TIA-569-B

Although the ANSI/TIA-568-C standard describes the subsystems of a structured cabling system, the TIA has published a more thorough document called TIA-569-B Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces. The purpose of the TIA-569-B standard is to provide a flexible and standardized support system for a structured cabling system, along with the detail necessary to design and build these facilities. The detail pertains to both single and multitenant buildings.

Note

This TIA-569-B document is especially important because network managers, architects, and even cable installers often don't give enough forethought to the spaces and infrastructure that will support structured cabling systems or data communications equipment.

Although repetitive to large degree with respect to ANSI/TIA-568-C, TIA-569-B does define and detail pathways and spaces used by a commercial cabling system. The elements defined include:

• Entrance facility
• Equipment room
• Main terminal space
• Telecommunications rooms and enclosures
• Horizontal pathways
• Backbone pathways
• Work areas
• Data centers

Warning

When planning telecommunications pathways and spaces, make sure you allow for future growth.

TIA-569-B provides some common design considerations for the entrance facility, equipment room, and telecommunications rooms with respect to construction, environmental considerations, and environmental controls:

• One of the key features of TIA-569-B is the necessity for pathway diversity and redundancy to assure continuous operation in the case of a catastrophic event.
• The door (without sill) should open outward, slide sideways, or be removable. It should be fitted with a lock and be a minimum of 36 inches (.91 meters) wide by 80 inches (2 meters) high.
• Electrical power should be supplied by a minimum of two dedicated 120V-20A nominal, nonswitched, AC-duplex electrical outlets. Each outlet should be on separate branch circuits. The equipment room may have additional electrical requirements based on the telecommunications equipment that will be supported there (such as LAN servers, hubs, PBXs, or UPS systems).
• Sufficient lighting should be provided (500 lx or 50′ candles). The light switches should be located near the entrance door.
• Grounding should be provided and used per ANSI/TIA/EIA-607 (the Commercial Building Grounding and Bonding Requirements for Telecommunications Standard) and either the NEC or local code, whichever takes precedence.
• These areas should not have false (drop) ceilings.
• Slots and sleeves that penetrate firewalls or that are used for riser cables should be firestopped per the applicable codes.
• Separation of horizontal and backbone pathways from sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI) must be maintained per NEC Article 800.154.
• Metallic raceways and conduits should be grounded.

Based on our own experiences, we recommend the following:

• Equip all telecommunications rooms, the entrance facility, and the equipment room with electrical surge suppression and a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) that will supply that area with at least 15 minutes of standby AC power in the event of a commercial power failure.
• Equip these areas with standby lighting that will last for at least an hour if the commercial power fails.
• Make sure that these areas are sufficiently separated from sources of EMI such as antennas, medical equipment, elevators, motors, and generators.
• Keep a flashlight or chargeable light in an easy-to-find place in each of these areas in case the commercial power fails and the battery-operated lights run down.

Note

For full information, consult the TIA-569-B standard, which may be purchased through Global Engineering Documents on the Web at www.global.ihs.com.

Note

The Canadian equivalent of ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B is CSA T529.