the ansi/tia-606b administration ©prgodin @ gmail.com edit december 2013 1

The ANSI/TIA-606B The ANSI/TIA-606B AdministrationAdministration

©PRGodin @ gmail.com

Edit December 2013

1

Installations that are improperly labeled are difficult to manage and maintain.

The ANSI/TIA 606-B standard includes recommendations on how to label and manage a cabling infrastructure. 2

Bob RajFrontBoss

ElaineE.W.

Dsk#3Sales3

Dsk#6NW1

OverviewOverviewThe communication cabling is a vital component of a building.

Occupants need a reliable, manageable, predictable and flexible telecommunications infrastructure for voice, video and data communications. Any structure or cable should be identifiable and traceable through the building.

The ANSI/TIA 606B is a system for documenting, identifying and tracking the structured cabling infrastructure is necessary for managing the telecommunications investment.

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Advantages of the Advantages of the StandardStandardThe ANSI/TIA 606B standard:

◦ Uses descriptive labelling. ◦ Easy to understand and implement.◦ Scalable, meaning the identifying labels

can contain as much information as the user wishes.

◦ Immune to future technology changes.◦ Uniform and structured. The labels read

from general to specific from left to right.

Estimates are that only approximately 50% of installations comply with the ANSI/TIA/EIA 606 Standard.

Source: Cabling and Maintenance Magazine

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What the 606B AddressesWhat the 606B AddressesLabelling (Identifiers)

◦ The labels are point-of-origin.◦ Each run has its own descriptive label.◦ Describes the labels and where they should be placed.

Record Keeping◦ All labelled elements are recorded◦ Specify symbols used◦ Define the reports that need to be kept or generated

The standard applied to:◦ Horizontal and Backbone Cable (ANSI/TIA 568C)◦ Grounding and Bonding (ANSI/TIA 607B)◦ Pathways and Spaces (ANSI/TIA 569B) 5

Newest RevisionNewest RevisionThe ANSI/TIA 606B revision, published in 2012,

made many significant changes over the previous version of the standard

Moved to harmonize it with other standards, including the 568C and ISO standards

Simplified and reformatted the identification requirements and identifiers, changed the way racks and panels are addressed, and several other changes.

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Identified ElementsIdentified ElementsEvery location, cable, pathway and

termination point must have a unique identifier.

The standard includes suggestions on creating unique alphanumeric identifiers.

Some identification values are no longer required on the label, but are in the records.

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Administration ClassesAdministration ClassesFour Administration Classifications:

◦ Class 1: Single Building, Single Telecommunications Room

◦ Class 2: Single Building, Multiple Telecommunications Rooms

◦ Class 3: Multiple Buildings, Single Site ◦ Class 4: Multiple Buildings, Multiple Sites

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ConventionsConventionsThe EIA/TIA 568C standard for color code sequences

should be followed.

Identifier label detail increases when read from left to right

Panel Labeling◦ All panel ports should be read and labelled from left to right

(viewed from the front), starting at the top left. ◦ May be labeled with a letter designator or its numerical unit

position.

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IdentifierIdentifierThe standard defines a descriptive

identification label.

This identifier will contain information on the physical infrastructure, not its application.

The information on the label can be used to:◦ Track down the physical layout of the cable◦ Determine which infrastructure records need to be

accessed.

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Identifiers Identifiers (Labels)(Labels)Placed within 30cm of the end of a cable.Must be durable and resistant to

environmental conditions.Must be easily read (contrast)Must be typed or mechanically printed (no

hand written labels)

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Required IdentifiersRequired IdentifiersCabling Subsystem1link (Horizontal Link)Patch panel port & termination pointTS (Telecommunication Space)Cabinet, rack, enclosure, wall segmentPatch panel or blockTMGB & from object (ANSI/TIA 607

element)TGB & from object (ANSI/TIA 607 element)RGB, BCT, TBB, GE (ANSI/TIA 607

element)13

Suggestions for Unique Suggestions for Unique IdentifiersIdentifiers

from the 606A standardfrom the 606A standardBC Bonding conductor IC Intermediate crossconnect

BCD Backbone conduit Jx Jack

Cx Cable MC Main crossconnect

CB Backbone cable MH Man or maintenance hole

CD Conduit PB Pull box

CC Cross-Connect PE Pedestal

CP Consolidation Point Sx Splice

CT Cable Tray SE Service entrance

EC Equip. Bonding conductor SL Sleeve

EF Entrance facility SP Splices in Horizontal Link

EO Equipment Outlet TC Telecom Closet

ER Equipment room TGB Telecom Grounding busbar

Fx Fiber TMGB Telecom Main grounding busbar

GB Grounding busbar TO Telecommunications Outlet

GC Grounding conductor WAx Work area

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Grid positioningGrid positioningRacks and cabinets in a large data center can be

identified using a grid-based system that relate to floor tiles or rows of racks/cabinets. The “X” coordinate is an alpha character and the “Y” coordinate is a number.

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A B C D E F G H I J

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IdentifiersIdentifiersfs: (f) # floor, (s) TS of that floor-a:n: (a) panel/block, (n) # port/IDC section or (a) # panel U (n) # portxy: (x) horizontal tile of a floor, (y) vertical tileb: (b) # buildingc: (c) # site or campusn: (n) # cabled: (d) # pair/strandb: (b) # building

/ is a separator between near end and far end The identifiers read from general information on the left to more specific information on the right. Numbers should start with #1; letters should start with A. For instance, using #3 as a value implies that there is a #1 and a #2 in existence.

