNP, or as a type NFPA 70 Articles 770 and 800 permit in that space, whatever the datasheet selects.
5.1.4 Cable installed in a riser shaft or passing vertically from floor to floor outside a metallic raceway shall be listed as Type CMR or Type OFNR at minimum, whatever the datasheet selects.
5.1.5 Cable installed in a space used for environmental air and carrying Power over Ethernet of Type 3 or Type 4 shall either carry the limited power marking of UL 444 for the current delivered, or shall be bundled within the count required under Power over Ethernet.
5.1.6 The ceilings and shafts that are used for environmental air are determined from the mechanical design documents, and the Contractor shall confirm the air-handling use of every pathway with the mechanical drawings before cable is ordered.
5.2 Termination Enclosure Rating
5.2.1 Consolidation point enclosures, wall-mounted termination enclosures, fiber enclosures, and surface-mounted outlet housings furnished under this standard shall carry at least the enclosure rating indicated in the datasheet, rated under NEMA 250 or UL 50E.
Termination Enclosure Ratingselect
NEMA Type 1
NEMA Type 12
NEMA Type 3R
NEMA Type 4
NEMA Type 4X
NOTE Nearly every termination enclosure sits in a telecommunications room, above a ceiling, or on a wall in a conditioned space, which is why Type 1 is the default; the clauses that follow raise the rating for the locations that need more, whatever the datasheet selects. Type 12 excludes dust and dripping liquid in a shop or a mechanical space; Type 3R excludes rain and sleet on an exterior wall or in an open parking structure; Type 4 excludes hose-directed water in a washdown area; Type 4X adds corrosion resistance for salt air, a natatorium, or a chemical room. (5.2.2)
5.2.3 An enclosure installed outdoors, in an open parking structure, or in a loading dock open to the weather shall be rated NEMA Type 3R, Type 4, or Type 4X.
5.2.4 An enclosure installed where it is subject to washdown or hose-directed water shall be rated NEMA Type 4 or Type 4X.
5.2.5 An enclosure installed in a coastal location, a natatorium, or another location with salt or chemical vapor in the air shall be rated NEMA Type 4X.
5.3 Temperature and Moisture
5.3.1 Cable installed outdoors, in an open parking structure, or in a space that follows the outdoor temperature shall be listed for wet locations, sunlight resistant where exposed to sunlight, and rated for installation and operation between Site Ambient Temperature MinimumSite Ambient Temperature MinimumParameterEach project supplies its own value.site-ambient-temperature-minimum and Site Ambient Temperature MaximumSite Ambient Temperature MaximumParameterEach project supplies its own value.site-ambient-temperature-maximum.
5.3.2 Cable shall not be installed at a temperature below the manufacturer's published minimum installation temperature.
5.3.3 The design ambient temperature of the horizontal pathways, used for the bundle-size limits under Power over Ethernet, shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Horizontal Pathway Design Ambient Temperaturerange
Not less than
°C
203040455060
NOTE ANSI/TIA-568.2 rates a channel at 20 °C and derates its length above that, and a bundle carrying Power over Ethernet heats itself above the space around it, so the ambient of the pathway is the starting point of every bundle-size and length calculation. A conditioned ceiling plenum runs near 30 °C, the space above a top-floor ceiling under a dark roof and an unconditioned mechanical space run to 45 °C or 50 °C in summer, and a pathway on a roof or in an attic runs higher; the value depends on the building and the climate, so the field carries no default. (5.3.4)
6 Horizontal Cabling
6.1 Horizontal Cable Category
6.1.1 Horizontal balanced twisted-pair cable shall be four-pair cable of the category indicated in the datasheet, and the modular jacks, patch panels, consolidation point hardware, and cords of every horizontal channel shall be of the same category.
Horizontal Cable Categoryselect
Category 5e
Category 6
Category 6A
Category 8
NOTE Category 6A is rated to 500 MHz and carries 10GBASE-T over the full 100 m channel, and its larger conductors and lower resistance unbalance dissipate the heat of Type 3 and Type 4 Power over Ethernet in a full bundle better than Category 6 does, at a cable that is thicker, heavier, and roughly 15 to 25 percent more expensive installed; it is the category on most new specified work, which is why it is the default. Category 6 is rated to 250 MHz, carries 1000BASE-T over 100 m and 10GBASE-T only over about 37 m to 55 m depending on alien crosstalk, and carries Type 3 and Type 4 power with tighter bundle limits, which suits a renovation or a budget-driven building whose switches will stay at 1 Gb/s and whose powered devices draw 30 W or less. Category 5e is rated to 100 MHz, carries 1000BASE-T and Type 2 power, and is selected to extend an existing plant of the same category. Category 8 is rated to 2000 MHz for 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T over a channel of 30 m with two connectors, and is selected only for the equipment links inside an equipment room, not for distribution to the floor. (6.1.2)
6.1.3 Where Category 8 is selected, each Category 8 channel shall be limited to 30 m with not more than two connectors, and shall be installed only between equipment within a telecommunications space.
6.1.4 The conductor size of the horizontal cable shall be as the manufacturer lists for the category furnished, within the 22 AWG to 24 AWG range ANSI/TIA-568.2 permits.
