SYNC™

SynC · Editorial revision

Telecommunications Rooms and Pathways

Revision4
EditedOct 19, 2026
StatusCurrent
Contents

View changes in this revision   Revision history

Current revision. This is editorial revision 4, the current text of this standard. Read it on the standard's page.

SynC Standards Team — Specifier (Platform Standards) ✓ OfficialDiscloses employment SynC (SynC Platform Team)
Remake batch 26: rewritten from scratch under the authoring cheatsheet with datasheet constraints; neighbors re-pointed to the new scope boundaries; the electrical code is now the adopted-electrical-code project fact

1 Scope

NOTE This standard governs the spaces that hold the telecommunications plant and the pathways that carry it through the building: the room, its envelope, floor, ceiling, door, lighting, power, and climate, the backboards and racks inside it, and the sleeves, tray, runway, hooks, conduit, and raceway that connect one space to the next and to every outlet on the floor. (1.1)
NOTE A telecommunications room is built once and outlives several generations of the cable and equipment inside it. A room that is too small, unconditioned, unlit, or reached only through a tenant's office is corrected at the cost of a floor's cabling, and a pathway that was never provided is corrected by cable on a ceiling tile; the provisions here exist so that the space and the pathway are ready before the first cable is pulled and still serve after the fourth switch is replaced. (1.2)
NOTE The spaces of a building under ANSI/TIA-569 are the entrance facility, where the service providers' cables enter the building and terminate at their demarcation; the equipment room, which houses the main cross-connect and the building's core equipment; the telecommunications room on each floor, which terminates the horizontal cabling of the area it serves; the telecommunications enclosure, a cabinet that serves a small area in place of a room; and the rooms that house an intermediate cross-connect between the equipment room and the telecommunications rooms. One room can hold more than one function, and a small building often combines the entrance facility, the equipment room, and the only telecommunications room in one space. (1.3)
NOTE The following are governed elsewhere and are outside this standard. (1.4)
  • The horizontal and backbone cabling, the patch panels, fiber enclosures, outlets, and cords, the field certification, and the cable record, under Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling
  • The telecommunications bonding backbone, the primary and secondary bonding busbars, the rack bonding busbars, the bonding of metallic pathway, and the primary protectors on entrance cable, under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding
  • The duct bank, maintenance holes, and handholes between the property line and the building wall, under Underground DuctbankUnderground Electrical Duct BanksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/underground-ductbank and Utility Manholes And HandholesUtility Manholes and HandholesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/utility-manholes-and-handholes
  • Cable tray in general building spaces outside the telecommunications spaces, its fittings, its structural supports, and its use as an equipment grounding conductor, under Cable TrayCable Tray SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cable-tray
  • Conduit, tubing, boxes, fittings, and surface raceway as products, their installation in general spaces, and the raceway of power, lighting, and control circuits, under Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit
  • The firestop system at every cable, sleeve, and slot penetration of a fire-resistance-rated or smoke-resistant assembly, under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping
  • The precision cooling units serving a space, under Computer Room Air ConditioningComputer Room Air Conditioning UnitsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/computer-room-air-conditioning, and the comfort cooling units serving one, under Split System Air ConditionersSplit-System Air Conditioners and Heat PumpsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/split-system-air-conditioners and the other mechanical standards; this standard states the environmental criteria the cooling meets
  • The electrical rooms that house service, distribution, and transformation equipment, under Electrical RoomsElectrical RoomsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-rooms; where one room houses both electrical and telecommunications equipment, each standard governs its own equipment and the more stringent room requirement governs the room
  • The branch circuits, panelboards, and surge protective devices that supply the space, under Conductors And CablesConductors and CablesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/conductors-and-cables, PanelboardsPanelboardsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/panelboards, and Surge Protective DevicesSurge Protective DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/surge-protective-devices, and the receptacles, switches, and plates installed in it, under Wiring DevicesWiring DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wiring-devices
  • The luminaires and their controls, under Lighting FixturesInterior Lighting Fixtures (Luminaires)Resolves to the current adopted revision.sync/lighting-fixtures and Lighting ControlsLighting ControlsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/lighting-controls
  • The door, frame, and hardware as products, including the lockset, closer, and electrified hardware, under Doors Frames And HardwareDoors, Frames, and HardwareResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/doors-frames-and-hardware, and the readers and controllers of an access control system, under Access Control SystemsAccess Control SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/access-control-systems
  • The seismic restraint design, the anchorage calculations, and the special inspection of racks, cabinets, and overhead pathway, under Vibration Isolation And Seismic RestraintVibration Isolation and Seismic RestraintResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/vibration-isolation-and-seismic-restraint
  • The sprinkler system and its type, under Wet Pipe Fire Sprinkler SystemsWet-Pipe Fire Sprinkler SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wet-pipe-fire-sprinkler-systems and Pre Action And Deluge Sprinkler SystemsPre-Action and Deluge Sprinkler SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pre-action-and-deluge-sprinkler-systems, and clean agent suppression where provided, under Clean Agent Fire SuppressionClean Agent Fire Suppression SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/clean-agent-fire-suppression
  • The signal sources, head-end equipment, and remote units of a distributed antenna system, under Distributed Antenna SystemsDistributed Antenna SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/distributed-antenna-systems, which occupy a space and pathways built to this standard
  • The media, switches, and segmentation of a process control network, under Process Control NetworksProcess Control NetworksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/process-control-networks, and the controllers, stations, and amplifiers of the nurse call and paging systems, under Nurse Call SystemsNurse Call SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/nurse-call-systems and Public Address And PagingPublic Address and Paging SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/public-address-and-paging, all of which occupy spaces and pathways built to this standard
NOTE Active network equipment, servers, uninterruptible power supplies, and rack power distribution units installed in the spaces are outside this standard; the spaces and racks are built to receive them, and the heat they reject and the power they draw are the inputs the environmental and power provisions of this standard are sized from. (1.5)
NOTE The computer room and data hall of a data center, with their raised floor, hot and cold aisle containment, and the redundancy classes of ANSI/TIA-942, are outside this standard; a data center's own entrance facility and telecommunications rooms on office floors are built to this standard. (1.6)
1.7 Telecommunications spaces and pathways shall comply with ANSI/TIA-569 and with Adopted Electrical CodeAdopted Electrical CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-electrical-code, including NFPA 70 Articles 300, 392, 770, 800, and 805, and with the amendments of the Authority Having Jurisdiction.
1.8 The location of every telecommunications space and the area each floor-serving space serves shall be as indicated on the telecommunications plans.
1.9 The route of each backbone pathway between spaces and the number of sleeves at each floor and wall penetration 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-569 Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces
ANSI/TIA-568.0 Generic Telecommunications Cabling for Customer Premises
ANSI/TIA-568.1 Commercial Building Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard
ANSI/TIA-606 Administration Standard for Telecommunications Infrastructure
ANSI/TIA-607 Generic Telecommunications Bonding and Grounding (Earthing) for Customer Premises
ANSI/TIA-942 Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers
ANSI/NECA/BICSI-568 Standard for Installing Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling
BICSI TDMM Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual
EIA/ECA-310 Cabinets, Racks, Panels, and Associated Equipment
NEMA VE 1 Metal Cable Tray Systems
NEMA VE 2 Cable Tray Installation Guidelines
NEMA 250 Enclosures for Electrical Equipment (1000 Volts Maximum)
UL 50E Enclosures for Electrical Equipment, Environmental Considerations
UL 2043 Fire Test for Heat and Visible Smoke Release for Discrete Products and Their Accessories Installed in Air-Handling Spaces
ASTM E84 Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials
ASHRAE Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments
ASCE/SEI 7 Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures (Chapter 13)
NFPA 70 National Electrical Code (Articles 110, 300, 392, 770, 800, and 805)
NFPA 75 Standard for the Fire Protection of Information Technology Equipment
NOTE ANSI/TIA-568.0 and ANSI/TIA-568.1 are listed because the location and the number of the floor-serving spaces follow from the horizontal cabling topology and length limits they set, and ANSI/TIA-607 because the busbar wall space and the bonding of racks and pathway that this standard reserves are specified to it under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding. (2.3)

