Specifications

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Structured Cabling System
Equipment room
The equipment room (ER) houses tele-
communications systems, such as PBXs, servers,
routers, switches, and other core electronic
components as well as the mechanical terminations.
It’s different than the telecommunications room
because of the complexity of the components.
An equipment room may take the place of a
telecommunications room or it may be separate.
It can also function as the entrance facility. The
equipment room is specified in TIA/EIA-568-B.
Design recommendations are in TIA/EIA-569-B.
Design considerations.
• Each building should contain at least one
equipment room or telecommunications room.
• Only install equipment related to the
telecommunications system.
• Consider future expansion when sizing and
placing the equipment room.
• Design the door to accommodate the delivery
of large enclosures and equipment. The door
should be a minimum of 910 mm (35.8 in.) wide
and 2000 mm (78.7 in.) high. A double door
without a center post is best.
• The minimum ceiling height shall be 2.4 meters
(7.8 ft.). No false ceilings either.
• The minimum recommended size is 14 m
2
(150.7 ft.
2
). The general rule is to allow 0.07 m
2
(0.75 ft.
2
) for every 10 m
2
(107.6 ft.
2
) of usable
floor space.
• The room should have conditioned power
and backup power.
• Protect against vibration, EMI, contaminants,
and pollutants. The room should not be near
mechanical rooms, electrical distribution panels,
and wet/dirty areas.
• Take into account any water infiltration issues.
Do not locate the room below water level.
• Like the telecommunications room, provide
24/7/365 HVAC. Temperature and humidity
should be controlled.
• The lighting should be the same as the TR:
500 lux (50 foot candles).
• The floor loading should be a minimum
of 4.8 kPa (100 lbf/ft
2
).
Entrance facility
The entrance facility (EF) is the point where the
outdoor plant cable connects with the building’s
backbone cabling. This is usually the demarcation
point between the service provider and the customer-
owned systems. The entrance facility is designated
in TIA/EIA-568-B. Design recommendations are in
TIA/EIA-569-B. It includes:
• Cables.
• Connecting hardware.
• Protection devices.
Design considerations.
• The entrance facility may also house the
backbone links to other buildings in a campus.
• Public network interface equipment and
telecommunications equipment may be
in the entrance facility.
• The location should be a dry area, near the
vertical backbone pathways.
• The entrance facility should be provisioned
as the telecommunications room is for
environment, HVAC, lighting, doors,
electrical power, etc.
Backbone cabling
Equipment room
main cross-connect
Telecommunications room
Entrance facility
main cross-connect
Telecommunications room
Backbone
cabling
Entrance Facility and Equipment Room