6.2 Horizontal Cable Shielding
6.2.1 Horizontal balanced twisted-pair cable shall be of the shielding construction indicated in the datasheet.
Horizontal Cable Shieldingradio
● U/UTP, unshielded
○ F/UTP, overall foil screen
○ U/FTP, foil over each pair
○ S/FTP, braid over foil-shielded pairs
NOTE Unshielded cable meets every category through Category 6A, is the lightest and least expensive construction, and is terminated without a shield connection, which is why it is the construction on most projects and the default. An overall foil screen suppresses alien crosstalk and external interference with one drain wire to bond at each end; foil over each pair suppresses crosstalk between the pairs as well and is the construction most Category 6A shielded cable uses; a braid over foil-shielded pairs is the construction of Category 7 and Category 8 cable and of an industrial floor with variable frequency drives. Every shielded construction requires shielded jacks, shielded patch panels, shielded cords, and a bonded shield at the telecommunications room to perform, and a shield left floating performs worse than no shield. (6.2.2)
6.2.3 Where a shielded construction is selected, every modular jack, patch panel, consolidation point, and cord in the channel shall be shielded, and the shield shall be continuous from the outlet to the patch panel.
6.2.4 Where a shielded construction is selected, the cable shield shall be bonded at the patch panel to the rack bonding busbar under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding.
6.2.5 Horizontal cabling in the areas indicated on the telecommunications plans as subject to electromagnetic interference shall be of a shielded construction, whatever the datasheet selects.
6.3 Horizontal Topology
6.3.1 The horizontal cabling shall be arranged in the topology indicated in the datasheet.
Horizontal Topologyradio
● Direct, each horizontal cable from the telecommunications room to its outlet
○ Consolidation point in the horizontal cabling
○ Multi-user telecommunications outlet assembly
NOTE A direct run from the patch panel to the outlet has two connectors in the permanent link, the shortest test limit to meet, and nothing above the ceiling to find later, which is why it is the arrangement on most projects and the default; a consolidation point adds a third connector in an enclosure above the ceiling or in the furniture so that the cables beyond it can be moved when the furniture moves without a pull from the telecommunications room, which an open office with systems furniture is served by; a multi-user telecommunications outlet assembly terminates a group of horizontal cables at one point in the furniture cluster and runs long work-area cords from it to each workstation, which suits an open office whose furniture is reconfigured often and whose cord lengths can be managed. Both alternatives cost a connector in the link budget and a location to record and find. (6.3.2)
6.3.3 Where a consolidation point is selected, each consolidation point shall be located not less than 15 m from the telecommunications room patch panel, in a location accessible without disturbing the finished ceiling or the furniture, and shall serve not more than twelve work areas.
6.3.4 Where a multi-user telecommunications outlet assembly is selected, each assembly shall be located in open, accessible furniture pathway rather than above the ceiling, and the length of the horizontal cable and the work-area cord it serves shall be limited together as ANSI/TIA-568.1 requires for the cord length used.
6.4 Horizontal Link Length
6.4.1 No horizontal permanent link, measured from the patch panel in the telecommunications room to the outlet, shall exceed 90 m.
6.4.2 No horizontal channel, including the equipment cord, the patch cords, the permanent link, and the work-area cord, shall exceed 100 m.
NOTE The 90 m limit on the permanent link reserves the remaining 10 m of the channel for the cords at both ends; a cable pulled to 95 m passes a permanent link test at a reduced limit and fails the channel the day a cord is added. Where a pathway cannot reach an outlet within 90 m, the outlet is served from a nearer telecommunications room or over optical fiber, not by a longer cable. (6.4.3)
6.4.4 Where the design ambient temperature of the pathway exceeds 20 °C, the permanent link length shall be reduced as ANSI/TIA-568.2 requires for the temperature, and the reduced length shall be shown on the floor plans for every link it affects.
6.5 Power over Ethernet
6.5.1 The horizontal cabling shall be designed, bundled, and terminated to carry Power over Ethernet of the type indicated in the datasheet on every horizontal channel.
Power over Ethernet Design Typeselect
No Power over Ethernet
IEEE 802.3 Type 1, up to 15 W at the source
IEEE 802.3 Type 2, up to 30 W at the source
IEEE 802.3 Type 3, up to 60 W at the source
IEEE 802.3 Type 4, up to 90 W at the source
NOTE Type 1 and Type 2 power runs over two pairs and heats a bundle little, and a plant of any category carries it in bundles of any size; Type 3 and Type 4 run over all four pairs, and the current heats the cable from inside, so that a bundle of 24 cables under full Type 4 load rises on the order of 10 °C above the pathway ambient, which is added to the ambient against the 60 °C or 75 °C rating of the cable and subtracted from the length the channel is allowed. What the plant will carry follows from the devices the Owner intends to power, including luminaires, access points, cameras, and displays, so the field carries no default; a plant specified for Type 4 carries every lesser type. (6.5.2)
6.5.3 Where Type 3 or Type 4 is selected, horizontal cables shall be installed in bundles not exceeding the count the cable manufacturer publishes for the type selected at the design ambient temperature of the pathway, as computed under ANSI/TIA-TSB-184-A, unless the cable carries the limited power marking of UL 444 for the current delivered.
6.5.4 Where Type 3 or Type 4 is selected, the DC resistance unbalance within each pair and between pairs of every horizontal link shall be tested and shall meet the limits of ANSI/TIA-568.2.
6.5.5 Where Type 3 or Type 4 is selected, modular jacks and patch panels shall be rated by their manufacturer for connection and disconnection under the load of the type selected without contact damage.
7 Work-Area Outlets
7.1 Outlet Configuration
7.1.1 The number and the type of modular jacks at each work-area outlet, including each floor box and poke-through, shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Work-Area Outlet Configurationtext
Enter value...
