TrueNet ® Technical Reference WHITE PAPER Imagine trying to link railroads together that are based on different gauges, to build anything with a combination of metric and American parts, to type a letter on something other than a QWERTY keyboard, or to wire a building for voice, data and video if all the components had different requirements. The key to simplifying all these tasks is standardization. Bringing standards to the wiring and cabling segments of the building industry has enabled the industry to define a common infrastructure that allows many companies to provide common components. Strict adherence to these standards benefits everyone. ADC’s Position on Standards ADC is a strong proponent of standards-based design for structured cabling systems. A strictly defined set of standards helps ensure uniform application of physical layer networking products and creates a usable infrastructure for communications networks. However, ADC also believes that by nature, the standards evolve into a lowest-common denominator indicator of performance. In order to accommodate various competing interests, a significant amount of “flexibility” gets built into the allowable tolerances. The cumulative effect of these tolerances can result in structured cabling channels in which different components can have radically different electrical performance characteristics. Consequently, when various standards-compliant components from randomly selected vendors are used, the net result could be conformance to the standards, but not efficient performance. The research undertaken by ADC for the TrueNet ® structured cabling system revealed that only a well-matched structured cabling channel that conforms to a tightly defined subset of the performance standards is capable of flawless data transmission. ADC, as a full system supplier, is able to deliver a complete system of well-matched components so there is no guesswork. Choosing standards-compliant components randomly from unrelated vendors will yield a standards-compliant channel, but may not result in optimum network performance. Therefore, use the standards as a design guide, then make sure that you purchase standards-compliant matched components. 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference Technical Reference Industry Standards 3 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 The Benefits of Standards Telecommunications Rooms Horizontal Cabling Work Area Entrance Facilities and Equipment Rooms Backbone Cabling (Interbuilding) Backbone Cabling (Interbuilding) The TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard defines a typical, generic telecommunications cabling system. Intermediate Cross-Connects Telecommunications Rooms Main Cross-Connect Entrance Facilities The entrance facility provides a connection point between the outside plant facilities—whether it is public network services, private network customer premises or a combination of both—and the interior premises cabling. Products used in this area include cables, connecting hardware, special protection devices and other connecting hardware. The demarcation point separating the service provider’s cabling and the customer’s cabling may be part of the entrance facilities. Because the location of the demarcation point is determined by state and federal regulations, the local regulated carrier (telephone service provider) or competitive access provider should be contacted for detailed information. The primary standards for this area are outlined in TIA/EIA-569-A, Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces, and J-STD-607-A, Commercial Building Grounding/ Bonding Requirements. ADC manufactures special overvoltage blocks, protection devices and building entrance terminals for both fiber and copper cabling for use in this area. Equipment Rooms The TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard makes a distinction between equipment rooms and telecom- munications rooms because of the nature of complexity of the equipment they contain. However, an equipment room may alternately provide any or all of the functions of a telecommunications room. Equipment rooms provide a controlled environment to house telecommunications equipment. This equipment may include connecting hardware, splice closures, grounding and bonding facilities and protection devices, where applicable. Switches, routers and other active equipment may reside in the same rack or cabinet space as the passive cabling infrastructure. In the premises cabling backbone hierarchy, an equipment room may contain either the main cross-connect or the intermediate cross-connect. The equipment room may also contain network trunk terminations and auxiliary terminations that are under the control of the premises cabling administrator. The primary standards for this area are outlined in TIA/EIA-569-A, Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces. ADC manufactures a wide variety of fiber and copper patch panels, termination blocks and cable management solutions that are well suited for this area. Telecommunications Rooms Telecommunications rooms may provide various functions for the cabling system and because of this they are treated as a distinct subset in the cabling system hierarchy. The primary function of a telecommunications room is to provide a termination point for horizontal cable distribution, that supports all voice, data, video and other applications requiring structured cabling. The telecommunications room also serves as a termination point for backbone cable. The cross-connection of these two parts of the premises cabling is an important function of the telecommunications room. Cross-connections may be accomplished using jumper wires or patch cords, and ADC products handle both methods equally well. Telecommunications rooms may also house cross-connects for different portions of the backbone cabling system. These cross-connects are sometimes used to tie different rooms together in a ring, bus or tree configuration. 