3 Submittals

3.1 Action Submittals

3.1.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for review and return before the room is framed and before any rack, backboard, sleeve, runway, tray, or support is procured:
  • Shop drawings of each telecommunications space, consisting of a plan at a scale of not less than 1:50 showing the racks and cabinets, the backboards, the bonding busbar wall space, the sleeves or slots, the runway and tray, the door swing, the receptacles, the luminaires, the cooling equipment, and the working clearances, and elevations of each wall and each rack
  • Shop drawings of the backbone pathways, showing the route, the size, the fill, the support spacing, and every pull point of each sleeve, slot, conduit, runway, and tray between spaces
  • Product data for racks, cabinets, vertical and horizontal cable managers, backboards, runway, tray and its fittings, J-hooks and supports, sleeves and sleeve devices, surface raceway, and conduit bushings
  • The fill calculation for every runway, tray, conduit, and J-hook pathway, showing the cable count and outside diameter carried against the fill limits of this standard
  • The anchorage and bracing details for racks, cabinets, and overhead pathway, prepared under Vibration Isolation And Seismic RestraintVibration Isolation and Seismic RestraintResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/vibration-isolation-and-seismic-restraint
Action Submittalscheckbox
☑ Telecommunications space shop drawings
☑ Backbone pathway shop drawings
☑ Rack, backboard, pathway, and support product data
☑ Pathway fill calculations
☑ Anchorage and bracing details
NOTE The room shop drawing is reviewed before framing because the sleeve group, the backboard, the busbar, the door swing, and the rack clearances compete for the same wall and floor, and a conflict found on paper is moved with an eraser; one found after the slab is cored is moved with a saw. (3.1.2)
3.1.3 No sleeve or slot shall be cored or formed, and no rack, backboard, runway, or tray shall be procured, until the shop drawing that shows it has been reviewed and returned.

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
  • The manufacturer's installation instructions for the racks, cabinets, runway, tray, and support products furnished
  • The room-ready inspection form the Contractor will use under Room-Ready Acceptance, listing every item that article requires
Informational Submittalscheckbox
☑ Installer and supervising technician qualifications
☑ Manufacturer installation instructions
☑ Room-ready inspection form

3.3 Closeout Submittals

3.3.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before the spaces and pathways are accepted:
  • Record drawings of every telecommunications space and every backbone pathway as built, including the identifier of each space, sleeve, slot, conduit, runway segment, and tray segment under Identification
  • The completed room-ready inspection form for every telecommunications space, signed by the Contractor and by the Engineer of Record or the Owner's representative who witnessed it
  • The environmental verification record under Testing for every space that houses active equipment
  • The Contractor's installation warranty
  • A signed receipt from the Owner for the spare parts delivered
Closeout Submittalscheckbox
☑ Record drawings of spaces and pathways
☑ Signed room-ready inspection forms
☑ Environmental verification records
☑ 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 space and pathway 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
☐ Space and pathway layout reviewed by a Registered Communications Distribution Designer before the action submittal
☐ Installing firm has completed three telecommunications space and pathway installations of comparable size within the last five years
4.1.2 Where the parties disagree whether a prior installation is of comparable size, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.
NOTE The pathways and racks are usually installed by the same firm that pulls the cable, and the room is built by the general trades to the drawings; the credential is asked of the firm that lays out the pathway and the rack, because a runway hung at the wrong height or a sleeve cored in front of a rack is the error a credentialed technician recognizes on the shop drawing and a framer does not. (4.1.3)

4.2 Listing and Compliance

4.2.1 Runway, tray, fittings, supports, sleeves, surface raceway, and J-hooks shall be listed by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory for the use, and metallic tray shall comply with NEMA VE 1.
4.2.2 Racks and cabinets shall comply with EIA/ECA-310 for the mounting width, the hole pattern, and the rack unit spacing.
4.2.3 Nonmetallic pathway products, supports, and enclosures installed in a space used for environmental air shall be listed under UL 2043 for installation in air-handling spaces.
4.2.4 Installation workmanship shall comply with ANSI/NECA/BICSI-568.

5 Environmental and Service Conditions

5.1 Space Temperature

5.1.1 Every space that houses active equipment shall be maintained, during every hour the equipment operates, at a dry-bulb temperature not above the upper limit indicated in the datasheet, measured at the air inlet of the equipment.
Space Temperature Upper Limitrange
Not more than
°C
2427323540
5.1.2 Every space that houses active equipment shall be maintained at a dry-bulb temperature not below the lower limit indicated in the datasheet.
Space Temperature Lower Limitrange
Not less than
°C
5101518

5.2 Space Humidity

5.2.1 Every space that houses active equipment shall be maintained at a relative humidity not above the upper limit indicated in the datasheet, with no condensation on any surface of the equipment or the pathway.
Relative Humidity Upper Limitrange
Not more than
%
5060708085

5.3 Equipment Heat Load

5.3.1 The cooling serving each space that houses active equipment shall be sized for the heat rejected by the equipment at full load, taken as not less than the design heat load per rack or cabinet indicated in the datasheet, plus the lighting and the envelope gains of the space.
Design Heat Load per Rack or Cabinetrange
Not less than
W
25010000
Per drawings — the telecommunications room equipment schedule (deferred by default)
5.3.2 Cooling shall be available during every hour the active equipment operates, including the hours the building air-handling system is off, by a dedicated cooling unit, by continuous operation of the building system serving the space, or by a combination of the two, as the mechanical design provides.
NOTE A telecommunications room with a stack of Power over Ethernet switches rejects 1 kW to 3 kW continuously, and an equipment room with the core switches and the servers of a building rejects far more; the building air-handling system is shut down nights and weekends on most projects, and an interior room without its own cooling climbs past the equipment rating in the first unoccupied night of summer. The heat load belongs to the equipment the Owner intends to install, which is why it is read from the equipment schedule, and the unit that removes it is furnished under Computer Room Air ConditioningComputer Room Air Conditioning UnitsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/computer-room-air-conditioning where a precision unit is selected and under the comfort cooling standards where a comfort unit is selected. (5.3.3)

5.4 Enclosure Rating

5.4.1 Wall-mounted cabinets and telecommunications enclosures furnished under this standard shall carry at least the enclosure rating indicated in the datasheet, rated under NEMA 250 or UL 50E.
Wall-Mounted Cabinet and Enclosure Ratingselect
NEMA Type 1
NEMA Type 12
NEMA Type 3R
NEMA Type 4
NEMA Type 4X
NOTE Nearly every wall-mounted cabinet and telecommunications enclosure sits in a conditioned corridor, office, or room, 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, a warehouse, or a mechanical space; Type 3R excludes rain and sleet in an open parking structure or on a loading dock; Type 4 excludes hose-directed water in a washdown area or a kitchen; Type 4X adds corrosion resistance for a natatorium, a coastal site, or a chemical room. A floor-standing rack or cabinet in a telecommunications room carries no environmental rating, because the room is the enclosure. (5.4.2)
5.4.3 An enclosure installed in an open parking structure, on a loading dock open to the weather, or outdoors shall be rated NEMA Type 3R, Type 4, or Type 4X.
5.4.4 An enclosure installed where it is subject to washdown or hose-directed water shall be rated NEMA Type 4 or Type 4X.
5.4.5 An enclosure installed in a natatorium, a coastal location, or another location with salt or chemical vapor in the air shall be rated NEMA Type 4X.
5.4.6 An enclosure installed in a shop, a warehouse, a mechanical room, or another space where dust or dripping liquid is present shall be rated NEMA Type 12 or a wet-location type.