Per drawings — the telecommunications outlet schedule (deferred by default)
NOTE The configuration of an outlet differs from one location to the next: a workstation outlet carries two jacks on most projects, one for the computer and one spare that a telephone, a printer, or a second device takes later; a conference room, a nurse station, or a teaching wall carries four to six; a camera, an access point, or a display carries one; and a floor box carries whatever the furniture over it needs. The schedule records each, and the outlet count on the plans and the jack count on the schedule are what the patch panels are sized from. (7.1.2)
7.1.3 At each floor box and poke-through, the jack quantity in the outlet schedule shall match the number of modular insert positions provided under Electrical Floor Boxes And Poke ThroughsFloor Boxes and Poke-Through DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-floor-boxes-and-poke-throughs for that location, and a mismatch shall be reported to the Engineer of Record before rough-in.
7.1.4 Every insert position of a faceplate or a floor box fitting that is not occupied by a jack shall be fitted with a blank insert of the same manufacturer and color.
7.2 Modular Jacks and Faceplates
7.2.1 Each work-area outlet shall consist of a faceplate or a furniture or floor box fitting with eight-position modular jacks of the category and shielding of the horizontal cable, each jack terminated on its own horizontal cable.
7.2.2 Modular jacks shall be wired to the scheme indicated in the datasheet.
Modular Jack Wiring Schemeradio
○ T568A
● T568B
NOTE Both schemes are recognized by ANSI/TIA-568.2 and perform identically; they differ only in which pairs land on positions 1 and 2 and 3 and 6, and a plant wired to both is a plant with crossed pairs at every mixed link. T568B is the scheme on most commercial plants in the United States, which is why it is the default; T568A is selected to match an existing plant wired that way or where a federal or campus standard requires it. (7.2.3)
7.2.4 One wiring scheme shall be used at every jack, every patch panel, and every consolidation point on the project.
7.2.5 Modular jacks shall be of a snap-in form that can be replaced individually without replacing the faceplate.
7.2.6 Faceplates and surface-mount housings in finished spaces shall match the color and the material of the wall plates selected under Wiring DevicesWiring DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wiring-devices for the same space, and faceplates on walls shall be of the size and gang that the outlet box provides.
7.2.7 Each faceplate shall carry a label holder or a labeling surface for the identifier of each jack, and each jack position shall be identified as required under Administration and Labeling.
7.2.8 A jack in a damp or wet location, in an open parking structure, or outdoors shall be installed in a housing of the enclosure rating required under Termination Enclosure Rating, with a cover that protects the jack when no cord is inserted.
8 Backbone Cabling
8.1 Backbone Copper Cabling
8.1.1 The copper backbone cabling between telecommunications spaces shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Backbone Copper Cablingradio
○ None, optical fiber backbone only
○ Multipair Category 3 cable for analog voice circuits
○ Four-pair cable of the horizontal category for backbone links within 100 m
NOTE A building whose telephones are IP devices on the horizontal cabling needs no copper backbone, and most new buildings run fiber only between their telecommunications rooms, with the analog lines that remain, such as the elevator telephone, the fire alarm communicator, and a fax line, carried on a small multipair cable or on the horizontal; a multipair Category 3 backbone carries analog voice and other low-rate circuits to 800 m and is selected where a telephone system or a campus voice plant still terminates on copper blocks; a four-pair backbone of the horizontal category carries Ethernet between two spaces fewer than 100 m apart and with Power over Ethernet, which a small building with two rooms on one floor is served by. Which circuits remain analog is decided by the Owner's telephone and alarm systems, so the field carries no default. (8.1.2)
8.1.3 Where a multipair backbone is selected, the cable shall be terminated on insulation displacement blocks or patch panels of the same category at both ends, with every pair terminated and the pairs identified by the standard color code.
8.1.4 Where a four-pair backbone is selected, each backbone link shall comply with the length, the category, and the certification requirements of a horizontal channel under this standard.
8.2 Backbone Optical Fiber
8.2.1 The optical fiber backbone shall include cable of every fiber type indicated in the datasheet.
Backbone Optical Fiber Typescheckbox
☐ OM1
☐ OM2
☐ OM3
☐ OM4
☐ OM5
☐ OS2
8.2.3 Every strand of every backbone cable shall be terminated at both ends on the connector style selected under this standard, including strands held for future use, so that no strand is left unterminated in a cable.
8.2.4 Backbone strands assigned to another system, including the strands serving a distributed antenna system under Distributed Antenna SystemsDistributed Antenna SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/distributed-antenna-systems, shall be identified by that assignment in the cable record and on the enclosure label.
8.2.5 Where a multimode link exceeds the reach that ANSI/TIA-568.3 or the transceiver manufacturer publishes for the fiber type and the application the Owner designates, the link shall be furnished in OS2 singlemode fiber in addition to or in place of the multimode strands, and the substitution shall be reported to the Engineer of Record before the cable is ordered.