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference Technical Reference Industry Standards 4 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 Telecommunications rooms also provide a controlled environment for specific areas of a building. These rooms may house telecommunications equipment, connecting hardware and splice closures as well as devices such as routers and hubs. In some instances, the demarcation point and protection devices may be located in a telecommunications room. The TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard details cable routing and installation practices for telecommunications rooms to prevent cable stress and to properly organize and manage cables. Additional standards for this area are outlined in TIA/EIA-569-A, Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces. ADC manufactures a wide variety of blocks and patch panels capable of providing termination and cable management for a wide range of wire sizes and cable types found in telecommunications rooms. For More Information Although this catalog presents a brief overview of information contained in the standard, persons involved with the installation and maintenance of structured cabling systems should obtain a copy of the complete standard and/or related standards. 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference Technical Reference Industry Standards 5 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 FUSE ON OFF FUSE ON OFF Work Area Work Area Cable Telcom Outlet Station Field Equipment Field Patch Cord Data Hub 3M (Max) 90M (Max) A + B < 10 M Equipment CableStation Cable Transition Point (Optional) 7M AB TIA/EIA-568-B Series Horizontal Channel/Link Model Work Area Work Area Cable Telcom Outlet Station Field Equipment Field Patch Cord Data Hub 5M (Max)90M (Max) A + B + E < 10 M Equipment CableStation Cable Transition Point (Optional) ABE ISO/IEC 11801 Horizontal Channel/Link Model Technical standards that address various aspects of commercial cabling include: • TIA/EIA-568-B Series, Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard • TIA/EIA-569-A, Commercial Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces • TIA/EIA-570-A, Residential Telecommunications Cabling Standard • TIA/EIA-606, Administration Standard for the Telecommunications Infrastructure of Commercial Buildings • J-STD-607A, Commercial Building Grounding/Bonding Requirements For information on obtaining copies of any of these standards, please contact: Global Engineering Documents 800.854.7179 or 303.397.7956 www.global.ihs.com ISO 11801 (International Standard) www.iso.ch NEC (National Electrical Code), written and distributed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) www.NFPA.org A discussion of standards affecting the design and layout of a standards-based data center, as well as ADC’s recommendations for assuring that your data center supports the demands of, and grows with, your network, follows on page 28. 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference Technical Reference Industry Standards 6 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 The TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard addresses two basic wiring schemes for the telecommunications room: interconnection and cross-connection. Both the backbone and the horizontal cabling are terminated on connecting hardware that meets the requirements of the TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard. However, the standard prohibits the use of these terminations for moves, adds and changes. Any connection between the backbone and horizontal cabling must be accomplished through the use of a “horizontal cross-connect” between the common equipment and the connecting hardware to which the horizontal cabling is terminated. This connection may be made using an interconnection or a cross-connection cabling scheme. An interconnection is a cabling scheme that provides for a direct connection between two cables without the use of patch cords or jumper wires. A cross-connection is a cabling scheme between cabling runs, subsystems and equipment using patch cords or jumper wires that attach to connecting hardware on each end. Common equipment that utilizes cables that extend an individual port may be permanently terminated or interconnected to the connecting hardware for the horizontal cabling. Direct interconnections such as this reduce the number of connections in a channel, but may also reduce the flexibility, especially as the volume of moves, adds and changes increases. 