5.5 Seismic Restraint

5.5.1 Racks, cabinets, wall-mounted enclosures, and overhead runway and tray shall be anchored and braced for Seismic Design CategorySeismic Design CategoryParameterEach project supplies its own value.seismic-design-category in accordance with the seismic provisions of Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code and ASCE/SEI 7 Chapter 13, with the restraint design, the anchorage calculations, and the special inspection under Vibration Isolation And Seismic RestraintVibration Isolation and Seismic RestraintResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/vibration-isolation-and-seismic-restraint.
NOTE A loaded two-post rack weighs several hundred kilograms on a footprint the size of a doormat, and an overhead runway carrying a floor's cable weighs more than the runway; the restraint design belongs to the standard that designs every other nonstructural component, and this standard requires that the rack and the pathway are on its list. (5.5.2)

6 Telecommunications Spaces

6.1 Space Location

6.1.1 Each floor-serving telecommunications space shall be located so that no horizontal cable from it to any outlet it serves exceeds the length limit of Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling along the installed pathway route.
6.1.2 Where a floor's area or shape places any outlet beyond that length from one space, the floor shall be served from more than one space, each of which shall meet this standard.
6.1.3 Telecommunications rooms on successive floors shall be vertically aligned so that the riser sleeves pass straight through the slabs from room to room, unless the contract documents indicate otherwise.
6.1.4 Each telecommunications space shall open directly onto a corridor or another common circulation space, and shall not be entered through a tenant space, a restroom, a janitor's closet, a mechanical room, or an electrical room.
6.1.5 A telecommunications space shall not be located below the design flood elevation, under a restroom, a kitchen, a mechanical room, or a roof drain, or adjacent to a transformer, a motor room, an elevator machine room, or other equipment whose electromagnetic field would require the separation of ANSI/TIA-569 to be exceeded.
NOTE The length limit is a property of the cabling standard, but it is the room's location that decides whether the limit can be met, which is why the location rule sits here. A room reached through a tenant's suite is a room the Owner's technician cannot enter after hours, and a room under a restroom is a room that floods once; both are decided at the plan stage and are not corrected afterward. (6.1.6)
6.1.7 A telecommunications enclosure, a wall-mounted or floor-standing cabinet serving a small area in place of a telecommunications room, shall be located where the contract documents indicate one, shall be accessible from a common space, and shall meet the enclosure rating, power, and bonding requirements of this standard for the area it serves.

6.2 Telecommunications Room Floor Area

6.2.1 Each telecommunications room shall have a clear floor area not less than the area indicated in the datasheet, exclusive of any column, pilaster, or other obstruction.
Telecommunications Room Floor Arearange
Not less than
m²
4100
Derived — the usable floor area the room serves, applied to the telecommunications room size table of ANSI/TIA-569 (by default)
NOTE ANSI/TIA-569 sizes the telecommunications room from the usable floor area it serves rather than from the headcount, because the cable count follows the area and the area is known before the tenant is; the table runs from a room of roughly 3.0 m by 2.2 m serving up to 500 m² to a room of roughly 3.0 m by 3.4 m serving up to 1000 m², with a floor above that served from more than one room, which is why the field is derived from the served area. An engineer overrides the derivation to require a larger room where the room also houses the equipment of a security, audiovisual, distributed antenna, or building automation system, each of which brings its own rack. (6.2.2)
6.2.3 An equipment room shall have a clear floor area sized from the racks, cabinets, and frames it houses with their working clearances under Racks and Cabinets, and shall be not less than 14 m² (150 ft²).
6.2.4 An entrance room shall have a clear floor area sized from the number of service providers' demarcation points and the protector and splice hardware it houses, and the demarcation wall space for each provider shall be as indicated on the entrance facility layout.
6.2.5 Where one room serves as the entrance facility, the equipment room, and a telecommunications room, its floor area shall be not less than the sum of the areas each function requires.

6.3 Floor Loading and Ceiling Height

6.3.1 The floor of a telecommunications room shall be designed for a uniformly distributed live load of not less than 2.4 kPa (50 lbf/ft²), and the floor of an equipment room or an entrance room for not less than 4.8 kPa (100 lbf/ft²), under Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code.
6.3.2 Where a cabinet, a battery cabinet, or a frame imposes a concentrated load exceeding the distributed capacity of the floor, the Contractor shall report its weight and footprint to the Engineer of Record before it is placed, and the floor shall be reinforced or the load spread as the Engineer of Record directs.
6.3.3 Every telecommunications space shall have a clear height from the finished floor to the lowest obstruction of not less than the height indicated in the datasheet, with no suspended ceiling installed in the space.
Clear Ceiling Heightrange
Not less than
m
2.42.62.733.43.74
NOTE A clear height of 2.4 m is the minimum ANSI/TIA-569 sets and is what most rooms are built to, which is why it is the default; it fits a 2.1 m rack with a runway above it and the 300 mm of clearance the runway needs below the structure. A room with a 2.6 m or 2.7 m height carries a second runway tier or a tray crossing above the first, a 3.0 m height suits an equipment room with cabinets of 48 rack units and overhead busway, and a greater height is written where the room is a converted space or where the structure above is deep. A suspended ceiling is excluded because the space above it is where the runway and the sleeves land, and a ceiling there hides them and collects the dust the room is sealed against. (6.3.4)

6.4 Room Construction and Finishes

6.4.1 The walls, floor, and ceiling of each telecommunications space shall be constructed to the fire-resistance rating that Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code requires for the space and for the assemblies it penetrates, and every penetration of a rated assembly shall be firestopped under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping.
6.4.2 The walls of each telecommunications space shall extend from the floor slab to the structure above, and the space above any ceiling of an adjacent area shall not be open to the room.
6.4.3 Walls and the structure above shall be finished with a light-colored, washable paint or sealer that does not shed dust, and exposed concrete shall be sealed.
6.4.4 The floor of each telecommunications space shall be finished as indicated in the datasheet.
Floor Finishselect
Sealed concrete
Resilient tile
Static-dissipative resilient tile
Raised access floor over sealed concrete
NOTE A sealed concrete floor is the least expensive finish and carries any rack without a bearing plate, and it is the floor of most telecommunications rooms in a core-and-shell building; resilient tile is the finish of a room inside a finished tenant floor and is specified to match the surrounding floor; static-dissipative tile holds the surface resistance that drains a static charge through the bonded floor, which an equipment room with unprotected circuit boards or an Owner's data room practice calls for; a raised access floor carries the cable and the cooling air under the floor and is the construction of an equipment room built as a small data room. The building type and the Owner's practice decide, so the field carries no default, and the flooring product is furnished under the architectural standards. (6.4.5)
6.4.6 Carpet shall not be installed in a telecommunications space, and a floor finish that generates or holds a static charge shall not be used.
6.4.7 Water, drain, steam, and sprinkler piping other than the sprinkler branch serving the space itself shall not be routed through a telecommunications space, and a duct or pipe that cannot be routed elsewhere shall be routed clear of the racks and backboards, with a drip pan of welded construction, drained to a floor drain outside the space, installed under any pipe that carries liquid.
6.4.8 Where a floor drain is provided in a telecommunications space, it shall be a drain with a trap primer, located away from the racks and the backboards, and the floor shall slope to it.

6.5 Backboards

6.5.1 Backboards of the material indicated in the datasheet, 19 mm (3/4 in) thick, 2.4 m (8 ft) high, and void-free on the exposed face, shall be installed on the walls of each telecommunications space.
Backboard Materialselect
Fire-retardant-treated plywood, A-C grade
Plywood, A-C grade, painted on all surfaces with fire-retardant paint
Plywood, A-C grade, untreated
NOTE Fire-retardant-treated plywood carries a flame spread index of 25 or less under ASTM E84 as a pressure-treated product, with the listing stamped on every sheet, and it is what ANSI/TIA-569 recommends and what nearly every Authority Having Jurisdiction and every Owner's standard asks for, which is why it is the default; plywood painted with a fire-retardant paint reaches the same flame spread by a surface coating that is renewed where it is cut or damaged, costs less where treated sheets are not stocked, and depends on the painter coating all six surfaces, including the edges and the back; untreated plywood is permitted where the room is noncombustible construction and the Authority Having Jurisdiction accepts it, and is selected to match an existing building whose backboards are untreated. The treated sheet is stamped, the painted sheet is not, and an inspector who reads no stamp asks for the paint invoice. (6.5.2)
6.5.3 Backboards shall be installed on the walls indicated in the datasheet, with the bottom edge 150 mm (6 in) above the finished floor and the sheets butted without a gap.
Backboard Coverageselect
One wall
Two walls
All walls not occupied by racks and cabinets
NOTE One wall of backboard holds the bonding busbar, the demarcation hardware of a small building, and a wall-mounted enclosure; two walls, which ANSI/TIA-569 recommends for a telecommunications room, add the space that the security, audiovisual, and building automation panels of a floor take when they arrive; every wall is lined in an entrance room and in an equipment room where the providers' demarcation, the protectors, the splice cases, and the cross-connect fields are wall-mounted. The systems that will share the room decide, so the field carries no default. (6.5.4)
6.5.5 Backboards shall be fastened to the wall framing or to the masonry at not more than 400 mm (16 in) on center with fasteners that hold the full loaded weight of the hardware mounted on them, with the A face exposed and the fire-retardant listing mark left visible on every treated sheet.
6.5.6 Where a backboard is painted, the paint shall be a light-colored fire-retardant paint applied before any hardware is mounted, and the listing mark of a treated sheet shall be masked and left exposed.
6.5.7 Wall space on a backboard shall be reserved for the primary or secondary bonding busbar at the location shown on the reviewed shop drawing, and the busbar and its conductors are furnished under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding.