8.3 Backbone Fiber Cable Construction
8.3.1 Backbone optical fiber cable inside the building shall be of the construction indicated in the datasheet.
Backbone Fiber Cable Constructionradio
● Tight-buffered distribution cable
○ Indoor and outdoor rated loose-tube cable
○ Interlocking armored cable
NOTE Tight-buffered distribution cable carries each fiber in a 900 µm buffer that is terminated directly, bends tightly, and is the construction of nearly every in-building backbone, which is why it is the default; indoor and outdoor rated loose-tube cable carries the fibers in gel-filled or dry-blocked tubes that need a breakout kit or fan-out at termination, and is selected where a backbone cable passes from the entrance facility into an outdoor pathway or a damp below-grade run without a splice; interlocking armored cable adds a metallic armor that takes the place of a conduit in a space where the cable is exposed to damage, and is bonded as a metallic member under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding. (8.3.2)
8.3.3 Backbone cable installed in a location exposed to physical damage, including an unfinished space below 2.4 m above the floor without a raceway, shall be interlocking armored cable or shall be installed in a raceway under Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit, whatever the datasheet selects.
8.3.4 Backbone cable that passes from the inside of the building into a wet or outdoor pathway shall be listed for the wet location and shall be water-blocked, whatever the datasheet selects.
8.4 Fiber Connectors
8.4.1 Optical fiber shall be terminated with connectors of the style indicated in the datasheet at every patch panel, enclosure, and outlet.
Fiber Connector Styleradio
● LC
○ SC
○ ST
○ MPO array connector
NOTE The LC connector is the small-form-factor duplex connector that every current switch, transceiver, and enclosure accepts, and it is the connector on nearly every new plant, which is why it is the default; SC is the larger push-pull connector of plants built before the LC and is selected to match them; ST is the bayonet connector of older plants and is selected only to extend one; the MPO array connector carries 8, 12, or 24 fibers in one ferrule and is the connector of parallel optics and of factory-terminated trunks, selected for a high-density backbone or a data room where ports are counted by the hundred. A plant can carry MPO trunks between enclosures and LC at the adapter panel through a cassette, which is what the termination method article provides for. (8.4.2)
8.4.3 Multimode connectors shall be of the ultra physical contact polish, singlemode connectors shall be of the ultra physical contact or the angled physical contact polish as the Owner's equipment requires, and one polish shall be used throughout each link, with angled connectors and adapters identified green.
8.4.4 Where a system warranty is selected, connectors and adapters shall be the connectivity manufacturer's products, and in every case the connector shall be listed by the cable manufacturer or the connector manufacturer for the fiber type furnished.
8.5 Fiber Termination Method
8.5.1 Optical fiber shall be terminated by the method indicated in the datasheet.
Fiber Termination Methodradio
○ Fusion-spliced factory-terminated pigtails
○ Field-installed mechanical or pre-polished connectors
○ Factory-terminated and factory-tested trunk assemblies
NOTE A fusion-spliced pigtail puts a factory-polished connector on every strand with a splice loss of a few hundredths of a decibel, needs a splicer and a splice tray in every enclosure, and is the method where the strand count is high and the technician is equipped for it; a field-installed connector is terminated in the enclosure with a cleaver and a hand tool, costs the least per termination on a small count, and carries the loss of a mechanical splice inside the connector and the variability of the hand that made it; a factory-terminated trunk is cut to a measured length, terminated and tested at the factory, and pulled with its connectors in a protective sleeve, which gives the tightest loss and the shortest schedule where the route is measured accurately and the lead time is available, and fails where the length is guessed. The strand count, the route, and the schedule decide between them, so the field carries no default. (8.5.2)
8.5.3 Where factory-terminated trunks are selected, the length of every trunk shall be measured in the field along the installed route before the trunk is ordered, and a trunk shall not be ordered from a drawing scale.
8.5.4 Where field-installed connectors are selected, every connector shall be inspected with a video microscope and shall meet the insertion loss required under Optical Fiber Testing, and a connector that does not shall be cut off and re-terminated.
8.6 Array Connector Polarity
8.6.1 Where the MPO array connector is selected, every array link shall be built to the polarity method indicated in the datasheet.
Array Connector Polarity Methodradio
○ Method A
○ Method B
○ Method C
NOTE The three methods of ANSI/TIA-568.3 differ in where the transmit-to-receive crossover is made: Method A makes it in one of the two patch cords, so the cords at the two ends differ; Method B makes it in the trunk by reversing the fiber order, so the cassettes at the two ends differ; Method C makes it inside the trunk by swapping pairs. Each works when every component in the link is built for it, and a link that mixes methods passes an OTDR trace with the glass continuous and fails the loss test with transmit and receive crossed. The method follows the parallel optics the Owner's equipment uses and the connectivity manufacturer's cassette line, so the field carries no default. (8.6.2)
8.6.3 One polarity method shall be used throughout every array link from the equipment port at one end to the equipment port at the other, and the method shall be recorded on the enclosure label and in the cable record.
9 Entrance Facility Cabling
9.1 The cabling from the point at which each service provider's cable enters the building to the demarcation at which the provider's responsibility ends, and from the demarcation to the equipment room cross-connect, shall be furnished under this standard, and the demarcation location shall be as indicated on the telecommunications plans.
NOTE The service provider's cable up to and including the demarcation is furnished by that provider under its agreement with the Owner, and the Contractor's work begins at the demarcation; the primary protector on a metallic entrance cable and the bonding of the entrance cable shield are under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding, and the entrance conduit and the entrance room are under Telecommunications Rooms And PathwaysTelecommunications Rooms and PathwaysResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-rooms-and-pathways. (9.2)
9.3 The Contractor shall coordinate the demarcation hardware, its mounting, and the pathway from the demarcation to the equipment room with each service provider before the entrance facility is roughed in, and shall report to the Engineer of Record any provider requirement that the contract documents do not provide for.
9.4 Entrance cabling between the demarcation and the equipment room shall be of the backbone types selected under this standard and shall be terminated, labeled, and tested as backbone cabling.
