The ANSI/TIA-606-B Administration Standard for Telecommunications Infrastructure has been approved by the Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) TR-42.6 Subcommittee, the TR-42 Technical Engineering Committee, and the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). TIA-606-B, often referred to as the cabling labeling specification, is an official standard.
In an article that will appear in Cabling Installation & Maintenance's April 2012 issue, Todd Fries, TR-42.6 member and marketing manager of identification systems for Hellermann Tyton, will detail the new standard, including its elements and the ways in which it differs from its predecessor, TIA-606-A.
"This new standard is intended to fully address the administrative needs of a data center, as well as that of general administration," Fries says in the article.
Among other noteworthy information that will be published in the article, Fries also says, "Labels do not need to include full identifiers. Only a portion of the identifiers is required to distinguish the component within the space in which it is located.
"The new standard does address unusual and constantly changing circumstances," the article adds. "For example, several manufacturers have come out with cabinets that use zero rack mount space by incorporating vertical rails in the cabinet to save space ... How does one identify these vertical patch panels? The TIA-606-B now designates an additional alpha letter indicating the side as A, B, C, D or F, L, R, B (Front, Left, Right, Back) as examples."
Fries also discusses the TIA-606-B standard's inclusion of grounding and bonding systems. He says, "The standard allows the addition of an identifier that describes an object to which the bonding conductor is attached. This might include an electrical panel, a pathway, building steel, a cable tray, or equipment such as a LAN switch."
Check out the Cable Marking and Labeling Equipment section of our Online Buyer's Guide.
You may also be interested in this article authored by Todd Fries: Boiling Down the 606-A Labeling Standard
