The ANSI/TIA-606B

Administration
©PRGodin @ gmail.com
Edit December 2013

1
 Bob Elaine Raj Dsk#3 Dsk#6
Boss Front Sales3 E.W. NW1

Installations that are improperly labeled

are difficult to manage and maintain.
The ANSI/TIA 606-B standard includes
recommendations on how to label and
manage a cabling infrastructure. 2
 Overview
The communication cabling is a vital component of a building.

Occupants need a reliable, manageable, predictable and

flexible telecommunications infrastructure for voice, video
and data communications. Any structure or cable should be
identifiable and traceable through the building.

The ANSI/TIA 606B is a system

for documenting, identifying and
tracking the structured cabling
infrastructure is necessary for
managing the
telecommunications investment.
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 Advantages of the
Standard
The ANSI/TIA 606B standard:
◦ Uses descriptive labelling.
◦ Easy to understand and implement.
◦ Scalable, meaning the identifying labels
can contain as much information as the
user wishes.
◦ Immune to future technology changes.
◦ Uniform and structured. The labels read
from general to specific from left to right.
Estimates are that only approximately 50% of installations comply
with the ANSI/TIA/EIA 606 Standard.
Source: Cabling and Maintenance Magazine
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 What the 606B Addresses
 Labelling (Identifiers)
◦ The labels are point-of-origin.
◦ Each run has its own descriptive label.
◦ Describes the labels and where they should be placed.

 Record Keeping
◦ All labelled elements are recorded
◦ Specify symbols used
◦ Define the reports that need to be kept or generated

 The standard applied to:

◦ Horizontal and Backbone Cable (ANSI/TIA 568C)
◦ Grounding and Bonding (ANSI/TIA 607B)
◦ Pathways and Spaces (ANSI/TIA 569B) 5
 Newest Revision
The ANSI/TIA 606B revision, published in 2012,
made many significant changes over the
previous version of the standard

Moved to harmonize it with other standards,

including the 568C and ISO standards

Simplifiedand reformatted the identification

requirements and identifiers, changed the way
racks and panels are addressed, and several
other changes.
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Typical Telecom Infrastructure to Administer
Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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Identified Elements
Every location, cable, pathway and
termination point must have a unique
identifier.

The standard includes suggestions on

creating unique alphanumeric identifiers.

Some identification values are no longer

required on the label, but are in the
records.

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Administration Classes
Four Administration Classifications:
◦ Class 1: Single Building, Single
Telecommunications Room
◦ Class 2: Single Building, Multiple
Telecommunications Rooms
◦ Class 3: Multiple Buildings, Single Site
◦ Class 4: Multiple Buildings, Multiple Sites

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 Conventions
 The EIA/TIA 568C standard for color code sequences
should be followed.

 Identifier label detail increases when read from left

to right

 Panel Labeling
◦ All panel ports should be read and labelled from left to right
(viewed from the front), starting at the top left.
◦ May be labeled with a letter designator or its numerical unit
position.

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Identifier
The standard defines a descriptive
identification label.

Thisidentifier will contain information on the

physical infrastructure, not its application.

The information on the label can be used to:

◦ Track down the physical layout of the cable
◦ Determine which infrastructure records need to be
accessed.

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 image: www.cablinginstall.com
Identifiers
(Labels)
Placed within 30cm of the end of a cable.
Must be durable and resistant to
environmental conditions.
Must be easily read (contrast)
Must be typed or mechanically printed (no
hand written labels)

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Required Identifiers
Cabling Subsystem1link (Horizontal Link)
Patch panel port & termination point
TS (Telecommunication Space)
Cabinet, rack, enclosure, wall segment
Patch panel or block
TMGB & from object (ANSI/TIA 607
element)
TGB & from object (ANSI/TIA 607 element)
RGB, BCT, TBB, GE (ANSI/TIA 607 element)

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 Suggestions for Unique
Identifiers
from the 606A standard
BC Bonding conductor IC Intermediate crossconnect
BCD Backbone conduit Jx Jack
Cx Cable MC Main crossconnect
CB Backbone cable MH Man or maintenance hole
CD Conduit PB Pull box
CC Cross-Connect PE Pedestal
CP Consolidation Point Sx Splice
CT Cable Tray SE Service entrance
EC Equip. Bonding conductor SL Sleeve
EF Entrance facility SP Splices in Horizontal Link
EO Equipment Outlet TC Telecom Closet
ER Equipment room TGB Telecom Grounding busbar
Fx Fiber TMGB Telecom Main grounding
busbar
GB Grounding busbar TO Telecommunications Outlet 14

GC Grounding conductor WAx Work area

Grid positioning
 Racks and cabinets in a large data center can be
identified using a grid-based system that relate to floor
tiles or rows of racks/cabinets. The “X” coordinate is
an alpha character and the “Y” coordinate is a number.

A B C D E F G H I J

1
2

3
4

5
6

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 Identifiers
fs: (f) # floor, (s)  TS of that floor
-a:n: (a)  panel/block, (n) # port/IDC section or (a) # panel U (n) # port
xy: (x)  horizontal tile of a floor, (y) vertical tile
b: (b) # building
c: (c) # site or campus
n: (n) # cable
d: (d) # pair/strand
b: (b) # building

 / is a separator between near end and far end

 The identifiers read from general information on the left to more specific information on the right.
 Numbers should start with #1; letters should start with A. For instance, using #3 as a value implies that there is a #1 and a #2 in existence.

