Telecommunication Room Build-Out Parameters | UC Berkeley IST

1 of 4

https://ist.berkeley.edu/telecom/nso/pm-sd/standards/hubsite

Telecommunication Room Build-Out Parameters

Installation shall conform with proper practices and codes. (BICSI, ANSI/TIA/EIA, NEC, & local building codes). The standards
introduced here are to be considered minimum standards. Any deviations from these standards must be submitted in writing to
IST (cns-projects@berkeley.edu) for written approval by a IST Project Manager prior to the commencement of construction.

Location
Telecommunications Rooms (TRs) shall be located within 295 cable feet of the most-distant communication outlets they will serve.
It is preferable to have TRs centrally located on a floor and, where possible, to have a single TR serve multiple floors of a building.
All TR doors must open onto an easily accessible hallway or space and shall not require passage through any other assignable or
otherwise occupied space. No plumbing or mechanicals are to be mounted in or pass through TRs unless they are specifically
needed for the space. TRs shall be dedicated to communications use only and cannot be shared with departmental storage,
janitorial staff, equipment, or other materials. TRs may not have any windows and must be insulated for noise suppression. To
avoid electromagnetic interference, TR placement should avoid adjacencies with motors, X-ray equipment and other
electromagnetic generating equipment. The selection of TR locations must be cleared by IST staff before construction commences.

Size
Minimum TR size is 10x10. The sizes given below for typical telecommunications rooms are based on the needs of data, voice,
and video communication systems. Typically, security, alarm and access control systems can be accommodated in TRs of these
sizes as well.

Area Served by Closet (sq. ft.) Minimum closet size

Up to 8,000

10'x 10'

8,000 to 15,000

10'x 12'

Greater than 15,000

10'x 14'

Flooring
Floors shall be sealed concrete at minimum.

Ceiling
It is preferred TRs be open to the floor or roof above. If a ceiling must be installed, it should be at a minimum of 10 from the
floor.

Entry Doors
Doors must have minimum dimensions of 36 wide by 7 tall and should swing out of the TR space. There should be no sill
installed in the door opening.

Walls
Plywood Backboards
Hardwood three quarter inch, AC, fire retardant, plywood free of defects (knots and voids shall be considered a defect)
must be mounted on designated walls of the TR at 06 to 86 AFF (see IST for designated walls). Plywood shall be
mounted with A side exposed to interior of room and C side against the wall. Plywood shall be mounted so as to be
capable of supporting 50 pounds per linear foot of wall space. The plywood shall be painted with white, low-gloss paint
leaving the UL fire-rating symbol unpainted and visible.

Cable Pathway Penetrations

Conduit and/or cable tray penetrations into TRs shall be as close to the entrance door as is practical. All conduits and cable trays
shall be free of burrs and sharp edges. Cut/rough edges shall be covered with plastic/rubber covers. Conduits shall be fitted with
smooth bushings. Conduits or sleeves shall protrude into the TR at least 2 from the surface they penetrate, but not more than 4.
All penetrations shall be filled with appropriate fire blocking material to ensure compliance with fire codes.

Horizontal Penetrations
Horizontal cable penetrations shall be sized to ensure adequate pathway for anticipated quantity of cables. Penetrations should
feed into the appropriate horizontal racking with sufficient support (e.g. waterfalls & ladder racking) to ensure that the cables
minimum bend-radius specifications are respected.

27/02/2016 02:41 p.m.

Telecommunication Room Build-Out Parameters | UC Berkeley IST

2 of 4

https://ist.berkeley.edu/telecom/nso/pm-sd/standards/hubsite

Vertical Penetrations
Vertical conduit penetrations shall consist of a minimum of three (3) 4 conduits through the floor with cable support devices in
place to support all cables to the appropriate equipment rack or termination area. Where possible, floor penetrations should be
made adjacent to the entry door to the TR.