10 Connecting Hardware in the Telecommunications Room
10.1 Patch Panels
10.1.1 Horizontal balanced twisted-pair cables shall be terminated in the telecommunications room on rack-mounted patch panels of the style indicated in the datasheet, of the same category and shielding as the cable.
Patch Panel Styleradio
○ Modular panel accepting snap-in jacks
○ Fixed-port panel with insulation displacement rear termination
○ Factory-terminated cassette panel
NOTE A modular panel takes the same snap-in jacks the outlets use, so one jack type is stocked, a failed port is replaced from the front, and a port can be a shielded, a fiber, or a blank insert in the same panel, at a higher cost per port; a fixed-port panel terminates each cable on a printed-circuit block at the rear and is the lowest-cost and highest-density panel, with a failed port repaired only by re-terminating the block; a cassette panel holds factory-terminated modules that are plugged in rather than punched down, which suits a trunk-and-cassette plant and a schedule that cannot wait for field termination, at the highest cost. The panel follows the warranty program and the jack line, so the field carries no default. (10.1.2)
10.1.3 Patch panels shall be sized to terminate every horizontal cable serving the room plus the spare port capacity indicated in the datasheet, as a percentage of the horizontal cables terminated.
Patch Panel Spare Port Capacityrange
Not less than
%
10202550
NOTE Spare ports on the panel at turnover are the ports that the next outlet, the next camera, or the next access point lands on without a new panel, and they cost rack units and panel ports now; a tenant who will reconfigure the floor buys 20 to 25 percent, a building that is built out once buys 10 percent, and an Owner who adds panels as needed buys none, so the field carries no default. (10.1.4)
10.1.5 Every patch panel shall be installed with a horizontal cable manager of the same width directly above or below it, and horizontal cables shall be dressed to the rear of the panel on the manufacturer's rear cable management with the cable weight supported by the manager and not by the terminations.
10.1.6 Patch panels shall be grouped on the rack by the service and the floor area they serve, in the order shown on the rack layout submitted, and shall be labeled as required under Administration and Labeling.
10.2 Fiber Enclosures
10.2.1 Optical fiber shall be terminated in rack-mounted or wall-mounted enclosures fitted with adapter panels or cassettes of the connector style selected, with slack storage, splice trays where the termination method requires them, and bend radius protection at every point inside the enclosure.
10.2.3 Fiber enclosures shall be mounted with the cable entering from the rear or the side through a strain relief that holds the cable jacket and the strength members, so that no load is carried by the buffered fibers.
10.3 Cross-Connect Scheme
10.3.1 Active equipment ports shall be connected to the horizontal and backbone patch fields by the scheme indicated in the datasheet.
Cross-Connect Schemeradio
● Interconnect, equipment cords from the equipment ports directly to the horizontal patch panels
○ Cross-connect, equipment ports terminated on a second patch field and patched to the horizontal patch panels
NOTE An interconnect runs one cord from the switch port to the patch panel port, has one cord and two connections per link in the room, and is the arrangement in nearly every telecommunications room where the switch and the panels sit in the same rack, which is why it is the default; a cross-connect terminates the switch ports on their own patch field and patches between the two fields, which adds a cord and two connections to every link and lets the switch be replaced without touching the horizontal field or any cord to it, which a large equipment room with many switches and an operator who changes them often is served by. (10.3.2)
10.3.3 Where a cross-connect is selected, the equipment patch field shall be of the same category and shielding as the horizontal field, and the equipment cords from the switch ports to it shall be furnished under this standard whatever the patch cord supply selection.
10.4 Patch Cords and Equipment Cords
10.4.1 Patch cords, equipment cords, and work-area cords shall be furnished by the party indicated in the datasheet.
Patch Cord Supplyradio
○ Work-area cords and equipment cords furnished under this standard
○ Equipment cords furnished under this standard, work-area cords by the Owner
○ No cords furnished, all cords by the Owner
NOTE Cords furnished under this standard are tested as part of the channel, come from the warranty program where one is selected, and arrive with the plant, so that the first device plugged in on move-in day is on a warranted channel; cords furnished by the Owner are bought with the equipment, in the lengths the furniture turns out to need, and at the Owner's price, and the channel warranty then depends on the Owner buying from the program. Who installs the switches and who moves the furniture decides the split, so the field carries no default. (10.4.2)
10.4.3 Every cord furnished under this standard shall be factory-terminated and factory-tested, of stranded conductors, of the same category, shielding, and wiring scheme as the horizontal cabling, listed to UL 1863, and of the connectivity manufacturer's product line where a system warranty is selected.
10.4.4 No cord shall be made in the field, and no cord shall be longer than the shortest standard length that reaches its ports without strain on the connectors.
10.4.5 Where cords are furnished under this standard, one equipment cord shall be furnished for every horizontal and backbone port the Owner designates as active in a port activation list furnished before testing begins, and one work-area cord for every jack so designated.
10.4.6 Optical fiber cords shall be duplex cords of the same fiber type and connector polish as the strands they connect, with the fiber type identified by the jacket color ANSI/TIA-598 assigns, and shall be furnished in the quantity the port activation list requires.