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference Technical Reference Industry Standards 7 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 Interconnection Cross-Connection Interconnection vs. Cross-Connection 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference 8 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 Technical Reference Industry Standards Backbone Cabling Backbone cabling provides interconnections between the telecommunications rooms, equipment rooms and entrance facilities. Backbone cabling consists of cables, main and intermediate cross-connects, mechanical terminations and patch cords or jumper wires. Backbone cabling can be within buildings (intrabuilding) or between buildings (interbuilding). The TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard requires that backbone cabling use a hierarchical star topology. Each horizontal cross-connect in a telecommunications room is cabled to an intermediate cross-connect and then to a main cross-connect (or directly to a main cross-connect), with no more than two hierarchical levels of cross-connect in the backbone cabling. These cross-connects may be located in telecommunications rooms, equipment rooms or entrance facilities. Recognized cables for use in backbone cabling include the following: 100Ohm UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cable (four or more pairs) 150Ohm STP-A (shielded twisted pair) cable 62.5/125µm, multimode optical fiber cable 50µm, multimode optical fiber cable Singlemode optical fiber cable Backbone cabling uses a hierarchical star topology. Intermediate Cross-Connects Telecommunications Rooms Main Cross-Connect 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference 9 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 Technical Reference Industry Standards Horizontal Cabling Horizontal cabling extends from the work area telecommunications outlet to the horizontal cross-connect in the telecommunications room. Horizontal cabling includes the cables, the telecommunications outlet in the work area, the mechanical termination and patch cords or jumper wires and cable management solutions located in the telecommunications room. • Voice service • Internet service • Video and conferencing services • Premises switches, routers and hubs • Data communications to support fax, storage servers, network printers • Local area networks (LANs) • Life safety systems such as security, fire alarm and door entrance • Automation systems such as lighting and HVAC control • Other building signaling systems, such as CCTV, nurse call, paging, audio and others Relocation of offices is a common occurrence in enterprises. Horizontal cabling is often one of the more dynamic areas of the premises system. However, after installation, horizontal cabling is often much less accessible than backbone cabling, and the time, effort and skills required to change or modify it can be extremely high. Horizontal cabling should be designed with the intention of minimizing ongoing maintenance and relocation so that moves, adds and changes can be accomplished from the telecom- munications and equipment rooms. Additional consideration should be given to accommodating a wide range of applications in order to reduce the necessity of changes to the cabling as users’ needs evolve. Care should be given to separate telecommunications cabling from electrical facilities that generate high levels of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Fluorescent lights, copy machines, heating/cooling devices, motors and transformers that support the building’s mechanical requirements all contribute to EMI. TIA/EIA-569-A specifies separation of horizontal cabling pathways from common sources of EMI. Horizontal cabling is required to use a star topology. Each work area telecommunications outlet is to be connected to a horizontal cross-connect in the telecommunications room. Each work area is to be served by a telecommunications room. Maximum Distances The maximum distance of a copper horizontal cabling run is 90 meters (approximately 295 feet) from the mechanical termination at the horizontal cross-connect in the telecommunications room to the telecommunications outlet in the work area. Cross-connect jumper wires and patch cords used in the cross-connect facilities should not exceed six meters in length (approximately 20 feet). Intermediate Cross-Connects Telecommunications Rooms Main Cross-Connect 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference 10 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 Technical Reference Industry Standards Recognized cables for use in horizontal cabling include the following: 100Ohm UTP (unshielded twisted pair) cable (four or more pairs) 150Ohm STP-A (shielded twisted pair) cable 62.5/125µm, multimode optical fiber cable 50µm, multimode optical fiber cable Pair 1 = White-Blue/Blue Pair 2 = White-Orange/Orange Pair 3 = White-Green/Green Pair 4 = White-Brown/Brown Color Codes for Horizontal 100Ohm UTP Cable or for Patch Cords Horizontal Cables Work Area The work area components of a premises cabling system are the most visible to office workers. Work area components extend from the telecommunications outlet to the station equipment, such as traditional telephones, VolP devices, networked computers, fax machines and shared devices such as network printers. Because work area cabling is generally nonpermanent and relatively easy to change, it is not addressed in the TIA/EIA-568-A standard. However, the length of cords used in the work area are assumed to be no longer than three meters (approximately 9.8 feet) in establishing the maximum length for the horizontal cabling of 100 meters total, and the cords should meet or exceed the requirements for patch cords outlined in the standard. Common patch cords used in the work area have identical connectors on both ends, but cords may vary widely in design depending on the application. Often adapters are required to accommodate specific equipment. Types of adapters include: • Special adapters to mate an equipment connector to the telecommunications outlet when they are different styles (e.g. baluns) • A “Y” adapter to branch two services off of a single cable • Adapter which transpose pairs for compatibility • Adapters for equipment that requires termination resistors 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet ® Technical Reference Technical Reference Industry