This genius TIA-606 labelling standard will save you significant time and troubleshooting headaches when trying to trace a cable in your LAN cabling system!
Properly identified infrastructure is much easier to install, maintain and repair. You know you’re getting what you paid for when a LAN cabling system is installed, tested and documented properly. If not, many problems can arise…
3 elements of a LAN cabling system
The three elements of a LAN cabling system are the cable, the connectors, and the installation of those elements in the field.
Quality connectors and cable always meet their advertised performance when properly installed in laboratory environments, but installation in the field is a different matter.
In the field
If data cabling is stretched, kinked, crushed, installed in hot areas, exposed to water or terminated with poor workmanship, you might end up with CAT 5 performance (or worse) from a more expensive CAT 6 install.
And poor documentation means that connecting your devices and patching between the patch panel and the LAN switches can be a hit and miss affair. Good documentation is as simple as good labelling practices.
Labelling
Good labelling reduces the risk of staff and IT personnel from disconnecting the wrong leads, which can cause confusion and, much worse, data loss.
Even years after an install, good labelling means network administrators or new installers are able to get across labelled structured cabling much faster and with no errors, saving significant time and money.
Good labelling practices
Common questions…
- What labels are best to use in a LAN cabling system?
- What should you write on the label?
The labels themselves should be high-quality, waterproof, and made of a material that won’t smear, rip or scratch.
We recommend printed rather than handwritten labels. This ensures they’re easy to read and reduces the chance of the text fading.
TIA-606 standard
What you put on each label is up to you. It can be a personal preference, or you can do as we do and follow the TIA-606 standard.
TIA-606 recommends that each label includes link identifiers to indicate the exact location the cable is running to and from. This information includes the floor number, closet, rack, patch panel, and port.
Example
For example, 2B.5-13.08/2B.1-1.24 encodes the following information…
2 = 2nd floor
B = closet B
.5 = rack 5
13 = patch panel 13
.08 = port 8
Decoding the label, we are able to see that the cable is run from the 2nd floor, closet B, rack 5, patch panel 13/port 8 to rack 1, patch panel 1/port 24 in the same cabinet.
This format gives you exact specifications on where this cable runs to and from. Imagine the troubleshooting headache this can eliminate when you need to trace a cable!
Want an easy-to-maintain LAN cabling system? Get in touch…
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