Network Infrastructure Blog

In everything you do in life, “safety first” should be top of mind. This holds true in personal events and in the workplace – whether you put on a helmet before riding a bike or safety glasses when working with optical fiber. The same practice applies to specifying and installing the right cable for the right environment. That is why the NFPA-70 National Electric Code® (NEC) created different cable jacket ratings.

The primary purpose of the NEC is to prevent fires and to promote safety for humans and equipment. Communication cables face varied types of environmental stresses within the different areas of a building. The NEC is intended to minimize the risk of fire and the production of smoke and toxic fumes in each of those areas through the use of different types of cables and pathways. Fire, smoke and fumes can spread in two directions – vertically between floors, known as risers, and horizontally above the ceilings or below the floor where the building’s airducts are connected for heating and air conditioning, otherwise known as plenum spaces. See the simplified illustration of the different areas of cable runs.

Top Ratings

Both copper and optical fiber communications cable have jacket ratings to indicate the approved physical locations in which they are run. There are actually 16 ratings for conductive and non-conductive communication cables, but for this article we are only concerned with the most common in our industry. The three basic ratings for both cable types are general purpose, riser and plenum rated. Copper jacketing ratings are identified as CM/CMG (General use), CMR (Communications Riser) or CMP (Communications Plenum).

• The NEC defines CMP as being listed as suitable for use in ducts, plenums, and other spaces used for environmental air and shall also be listed as having adequate fire-resistant and low smoke-producing characteristics.
• The NEC defines CMR as being listed as suitable for use in a vertical run in a shaft or from floor to floor and shall also be listed as having fire-resistant characteristics capable of preventing the carrying of fire from floor to floor.
• The NEC defines CM/CMG as being listed as suitable for general-purpose communications use, with the exception of risers and plenums, and shall also be listed as being resistant to the spread of fire.

Fiber cable jacket ratings are similar to copper but designated OFN/OFNG (Optical Fiber Non-conductive General Purpose), OFNR (Optical Fiber Non-conductive Riser) or OFNP (Optical Fiber Non-Conductive Plenum). (Note: When copper is added to a fiber cable, such as armored constructions, it adds an electrical conductivity element to the cable and will be rated OFC/OFCG, OFCR and OFCP)

In the U.S., the NEC specifies the environment where each cable is best suited. Cable ratings are based on flammability testing to meet either required NFPA or UL specifications. Most cable manufacturers have their cables tested to these specs in national recognized labs. Note that a more stringently rated cable can be substituted for a less stringently rated cable, but not the reverse.

What about LSOH?

Low Smoke Zero Halogen cables, referred to as LSOH or LSZH, are commonly used in different parts of the world. However, the NEC does not recognize LSOH cables and they are tested to different criteria than CM/CMG, CMR and CMP cables. Make sure that the cable jacket to be installed always meets the requirements specified by the electrical code that applies to your country or location. Note that there are some jacket constructions that carry dual ratings, such as CM/LSOH. This is common for patch cords where having a dual jacket allows for use in a wider range of markets.

Bottom Line

What does this all mean and why should you be concerned? Basically, matching the right cable to the environment will minimize the hazards of fire, smoke and toxicity. When creating bids or bills of materials (BOMs), installers need to make sure that they are specifying the right cable for the job – both in performance and in safety. Before completion, building inspectors will check to make sure that all wiring meets local and state codes before signing off on any work. If not, the end user will not qualify for an occupancy permit. When standards and codes are not followed, it affects everyone. We take pride at providing our customers the best in quality and in safety. And if ever in doubt – ask your regional Siemon Technical Service Group!

Siemon’s Category 6 UTP cable comes in plenum, riser and LSOH, as well as outside plant variations and even CPR compliant versions for the European market. To check out Siemon’s full line of copper and fiber cables available in a wide range of ratings, visit the cable section of our product e-catalog.

Whether you are designing an infrastructure for a single doctor’s office or a healthcare campus, the cabling and connectivity you select for the network becomes a critical factor for a healthy network. Today’s healthcare applications are running at higher bandwidths and higher speeds due to both the size of graphical files used for today’s advanced medical imaging and the need to have files transported to many locations at lightning speeds.  Luckily there are standards and guidelines in place to help.