Standards 11 www.adc.com • +1-952-938-8080 • 1-800-366-3891 These and other types of adapters can have a detrimental effect on the transmission performance of the telecommunications cabling system. It is important to consider the compatibility of these adapters to premises cabling equipment before connecting them to the network. A successful, high-performance premises wiring system requires more than simply purchasing the proper standards-compliant cables and hardware. Care must be taken to ensure that the components are installed properly according to industry-recognized practices. Performance specifications called out in the TIA/EIA-568-B Series standard are based on the assumption that proper installation techniques and management practices have been followed. If recommended cabling precautions and installation methods are not observed, specified transmission capabilities of cabling components may not be achieved. Installation should be performed by trained, certified installers such as the authorized ADC Cabling System Certifiers who are authorized to provide an ADC product and performance warranty. Intermediate Cross-Connects Telecommunications Room Main Cross-Connect [...]... the pull-proof resiliency of SC and FC connectors ST connectors, which are made of metal components, are only available with UPC polishing In recent years, the popularity of ST connectors has waned as the use of SC and FC connectors has grown • Duplex SC: Offers the same features as the SC style but supports two-way communication • LX.5®: Exactly half the size of an SC connector, the LX.5 offers twice... cabling It is similar to Cat 6, but is characterized to 500MHz and is also capable of running 10Gigabit Ethernet protocols of the future Testing parameters are similar to that of Cat 5e and Cat 6, with the added benefit of compliance to Alien (Bundled) Crosstalk requirements 1/05 • xxxxxxx TrueNet® Technical Reference Definitions of cabling test parameters can be found at http://www.cabletesting.com/CableTesting/Testing/Definitions/Definitions_Wiremap.htm... 1000Base-T The CopperTen™ System is ADC’s version of Category A6 It provides not only support for the transmission protocols of today, such as 10/100/1000Mbps, but also that of the future with 10G It is worth noting that the complexity of Category A6 is transparent to the end user and installer The products have simply been modified to overcome the shortcomings of standard Cat 6 to achieve the desired signal... cable protection and a transition from the vertical run to the back of the equipment that does not damage the fiber • Cable pile-up: In horizontal fiber runs, it is unacceptable to allow a pile of fiber cable to exceed two inches Beyond that point, the weight of the bundle will surpass the crush tolerance limit of the fiber at the bottom of the stack, resulting in microscopic damage and signal attenuation... degree of signal degradation caused by RL depends on the laser’s specifications; some lasers are more sensitive to RL than others The amount of optical return loss generated is related to the type of polish that is used on the connector The “angled physical contact” (APC) connector is best for high bandwidth applications and long haul links since it offers the lowest return loss characteristics of connectors... This effect is even more dramatic when viewed from the side of a cable bundle The peaks of the oblique, elliptical filler (red arrows) are used as the contact points along the length of the run These provide the greatest distance between the actual pairs by vaulting the sides of the ellipse (yellow arrows) where the pairs are housed The reduction of alien crosstalk is now greatly improved over the standard... 1-800-366-3891 • Outside of North America: +1-952-938-8080 Fax: +1-952-917-3237 • For a listing of ADC’s global sales office locations, please refer to our web site ADC Telecommunications, Inc., P.O Box 1101, Minneapolis, Minnesota USA 55440-1101 Specifications published here are current as of the date of publication of this document Because we are continuously improving our products, ADC reserves the right... available fiber optic solution And questions would now be raised concerning the value of producing such active hardware to support transmission rates that only increased by 2.5 times, or if distance limitations of 55 meters were really worthwhile Would the additional cost of installing a shielded solution outweigh the benefits in cost for the active components? w w w a d c c o m • + 1 - 9 5 2 - 9 3 8... number of terminations to accommodate a relatively low number of fibers for today’s requirements, don’t forget the future A fiber path that easily supports 12 fibers today may be inadequate to support the 200 fibers needed in a few years Planning up front for the future can save the expense of ripping out outgrown capacity down the road Proper cable management is extremely important to the success of an... optical routers and servers Fiber optic cable offers a level of security that exceeds copper or microwave transmission because it is difficult to tap without breaking Ultra Physical Contact Connectors and Angled Physical Contact Connectors Attaching a connector to a fiber optic cable will cause some of the light traversing that fiber to be lost Regardless of whether the connector was installed in the . because of the nature of complexity of the equipment they contain. However, an equipment room may alternately provide any or all of the functions of a telecommunications. and others Relocation of offices is a common occurrence in enterprises. Horizontal cabling is often one of the more dynamic areas of the premises system.