11 Administration and Labeling
11.1 Administration Class
11.1.1 The cabling plant shall be administered under ANSI/TIA-606 at the class indicated in the datasheet.
Administration Classselect
Class 1, a single telecommunications space
Class 2, a single building with several telecommunications spaces
Class 3, several buildings on one campus
Class 4, several campuses or sites
NOTE The class sets how much of the plant is identified and recorded: Class 1 identifies the links and the one space they land in; Class 2 adds the identification of every telecommunications space, the backbone between spaces, the pathways, and the bonding, which is what a building with more than one telecommunications room needs to be administered and is the case of most buildings, which is why it is the default; Class 3 adds the campus backbone and the outside-plant records that a multi-building site needs; Class 4 adds a site identifier to every record for an Owner who administers several campuses from one system. (11.1.2)
11.1.3 Where Class 3 or Class 4 is selected, the identifier format shall incorporate the building and site identifiers the Owner's existing administration system uses, and the Contractor shall obtain those identifiers from the Owner before the administration plan is submitted.
11.2 Labels and Records
11.2.1 Every horizontal cable, backbone cable, modular jack, patch panel port, fiber adapter position, consolidation point, and enclosure shall carry a unique identifier in the format of the administration plan, and the identifier of a cable shall be the same at both of its ends.
11.2.2 Labels shall be machine-printed on a material listed to UL 969 for the surface and the environment, legible without magnification, and applied so that the label on a cable is within 300 mm of each termination and the label on a faceplate or a panel is visible with cords installed.
11.2.3 The identifier of each jack shall be marked on the faceplate at that jack and on the patch panel at the port the same cable terminates on, so that a technician at either end reads the same identifier.
11.2.4 Terminations shall be color-identified by the color scheme of ANSI/TIA-606 for the type of termination, applied on the label, the jack, or the patch panel icon as the administration plan states.
11.2.5 The cable record shall list every cable, its identifier, its type and category, its two termination points, its length, and its test result, and shall be delivered in an electronic format the Owner can edit and with every identifier matching the labels and the record drawings.
NOTE A plant whose labels, record drawings, and cable record agree can be administered by anyone the Owner employs; a plant whose labels were applied from the design drawings rather than from the installed cable is traced with a toner from the first move onward. (11.2.6)
12 Installation
12.1 Pulling and Routing
12.1.1 Cable shall be installed only in the pathways furnished under Telecommunications Rooms And PathwaysTelecommunications Rooms and PathwaysResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-rooms-and-pathways, Cable TrayCable Tray SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cable-tray, and Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit, and shall not rest on a ceiling grid, a ceiling tile, ductwork, piping, a sprinkler line, or the conduit or cable of another system.
12.1.2 Balanced twisted-pair cable shall be pulled with a tension not exceeding 110 N on a four-pair cable, and optical fiber cable with a tension not exceeding the manufacturer's published maximum, using a tension-limiting device or a breakaway swivel where the pull is by machine.
12.1.3 Balanced twisted-pair cable shall not be bent to a radius less than four times its outside diameter for unshielded cable and eight times for shielded cable, and optical fiber cable shall not be bent to a radius less than ten times its outside diameter at rest and fifteen times under pulling load, or the manufacturer's published minimum where greater.
12.1.4 A cable that has been kinked, crushed, stretched, or bent below its minimum radius shall be replaced for its full length, and a splice shall not be used to repair a horizontal cable.
12.1.5 Cable shall be bundled with hook-and-loop straps or the pathway's own retention, and shall not be bundled with cable ties cinched tight, stapled, or compressed by a support.
12.1.6 A service loop of not less than 3 m shall be left on each horizontal and backbone cable in the telecommunications room, coiled within the bend radius and stored on the pathway or the rack, and a service loop of not less than 300 mm shall be left at each outlet where the box or the housing accommodates it.
12.1.7 Balanced twisted-pair cable shall maintain the separation from power conductors that NFPA 70 800.133 and ANSI/TIA-569 require, and where a horizontal cable crosses a power conductor the crossing shall be at right angles.
12.2 Terminations and Dressing
12.2.1 At every balanced twisted-pair termination, the pairs shall remain twisted to within 13 mm of the termination point, the cable jacket shall be removed only as far as the termination requires, and the pairs shall be terminated in the wiring scheme selected.
12.2.2 Every modular jack and patch panel port shall be terminated with the manufacturer's termination tool for the product, and a termination that was made with a different tool shall be re-terminated.
12.2.3 Cables at the rear of a patch panel shall be dressed in the order of their port numbers, supported on the rear cable management, and bundled by panel so that any cable can be traced from the panel to the pathway.
12.2.4 Optical fiber shall be terminated with the buffered fiber routed in the enclosure's trays without a bend below the fiber's minimum radius, with every unused adapter position fitted with a dust cap and every connector end face inspected and cleaned before mating.
12.3 Penetrations and Abandoned Cable
12.3.1 Every cable penetration of a fire-resistance-rated wall, floor, or smoke barrier shall be sealed with a listed firestop system under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping before the penetration is concealed, and the sleeves through which the cables pass are furnished under Telecommunications Rooms And PathwaysTelecommunications Rooms and PathwaysResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-rooms-and-pathways.
12.3.2 Cable installed under this standard that is not terminated at both ends and identified for future use shall not be left in place, and existing cable that the project renders abandoned, as NFPA 70 800.25 defines it, shall be removed to the point of accessible concealment or tagged for future use as the contract documents direct.
12.3.3 Where the contract documents do not state whether existing abandoned cable is removed or tagged, the Contractor shall report the quantity and the location of such cable to the Engineer of Record before concealing the new work, and the Engineer of Record shall direct the disposition.