6.6 Door and Access

6.6.1 The door to each telecommunications space shall provide a clear opening not less than the width indicated in the datasheet and not less than 2.0 m (80 in) high, with no sill, no center mullion, and a threshold flush with the floor.
Door Clear Opening Widthrange
Not less than
mm
910107012201830
NOTE A 910 mm clear opening is the minimum ANSI/TIA-569 sets and passes an assembled rack, a cabinet on a pallet jack, and a technician with a cable reel, which is why it is the default; a 1070 mm or 1220 mm opening passes a deep cabinet or a wall-mounted enclosure assembled, and a 1830 mm pair of leaves without a center mullion is the door of an equipment room whose cabinets arrive loaded and whose uninterruptible power supply arrives on a pallet. (6.6.2)
6.6.3 The door shall swing outward from the space where the corridor and the means of egress permit, and shall swing inward only where an outward swing would obstruct a required egress path, in which case the inward swing shall not reduce the working clearance at any rack, cabinet, or backboard.
6.6.4 The door shall be lockable, and shall be locked by the means indicated in the datasheet.
Door Lockingradio
○ Keyed lockset on the Owner's key system
○ Electronic access control with a keyed override
6.6.5 The door, the frame, the lockset, the closer, and any electrified hardware are furnished under Doors Frames And HardwareDoors, Frames, and HardwareResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/doors-frames-and-hardware, and the reader, the controller, and the programming of an electronic lock under Access Control SystemsAccess Control SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/access-control-systems; this standard requires that the opening, the swing, and the locking meet the room's needs.
6.6.6 The door shall be fire-rated where the wall it is set in is rated, and shall carry no louver or undercut that would admit the air of an adjacent space.
6.6.7 Each telecommunications space door shall carry a sign on the corridor side bearing the identifier of the space under Identification, and no sign that names the function of the room in words a passerby would read.
NOTE A sign that says "Telecommunications Room" tells a thief where the switches are; the identifier tells the technician and nobody else, which is the convention of ANSI/TIA-606 and the reason the function is not named on the door. (6.6.8)

6.7 Lighting

6.7.1 Lighting in each telecommunications space shall provide a maintained illuminance of not less than the value indicated in the datasheet, measured on the horizontal plane 1 m (3 ft) above the finished floor along the centerline of each rack aisle and at the face of each backboard, with no luminaire positioned above a rack or a runway.
Maintained Illuminancerange
Not less than
lux
3005007501000
NOTE ANSI/TIA-569 recommends 500 lux at 1 m above the floor in a telecommunications space, which lights the rear of a patch panel well enough to read a label and punch down a pair, and it is what most projects write, which is why it is the default; 300 lux is the illuminance of a corridor and is written only for an enclosure location where no termination work is done; 750 lux or 1000 lux is written for an equipment room where fiber splicing and fine termination work is done at the rack, and a technician who works there regularly notices the difference. A luminaire placed above the rack lights the top of the rack and shadows the panels, which is why the luminaires are placed over the aisles. (6.7.2)
6.7.3 The lighting of each telecommunications space shall be controlled by a switch or an occupancy sensor at the door, and shall be supplied from a circuit separate from the circuits that supply the equipment.
6.7.4 Where the building has an emergency or standby lighting system, at least one luminaire in each telecommunications space that houses active equipment shall be supplied from it.
6.7.5 The luminaires are furnished under Lighting FixturesInterior Lighting Fixtures (Luminaires)Resolves to the current adopted revision.sync/lighting-fixtures and the switch or sensor under Lighting ControlsLighting ControlsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/lighting-controls or Wiring DevicesWiring DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wiring-devices; this standard sets the illuminance, the placement, and the separate circuit.

6.8 Power

6.8.1 Each telecommunications space that houses active equipment shall be supplied with not fewer than the number of dedicated 120 V, 20 A equipment receptacle circuits indicated in the datasheet, each on its own branch circuit breaker, each terminating in a duplex receptacle on a rack or within 1 m of it, and none shared with lighting, convenience receptacles, or any load outside the space.
Dedicated Equipment Receptacle Circuits per Roomrange
Not less than
each
112
Default: 2 each
NOTE Two dedicated circuits is the minimum ANSI/TIA-569 sets for a telecommunications room, which gives one for the switch stack and one for a second rack or the uninterruptible power supply, and it is what most rooms are built with, which is why it is the default; an equipment room, or a telecommunications room with several racks of powered switches, needs one or two circuits per rack, and the count is raised here rather than by a receptacle added later on the lighting circuit. (6.8.2)
6.8.3 The power provisions indicated in the datasheet shall be furnished in each telecommunications space that houses active equipment.
Power Provisionscheckbox
☐ Equipment circuits at each rack and cabinet position supplied from two separate panelboards
☐ Equipment circuits supplied from a standby generator or an uninterruptible power supply source
☐ A 208 V or 240 V single-phase 30 A circuit at each cabinet position
☐ A surge protective device on each panelboard supplying the equipment circuits
NOTE Two panelboards feeding each rack let the equipment with dual power supplies survive a tripped breaker, and are selected where the Owner's equipment is dual-corded; a standby or uninterruptible source keeps the network up through a utility outage, and is selected where the telephones, the access control, or the paging that depend on the switches are life-safety or security loads; a 208 V or 240 V 30 A circuit serves a rack power distribution unit in a cabinet of servers or of a distributed antenna head-end; a surge protective device on the panelboard protects every circuit in the room at once rather than at each receptacle. Each follows from the equipment the Owner installs, so the field carries no default. (6.8.4)
6.8.5 Convenience duplex receptacles shall be installed in each telecommunications space at not more than 1.8 m (6 ft) on center around the perimeter, 150 mm (6 in) above the finished floor, on a circuit separate from the equipment circuits.
6.8.6 The branch circuits and panelboards are furnished under Conductors And CablesConductors and CablesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/conductors-and-cables and PanelboardsPanelboardsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/panelboards, the receptacles, their configuration, and their plates under Wiring DevicesWiring DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wiring-devices, and the surge protective device under Surge Protective DevicesSurge Protective DevicesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/surge-protective-devices; this standard sets the count, the dedication, and the location of the circuits.
6.8.7 Every receptacle and panelboard in a telecommunications space shall be installed with the working space that Adopted Electrical CodeAdopted Electrical CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-electrical-code requires under NFPA 70 110.26, and no rack, cabinet, or backboard shall encroach on it.

6.9 Fire Protection Coordination

6.9.1 Where a telecommunications space is protected by sprinklers, each sprinkler in the space shall be fitted with a wire guard, and the sprinkler piping shall be routed clear of the racks, the runway, and the backboards.
NOTE The sprinkler system type serving the space is selected under Wet Pipe Fire Sprinkler SystemsWet-Pipe Fire Sprinkler SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/wet-pipe-fire-sprinkler-systems or Pre Action And Deluge Sprinkler SystemsPre-Action and Deluge Sprinkler SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/pre-action-and-deluge-sprinkler-systems, and an Owner who wants a pre-action system over the equipment room, or clean agent suppression under Clean Agent Fire SuppressionClean Agent Fire Suppression SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/clean-agent-fire-suppression, records it there; this standard protects the heads and keeps the pipe off the racks. (6.9.2)
6.9.3 Where the equipment room is protected under NFPA 75, the room construction, the fire detection, and the power disconnecting means that standard requires shall be provided and are coordinated with this standard.
6.9.4 No material shall be stored in a telecommunications space, and the Contractor shall remove packaging, cable reels, and scrap from the space at the end of each working day.

