ANSI/TIA-PN-942-B
xi
Annexes
There are nine annexes to this Standard. Annexes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I are informative
and not considered to be requirements of this Standard.
Purpose of this Standard
The purpose of this Standard is to provide requirements and guidelines for the design and
installation of a data center or computer room. It is intended for use by designers who need a
comprehensive understanding of the data center design, including the facility planning, the
cabling system, and the network design. The standard will enable the data center design to be
considered early in the building development process, contributing to the architectural
considerations, by providing information that cuts across the multidisciplinary design efforts,
promoting cooperation in the design and construction phases. Adequate planning during building
construction or renovation is significantly less expensive and less disruptive than after the facility
is operational. Data centers in particular can benefit from infrastructure that is planned in advance
to support growth and changes in the computer systems that the data centers are designed to
support.
This document presents an infrastructure topology for accessing and connecting the respective
elements in the various cabling system configurations currently found in the data center
environment. In order to determine the performance requirements of a generic cabling system,
various telecommunications services and applications were considered. In addition, this
document addresses the floor layout related to achieving the proper balance between security,
rack density, and manageability.
The standard specifies a generic telecommunications cabling system for the data center and
related facilities whose primary function is information technology. Such application spaces may
be dedicated to a private company or institution, or occupied by one or more service providers to
host Internet connections and data storage devices.
Data centers support a wide range of transmission protocols. Some of these transmission
protocols impose length restrictions that are shorter than those imposed by this Standard. Consult
standards, regulations, equipment vendors, and system service suppliers for: applicability,
limitations, and ancillary requirements when applying specific transmission protocols. Consider
consolidating standardized and proprietary cabling into a single structured cabling system.
Data centers can be categorized according to whether they serve the private domain (“enterprise”
data centers) or the public domain (internet data centers, co-location data centers, and other
service provider data centers). Enterprise facilities include private corporations, institutions or
government agencies, and may involve the establishment of either intranets or extranets. Internet
facilities include traditional telephone service providers, unregulated competitive service providers
and related commercial operators. The topologies specified in this document, however, are
intended to be applicable to both in satisfying their respective requirements for connectivity
(internet access and wide-area communications), operational hosting (web hosting, file storage
and backup, database management, etc.), and additional services (application hosting, content
distribution, etc.). Failsafe power, environmental controls, fire suppression, system redundancy
and security are also common requirements to facilities that serve both the private and public
domain.
Stewardship
Telecommunications infrastructure affects raw material consumption. The infrastructure design
and installation methods also influence product life and sustainability of electronic equipment life
cycling. These aspects of telecommunications infrastructure impact our environment. Since
building life cycles are typically planned for decades, technological electronic equipment
upgrades are necessary. The telecommunications infrastructure design and installation process
magnifies the need for sustainable infrastructures with respect to building life, electronic
equipment life cycling and considerations of effects on environmental waste. Telecommunications