Cable Support
All Horizontal and Vertical cable runs require appropriate support (e.g. Cable Trays, Ladder rack, waterfalls, etc.) that is
specifically designed to bear the required cable weight and volume while maintaining bend radius. Changes of elevations greater
than 12 require support in the form of dropout waterfalls, else conduits should be long enough to dump directly into the cable
tray (minimum 12 above). When additional support is required by a wall, use vertical-mounted ladder rack to carry cables.

Media Layout and Termination

Copper
Copper cabling shall terminate in 110-type block fields. Field layouts, from left to right when facing the backboard,
shall be Data Riser Voice. Note that this order depends on room layout and must be verified with CNS before
installation. Data, riser, and voice fields shall have room for growth within each field. All cables shall feed into top of
110 towers. All 110 blocks shall be mounted on towers with vertical wire management between towers and at the left
and right outsides of each field type. Horizontal cable management devices shall be placed between 100 pair
groupings of 110-type blocks and across the tops of the 110 towers to provide for management of patch cords and
cross connects. See "Technical Specifications for the Installation of UTP Cabling" (http://cns-oir.berkeley.edu
/standards/UTP_Specs.shtml) for specific copper cable termination practices and materials.)

Fiber
Coils of spare fiber shall be mounted on walls high above the uppermost horizontal racking. Fiber Centers shall be rack
mounted. See "Technical Specifications for the Installation of Fiber Optic Cable" (http://ist.berkeley.edu/telecom
/nso/pm-sd/standards/fiber-optic-cabling) for specific fiber cable termination practices and materials.

Racking
Horizontal
TR layouts shall include 3 layers of overhead horizontal cable ladder racking. All cable racking shall be ladder type.
Ladders must have radii downturns (ie: waterfalls) at each point where cables transition from horizontal to vertical.

Uppermost horizontal layer

The uppermost layer should be mounted minimum 86 above the floor. It shall be used for the routing and support of
horizontal station cabling, incoming copper, and fiber riser cable.

Middle horizontal layer

The middle layer shall be mounted 76 above the floor and shall be 4x4 fiber trough for the routing and support of
fiber patch cables run from above the Fiber Centers to equipment mounted in the vertical racks. Fiber trough shall
include downspouts leading to 2x2 vertical cable management on each of the equipment racks.

Lowest horizontal layer

The lowest layer of cable support tray shall be mounted 7 above the floor and be used for the routing and support of
copper patch cables from the 110 fields to the rack-mounted TR electronics. The lowest ladder rack shall be bolted to
the tops of the vertical racks below. They shall be mounted 6 off the wall above the 110 field. All cable racking shall
be ladder type.

Equipment Racks
Vertical equipment racks shall be 19 UL Listed Chatsworth racks. Minimum horizontal separation between rows of
racks shall be 6 feet. Minimum distance from the back of a rack to a wall shall be 5 feet. All racks shall be securely
bolted to the floor of the TR If mounted on raised flooring, racking shall be centered on floor tiles to allow under floor
access from both front and rear of the rack. Where raised-flooring exists, racks shall be bolted to the sub-floor
beneath the panels of the raised-floor. All racks shall have adequate earthquake bracing to the walls and/or ceiling.
Seismic gusset kits and dust cover shall be installed on all racks.

27/02/2016 02:41 p.m.

Telecommunication Room Build-Out Parameters | UC Berkeley IST

3 of 4

https://ist.berkeley.edu/telecom/nso/pm-sd/standards/hubsite

Equipment Rack Labeling

Equipment racks shall be clearly labeled with unique 2-digit serial number reset to 01 for each TR. Numbering of racks
shall start with rack at furthest wall and increment working towards the door. The label shall consist of machine
Printed Numbers minimum 2 inches high.

Cable Management
Double sided vertical wire management must be mounted on both sides of each vertical rack. Racks mounted
side-by-side should have a minimum of 10 wide vertical manager between them and 6 wide vertical managers on
each end of a row of racks. Within the front of the vertical manager there should be a vertical 2 x 2 fingered fiber
duct (with cover) and 2 x 4 downspout transition with cover. Within the rear of the vertical manager there should be
two (2) APC metered 20A PDU power strips.
Within the equipment racks, four (4) large ring panels for horizontal cable management shall be installed. There shall
be a minimum of one 4RMU locking drawer per TR.