7 Entrance Facility

7.1 The entrance conduits from the property line to the entrance room shall be of the trade size indicated in the datasheet, and their number and route shall be as indicated on the site telecommunications plan.
Entrance Conduit Trade Sizerange
in
23456
NOTE The 4 in trade size is what ANSI/TIA-569 specifies for an entrance conduit, passes any service provider's cable with its pulling eye and three innerducts, and is the size every provider expects at the property line, which is why it is the default; a 2 in or 3 in conduit is the entrance of a small building served by one provider over one cable; a 5 in or 6 in conduit is written where a provider's armored cable or a campus backbone of several hundred strands enters the building. The size is exact because the sleeve device that seals it and the innerduct that fills it are sized to it. (7.2)
7.3 The entrance conduits shall enter the building through the foundation or the wall below grade, shall slope downward toward the outside, shall be sealed against the entry of water and gas at the building wall with a mechanical sealing device sized for the conduit and the cable, and shall terminate in the entrance room on the backboard wall reserved for the service providers.
7.4 Each entrance conduit shall be furnished with innerduct or a divider where the drawings indicate it, with a pull cord in every empty conduit and innerduct, and shall be plugged at both ends until a cable is installed.
7.5 Not fewer than one entrance conduit shall be left empty at completion for a future service provider, unless the contract documents indicate otherwise.
7.6 Where the building is served by two providers or by two routes of the same provider, the entrance conduits of the second route shall enter the building at a point separated from the first by not less than 20 m (66 ft), unless the contract documents indicate otherwise.
NOTE The duct bank, the maintenance holes, and the handholes outside the building wall are furnished under Underground DuctbankUnderground Electrical Duct BanksResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/underground-ductbank and Utility Manholes And HandholesUtility Manholes and HandholesResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/utility-manholes-and-handholes, the entrance cable and the demarcation under Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling and the providers' own agreements, and the primary protectors and the bonding of the entrance cable shield under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding; this standard furnishes the conduit through the wall, its seal, and the room it lands in. (7.7)
NOTE An entrance conduit that slopes toward the building carries every rain into the entrance room, and one that is not sealed carries the gas of a street main with it; the seal is a mechanical device because mortar cracks and foam shrinks, and both fail the first time the conduit is re-entered. (7.8)

8 Backbone Pathways Between Spaces

8.1 Floor Penetrations

8.1.1 Each floor penetration between vertically aligned telecommunications rooms shall be of the type indicated in the datasheet.
Floor Penetration Typeradio
● Conduit sleeves
○ Framed floor slot with curb
NOTE A group of conduit sleeves is cored or cast in the slab, firestopped with a device that is re-entered without removing material, and used on nearly every telecommunications room riser, which is why it is the default; a framed slot, an opening of 150 mm by 600 mm or larger with a curb around it, carries a bundle too large for sleeves, such as the backbone of an equipment room stacked over its telecommunications rooms, at the cost of a structural opening, a curb, and a firestop system for an opening of that size. (8.1.2)
8.1.3 Conduit sleeves through a floor shall be of the trade size indicated in the datasheet, shall extend 25 mm to 100 mm (1 in to 4 in) above the finished floor, and shall be fitted with an insulated bushing at each end.
Riser Sleeve Trade Sizerange
in
23456
NOTE The 4 in sleeve is what ANSI/TIA-569 specifies for a riser, carries about fifty four-pair cables at the fill limit or a large fiber backbone with room to spare, and takes the standard re-enterable firestop device, which is why it is the default and why the size is exact; a 2 in or 3 in sleeve is the riser of a small building with a fiber backbone only; a 5 in or 6 in sleeve carries the copper riser of a hotel or a hospital whose floors still run multipair voice cable. (8.1.4)
8.1.5 Sleeves shall be grouped along a wall, not less than 50 mm (2 in) apart and not less than 150 mm (6 in) from the wall, at the location shown on the reviewed shop drawing, and shall not be located in front of a rack, a cabinet, or a backboard where a cable rising from them would cross a working clearance.
8.1.6 Not fewer than one sleeve in each riser group shall be left empty at completion for future cable, unless the contract documents indicate otherwise.
8.1.7 Where a framed slot is selected, the slot shall be bordered by a curb not less than 100 mm (4 in) high on every side, with the edges of the opening protected against cable abrasion, and the structural opening shall be as the structural drawings detail it.
8.1.8 Every sleeve and slot through a fire-resistance-rated floor shall be firestopped under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping with a system listed for the opening and the cable it carries, re-enterable without the removal of firestop material, and the firestop shall be in place before the floor is turned over to the cabling installation.
NOTE A sleeve that stops flush with the floor admits every wash-down and every spilled bucket to the room below, and the 25 mm the sleeve stands proud is the curb; the bushing is what keeps the cable jacket off the cut edge of the conduit, and a sleeve without one strips a jacket on the first pull. (8.1.9)

8.2 Wall Sleeves and Backbone Conduit

8.2.1 Where a backbone pathway passes through a wall, it shall pass through a conduit sleeve of the trade size the riser diagram indicates, extending not less than 25 mm (1 in) beyond the wall on each side, bushed at each end, and firestopped under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping where the wall is rated.
8.2.2 Where a backbone pathway between telecommunications rooms that are not vertically aligned, or between a telecommunications room and the equipment room, is conduit, the conduit shall comply with the bend, pull point, and fill requirements of Telecommunications Conduit under this standard.
8.2.3 Where that backbone pathway is runway or tray, it shall comply with Cable Runway and Tray under this standard inside the telecommunications spaces, and with Cable TrayCable Tray SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cable-tray in the general building spaces between them.
8.2.4 A backbone pathway shall not pass through a space the Owner does not control, an elevator shaft, or a space used for environmental air without the cable listing that Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling requires for that space.

