ANSI/TIA 606-B Labeling Standards
While there aren’t any required standards for the labeling of cabling infrastructures, following recommended standards will separate your business from non-professional competition all while making your life a lot easier. Installations that are improperly labeled are difficult to manage and maintain, and can leave your premises looking like this (..hopefully that’s not you in there):
Scary! Hopefully he made it out of there!
The ANSI/TIA 606-B standard helps to prevent this nightmare. It includes recommendations on how to properly label and manage a cabling infrastructure. The ANSI/TIA 606-B was developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and is approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Following the ANSI/TIA 606-B guidelines can take your data center from looking like the unfortunate above picture to looking like this:
Beautiful! Nowhere to get lost! You can download the full ANSI/TIA 606-B standards book from the IHS Standards Store. The following are just a few of the guidelines set up by TIA regarding the labeling of cabling infrastructures:
- The size, color, and contrast of all labels should ensure that the identifiers are easy to read.
- All labels should be resistant to their environment. (E.g. oil, water, heat, UV resistant labels)
- The text on the label needs to be machine generated. (I.e. printed, never hand-written)
- Every location, cable, pathway, and termination must have a unique identifier.
- Each run must have its own descriptive label.
- Each identifying label must be placed within 30cm of the end cable.