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IdentifiersIdentifiers

Image: www.bradycanada.com and the TIA/EIA 606 A Standard

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ExampleExampleA telecom rack is located in a TR on the 3rd

floor, east side at grid position “C-6”. The port is #4 on the 2nd rack down from the top.

The format is: fs.xy-r:p where:◦ fs = floor, space identifier on the floor◦ xy = coordinates of the rack◦ r:p = rack letter and the port number

The label would be: 3E.C6-B:418

Panel unit Panel unit positionspositions

Racks should be labeled based on their grid position. In this image, the label is ‘AD02’

Panels can be identified based on the bottom-up standards rack unit position at its top edge.

19www.hellermanntyton.us

20image: www.cablinginstall.com

21image: www.bicsi.org

Examples of Basic Examples of Basic IdentifiersIdentifiersClass 3 Horizontal (Multiple Buildings, Single Site)

021-2B-3C04

Building Number

Second Floor, Telecom Room

B

Rack 3, Panel C

Port Number

4

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021-2B-A4-30:04

Building Number

Second Floor, Telecom Room

B

Rack at grid A4

Panel at 30U, Port Number

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Examples of Advanced Examples of Advanced IdentifiersIdentifiersClass 3 Backbone (Multiple Buildings, Single Site)

06 - 1C / 05 - 2B. FMM2 . 4

Building

Number

First Floor, Telecom Space C

Building

Number

Second Floor, Telecom Space B

Separator

Fiber Multimode,

Cable 2, Group 4

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Examples of TO/EO Examples of TO/EO LabelsLabels

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image: www.bicsi.org

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Examples of TO/EO LabelsExamples of TO/EO Labels

image: www.bicsi.org

Example of Block LabelExample of Block Label

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Example of Panel Example of Panel DesignatorDesignator

Image: TIA/EIA Standard 27

Note the panel identifiers may use the rack unit position of the panel instead of a letter identifier

Color CodingColor Coding If the termination fields will be color coded the table

below indicates the colors required for the different types of connections

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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Example of color coding termination fields

image: www.anixter.com

Grounding Grounding InfrastructureInfrastructureThe telecommunications

grounding infrastructure should also be managed under the standard.

Grounding busbars must be identified in the following format:◦ FS-TGB or FS-TGMB where:

F = floor S = room identifier TGB or TGMB = busbar type

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image: www.thefoa.org

FirestopsFirestopsFirestop locations are identified in the

following format:◦ F-FSLN(H) where:

F = floor FSL = firestop location identifier N = firestop identifier/location H = hours rating

Any item penetrating the firestop barrier should be labelled within 30 cm on each side.

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Pathways and SpacesPathways and SpacesPathways and spaces follow an

identification format:◦ fs-UUU.n.d(q) where:

f = floor s = space UUU = descriptive identifier/location n = pathway element d = detail information q = qualifying information

◦ The standard indicates recommended descriptor codes for Outdoor Spaces, Devices, Indoor Spaces, and pathways.

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Image: TIA/EIA Standard 33

Record KeepingRecord Keeping

All cables must have an associated record that includes:◦ Identifier◦ Cable type◦ Physical location (pathway and space)◦ Information on the termination on each end

Faceplate/panel/block type and configuration Termination location on the faceplate/block/panel

◦ Service record including: Installation Modifications and/or repairs Test results 34

Record Record KeepingKeeping

Use software specifically designed for cable record keeping.◦ Also allowable is a database or spreadsheet.◦ Physical files may also be necessary.

Records must be easy to access. They should be sorted by location.

The standard states which records are required and which are optional.

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Example of a Horizontal Link Example of a Horizontal Link RecordRecord

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LinkagesLinkagesOther documents may be linked to the

records as a linkage. Examples include:◦ Drawings are helpful for quickly identifying

locations for cabling within a building. The drawings should be updated whenever changes to the infrastructure are made. Examples include: T-Drawings As-built floor plans blueprints,…

◦ Work orders and details on what changes have been made to the infrastructure.

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T-Series DrawingsT-Series DrawingsThe 606 Standard (Annex C) addresses the

symbology and graphic elements for drawing Telecommunications drawings (T-Drawings).

There are 6 types of T-Drawings defined in the standard.

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T-DrawingsT-DrawingsT0: Campus or Site Plans

◦ Backbones

T1: Layout of the building per floor◦ Building Areas (rooms, access points, etc)◦ Backbones◦ Horizontal Pathways

T2: Service Zone or Building Area Drawings◦ Cable drop locations◦ Cable IDs

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T-DrawingsT-DrawingsT3 Telecommunications Rooms

◦ Room Layout◦ Rack/Cabinet elevations

T4 Typical Detail Drawings◦ Faceplate labeling◦ Firestopping◦ Rack/Cabinet details◦ Raceways

T5 Schedules◦ Spreadsheets showing information for cutover

and cable plant management

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T1 Drawing ExampleT1 Drawing Example

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T2 Drawing ExampleT2 Drawing Example

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T3/T4 Drawing ExamplesT3/T4 Drawing Examples

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SummarySummaryTelecommunications are vital to the

occupants of a building.

A well administered structured cabling infrastructure is one that is well documented.

The ANSI/TIA 606B Administration standard describes a method for identifying and managing records for the telecommunications infrastructure.

44END

prgodin @ gmail.com