9 Horizontal Pathways

9.1 Cable Runway and Tray

9.1.1 The overhead pathway inside each telecommunications space, carrying cable from the sleeves and the wall penetrations to the racks, cabinets, and backboards, shall be of the type indicated in the datasheet.
Cable Runway and Tray Type in Telecommunications Spacesselect
Welded steel ladder-type cable runway
Wire-mesh cable tray
Ladder cable tray to NEMA VE 1
Ventilated trough cable tray to NEMA VE 1
NOTE Ladder-type cable runway, the welded tubular steel runway with rungs at 225 mm or 300 mm, mounts on the top of the racks and on the walls, turns with radius fittings that hold the cable bend radius, takes the drop-outs, the retaining posts, and the cross-members that dress cable into a rack, and is the pathway on nearly every telecommunications room, which is why it is the default; wire-mesh tray is lighter, is cut and bent in the field, carries cable in a general ceiling space as well as in the room, and is the pathway of a renovation where the route changes as the ceiling is opened; a ladder or ventilated trough tray to NEMA VE 1 is the heavy tray of an equipment room or a data room that carries several hundred cables along a wall, and it joins the building's tray system under Cable TrayCable Tray SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/cable-tray without a transition. A runway bears on the racks it serves and on the wall; a NEMA tray is supported from the structure and weighs more than the cable it carries. (9.1.2)
9.1.3 The runway or tray shall be of the material and finish indicated in the datasheet.
Runway and Tray Material and Finishselect
Steel, powder coated
Steel, zinc electroplated
Steel, hot-dip galvanized after fabrication
Aluminum
Stainless steel
NOTE Powder-coated steel is the finish of the runway inside a telecommunications room, black or gray to match the racks, and it is scratched to bare steel wherever a fitting is bolted on; zinc-electroplated steel is the stock finish of wire-mesh tray and resists the scratch but not a wet location; hot-dip galvanized steel is the tray of a parking structure, a loading dock, or an industrial building; aluminum is light, needs no finish, and is the tray of a long run between spaces in a building whose structure carries little; stainless steel is the tray of a washdown or corrosive environment. The room's finish, the route between rooms, and the environment decide, so the field carries no default. (9.1.4)
9.1.5 Runway and tray shall be of the width indicated in the datasheet, and shall be sized so that the cable it carries at completion does not exceed the design fill of this standard.
Runway and Tray Widthrange
Not less than
in
61218243036
Derived — the cable count and outside diameter carried at the design fill selected under this standard (by default)
NOTE A 12 in runway carries the horizontal cables of a telecommunications room serving 150 to 200 outlets at a 40 percent fill, an 18 in or 24 in runway the room serving a full floor of a large building or two rooms' backbone, and a 6 in runway the drop from the main runway to a single rack or wall field; the width follows from the cable count and the fill, which is why it is derived, and an engineer overrides it to write a wider runway where the room will take the cables of other systems. (9.1.6)
9.1.7 Runway and tray shall be filled at completion to not more than the design fill indicated in the datasheet, computed as the sum of the cable cross-sectional areas against the usable cross-sectional area of the pathway at a loading depth of 50 mm (2 in) for runway and the manufacturer's rated loading depth for tray.
Cable Runway and Tray Design Fillrange
Not more than
%
1050
NOTE ANSI/TIA-569 limits the fill of runway and tray to 50 percent of the usable area, which is the fill at which the cables in the bottom of the bundle are still within their bend radius and the heat of Power over Ethernet still leaves the bundle, and a project that designs to the limit accepts that every move, add, and change after turnover rides on the top of the bundle or on a ceiling tile; a fill of 40 percent reserves a quarter of the pathway for the first years of changes, and a fill of 25 or 30 percent is written for a building whose tenant plan is unknown and whose runway is cheap compared with a second one. The Owner's growth expectation decides, so the field carries no default. (9.1.8)
9.1.9 Runway shall be supported at not more than 1.5 m (5 ft) on center by wall brackets, by the top of the racks through the manufacturer's rack-mounting kit, or from the structure above by threaded rod and the manufacturer's hanger, and tray at not more than the span its load class under NEMA VE 1 permits, and no runway or tray shall be supported from a ceiling grid, a ceiling support wire, ductwork, piping, or another system's raceway.
9.1.10 Every change of direction and every change of elevation in runway and tray shall be made with the manufacturer's radius fitting, and no cable shall be bent over a square edge or a cut rung.
9.1.11 Runway and tray shall be joined with the manufacturer's splice and bonded as a continuous metallic pathway under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding, and shall end not less than 300 mm (12 in) from every wall and structure to leave room for the cable to leave it.
9.1.12 Where cable leaves the runway or tray to drop into a rack or onto a backboard, the drop shall be made over a radius drop-out or a waterfall fitting that holds the cable bend radius of Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling.
9.1.13 Runway and tray in a telecommunications space shall be installed with a clearance of not less than 300 mm (12 in) above its top edge to the structure or any obstruction, and not less than 150 mm (6 in) between the top of a rack and the underside of a runway mounted above it.
NOTE A runway hung at the structural bay, 3 m or 4 m between hangers, sags under the second floor's cable and pulls its wall brackets, which is why the support spacing is written as an obligation and not left to the framer; the 300 mm above the runway is the space a technician's hand needs to lay a cable into it rather than feed it through. (9.1.14)

9.2 J-Hooks and Non-Continuous Supports

9.2.1 Where horizontal cable between a telecommunications space and the outlets it serves is not carried in tray or conduit, it shall be supported on J-hooks or other non-continuous supports listed for the purpose, spaced at not more than the interval indicated in the datasheet, and attached to the structure.
J-Hook Spacingrange
Not more than
m
0.60.91.21.5
NOTE ANSI/TIA-569 limits the spacing of non-continuous supports to 1.5 m, which holds the sag of a bundle of four-pair cable within what the cable tolerates, and it is what most projects write, which is why it is the default; a 1.2 m spacing is written where the bundle is heavy or carries Power over Ethernet and the Owner wants the sag held tighter, and 0.6 m or 0.9 m where a run passes over obstructions or along a wall where a hook every joist is the available attachment. (9.2.2)
9.2.3 J-hooks shall be of the size indicated in the datasheet, and no J-hook shall be filled beyond the capacity its manufacturer publishes for the cable carried.
J-Hook Sizerange
Not less than
mm
19325176102
Derived — the cable count and outside diameter carried on the hook at the manufacturer's published capacity (by default)
NOTE A J-hook is sized by the diameter of the bundle it cradles: the 19 mm hook carries a few cables to a camera or an access point, the 32 mm and 51 mm hooks a run of a dozen to forty cables along a corridor, and the 76 mm and 102 mm hooks the main run leaving a telecommunications room; the size follows from the count and the cable diameter, which is why it is derived, and an engineer overrides it to write the next size up where the run will take future cable. (9.2.4)
9.2.5 J-hooks shall have a bearing surface not less than 25 mm (1 in) wide with rolled edges, and shall be of a metallic or a UL 2043 listed material where installed in a space used for environmental air.
9.2.6 J-hooks shall be attached to the structure, to a beam clamp, to a threaded rod hanger, or to a wall, and shall not be attached to a ceiling grid, a ceiling support wire, a duct, a pipe, a sprinkler line, or another system's conduit or support.
9.2.7 Where a run turns, the J-hooks at the turn shall be spaced so that the cable bend radius of Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling is held, and a hook shall not be used as the point about which a bundle is bent.
9.2.8 J-hooks shall not be used as the backbone pathway between telecommunications spaces, and the horizontal cables of more than one telecommunications room shall not share a hook run.
NOTE A hook run is the lowest-cost horizontal pathway and the one most often done badly: a hook tied to a ceiling wire violates NFPA 70 300.11, a hook filled past its capacity flattens the bottom cables, and a hook shared by two rooms is the one that is cut when the first room is rewired. (9.2.9)

9.3 Telecommunications Conduit

9.3.1 Conduit that carries telecommunications cable from a telecommunications space to an outlet, a telecommunications enclosure, or a device shall be of a trade size not less than the size indicated in the datasheet, and shall be sized so that its fill does not exceed 40 percent of its cross-sectional area for three or more cables, as NFPA 70 Chapter 9 provides.
Outlet Conduit Trade Sizerange
Not less than
in
0.7511.251.52
NOTE A 1 in conduit carries two Category 6A cables to a work-area outlet at a 40 percent fill, which is the outlet of most projects, and it is what ANSI/TIA-569 sets as the minimum outlet conduit, which is why it is the default; a 3/4 in conduit carries one cable to a camera, an access point, or a reader and is selected where every outlet is one jack; a 1 1/4 in, 1 1/2 in, or 2 in conduit carries the four to six cables of a conference room, a nurse station, or a multi-user outlet. (9.3.2)
9.3.3 A telecommunications conduit shall contain not more than two 90 degree bends, or the equivalent of 180 degrees of bend, between pull points, and shall not contain a conduit body, an LB fitting, or a pull elbow.
9.3.4 A telecommunications conduit shall have a pull point at not more than 30 m (100 ft) of run and wherever the bend limit above would otherwise be exceeded, and each pull box shall be sized as ANSI/TIA-569 requires for the conduit size and the cable it carries, with the cable passing straight through the box without a bend.
9.3.5 Bends in a telecommunications conduit shall have an inside radius of not less than six times the internal diameter of the conduit for trade sizes up to 2 in, and not less than ten times the internal diameter for larger trade sizes.
9.3.6 Every telecommunications conduit shall terminate in a bushing at each end, shall be reamed free of burrs, and shall be left with a pull cord of not less than 90 kg (200 lbf) tensile strength.
9.3.7 A telecommunications conduit shall terminate in the telecommunications space at the backboard or at the runway, shall be bonded under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding where metallic, and shall not terminate behind a rack or in the working clearance of one.
NOTE The conduit, its fittings, its boxes, its supports, and its installation in the general spaces of the building are furnished under Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit, and this standard sets the size, the bend, the pull point, and the fill rules that a telecommunications conduit meets in addition. (9.3.8)
NOTE A Category 6A cable pulled around three bends and an LB fitting arrives with its pairs untwisted and fails its test at the far end, and the sixth bend is not visible from either end; the bend and pull point rules are what let a cable be pulled by hand and replaced without opening the wall. (9.3.9)