Power
TRs shall be fed via the StarLine Track Bus System (http://www.powertech.co.nz/c.asp?brandid=47). Electrical requirements:
Voltage-120/220V or 300V, Frequency-60 Hz, Ampacity-60A, Conductors-Qty. 4 (Phase A, B, C, and Neutral), GroundingAluminum Housing.
Each rack shall be served by two (2) APC metered 20A PDU power strips. UPS is required in all TRs. TR shall have 15 Amp
convenience outlets every 6 around the walls at 18 AFF. Each power strip and outlet must have a prominent, permanent,
machine-made label indicating the Panel Number, Breaker Number, and Room Number of the breaker panel that feeds the circuit.

Grounding
It is expected that each TR shall have
20 X 4 copper ground bus bar
The ground bus bar must be connected to the local service panel and the main electrical service entrance.
1-1/4 EMT conduit to the building service entrance for the installation of a grounding conductor.
1/0 insulated ground conductor between ground bar in the TR and buildings main service entrance.
1/0 insulated ground conductor between ground bar in the TR and nearest local branch panel.
#6 wire connections must be made to each rack, cable tray segment, cross connect enclosure and fiber shelf.

Environmental
Lighting
Sufficient lighting shall be provided to ensure a minimum of 50 foot candles, measured 3 above the finished floor
after all racks, cable trays and cables are in place. A light switch shall control TR lights only and be placed near the
entrance door.

HVAC
Sufficient HVAC shall be included in the design of the TR to maintain temperatures at 64 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit at
30% to 55% relative humidity. The TR must be provisioned for continuous HVAC (24 hours per day and 365 days per
year) with local control. A positive pressure shall be maintained with a minimum of one air change per hour, or as
required by applicable code.
HVAC shall be provided according to the following table:
Number of
Racks

BTU/Hr
(max)

BTU/Hr

Tons of HVAC (max

rounded down)

(de-rated)
1

6,500

4,875

1/2 ton

13,000

9,750

1 ton

19,500

14,625

1 1/2 ton

These figures are derived as follows:

Each rack has two power strips. Each power strip is a separate 20A circuit. Each circuit is de-rated at the breaker to
16A.
16A X 120VAC = 1,920 watts x 2 racks = 3840 watts per rack
3840 watts X 3.4 = 13,056 BTU/Hr per rack
1 ton = 12,000 BTU/Hr

Fire Protection
Fire protection must be provided to meet campus fire code. In order of preference: Pre-Action Fire sprinkler system, drainage
trough below sprinkler pipes. Wire mesh cages must be installed over all sprinkler heads.

27/02/2016 02:41 p.m.

Telecommunication Room Build-Out Parameters | UC Berkeley IST

4 of 4

https://ist.berkeley.edu/telecom/nso/pm-sd/standards/hubsite

Keying
All TR door locks shall be keyed with one of the following, in order of preference: Proximity card-key system run by the campus
police department, Cyber core, T-Key.

Telephone
The MDF/BDF TR in each building shall have a wall telephone installed. The handset cord shall be of sufficient length to reach any
point within the TR. TR phones shall be restricted to campus-only calls.

Labels
All cables, fiber centers, 110 blocks, and equipment must be labeled with machine made, permanent labels according to current
labeling standards.

Signage
The outside of each TR needs to have a sign indicating the room number. The sign must not indicate that it is a TR.
Installation shall conform with proper practices and codes. (BICSI, ANSI/TIA/EIA, NEC, & local building codes). The standards
introduced here are to be considered minimum standards. Any deviations from these standards must be submitted in writing to
IST (cns-projects@berkeley.edu) for written approval by a IST Project Manager prior to the commencement of construction.

Copyright 2007 The Regents of the University of California. Updated 2011-11-22.

27/02/2016 02:41 p.m.