Telecommunication Room guidelines
ONA Comments and Port Descriptions
Cables
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all cabling is to be performed in a neat manner
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standard patch cables copper/fibre are not plenum rated and cannot be installed inside a plenum space
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plenum rated cables are a special order
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- copper patch cables must be:
- 'Panduit' or 'Wirewerks' pre-terminated Cat6
- yellow for data
- white for telephone
- grey for console/serial
- other colours are acceptable where currently exist, all new cables should follow the above and any exceptions which must be labelled appropriately
- copper patch cable lengths should be determined by:
- 7' cables in full size racks
- 5' cables in smaller racks [ie: 1/2 racks]
- 3' cables in vertical wall cabinets
- discretion should be used for longer drops to avoid pooling of excess cable ie: when patching between racks or using overhead/under-floor cable management
- disconnected cables (including power cables) must be removed immediately
- exception: ZANI TRs where patch panel is used by Infrastructure Communications. In this case unmatched cables must be velcro tied to telephones cable
- fibre patch cable lengths should be determined by:
Cable management
- cable management must be used when available
- vertical cable management is mandatory in all new racks
- vertical cable management should be added to existing racks where possible
- horizontal cable management should not be used unless it is necessary to run cables across the rack and overhead or raised floors are not available (ie: to connect to neighbouring rack)
- velcro straps only are permitted - tie wraps and/or twist ties are never to be used
- cabling must not run down the 'face' of the rack or from front to back 'through' the rack
Patching
- patching must always be neat and orderly with left/right separation where possible
- ie: left side of panel connected to left side of switch, right side of panel connected to right side of switch
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cables should be connected to the first available switchport. Working from left to right on the appropriate side.
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ie. 1 is the first port on the left, and 25 is the first port on the right.
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- all connections into networking equipment must come from the patch panel
- connected equipment within the rack should use a modified patch cable with female connector to utilize a connection from the patch panel eg: UPSs
- connections are not to be direct from user equipment to networking equipment
- Information Systems & Technology (IST) is to be notified immediately if any patch cables are changed in a ZANI TR
- IST does not need to be notified of patch cable changes in a traditional (non-ZANI) TR
- ONA Comments and Port Descriptions guidelines must still be followed
- IST will maintain all patch cables/connections in all ZANI TRs
- IST will maintain all patch cables/connections in all MANI TRs
- MANI is to be done wherever possible and in new buildings/renovations
*MANI = Minimal Administration Network Infrastructure
Cable Labelling
- fibre jumpers and uplinks are to be labelled on both ends as well as any intermediary jumpers.
- labelling is to be 4 lines:
- line 1: device A (closest to core) ie: dist-rt-mc
- line 2: port on device A ie: Te2/4
- line 3: device B (further from core) ie: dms-rt-1907-a
- line 4: port on device A ie: A22
- fibre database will record and document all patch panel/fibre/device information
- all connections MUST be entered in Fibre database
- copper database (in progress) will document all drop/room/device information
- labelling of copper cables in TRs is not required
- exception: any non-standard type patching must be labelled with appropriate information
- support groups label copper cables if they wish - IST will not maintain labels
Switch labelling
- Switches are to be labelled in the front and back with the switch letter i.e.: A, B , C
- No other information should be on the label ie: Building, Room,IP etc..
ONA comments and port descriptions
| Description | Cisco | HP |
|---|---|---|
|
Port description |
Patch Panel eg: A09 |
-Do Not Use- |
|
ONA comment |
[Optional: BLD Room#] eg: MC 2006 |
Patch Panel [- Optional: BLD Room#] eg: A09 or A09 - MC 2006 |
| Description | Cisco | HP |
|---|---|---|
|
Port description |
Interface-device of connected equipment eg: Te2/5-wn-rt-phy |
-Do Not Use- |
|
ONA comment |
-Do Not Use- | -Do Not Use- |
| Description | Cisco | HP |
|---|---|---|
|
Channel description |
Interface-device of connected equipment eg: Po40-wn-rt |
-Do Not Use- |
|
Channel member description |
Interface-device of connected equipment eg: Te2/5-wn-rt-phy |
TRK# of Etherchannel eg: TRK3 |
VLAN allocation
| Range | Specific | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 400-419 | VoIP | |
| 420-439 | Users | |
| 430 | ITMS | |
| 438 | Dynamic w/802.1x | |
| 439 | 802.1x Pre-Auth | |
| 440-459 | Security/PlantOps | |
| 460-479 | WiFi | |
| 480-499 | Mgmt/PtP | |
| 499 | UPS | |
| 500-519 | non-routed | |
| 520-539 | Private/Research | |
| 540-549 | Computer Labs | |
| 600-619 | non-Firewalled | |
| 1210-1219 | POS |
ZANI (Zero Administration Network Infrastructure)
One to one patch cabling, where all wall jacks are made live and jacks are connected in a 1:1 manner to switch ports of the same number (eg: Jack E04 is connected to port 4 of switch ‘E’). The intent of ZANI is to pre-provision the network and reduce on-going day-to-day network service provisioning activities.
MANI (Minimal Administration Network Infrastructure)
To overcome issues of ZANI TRs, starting the the EC1-4 buildings, MANI patching was created. One to one patch cabling is not performed in MANI TRs. Devices are patched in only when needed and removed when no longer in use. Patching records are meticulously maintained and unused drops are locked at the user end.
To be effective, diligence and care is required when patching and documenting. Ports that are not patched are ‘locked’ at the user end and RTs must be created to activate the port. IST has committed to a one hour response time (excluding lunch hour which is 12:00pm to 1:00pm) for activation of drops and has procedures in place to maintain accurate records. Requests after 3:30pm will be completed before 8am of the next business day, provided IST has access. Requests must include Building, Room/Cubicle# and Drop information written on the wall jack.
For faster response please submit RTs directly to the MANI queue by using this email address: rt-ist-nsmani@rt.uwaterloo.ca . Be sure to include building, floor and wall jack information in your request.
In new constructions or renovations, where it is not feasible to provide a 1:1 patching (ZANI), select ports (provided by the occupants) will be initially patched. All remaining ports will be shutdown and locked at the user end.
Maintaining MANI TR's
Enabling a port
- Remove port-block plastic at user side
- Patching must follow the standard set in the TR guideline: Patching
- If you have a left hand side (LHS) patch panel port and there are no LHS switch ports OR you have a right hand side (RHS) patch panel port and there are no RHS switch ports; Cross to the other side using the horizontal cable management.
- Record the patch panel interface inside the network management tool as described here: ONA
- Update the copper database with the connected switch and port information
- Leave the port-block plastic in the buildings designated location
Note: IST will periodically review TR’s. If any cabling is not run to specification it will be immediately corrected. Correcting the cabling may require disconnecting it temporarily. If cabling in MANI TR's do not follow this procedure access to the TR's will be reviewed.
Disabling a port
- Administratively disable the port
- Disconnect the patch cable from the patch panel and switch
- Leave the patch cables hanging neatly in the buildings designated location
- Delete the description in the network management tool
Additional resources
For additional information, please see: