ANSI/TIA/EIA 606

Administration Standard for the Telecommunications Infrastructure of Commercial Buildings

This section deals with the elements of a telecommunications system as they relate to the administration of that system including the pathways, spaces, grounding and bonding.

Identifiers Definition

Shall be:
marked at the element to be administered
unique eg: no cable indentifier should be the same as a pathway indentifier.
Identifiers may be encoded or unencoded. An unencoded indentifier contains information specific only to the element identified, eg: C-001 could be a cable designated as 001. But a piece of termination hardware may be identified as 4A-B12 which would be termination hardware in closet 4A, on column (possibly a rack) B, Patch Panel 12.

Labelling Definition

Labelling shall be:
affixed to the element to be administered or
marked directly on the element being administered.
See section 8.2 of the original standards documentation for labelling requirements.

Records Definition

Table 1 is an example of a cable record.

Cable records may contain information about termination positions, the pathway it is located in, and the space it is located. For example, the cable record shown in Table 1 has it in pathway CP12, terminating in closet 4C, on rack B12, position 001.

There are 4 categories of information referred to in the standard, they are:

Required Information
Required Linkages
Optional Information
Other Linkages
As a minimum requirement, all records shall contain the Required Information and Required Linkages.

The "comments" section is not a required part of the standard, but are included for clarity. It is used within this document to help the reader understand the example being shown.

Table 1: An example of a Cable Record

Sample Data Comment
Required Information 
Cable Identifier C0001
Cable Type 4 pr UTP Category 5e description of cable
Unterminated Pair/Cond 0 list of unterminated pairs or conductors
Damaged Pair/Cond 0 list of damaged pairs or conductors
Available Pair/Cond 0 list of available pairs or conductors
Required Linkages
asdf End 1 End 2 
Pr 1-4, Term pos record J0005 4C-B12-001 the element each end of the cable is connected to
Splice Record
Pathway Record CP-12 the pathway the cable is located in
Grounding Record 
Optional Information 
Cable Length 75 meters 
UPC
Ownership Smith 
Other Information 
Other Linkages
Equipment Records PC120 the equipment the cable terminates at (desk top)
Other Linked Records 

Linkages

are the connections between records and identifiers.
occur when an identifier from one record "points" to another record
For example a cable identifier may show where each end of that cable terminates.

User Code Definition

The user code provides the administrator with easy to understand code that will point to a specific office, account, telephone number or person. For example, an outlet labeled O-112 may be located in Office 230. In this case the location of Office 230 is much more readily understood than O-112. This aids in moves, adds and changes.

PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION

A typical administration system includes:

Labels
Records
Reports
Drawings
Work orders.
Reports

Reports detail information about the telecommunications infrastructure records. The information may be all of the information about the record, or it may be selected information. The way in which the information is extracted will depend on its input into the cable database. For example, a report may detail the cable id, the pathway it is located in and its cable type. This information may then be sorted however the user wants.

DRAWINGS

Drawings are used to illustrate different stages of telecommunications infrastructure planning and installation. Annex C of the original standards documentation provides symbols that may be used in drawings.

Conceptual Drawings

Conceptual drawings are used to convey the proposed design intent. They do not include the elements and identifiers and do not necessarily have to become part of the administration documentation.


Installation Drawings

Installation drawings are more detailed than the conceptual drawings and are used to document the telecommunications infrastructure to be installed. They should include the infrastructure elements and may also describe the installation methods. It is not necessary to provide identifiers on these drawings.

Record Drawings

Record drawings document the installed telecommunications infrastructure including:

Floor plans
Elevation
Detail drawings
Record drawings are site specific and will have identifiers assigned to key elements. There may be separate drawings for other portions of the infrastructure such as pathways and spaces depending on how complex the installation is.

WORK ORDERS

Work orders document the operations needed to implement changes affecting the
telecommunications infrastructure such as:

moving a patch cord
installing a conduit
relocating an outlet box.
and involve either individually or in combination:

spaces
pathways
cables
splices
terminations
grounding

Personnel responsible for the work and for the documentation should also be listed.

The original standards documents contain several examples of the various types of reports available.

PATHWAY & SPACE ADMINISTRATION


Pathways are the components of a telecommunications system that route media from one point to another. Spaces are the areas of a telecommunications system where equipment is located.

