Telecommunications Infrastructure

Standard for Data Centers

ANSI/TIA-942

Chris DiMinico
cdiminico@ieee.org
MC Communications

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Data Center Standards

ANSI/TIA-942 Telecommunications
Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers
Co-chairs: Chris DiMinico & Jonathan Jew
Published 2005 available through TIA at
www.tiaonline.org
ANSI/NECA/BICSI-002 Data Center Design
and Implementation Best Practices
co-chairs: Jonathan Jew & John Kacperski
best practices complements TIA-942
2007 target
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Who Developed TIA-942?

Developed by the TIA TR-42.1.1 Network

Distribution Nodes subcommittee as Project
No. 3-0092
Participants included:
Architecture & Engineering Firms
Consultants
End Users
Manufacturers

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Purpose of TIA-942

Encourage early participation of telecom

designers in data center design process
Fill a void by providing standards for planning
of data centers, computer rooms, server
rooms, and similar spaces.
The standard encompasses much more than
just telecommunications infrastructure.
Close to half of the technical content deals
with facility specifications.

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Purpose of TIA-942

Define a standard telecommunications

infrastructure for data centers
Structured

cabling system for data centers using

standardized architecture and media
Accommodates a wide range of applications (LAN,
WAN, SAN, channels, consoles)
Accommodates current and future protocols
(e.g., 10+ GbE )
Replaces unstructured point-to-point cabling that
uses different cabling for different applications

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Purpose of TIA-942

Specifications for data center

telecommunications pathways and spaces
Recommendations on media and distance for
applications over structured cabling
Establish a standard for data center tiers to
replace several proprietary standards. The
TIA data center tier standard is:
A tool to evaluate existing data centers
A tool to communicate design
requirements
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Unstructured Cabling
C

Heater - A/C

TABLE
247-7589

AB

AC

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TABLE

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NETWORK

CABINET
I7

NETWOR K
C ABINET
I6

CAB INE T
I8

DESK

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H8
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H7

N ETW OR K
CABINET
H6

NETWORK
CABINET
G7

IBM
CAB

CABINET
F6

N ETWOR K
CABINET
G6

N ETW ORK
C ABINET
F5

NETWORK
CABINET
G5

N ETW ORK
C ABINET

NETWORK
C ABINET
E6

IBM
3745-A11

IBM
3746-900

NETWORK
C ABINET

IBM

TAPE RACK

POMONA
A/C UNIT
#8

TAPE RACK

NETWORK
CABIN ET
H4

NETWORK
CABIN ET
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N ETW ORK
C ABINET
F3

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NETWORK
CABIN ET

N ETW ORK
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CABIN ET
H2

IBM
DASD

IBM
S-390
R34

IBM
DASD

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CABIN ET
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CABINET
F1

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C ABINET
E4
NETWORK
C ABINET
E3