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 Identifiers

Image: www.bradycanada.com and the TIA/EIA 606 A Standard

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Example
A telecom rack is located in a TR on the 3rd
floor, east side at grid position “C-6”. The
port is #4 on the 2nd rack down from the top.

The format is: fs.xy-r:p where:

◦ fs = floor, space identifier on the floor
◦ xy = coordinates of the rack
◦ r:p = rack letter and the port number

The label would be: 3E.C6-B:4

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Panel unit
positions
Racks should be labeled based on

their grid position. In this image,
the label is ‘AD02’

Panels can be identified based on

the bottom-up standards rack unit
position at its top edge.

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www.hellermanntyton.us
image: www.cablinginstall.com 20
image: www.bicsi.org 21
Examples of Basic
Identifiers
Class 3 Horizontal (Multiple Buildings, Single Site)

021-2B-3C04

Second Floor, Port

Building Rack 3,
Telecom Room Number
Number Panel C
B 4

021-2B-A4-30:04

Second Floor,
Building Rack at Panel at 30U,
Telecom Room
Number grid A4 Port Number 4 22
B
 Examples of Advanced
Identifiers
Class 3 Backbone (Multiple Buildings, Single Site)

06 - 1C / 05 - 2B. FMM2 . 4

Buildin Buildin Fiber

First Floor, Second Floor,
g g Multimode,
Telecom Telecom
Numbe Numbe Cable 2, Group
Space C Space B
r r 4
Separato
r
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Examples of TO/EO
Labels

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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image: www.bicsi.org
Examples of TO/EO Labels

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image: www.bicsi.org
Example of Block Label

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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Example of Panel
Designator
Note the panel
identifiers may
use the rack unit
position of the
panel instead of a
letter identifier

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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 Color Coding
 Ifthe termination fields will be color coded the table
below indicates the colors required for the different
types of connections

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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Example of
color coding
termination
fields

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image: www.anixter.com
Grounding
Infrastructure
The telecommunications
grounding infrastructure should
also be managed under the image: www.thefoa.org

standard.

Grounding busbars must be

identified in the following
format:
◦ FS-TGB or FS-TGMB where:
 F = floor
 S = room identifier
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 TGB or TGMB = busbar type
 Firestops
Firestop locations are identified in the
following format:
◦ F-FSLN(H) where:
 F = floor
 FSL = firestop location identifier
 N = firestop identifier/location
 H = hours rating

Any item penetrating the firestop barrier

should be labelled within 30 cm on each
side.

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 Pathways and Spaces
Pathways and spaces follow an
identification format:
◦ fs-UUU.n.d(q) where:
 f = floor
 s = space
 UUU = descriptive identifier/location
 n = pathway element
 d = detail information
 q = qualifying information

◦ The standard indicates recommended descriptor

codes for Outdoor Spaces, Devices, Indoor
Spaces, and pathways.
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Example of a Pathway
Identifier

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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 Record Keeping
Allcables must have an associated record
that includes:
◦ Identifier
◦ Cable type
◦ Physical location (pathway and space)
◦ Information on the termination on each end
 Faceplate/panel/block type and configuration
 Termination location on the faceplate/block/panel
◦ Service record including:
 Installation
 Modifications and/or repairs
 Test results
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 Record
Keeping
Use software specifically designed for
cable record keeping.
◦ Also allowable is a database or spreadsheet.
◦ Physical files may also be necessary.

Records must be easy to access. They

should be sorted by location.

The standard states which records are

required and which are optional.
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Example of a Horizontal Link
Record

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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Linkages
Other documents may be linked to the
records as a linkage. Examples include:
◦ Drawings are helpful for quickly identifying
locations for cabling within a building. The
drawings should be updated whenever
changes to the infrastructure are made.
Examples include:
 T-Drawings
 As-built
 floor plans
 blueprints,…
◦ Work orders and details on what changes have
been made to the infrastructure.
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 T-Series Drawings
The 606 Standard (Annex C) addresses the
symbology and graphic elements for
drawing Telecommunications drawings (T-
Drawings).

There are 6 types of T-Drawings defined in

the standard.

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T-Drawings
T0: Campus or Site Plans
◦ Backbones

T1: Layout of the building per floor

◦ Building Areas (rooms, access points, etc)
◦ Backbones
◦ Horizontal Pathways

T2: Service Zone or Building Area Drawings

◦ Cable drop locations
◦ Cable IDs

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 T-Drawings
 T3Telecommunications Rooms
◦ Room Layout
◦ Rack/Cabinet elevations

 T4 Typical Detail Drawings

◦ Faceplate labeling
◦ Firestopping
◦ Rack/Cabinet details
◦ Raceways

 T5Schedules
◦ Spreadsheets showing information for cutover and
cable plant management

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 T1 Drawing Example

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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 T2 Drawing Example

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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T3/T4 Drawing Examples

Image: TIA/EIA Standard

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Summary
Telecommunications are vital to the
occupants of a building.

A well administered structured cabling

infrastructure is one that is well
documented.

The ANSI/TIA 606B Administration standard

describes a method for identifying and
managing records for the
telecommunications infrastructure.
END
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