13 Field Certification Testing
13.1 Test Scope and Instruments
13.1.1 Every horizontal link, every backbone link, and every optical fiber strand installed under this standard shall be field tested after installation and before acceptance, and a sampled test shall not be accepted in place of a test of every link.
NOTE Field testing is the only objective evidence that the plant meets its category: a visual inspection cannot find a marginal near-end crosstalk failure, a reversed pair behind a faceplate, or a connector with a scratched end face, and a link that is not tested is a link the Owner finds when a device on it fails. (13.1.2)
13.1.3 Balanced twisted-pair links shall be tested with a field test instrument of the accuracy level of ANSI/TIA-1152-A indicated in the datasheet.
Field Tester Accuracy Levelselect
Level IIe
Level III
Level IIIe
Level IV
Level 2G
Derived — the horizontal cable category selected under this standard (by default)
NOTE The accuracy level follows from the category tested: Level IIe qualifies an instrument to 100 MHz for Category 5e, Level III to 250 MHz for Category 6, Level IIIe to 500 MHz for Category 6A, Level IV to 1000 MHz for a plant tested to a higher class, and Level 2G to 2000 MHz for Category 8, so the level is derived from the category rather than chosen, and an engineer overrides it only to require an instrument of a higher level than the category needs. (13.1.4)
13.1.5 Every test instrument shall have been calibrated by its manufacturer or a laboratory the manufacturer accepts within the twelve months before the test, shall run the firmware version current at the time of testing, and shall be fitted with the permanent link adapters or channel adapters of the configuration tested.
13.1.6 The test instrument, its serial number, its firmware version, its calibration date, and the adapters used shall be recorded in every test result.
13.2 Balanced Twisted-Pair Testing
13.2.1 Each balanced twisted-pair link shall be tested in the configuration indicated in the datasheet, to the limits of ANSI/TIA-568.2 for that configuration and for the category installed.
Balanced Twisted-Pair Test Configurationradio
● Permanent link
○ Channel
NOTE The permanent link test measures the installed cable and its two terminations with the instrument's own adapters, which is the work the Contractor controls and the configuration a system warranty is registered on, which is why it is the default; the channel test includes the patch cords and the work-area cord, which proves the link as the device sees it and is run where the cords are furnished under this standard and the Owner wants the channel proven as delivered. (13.2.2)
13.2.3 Every test shall include every transmission parameter that ANSI/TIA-568.2 requires for the configuration and the category tested, together with wire map, length, and propagation delay, and where Power over Ethernet of Type 3 or Type 4 is selected, the DC resistance unbalance parameters required under Power over Ethernet.
13.2.4 Alien crosstalk on Category 6A and Category 8 links shall be tested to the scope indicated in the datasheet.
Alien Crosstalk Field Test Scopeselect
Not field tested, component compliance of the cable and hardware accepted
Sampled links selected as ANSI/TIA-568.2 describes
Every link
NOTE Alien crosstalk is the coupling between adjacent cables in a bundle, and it is the parameter that limits 10GBASE-T; a plant built of Category 6A cable and hardware that the manufacturer has qualified as compliant meets it by construction, and most projects accept that compliance without a field test because the test takes a second instrument on a neighboring link and hours per bundle; a sample tests the longest and most tightly bundled links, which is where the coupling is worst; every link is tested where the plant will carry 10GBASE-T throughout and the Owner wants the margin documented. The installed bundle sizes and the application decide, so the field carries no default. (13.2.5)
13.2.6 A link whose result is a marginal pass shall be re-terminated and retested, and shall be accepted only on a pass without a marginal indication.
13.2.7 A link that fails any parameter shall be corrected by re-termination or by replacement of the cable, shall be retested in full, and shall not be accepted until it passes.
13.3 Optical Fiber Testing
13.3.1 Every optical fiber strand shall be tested to the tier indicated in the datasheet.
Optical Fiber Test Tierradio
○ Tier 1, optical loss test of every strand
○ Tier 1 on every strand and Tier 2 optical time-domain reflectometer trace on backbone strands
○ Tier 1 and Tier 2 on every strand
NOTE A Tier 1 test measures the end-to-end loss and the length of each strand with a light source and a power meter, which proves the strand meets its loss budget and is what ANSI/TIA-568.3 requires at minimum; a Tier 2 trace from a reflectometer locates and measures every connector and splice along the strand, which is the only way to find a marginal splice or a bent fiber without pulling the cable, and it is added on backbone strands because a backbone is long, spliced, and expensive to replace, and on every strand where the Owner wants a baseline trace for every link; a Tier 2 trace does not replace the Tier 1 loss measurement. The length and the splice count of the plant decide, so the field carries no default. (13.3.2)
13.3.3 Tier 1 tests shall be performed in both directions at 850 nm and 1300 nm on multimode strands under ANSI/TIA-526-14 and at 1310 nm and 1550 nm on singlemode strands under ANSI/TIA-526-7, using the one-jumper reference method and, for multimode, a source that meets the encircled flux launch condition.
13.3.4 Where a Tier 2 test is selected, the trace shall be taken in both directions at the same wavelengths as the Tier 1 test, with a launch cord and a tail cord of not less than 150 m so that the first and last connectors are measured.
13.3.5 The measured loss of each strand shall not exceed the optical loss budget submitted for that link, computed from the cable attenuation at the test wavelength, not more than 0.75 dB per mated connector pair, and not more than 0.3 dB per splice, as ANSI/TIA-568.3 provides.