Pathway and space administration relates directly to the pathways and spaces identified in ANSI/TIA/EIA 569.

When joining two or more pathways of different types or sizes, each segment shall be administered as a separate pathway.

IDENTIFIERS

Pathway Identifiers

Shall:
be unique and assigned to each pathway which serves as a link to the pathway record.
be marked on each pathway or on the pathway labels.
be assigned to each section of a partitioned pathway such as a duct bank.

Pathway Labeling

Pathways shall be:

labeled at all endpoints located in telecommunications rooms, equipment rooms or entrance facilities.
labeled at regular intervals in a closed loop environment.
labeled at the each end point where there are intermediate points with 3 or more pathway endpoints such as pull boxes and joined tray segments. The main pathway should be assigned an indentifier such as 1A400 and its 3 partitions assigned 1A400-a, 1A400-b and 1A400-c.

Space Identifiers and Labeling

A unique identifier shall be assigned to each space.

All spaces shall be labeled. Labels should be placed at the entry to the space, eg: on the door of the telecommunications room.

RECORDS

Pathway Records

Contain pathway:

identifier
type
fill
loading

Link to:

Cable records
Space records, both ends
Space record access
Other pathway records
Grounding records
Space Records

Shall show space:

identifier
type

Shall show linkages to:

Pathway records
Cable records
Grounding records
REPORTS

Pathway Reports

Summary reports should show at a minimum:

types
present fill
present load

And may also show:

contents of pathway
other interlinked records.
Space Reports

Summary space reports should show:

All spaces
Type of space
Location
And may also show:

Additional space information
Other interlinked records.
The original standards documentation contain several examples of what a good report should look like.

DRAWINGS

Shall:
be maintained for the pathway and spaces elements
show location of pathways
size of pathways
location of telecommunications outlet boxes
Should show details for:

plan and elevation views of all telecommunications rooms, equipment rooms and entrance facilities.
routing
bend radii
pull boxes
wall pentrations
firestopping

WORK ORDERS

Shall:
be kept on file when they involve changes to pathways and spaces
Pathway work orders, or pathway portions of work orders shall show:

the pathway identifier
the pathway type
associated space records
Space work orders, or space portion of a work order shall show:

the space identifier
space type
After the work order has been completed, it will be used to update the database.

WIRING SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION

Shall have:
changes to the wiring system updated into the database system
spliced cables treated as a single cable
Hardware containing multiple termination positions may be administered as a single termination point, eg: 8 pin modular connector.

Refer to Annex B of the original standards documentation for addition administrative information.

IDENTIFIERS

Cable identifiers

each cable shall have a unique identifier
the identifier shall be marked directly on the cable or the labels affixed to the cable.

Cable labeling shall have:
horizontal and backbone cables labeled at each end
the pathway linkage field refer to all pathway segments used when cable is routed through multiple pathways,

Cable labeling should:
have the cables labeled at each end with labels
be located at strategic locations such as conduit ends, backbone splice points, manholes and pull boxes.
have cables of differing conductor counts that are spliced together administered as separate cables.
have spliced segments labeled with a single cable indentifier, provided the largest pair count cable is maintained from end to end and indicated as such on the cable labels.

TERMINATION HARDWARE IDENTIFIERS and LABELING

A unique identifier shall be:

Termination Position Identifiers and Labeling

A unique identifier shall be:

Splice Closure Identifiers and Labeling

A unique identifier shall be:

RECORDS

General

Good administration will provide as much data as possible with respect to the installation including component manufacturer, transmission rate, category etc.

Cable Records

For each cable the following information shall be recorded:

Linkages to the following shall be maintained for every pair/conductor in the cable:

The cable type field shall include:

The termination position linkage field details the termination positions of every pair/conductor or set of pairs/conductors of the cable. Each pair/conductor or set of pairs/conductors has a link to two termination position records.

Termination Hardware Records

The termination hardware records shall:

User Code

Shall be assigned to a termination position record for a telecommunications outlet connector. This user code may be a:

Splice Records

Splice records shall:

LINKAGE ADMINISTRATION

Splices With One Cable

A linkage is established from the cable record to the splice record through the splice linkage field.

Splices With Separate Cable Identifiers

A pair/conductor-level linkage is established from the cable records to the splice record through the termination position field.