9.4 Surface Raceway

9.4.1 Where telecommunications cable is carried on a finished wall surface, it shall be carried in a surface raceway of the type indicated in the datasheet, furnished under Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit and installed under this standard.
Surface Raceway Type for Telecommunicationsselect
Nonmetallic single-channel raceway
Nonmetallic multi-channel raceway with a divided power compartment
Metallic raceway
NOTE A single-channel nonmetallic raceway carries the telecommunications cable alone along a wall or a bench, is cut with a saw, and is the raceway of a renovation with no concealed pathway; a multi-channel raceway carries the power and the telecommunications in separate divided compartments to the same outlet, which a laboratory, a classroom, or an open office along a perimeter wall is served by, with the barrier maintaining the separation Adopted Electrical CodeAdopted Electrical CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-electrical-code requires; a metallic raceway resists impact and is bonded as a metallic pathway, and is the raceway of a corridor, a shop, or a wall that takes a cart. The wall, the outlets, and the finish decide, so the field carries no default. (9.4.2)
9.4.3 Surface raceway carrying telecommunications cable shall be fitted with the manufacturer's radius fittings at every bend and every outlet, shall be filled to not more than 40 percent of its channel area, and shall carry no cable across a channel barrier.
9.4.4 Where a surface raceway carries power conductors and telecommunications cable, the barrier between them shall be continuous through every fitting and every outlet, and the telecommunications compartment shall carry only telecommunications cable.

10 Racks and Cabinets

10.1 Rack and Cabinet Type

10.1.1 Equipment and connecting hardware in each telecommunications space shall be mounted in racks or cabinets of the type indicated in the datasheet.
Rack and Cabinet Typeselect
Two-post open frame floor rack
Four-post open frame floor rack
Floor-standing enclosed cabinet
Wall-mounted enclosed cabinet
Wall-mounted swing-out rack frame
NOTE A two-post open rack holds patch panels, cable managers, and the switches of a telecommunications room on a 150 mm deep channel, is reached from both sides, and is the rack of most telecommunications rooms; a four-post rack carries deep equipment, servers, and uninterruptible power supplies on front and rear rails without doors, and is the rack of an equipment room whose equipment is reached by the Owner's own staff; an enclosed cabinet adds lockable doors and side panels for a room shared with other tenants or trades, and directs its own airflow front to back; a wall-mounted cabinet holds a dozen rack units in a telecommunications enclosure or a small room with no floor space; a swing-out wall frame holds the same on a hinged frame that gives access to the rear. The room, the security, and the depth of the equipment decide, so the field carries no default. (10.1.2)
10.1.3 Racks and cabinets shall provide the mounting width indicated in the datasheet, with the hole pattern and the rack unit spacing of EIA/ECA-310, threaded or square holes as the equipment requires, and rack units numbered on both rails.
Rack Mounting Widthradio
● 19 in
○ 23 in
10.1.4 Racks and cabinets shall provide the number of rack units indicated in the datasheet.
Rack and Cabinet Heightrange
RU
6912182442454852
Per drawings — the rack elevations (deferred by default)
NOTE The rack height follows from the patch panels and the equipment the rack elevation stacks in it, with the spare rack units the Owner wants at turnover, which is why it is read from the rack elevations; a 45 rack unit floor rack stands 2.1 m, fits under a 2.4 m ceiling with a runway above it, and is the rack of most telecommunications rooms, a 42 or 48 rack unit cabinet is the cabinet of an equipment room, and the 6 to 24 rack unit heights are the wall-mounted cabinets and frames. (10.1.5)
10.1.6 The number and arrangement of racks and cabinets in each space, their depth, and the equipment mounted in each shall be as indicated on the telecommunications room layouts and rack elevations.

10.2 Rack and Cabinet Construction

10.2.1 Floor-standing racks and cabinets shall be of steel or aluminum with a powder-coat or anodized finish, rated for a static load of not less than 450 kg (1000 lb), and furnished with the manufacturer's base plate or leveling feet and the anchorage required under Seismic Restraint.
10.2.2 Every floor-standing rack and cabinet shall be anchored to the floor structure through the manufacturer's base with not fewer than four anchors, whatever the seismic design category, so that the rack cannot overturn when a technician leans on an extended switch or pulls on a cord.
10.2.3 Enclosed cabinets shall have a lockable front door and a lockable rear door or rear panel, perforated to not less than 63 percent open area where active equipment draws cooling air through them, removable side panels, and a top panel with brush-sealed openings for the cable entry.
10.2.4 Wall-mounted cabinets and swing-out frames shall be fastened to the wall framing or to the backboard with fasteners rated for the full loaded weight of the cabinet and its equipment, and a cabinet loaded above 45 kg (100 lb) shall be fastened to the structure and not to the backboard alone.
10.2.5 Each floor-standing rack shall be fitted with vertical cable managers on both sides, of the width indicated in the datasheet, with hinged covers and finger sections at every rack unit, and a horizontal cable manager at every patch panel as Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling requires.
Vertical Cable Manager Widthrange
Not less than
in
34681012
NOTE A 6 in vertical manager carries the patch cords of a rack of switches and panels with room to dress them, a 10 in or 12 in manager carries the cords of a 48-port-per-unit rack or a cross-connect field where every port is patched, and a 3 in or 4 in manager suits a rack of a few panels or the space between two racks that share one manager; the port count and the patching density decide, so the field carries no default. (10.2.6)
10.2.7 Racks and cabinets shall be arranged with a working clearance of not less than 1 m (3 ft) in front of every rack and cabinet and not less than 600 mm (2 ft) behind every two-post rack and every four-post rack and cabinet whose rear is reached for equipment or cable, measured from the face of the equipment or the open door, and the clearance of adjacent racks facing each other shall not overlap.
10.2.8 Racks in a row shall be bolted to one another with the manufacturer's ganging hardware, and a row of racks shall be set with its first rack not less than 150 mm (6 in) from the wall and its ends clear of the door swing.
10.2.9 Each rack and cabinet shall be bonded to the rack bonding busbar or the telecommunications bonding conductor under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding, with the paint removed or a listed bonding fitting used at each connection.
10.2.10 Rack units not occupied by equipment or panels at completion shall be fitted with blank filler panels in cabinets whose airflow is directed front to back, and each rack shall carry the identifier under Identification at the top of the front face.

11 Identification

11.1 Each telecommunications space, rack, cabinet, sleeve, slot, conduit, runway segment, and tray segment furnished under this standard shall carry a unique identifier under ANSI/TIA-606 in the format of the administration plan reviewed under Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling, and the space identifiers used on the labels shall be those used on the telecommunications plans.
11.2 The space identifier shall be marked on the corridor side of the door and inside the space on the backboard, the rack identifier at the top of the front face of each rack and cabinet, and the pathway identifier at both ends of every sleeve, slot, conduit, and runway or tray segment and at every pull point, with the identifier of the space it serves at the far end.
11.3 Labels shall be machine-printed on a material listed to UL 969 for the surface and the environment, legible without magnification, and applied to a cleaned surface so that they remain legible and attached for the life of the pathway.
NOTE The cable labels, the outlet labels, and the cable record of the plant are under Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling, the labels on the bonding busbars and conductors under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding, the firestop system labels under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping, and the nameplates of the panelboards and receptacles in the space under Equipment LabelingElectrical Equipment LabelsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/equipment-labeling and Electrical IdentificationWiring System IdentificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-identification; this standard labels the spaces and the pathways so that every cable record refers to a sleeve, a runway, and a room that are themselves marked. (11.4)
NOTE A sleeve without an identifier is the one the next installer pulls through without updating the record, and a record that names sleeves nobody can find is a record that is abandoned at the first renovation; the pathway label is what ties the cable record to the building. (11.5)

