The Different Standards for Telecommunication Industry: Are They Mutually Exclusive?

Standards improve the administration of data centers, ensure compatibility, and offer definite yardsticks to assess reliability.

The three main standards for the telecommunication industry are TIA-942, Up-time Institute tiers and BICSI 002-2010. There is also the AS/NZS 2834 standards of 1995, and ISO/IEC 24764 “Information Technology – Generic Cabling for Data Centre Premises” standards of 2010.  Each serves specific objective  and may co-exist, used in whole or in part to define data center standards for any given project.

TIA-942 is aimed at establishing a standard for structured cabling in data centers, encouraging the involvement of IT and telecommunications in the design process of data centers, and improving communication between different disciplines involved in the task of planning data centers. With priorities changing over time, and most of TIA’s initial objectives having become commonplace, TIA-942 gave way to TIA-942-A, with fresh objectives.

TIA 942A aims to harmonize data center cabling with international standards, standardize terminology such as external network interface and equipment outlet, and foster energy efficiency. It is also geared towards enforcing minimum standard specs, such as a minimum of Category 6 twisted-pair cabling, and LC and MPO connectors.

TIA-942 has borrowed from the Up-time Institute four tiered standards, and the BICSI 002-2010 cross-references TIA-942, besides complementing CENELEC and ISO/IEC data center standards, without duplicating content.

Up-time Institute’s tier standard is goal and result-oriented, leaving the actual method flexible. TIA’s tiers offer rigid technical specification on data center designs, filling the void.

Again, while TIA-942 offers minimum requirements, BICSI 002-2010 best practices document exceeds the minimum requirements, and offers content and specs in areas not covered by the TIA standards. The BISCI best practices, for instance, covers architectural, security, electrical and mechanical systems whereas TIA-942 focuses mostly on cabling.

In the age of heightened security risks and cut-throat competition where reliability and up-time is at a premium, businesses handling complex and sensitive data need to go beyond the minimum and seek out data centers that offer top-notch standards. Lifeline Data Center offers custom solutions for all your data center needs. Contact us today.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.