Proposed Wiring Standards for Campus Public Access Computing Facilities

FABIT, November 5, 1998

1. All network wiring must be installed in raceways, conduit, or wire mold.

2. All wiring topology must provide an individual connection to each computer workstation from a central wiring point, such as a machine room or networking data closet.

3. All copper wiring must meet or exceed the UTP category 5 requirements, with a recommendation of premium wiring that exceeds these requirements (such as a Belden MediaTwist).

4. Every planned computer workstation location must have network wiring for at least two connections to allow for future expansion (e.g. connection of laptops or other devices, etc.).  We recommend pulling and terminating two UTP connections to each workstation location.  However, the minimum requirement is to terminate one connection and leave the other one "dark".  This second connection may be fiber or UTP.

5. Every machine room or networking data closet containing a patch panel with connections to multiple workstation locations must be wired to a CIT node point with both UTP and fiber.  The fiber may be left "dark" for future expansion.

Cornell University adheres to BICSI* (http://www.bicsi.org/) standards and those standards must be met in installations that connect to the Cornell network backbone. See http://www.bicsi.org/standard.htm for those standards.

*In the early 1990's, BICSI decided to drop the "Building Industry Consulting Services, International" and simply refer to themselves as "BICSI: A Telecommunications Association".