12 Installation

12.1 Sequence and Coordination

12.1.1 The Contractor shall coordinate the sleeve and slot locations with the structural drawings before any slab is cored or any opening is formed, and shall locate every core by scanning the slab for reinforcing, conduit, and post-tensioned tendons, with a core that would cut a tendon relocated as the Engineer of Record directs.
12.1.2 Sleeves cast in a new slab shall be set and secured before the pour, and sleeves cored in an existing slab shall be cored from above with the slab below protected and the opening sized for the sleeve device furnished.
12.1.3 Backboards, runway, tray, racks, and cabinets shall be installed, anchored, and bonded, and the room shall be clean, lit, locked, and conditioned, before the cabling installation under Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling begins in that space.
12.1.4 The Contractor shall keep each telecommunications space locked during construction once the racks are set, with the key held by the Contractor's telecommunications supervisor, and shall admit no trade to the space without that supervisor's knowledge.
NOTE The room is finished before the cable arrives because a cable pulled into an unfinished room is the one that is painted over, buried under drywall dust, or cut by the trade that comes to hang the door; the order is the cheapest provision in this standard. (12.1.5)

12.2 Pathway Installation

12.2.1 Every pathway shall be installed so that the cable bend radius of Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling is held at every fitting, sleeve end, drop-out, and turn, and a pathway that cannot hold it shall be corrected before cable is installed.
12.2.2 Pathways carrying telecommunications cable shall be routed with the separation from power conductors, transformers, motors, luminaires, and their ballasts and drivers that ANSI/TIA-569 and NFPA 70 800.133 require, and a crossing of a power raceway shall be made at a right angle.
12.2.3 No pathway shall be supported from or attached to a ceiling grid, a ceiling support wire, ductwork, piping, a sprinkler line, or the raceway or support of another system, as NFPA 70 300.11 requires, and every support shall be attached to the structure or to a support furnished under this standard.
12.2.4 A pathway that passes through a space used for environmental air shall be of metal or of a material listed under UL 2043 for the space, and the cable in it shall carry the listing that Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling requires for the space.
12.2.5 Every pathway penetration of a fire-resistance-rated or smoke-resistant assembly shall be firestopped under FirestoppingFirestoppingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/firestopping before it is concealed, and the Contractor shall not conceal a penetration that has not been inspected where inspection is required.
12.2.6 Runway, tray, sleeves, and metallic conduit shall be bonded under Telecommunications BondingTelecommunications Bonding and GroundingResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/telecommunications-bonding before cable is installed in them, so that no pathway is left unbonded on the day the cable is energized.
12.2.7 Pathways shall be left clean, with cut ends deburred, pull cords in place in every empty conduit and sleeve, and the fill of every pathway at completion recorded on the record drawings.

13 Testing

13.1 Conduit and Sleeve Proving

13.1.1 Each telecommunications conduit and each sleeve shall be proven after installation and before cable is pulled by drawing a mandrel of not less than 90 percent of the internal diameter through its full length, and a conduit the mandrel does not pass shall be corrected and proven again at the Contractor's cost.
13.1.2 Each telecommunications conduit and each sleeve shall be blown or swabbed clean of water and debris and left with its pull cord in place, and a conduit found with water in it after the building is closed shall be reported to the Engineer of Record before cable is installed.

13.2 Room-Ready Acceptance

13.2.1 Before the cabling installation begins in any telecommunications space, the Contractor shall inspect the space against the room-ready inspection form submitted under Informational Submittals, in the presence of the Engineer of Record or the Owner's representative, and shall record the result on the form.
13.2.2 The room-ready inspection shall confirm, for the space inspected, that the walls, floor, and ceiling are finished and sealed; that the door, its lock, and its sign are installed; that the backboards are installed and the busbar wall space is marked; that the racks and cabinets are set, anchored, ganged, and bonded; that the runway, tray, sleeves, and slots are installed, bonded, firestopped, and proven; that the lighting meets the illuminance under Lighting; that the equipment circuits and convenience receptacles are installed, identified, and energized; that the cooling serving the space is operating; and that the space is clean and locked.
13.2.3 A space that fails any item of the room-ready inspection shall not receive cable until the item is corrected and the inspection is repeated for that item, and the cost of the repeated inspection shall be borne by the Contractor.
NOTE The room-ready inspection is the acceptance of this standard's work as a whole, and its form is agreed before the work begins so that no item is argued on the day the cabling crew arrives; a space that passes it is a space the cabling installer takes over without a list of exceptions. (13.2.4)

13.3 Environmental Verification

13.3.1 For every space that houses active equipment, the Contractor shall record the dry-bulb temperature and the relative humidity of the space at the rack inlet at intervals of not more than 15 minutes over a continuous period of not less than 72 hours that includes a weekend or two consecutive unoccupied nights, with the cooling in its normal operating mode and the building air-handling system in its unoccupied schedule, and shall deliver the record as a closeout submittal.
13.3.2 A space whose record exceeds the temperature or humidity limits under Environmental and Service Conditions at any point shall be reported to the Engineer of Record, and the cause shall be corrected under the standard that furnishes the cooling before the space is accepted.
NOTE The verification period is run through an unoccupied night because that is when the building system shuts down and the room shows what its own cooling can do; a record taken on a working afternoon proves nothing about the Saturday that follows. (13.3.3)

13.4 Lighting Verification

13.4.1 The Contractor shall measure the illuminance in each telecommunications space at the points under Lighting with a calibrated meter after the luminaires are installed and the racks are set, and shall correct any point below the datasheet value by relocating or adding luminaires at the Contractor's cost.

14 Delivery, Storage, and Handling

14.1 Racks, cabinets, runway, tray, and their fittings shall be delivered in the manufacturer's packaging, stored indoors off the floor and protected from moisture, construction dust, and impact, and inspected on receipt for bent rails, damaged finish, and missing hardware, and a damaged item shall be replaced at no cost to the Owner.
14.2 Fire-retardant-treated plywood shall be delivered with its listing mark on every sheet, stored flat, dry, and off the floor, and a sheet that is wet, warped, delaminated, or without a visible listing mark shall not be installed.
14.3 Sleeve devices, bushings, and J-hooks shall remain in their packaging until installed, and a nonmetallic product intended for a space used for environmental air shall be delivered with its UL 2043 listing mark intact.
14.4 Equipment and material that is damaged, wet, or without its required listing mark at receipt or at installation shall be rejected and replaced at no cost to the Owner.

15 Warranty

15.1 The Contractor shall warrant the spaces and pathways furnished under this standard, including every backboard, rack, cabinet, support, sleeve, runway, tray, and label, and the anchorage and bonding of each, against defects in materials and workmanship for the period indicated in the datasheet, measured from the date of substantial completion.
Installation Warranty Periodrange
Not less than
years
1235
NOTE A one-year 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 had a runway bracket pull out of a wall in the second year and wants the installer answering for the anchorage rather than the structure. (15.2)
15.3 Warranty corrective work shall include the repair or replacement of the failed item, the re-anchoring, re-bonding, or re-labeling it requires, the repair of finishes disturbed by the repair, and the protection and, where necessary, the re-support of the cable the item carries, at no cost to the Owner.
15.4 An item 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.
15.5 Where the parties disagree whether a failure within the warranty period results from workmanship, from a product defect, from overloading of a pathway by cable added after acceptance, or from damage by others, the Engineer of Record shall make the initial determination.

16 Spare Parts

16.1 The Contractor shall deliver spare J-hooks, hangers, runway and tray accessories, and sleeve device inserts of each type 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 Supports and Accessories Furnishedrange
Not less than
% of installed count of each type
510152025
16.2 The Contractor shall deliver, for each floor-standing rack and cabinet, not fewer than 50 mounting screws or cage nuts and screws of the type the rack takes, and not fewer than two blank filler panels of one rack unit, and shall obtain a signed receipt for them.
NOTE A spare quantity is sized to the Owner's own moves, adds, and changes: an Owner whose technician adds outlets stocks hooks and sleeve inserts for the first year, an Owner who calls a contractor for every change stocks a few of each, and an Owner who buys 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, type, size, and finish, shall be delivered in their original packaging, and shall be labeled with the item type and the telecommunications space they are stocked for.

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