13.3.6 Every connector end face shall be inspected with a video microscope and cleaned before every test and every mating, and a connector whose end face shows a scratch, a pit, or contamination in the core zone after cleaning shall be re-terminated.
13.3.7 A strand that exceeds its loss budget or shows an event above the connector or splice limit on a trace shall be corrected by re-termination or re-splicing, retested, and accepted only when it meets the budget.
13.4 Test Failures and Reports
13.4.1 The cost of correcting a failed link and of every repeated test shall be borne by the Contractor, including the cost of the Engineer of Record's or the commissioning authority's time to witness a repeated test where witnessing is required.
13.4.2 Test results shall be delivered in the native file format of the test instrument and as a summary report that lists every link by identifier, its configuration, its result, the margin on the governing parameter, the instrument data required under Test Scope and Instruments, and every link that failed and the correction made.
13.4.3 Where the project is commissioned, the test results shall be delivered to the commissioning authority as inputs under CommissioningTotal Building CommissioningResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/commissioning, and acceptance of the cabling plant shall not be withheld for the commissioning authority's review of a result that passes.
13.4.4 The Engineer of Record may witness any test, and the Contractor shall give not less than five working days' notice before testing of a floor or a backbone begins.
14 Delivery, Storage, and Handling
14.1 Cable shall be delivered on the manufacturer's original reels or in its original cartons with the listing marks, the category or fiber type, and the length intact and legible, and each reel shall be inspected on receipt for damage to the cable and the reel flanges.
14.2 Cable shall be stored indoors in a dry space within the manufacturer's published storage temperature range, off the floor, and protected from moisture, dust, paint, and physical damage until it is installed, and a cable listed for indoor use only shall not be stored outdoors under a cover.
14.3 Optical fiber reels shall be stored and moved on their flanges with the reel axis horizontal, shall not be laid flat, dropped, or rolled over an edge, and the ends of every fiber cable shall be sealed until the cable is terminated.
14.4 Connecting hardware, jacks, and cords shall remain in their packaging until the location is ready for them, and a jack or a cord contaminated by paint, joint compound, or construction dust shall be replaced at no cost to the Owner.
14.5 Cable and hardware that are damaged, wet, or show a broken or missing listing mark at receipt or at installation shall be rejected and replaced at no cost to the Owner.
15 Warranty
15.1 Where a system warranty is selected, the connectivity manufacturer shall warrant the installed channels against defects in the cable and the connecting hardware and shall warrant that each channel supports the applications the installed category is rated for, for the term indicated in the datasheet, measured from the date of warranty registration.
System Warranty Termrange
Not less than
years
152025
NOTE The 25-year term is the one most connectivity manufacturers offer on a registered system and the one most Owners write, which is why it is the default; 20 years and 15 years are the terms of some programs and of some component lines within a program, and a project whose manufacturer offers only the shorter term records it here rather than leaving the warranty unregistered. (15.2)
15.3 The Contractor shall warrant the installation, including every termination, every label, the dressing and support of every cable, and the results of the certification tests, for the period indicated in the datasheet, measured from the date of substantial completion.
Installation Workmanship Warranty Periodrange
Not less than
years
1235
NOTE A one-year workmanship warranty is the term of the construction contract on most projects, which is why it is the default; a longer term is written where the Owner has been left with a plant whose terminations loosened after the first year and wants the installer rather than the manufacturer answering for it. (15.4)
15.5 Warranty corrective work shall include re-termination or replacement of the failed link, retesting under Field Certification Testing, correction of the labels and the cable record, and repair of finishes disturbed by the repair, at no cost to the Owner.
15.6 A link repaired or replaced under warranty shall be warranted for a full new term equal to the original period from the date of the repair, or for the remainder of the original period, whichever ends later.
15.7 Where the parties disagree whether a failure within the warranty period results from workmanship, from a product defect, or from damage by others after acceptance, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
16 Spare Parts
16.1 The Contractor shall deliver spare patch cords and equipment cords of each type, length, and color furnished, in the quantity indicated in the datasheet as a percentage of the cords installed, and shall obtain a signed receipt for them.
Spare Patch Cords Furnishedrange
Not less than
% of installed cords of each type
510152025
16.2 The Contractor shall deliver spare modular jacks, faceplates, blank inserts, and fiber adapters of each type and color furnished, in the quantity indicated in the datasheet as a percentage of the installed count of each type, and shall obtain a signed receipt for them.
Spare Jacks and Faceplates Furnishedrange
Not less than
% of installed count of each type
510152025
NOTE A spare quantity is sized to the Owner's own moves, adds, and changes: an Owner with an in-house technician stocks 10 percent of jacks and cords and re-terminates its own outlets, an Owner who calls a contractor for every change stocks a few of each, and an Owner who buys from the warranty program as needed stocks none and records a zero here, so no quantity is the norm and the field carries no default. (16.3)
16.4 Spare parts shall be identical to the installed items in manufacturer, category, shielding, connector style, and color, shall be delivered in their original packaging, and shall be labeled with the item type and the telecommunications room they are stocked for.
This standard is written and maintained by SynC and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, provided you credit SynC Standards, link to the license, and indicate any changes. Each standard is drafted from cited sources under published authoring rules, reviewed before adoption, and corrected in the open. Keep the attribution and notice below with any copy; it carries the warranty notice the license asks you to retain.
"Structured Cabling Systems," SynC Standards, revision 4. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source: https://synergyinconstruction.com/standards/general/structured-cabling. Reference material only; not professional engineering advice and provided without warranty. Verify against governing codes and have a licensed professional review before use.