REPORTS

Cable Summary Report

A cable summary report is recommended and at a minimum it should show:

Information from the cable records or other interlinked records may also be useful.

End-to-End Circuit Report

The end-to-end circuit report shows the connectivity from end to end. At a minimum, the report should detail:

Information from termination position or other interlinked records may also be useful.

Cross-connect Report

Each termination space containing cross-connects should have a report available showing the cross-connections in that space. Information from the termination position records or other interlinked records may also be useful.

Drawings

Record drawings shall be maintained. These drawings shall show:

Drawings should show:

Annex C of the original standards documentation provides symbols that may be used in drawings.

Work Orders

Work orders shall:

The wiring portion of the work order shall include:

This information is then used to update the administration records.

GROUNDING AND BONDING ADMINISTRATION

When changes are made to grounding and bonding elements, the affected labels, records, reports, and drawings shall be updated.

INDENTIFIERS

Grounding and Bonding Identifiers

The Telecommunications Main Grounding Busbar shall be marked "TMGB'".

A unique identifier shall be assigned to each telecommunications backbone
bonding conductor attached to the TMGB.

A unique identifier shall be assigned to each Telecommunications Grounding Busbar (TGB). These identifiers shall use the prefix "TGB".

All bonding conductors extended to equipment from any TGB in the building should have unique identifiers.

Grounding and Bonding Labeling

The conductor connecting the TMGB to the building ground shall be labeled
at each end. Labels shall be affixed on the conductor in a visible location and as close as possible to the bonding point at each end of the conductor.

The TMGB shall be labeled as "TMBG".

Each telecommunications backbone bonding conductor attached to the TMGB shall be marked or labeled. Labels or markings shall be located on conductors
and as close as practicable to the TMGB. Labels or markings shall also be attached to the other end of these backbone bonding conductors where they are bonded to the TGBs.

Each TGB shall be marked or labeled.

It is recommended that all bonding conductors extended to equipment from
any TGB in the building be labeled. Labels should be located on the conductors as close as practicable to the busbar.

RECORDS

Three record types are required to administer the grounding/bonding elements of
the telecommunications infrastructure:

TMGB Record

The TMGB Record shall show:

Linkages to bonding conductor records and the space record shall be maintained.

Backbone Bonding Conductor

The bonding conductor identifier shall show:

Linkages to busbar and pathway records shall be maintained.

TGB Records

The TGB record shall show:

The bonding conductor record and the space record shall be maintained.

Pathway Records for Grounding

Pathway administration is accomplished by using the corresponding pathway type record in section 5 of the original standards documentation.

REPORTS

A telecommunications grounding and bonding summary report should be available listing at a minimum:

Information from the grounding/bonding records and other interlinked records may be useful.

DRAWINGS

Record drawings for telecommunications grounding and bonding infrastructure
elements shall:

Drawings showing the routing of all bonding conductors may also be useful.

Annex C of the original standards documentation provides symbols that may be used in drawings.

Drawings should show:

WORK ORDERS

Work orders shall:

Records affected by the work order shall

After the work order has been implemented, this information is used to update the administration records.

LABELING AND COLOR CODING

Labels

The rules for labeling are tied to ANSI/TIA/EIA 568 B and for that reason the original standards documents should be referenced while reviewing this part of the standard.

Labels are divided into three categories based on their method of attachment:

Adhesive Labels

Adhesive labels shall meet:

Labels should be selected based on:

Cable labels should:

Insert Labels

Insert labels shall:

Other Labels

Labeling should:

Bar Coding

Bar codes shall:

COLOR CODING of TERMINATION FIELDS

General

Color coding as specified in this standard is based on the hierarchical star configuration for backbone cabling as specified in ANSI/EIA/TIA-568.

Color Coding Rules

Color coding shall:

Colors

Colour (Pantone #)                         Identification
Orange (150C)          Demarcation point-Central Office terminations
Green (353C)            Network Connections (customer side of demarc point)
Purple (264C)           Common Equipment (PBXs, computers, LANs)
White                        First Level Backbone
Gray (422C)             Second Level Backbone
Blue (291C)              Station Termination (req'd at TR and ER only)
Brown (465C)          Interbuilding Backbone Cables
Yellow (101C)          Auxilliary Circuits (alarms, security)
Red (184C)              Key Telephone Systems