Both TIA and BICSI have updated their healthcare standards to address the changing needs of this environment: ANSI/TIA-1179-A (2017), Healthcare Facility Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard and ANSI-BICSI -004-2018, Information Communication Technology Systems Design and Implementation Best Practices for Healthcare Institutions and Facilities.  The TIA standard provides a guidance on cabling, distances, pathways and spaces, whereas BICSI offers design guidelines on healthcare system topologies. 

TIA was updated to synchronize with TIA-568.1-D standards on evolving cable and connectivity solutions (such as recommending Category 6A for copper installations and OM3, OM4 or OM5 for fiber) and to include reference to ANSI/TIA 862-B for intelligence building systems and ANSI/TIA 5017 for security requirements (refer to our own Standards’ Informant for specifics on TIA changes). The newest BICSI-004-2018 standard augments system design guidelines to now include wireless (including radio and RFID), digital signage and network security, and it provides detailed layouts and options for spaces such as telecom rooms.

Cabling System Cures

The impact of multiple IP technologies, combined with various integrated cabling systems and stringent healthcare regulations, is enough to give ICT designers a headache.  However, here are some best cabling practices and Siemon products to keep in mind when deploying cabling systems in the healthcare environment.

• Zone Enclosures – The revised TIA-1179-A standard now recognizes zone cabling topology. Zone cabling will limit the horizontal runs from the TR by placing an intermediary cross connection. Since it is difficult and costly to make moves, adds and changes in a healthcare facility due to codes and ICR (Infection Control Regulations), a zone enclosure will allow easy access when changing or adding a cabling run or a new device. This includes Siemon’s 24-Port MAX® Zone Enclosure or larger 96-Port Passive Zone Ceiling Enclosure, which both accept either copper or fiber modules.

• Siemon’s Z-MAX® Category 6A F/UTP and TERA® 7A Shielded Copper Cabling Systems – Shielded cable provides better performance and headroom for high-bandwidth copper applications, better immunity to RFI or EMI and better dissipation of heat when running PoE through twisted pair. This is especially critical in a healthcare environment that may expose cabling to the detrimental effects of high magnetic fields from a variety of medical devices.

• XGLO® and LightSystem® Fiber Systems and Assemblies: To support high-speed applications, and the need for more bandwidth and noise immunity, fiber is an ideal choice for backbone cabling, as well as FTTD where fiber may need to connect directly to a device.  Siemon offers many options including cable, field terminated connectors, and pre-terminated trunks and assemblies.

• Ruggedized MAX® & Z-MAX® outlets and modular patch cords:  Many of areas of a healthcare facility—from the lab to the operating room—are considered harsh environments due to wash downs and chemicals. Industrial housings with chemical-resistant thermoplastic housing and an IP66/IP67-rated seal protect plug and outlet contacts from dust, moisture, vibration, and chemicals. Siemon also offers IP44-rated stainless steel faceplates with rear sealing gaskets to keep moisture and debris out.

• Z-PLUG™ Field-Terminated Plug: Siemon’ s Z-PLUG supports MPTLs (Modified Plug Terminated Links) that enable custom-length direct connections to wireless access points, security cameras, LED lights, distributed antenna systems (DAS), building automation devices and any other IP-based and PoE-enabled devices. The fully-shielded Z-PLUG exceeds all Category 6A performance requirements and is compliant with UL 2043 for use in plenum air handling spaces, and it can be ordered with color-coded clips to differentiate applications.

With the IoT and mobility, virtually everything we do now on a daily basis touches the network—and the proliferation of digital information, wireless handheld devices and Ethernet into every facet of our lives means that network connections are in more places than ever before. Some of those places could be subject to harsher environments than what exists in the commercial office space—think of outdoor eateries and cafeterias, resorts and stadiums, fitness centers, operating rooms and even marinas.

As our world becomes more digital and LAN connections for devices like Wi-Fi access points, card readers, cameras, point of sale machines and other devices pop up everywhere, it’s important to consider that many of these connections located outside of the commercial office space may be exposed to moisture, chemicals, vibration, impact and other elements. Outlets, plugs and patch cords used to make connections to devices in these locations are therefore at risk of being damaged—unless of course they are properly protected. But what does properly protected mean?