NETWORK
C ABINET
E2

NETWORK
C ABINET
E1

3745-41D

IBM
3745-17A

IBM
3745-L13
SAA
CABIN ET
D2

N ETW OR K
CABINET
A6

NETW OR K
CABINET

NETWORK
CABINET

C6

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N ETWOR K

CABINET
A5

N ETW ORK

E5

11

AH

Heater - A/C

POMONA
A/C UNIT
#7

N ETW OR K
CABINET

NETWORK
CABIN ET
H5

AG

AT &T

10

AA

DEFINIT Y

TABLE

He ater - A/C

NETW OR K
CABINET
C5

CABINET
B6

HALON
PANEL

NETWORK
CABINET
A4

NETW OR K
CABINET
C4

N ETWOR K
CABINET
B5

NETW OR K
CABINET
C3

N ETWOR K
CABINET
B4

N ETW OR K
CABINET

NETW OR K

N ETWOR K

A2

CABINET
C2

CABINET
B3

NETW OR K
CABINET
C1

N ETWOR K
CABINET
B2

N ETW OR K
CABINET
A3

NETWORK

SAA
CABIN ET

CI SCO
ROU TE R

CONS OLE

Heater - A/C

STORAGE
CABINET

DESK

F/X
247-7543
HALON
ABORT
HALON
RELEASE

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CABINET
B1

NETWORK
CABIN ET
G1

12
247-7538

13
14
STORAGE
C ABINE T

TAPE RACK

15

IBM
AS -400

IBM
AS-400

INSTALL A CABLE WHEN YOU NEED IT

(SINGLE-USE, UNORGANIZED CABLING)
TABLE

16

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

LOCKER

STORAGE
CABINET

LIEBERT
PDU -C

3174
CABINET
STORAGE
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

Structured Cabling
B

Heater - A/C

TABLE
247-7589

NE TWORK
C ABINET
I1

NETWORK
CABINET
I2

CAB IN ET
I4

NETWORK
CABINET
I3

NETWORK

NE TWORK

CABIN ET
I6

NETWORK
C ABI NET
I5

NETWOR K
CAB INE T
I7

NE TWORK
CABI NET
I8

IDF

NETWORK
C ABINET
H6

IDF

N ETWOR K
C ABINET
H5

T APE RACK

TABLE

AE

AF

AG

FIL E

FILE
CABINET

FIBER MDF COPPER

& CORE
MDF

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A/C UNIT
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CABINET
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NETWORK
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CABIN ET
F4

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H3

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CABIN ET
G3

NETWORK
CABIN ET
F2

N ETWOR K
C ABINET
H2

NETWORK
CABIN ET
G2

LAN
CABINET
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SCANN ER

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IBM
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NETWORK

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3746-900

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IBM
3745-17A

IBM
3745-L13
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247-7538

13
14
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IBM
AS-400

IBM
AS-400

STRUCTURED CABLING SYSTEM (ORGANIZED,

REUSABLE, FLEXIBLE CABLING)
T ABLE

16

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

STORAGE
CABINET

LIEBERT
PDU- C

LOC KER

3174
CABINET
STORAGE
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

3174
CABINET

Design Elements

Cabling Design
Facility Design
Network Design

Informative annexs: Provide best practices

Annex A - Cabling Design Considerations
Annex B- Telecommunications infrastructure
administration
Annex C-Access provider information
Annex D- Coordination of equipment plans with
other engineers
Annex E- Data center space considerations
Annex F- Site selection
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Design Elements

Cabling Design:

Copper and fiber cabling performance

Connectors, cables, distribution hardware
Cabling distances
Space management

Facility Design:
Data center sizing
Power distribution methodologies
Pathways and spaces
HVAC, security, operations, and administration.
Flexibility, scalability, reliability and space
management

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Design Elements

Network Design:
Support

of legacy systems
Enable rapid deployment of new and emerging
technologies such as 10 GbE and 10+ GbE
copper and fiber applications.

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Relationship of Spaces
BUILDING SITE
BUILDING SHELL
GENERAL OFFICE
SPACE

TELECOM ROOMS &

EQUIPMENT ROOMS
for spaces outside data
center

OFFICE BUILDING
SUPPORT SPACE

DATA CENTER
SUPPORT
STAFF
OFFICES

OPERATIONS
CENTER

ENTRANCE
ROOM(S)

TELECOM ROOM(S)
for data center
support spaces

COMPUTER ROOM

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

DATA CENTER
ELECTRICAL &
MECHANICAL ROOMS

STORAGE ROOMS
& LOADING DOCKS

Data Center Topology

Entrance Room

Entrance
Facility

Carriers

Carriers

Active Equip
interconnect

Offices, Operations
Center, Support Rooms
Secondary Entrance Room
Active Equip
interconnect

Active Equip
interconnect

MC
MC

Carriers
Carriers

Back bone
Cabling
HC
IC

HC
IC

HC
IC
Horizontal
Cabling

interconnect
Active Equip
Storage Area
Devices

interconnect
Active Equip

ICHC
Zone
Distribution
interconnect

interconnect
Active Equip
Active Equip

Data Center
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

TIA-942 Spaces

Entrance Room (ER) - location of interface

with campus and carrier entrance facilities
Main Distribution Area (MDA) location of
main cross-connect (MC)
Horizontal Distribution Area (HDA) location
of horizontal cross-connect (HC)
Zone Distribution Area (ZDA) location of
zone outlet (ZO) or consolidation point (CP)
Equipment Distribution Area (EDA) location
of equipment cabinets and racks
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Data Center Cabling

Main
Distribution
Area

MC
MC

Backbone
Cabling

Horizontal
Cabling

HC
IC

interconnect
Active Equip

interconnect
Active Equip

ICHC

Horizontal
Distribution
Area

interconnect

Zone
Distribution
Area

Active Equip

Equipment
Distribution
Area

Horizontal cabling is the cabling from the horizontal cross-connect (in the
main distribution area or horizontal distribution area) to the outlet in the
equipment distribution area or zone distribution area.
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Horizontal and Backbone Cabling

