Five Tips for Planning Your Ideal Telecom Room

(This blog post from Sal Perez, Regional Sales Manager at CPI, walks you through some guidelines to consider when designing your telecom room. Check it out! -Teddi)

Is your idea of the perfect telecom room (TR) a bright and spacious space that makes you feel like you can glide right in as you prepare to install one simple category cable? Perhaps you prefer a slightly darker room that has a cool feel? Or one in which you are guided by the blinking lights of your racked network and server equipment and your pathway lights up as your presence is sensed? Throughout my many years of experience in helping teams achieve their ideal TR space, I’ve learned that you can have what you want if you’re willing to implement thoughtful planning. In an effort to help you design your ideal TR, I’m happy to share five tips to get you started:

1. Select a Theme
   1. Zero in on a style and purpose for your TR and select the appropriate finishes.
      1. Will you be doing a lot of work in your TR?
      2. Will the TR be used as a showcase to demonstrate your company’s values and seriousness when it comes to your technologies and equipment?
      3. Will there be tedious cabling, cable management and patching?
   2. Going with a bright white room, and selecting CPI Glacier White finishes for your racks, cable managers, cabinets and even runway will enhance the cleanliness of the environment, as well as make it easy on the eyes when doing detailed work. If there is minimal cabling and equipment, you may want to stick with the traditional black finish to maintain a standard and low-key aesthetic. Whatever theme you choose, the more you personalize it, the more likely you will be to use it or show it off!
2. Select Your Racking Style
   1. Not every room requires one method of supporting and protecting your cabling infrastructure and technology equipment. It’s okay to mix and match if you have the room. For example, you can opt to use two-post racks with four-post racks and a few network or server cabinets. You may only need two-post racks and server cabinets. Whatever you decide on, make sure you take the following into consideration:
      1. Who will have access to the room?
      2. How much space is needed in order to easily move around your systems, maintain proper clearances as outlined in BICSI Standards and with your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)?
      3. How will your cabling, equipment and power distribution units be routed and installed?
      4. What are the future requirements? It’s likely that you will have to refresh or upgrade the technologies sooner than you think. In doing so, the size (height and depth) may change, and may even increase the static load and create more heat dissipation.
3. Select Cable Management and Pathways
   1. Cable management can be a challenging topic to tackle. There are so many styles and size options, not to mention multiple price points. Know that you can make informed decisions by understanding your cabling infrastructure and considering this:
      1. If you’re installing (250) Cat-5e cables or Cat-6A cables, you can use this Cable Fill Table to figure out which sizes to consider using. Simply add your information into the table and voilà! You’ll have your specifics in-hand.
      2. In regards to available styles, like single-sided or double-sided, plastic or premium features always lead with a solution that matches your theme. If you plan on completing lots of MAC (Moves, Add & Changes) work, you may be better off with a premium-style cable manager, like CPI’s Motive® Cable Manager. The dual-hinged door opens left-to-right or right-to-left, and includes a push-to-close feature.
      3. The same is true for your pathways. Whether you are considering standard runway (also known as ladder rack), Adjustable Cable Runway or wire basket tray, be sure to size it accordingly. Under-sizing your pathways can create a cabling nightmare and oversizing it can be an eyesore—aside from having to invest more into the bracing of it. Be sure to think about all of the cables that need to be supported. Remember you’ll need separate pathways for backbone fiber and copper cables, horizontal workstation cables, patch cables and any other low-voltage systems.
      4. Don’t forget about your electrical receptacles. Be sure to coordinate the type of power for each rack and cabinet system as it may end up mounted off of your pathway systems.
4. Configure Cabinets and Rack-Level Power
   1. There are hundreds of configurations available for cabinet systems. However, stick to what is being installed in order to find the right one. Think first:
      1. Will it be standard servers, traditional network switches or larger core style gear?
      2. Will it have side-to-side airflow also known as side breathing?
         1. Using this as the baseline this will narrow down your options. For example, if you would like a standard cabinet for standard airflow type equipment, consider the GF-Series GlobalFrame® Gen 2 Cabinet. It has a stylish yet simple look that is UL® Listed 2416 and rated for 3,000 lbs. and can also be configured to include a variety of accessories to optimize your cabling, racking and stacking efforts.
         2. If you have side-breathing equipment where airflow goes from right to left, consider the N-Series TeraFrame® Gen 3 Cabinet. A special air dam feature promotes excellent airflow for your equipment aside from maintaining compliance on your warranty. Do not install side breathing equipment into standard cabinets. Doing so may “starve” your equipment, causing it to work harder and possibly even fail.
            1. If you have the space, consider going with a minimum 27”W (700mm) and 48”D (1200mm) cabinet. This will afford you the space needed for cable management, cabling service loops and a dedicated space for your rack-level Power Distribution Units (PDUs). Adding accessories, like cable managers, lashing bars and PDU brackets require rail setbacks that reduces your maximum allowable space for equipment, so you’ll be glad that you opted for deeper cabinets as you will end up using the space.
            2. Work with your telecom specialist to see if you can have all of the accessories, including rack-level PDUs, pre-installed inside of the cabinets prior to shipping. This means you’ll save on packaging waste and labor as you don’t have to unpack and install the products yourself!
5. Build for Efficiency and Keep Maintenance in Mind
   1. If you’re going to have several racks and/or cabinets in your TR, you’ll want to consider:
      1. Your air conditioning supply and if it will be enough. You may want to implement a Hot Aisle Containment (HAC) or Cold Aisle Containment (CAC) strategy. Having a strategy in place will offer some Return on Investment (ROI). In some instances, you can achieve as high as 50% in energy savings by having a containment strategy. Make sure you explore all available options as you could enjoy that ROI in a short timeframe and it may give you more cooling headroom.
      2. Always document your systems and take inventory of where all equipment is located or consider investing in a Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software solution that can help you stay organized and manage your assets. Once you implement a system or DCIM software, you’ll likely ask yourself how you managed without one.
      3. Finally, make it a habit to wipe down dust that settles in your TR. This will keep your room looking spotless and help to ensure high-performing and reliable equipment operation.

There’s a lot to think about when planning your ideal TR space. Let CPI help. Contact your local Accu-Tech salesperson to learn more.