Recognized Cables:
a) 100-ohm twisted-pair cable (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568B.2), category 6 recommended (ANSI/TIA/EIA568-B.2-1)
b)

multimode optical fiber cable, either 62.5/125

micron or 50/125 micron (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.3),
50/125 micron 850 nm laser optimized multimode
fiber is recommended (ANSI/TIA-568-3-1)

c)

singlemode optical fiber cable (ANSI/TIA/EIA568-B.3)

d)

75-ohm (734 and 735 type) coaxial cable

(Telcordia Technologies GR-139-CORE)
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Horizontal cabling distances

The maximum horizontal distance is 90 m

independent of media type.
The maximum channel distance including
equipment cords is 100 m.
The maximum cabling distance in a data
center not containing a horizontal
distribution area is:

300 m for an optical fiber channel including

equipment cords.
100 m for copper cabling including equipment
cords.

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Backbone Cabling

Includes cabling from MDA to ER, HDA

Optional cabling between HDAs allowed
Maximum backbone cable lengths depend on
applications to be supported
Centralized optical fiber cabling supported
with interconnect, splice, or pull-through at
the HDA
Star topology with no intermediate crossconnects
Various topologies permit redundancy and
flexibility to support various data center sizes
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Computer Room & Entrance Room

Requirements

Min clear height of 2.6m/8.5 ft

Min door size 1m/3ft wide 2.13/7ft high
Min dist floor loading 7.2 kPA/150lbf/ft2,
recommended min 12 kPA/250 lbf/ft2
20 degrees C to 25 degrees C
40% to 55% relative humidity (reduces ESD)
Any sprinkler systems must be pre-action
system
Common bonding network (CBN)
equipotential ground reference

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Main Distribution Area

Location of Main Cross-Connect (MC), the

central point of distribution for data center
structured cabling system
Centrally located to avoid exceeding
maximum distance restrictions (typically for E1s, E-3s, T-1s and T-3s)
Install separate racks for Fiber, UTP, and
coaxial cable distribution

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Horizontal Distribution Area

Location of Horizontal Cross-Connect (HC),

the distribution point for cabling to equipment
distribution area
Distribution LAN, SAN, KVM switches and
console servers located in HDA
MDA may also include an HC for nearby
equipment distribution area
Number of HDAs depends on the density of
cabling and the size of the data center

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Horizontal Distribution Area

The capacity of the cable tray system and the

size of the cross-connect creates practical
limits on the size of the HC
Guideline is maximum of 2,000 4-pair UTP or
coax cable terminations per HDA
Arrange patch bays to minimize patch cable
lengths and to simplify cable management
Separate racks for fiber, UTP, and coax
Locate switches and patch panels to
minimize patch cord lengths

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Zone Distribution Area

Rack, cabinet, or under floor enclosure that houses a

zone outlet (ZO) or consolidation point (CP)
ZO - structured cabling termination for floor-standing
equipment that cannot accept patch panels (e.g.
mainframes and large servers).
CP - intermediate termination point (e.g. cabling to
areas where floor plan is uncertain or dynamic)
No cross-connects within the ZDA
No active equipment shall be located in the ZDA
Maximum of 144 connections in a ZDA
Maximum of one ZDA within a horizontal cable run

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Equipment Cabinets

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Front rails of cabinets

must be recessed to
provide adequate room
for patch cables and
wire managers
Recommend 1-to-1
ratio of patching to
cable management
Arrange switches and
patch panels to
minimize patching
between cabinets &
racks
Perforated tiles at front
of cabinets
One edge of cabinets
placed at edge of tile

Raised Floor

Better appearance than overhead cabling.

Allows higher power densities, better control
of cooling, and more flexibility in location of
cooling equipment
Most stand-alone computer systems are
designed for cabling from below
Coordinate under floor cabling with
mechanical & electrical engineers
Recommend wire basket cable trays in hot
aisles for telecom cabling

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Example of Wire Basket Cable Trays

For Cabling Under Raised Floor
24"
1.375"

RAISED FLOOR TILE

DIVIDER
18"
9"

5"
4"

FIBER

COPPER
CABLING

SUPPORT STRUT

36"

12"

18"
5"
4"

FIBER

COPPER
CABLING

SUPPORT STRUT

Open Area
13.5"

24"
On Center

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

1"

1"

Overhead Cable Trays

Less expensive than raised floor systems

Cable trays can be attached to the top of
racks and cabinets (if they are uniform in
height)
Cable trays suspended from the ceiling
provides more flexibility for supporting
cabinets/racks of various heights and for
adding and removing cabinets/racks.
Cable trays can be installed with several
layers
Coordinate location with lighting, ducts,
overhead conduits, overhead power
IEEE 802.3 HSSG
distribution

Overhead Cable Tray Example

3 Layer cable tray system:
Bottom layer signal
Middle layer power
Top layer fiber
Signal Reference Grid in
brackets attached to lower
layer of trays
Fiber patch cables may be
in fiber duct attached to
threaded rods

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Infrastructure Administration

Informative annex with TIA-606-A standards

compliant labeling scheme for all
components.
Labeling scheme extended for use in data
centers
Cabinets and racks labeled by location using
tile grid or row/position identifiers
All cabinets, racks, patch panels, cables, and
patch cords should be labeled
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Labeling Example
AA

AB AC AD

AE

AF

AG AH

AI

AJ

AK AL AM AN AO AP AQ AR AS

AT

AU AV AW AX AY

"X" COORDINATE
AZ BA

BB BC BD

01
02

Cat 6 x 24

03
04
05

RIGHT
FRONT
CORNER

06
07

CABINET AQ03

CABINET AJ05

08
09
10
11
12
13

"Y" COORDINATE

Patch Panel for 24 Cat 6 from 1st Panel in Cab AJ05 to 2nd Panel in Cab AQ03
AJ05-A to AQ03-B Ports 01-24
01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Site Selection

Informative annex with guidelines for

selection of a site for a data center
Architectural
Electrical
Mechanical
Telecommunications
Security
Other

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Facilities Specifications & Tiers

Informative annex with general architectural,

structural, electrical, mechanical, and
telecommunications recommendations requirements
Annex includes detailed architectural, security,
electrical, mechanical, and telecommunications
recommendations for each Tier
Recommended specifications by tier are a uniform
way to rate aspects of a data center design and are a
starting point for initiating design requirements with
qualified architects and engineers

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Data Center Tiers

Tier 1 basic data center

no redundancy
Tier 2 redundant components
Single distribution path with redundant
components
Tier 3 concurrently maintainable
Multiple distribution paths with only one
active
Tier 4 fault tolerant
Multiple active distribution paths
IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Redundant Topologies
Carriers

Carriers

Carriers

Secondary
Customer
Maintenance Hole
(Tier 2 and higher)

Primary Customer
Maintenance Hole
(Tier 1 and higher)
r3

Tier

Primary Entrance
Room
(Tier 1 and higher)
Tie

Secondary
Entrance Room
(Tier 3 and higher)

r4

Tie

Main Dist Area

(Tier 1 and higher)

Telecom Room

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 1

Offices, Operations
Center, Support
Rooms

Tier 3

Tier 1

Data Center

Tie

Carriers

r3

Tier 4

Secondary Dist
Area
(Optional for Tier 4)

Computer
Room
Horiz Dist Area
Optional
Cabling

Horiz Dist Area

Horiz Dist Area

Equip Dist
Area

Equip Dist
Area

Zone Dist Area

Equip Dist
Area

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Data Center Tiers

Higher tiers correspond to higher availability, but also

have higher construction costs
Data Center can have different tier ratings for
different portions of its infrastructure (architectural,
security, mechanical, electrical, telecommunications)
The overall rating for the data center is equal to the
lowest tier rating
Capacity of systems may need to be upgraded to
maintain tier rating as data center load increases
Human error and operating procedures have a major
impact on availability

IEEE 802.3 HSSG

Conclusion

TIA-942 is the first standard to specifically addresses data

center infrastructure.
Primarily a telecom infrastructure standard, but about half
of the content deals with facility requirements.
Provides a flexible and manageable structured cabling
system using standard media.
Builds on existing standards, when applicable
Guidelines on a wide range of subjects useful to someone
designing or managing a data center.
An official tiering standard for determining the quality of a
center. A way to objectively compare one center with
another.

IEEE 802.3 HSSG