There’s a Standard for That

There are a wide range of industry standards that specify how well a component is protected from the elements—everything from vibration, impact and chemicals, to dust, moisture and electrostatic discharge. Some of these standards include ISO/IEC 24702, TIA-1005 and EN 50173-3 standards which all incorporate the MICE method of classification. MICE stands for Mechanical, Ingress, Climatic and Electromagnetic and includes three levels of environmental harshness—level 1 for everyday commercial office environments, level 2 for light industrial and level 3 for industrial.

Other standards to consider include the ingress protection (IP) rating developed by the European Committee for Electro Technical Standardization (CENELEC) and National Electric Manufacturer Association (NEMA) enclosure ratings for cabinets, surface mount boxes, floor and ceiling boxes, junction boxes and even network equipment housing. NEMA ratings for enclosures also have IP rating equivalents.

How Do I Choose?

If you’ve identified the potential for the surrounding elements to potentially impact your LAN connections, you should consider selecting ruggedized cables and connectivity that are designed for these harsher environments. In general, ruggedized cable and connectivity solutions for harsher environments should feature components and characteristics such as the following:

• Chemical-resistant thermoplastic housing on connectivity—Plugs and outlets should use materials that provide the widest range of protection from most solvents and common industrial chemicals.
• Dust caps for outlets—Ruggedized dust caps can protect unused outlets and seal outlets during wash downs.
• IP67-rated copper and fiber connectivity—Ruggedized outlets and modular patch cords with an IP66/IP67-rated seal protect plugs and outlet contacts from dust and moisture.
• Shielded twisted-pair cabling for copper—Shielded copper cabling such as F/UTP cables and S/FTP cables will provide much higher resistance to EMI/RFI.
• More durable cable jacket materials—Jacket materials such as polyurethane and thermoplastic elastomers can provide better tensile strength and lower temperature flexibility and brittle points, as well as better tear, abrasion, chemical and moisture resistance.
• IP44-rated faceplates—Stainless steel faceplates with rear sealing gaskets provide a protective seal from moisture and debris.
• NEMA 4X enclosures—Enclosures and surface mount boxes with a NEMA rating will protect the termination points of ruggedized outlets.

Another consideration when selecting ruggedized cable and connectivity is a breadth of copper and fiber types in a variety of performance levels. Most manufacturers of industrial/ruggedized components provide Category 6 at best for copper, with many offering only Category 5e. Furthermore, few offer the latest fiber cable and connectivity in ruggedized versions. This could very well be due to the fact that many industrial systems don’t require the higher bandwidth associated with Category 6A and fiber.

However, as the LAN extends into harsher environments, there is the need to maintain the same performance level as the rest of the LAN. Consider the latest high throughput 802.11ac Wi-Fi—users expect this level of wireless performance and 802.11ac Wi-Fi requires Category 6A at a minimum. So you’re better off selecting a vendor with ruggedized copper and fiber cable connectivity available in the same copper and fiber performance levels as the rest of the LAN.

Check out Siemon’s comprehensive line of Ruggedized Cables and Connectivity at www.siemon.com/ruggedized

Fast deployment and superior reliability are of the utmost importance in today’s fiber networks, which is why many data centers deploy plug-and-play preterminated assemblies – especially for high speed 40 and 100 Gigabit applications that require factory-terminated MPO/MTP style connectivity. But many installation scenarios still benefit from the flexibility of multimode and singlemode duplex fiber field terminations.

When it comes to fiber field termination, quality connections are often directly related to the skill level and experience of the technician performing the termination, and verification is a critical step to ensure that the terminated connectors will reliably transmit the signal. For example, dirty fiber end faces and air gaps between fiber end faces can cause insertion loss and return loss that result in degraded network performance, retransmits or even non-functioning fiber links. And because there are far more steps involved in fiber field termination versus using preterminated fiber assemblies, field termination also results in higher labor costs and slower deployments.

Fiber field termination systems therefore need to offer quick and easy terminations while ensuring consistently high performance connections and the ability to verify that a quality connection has been made. Thankfully, Siemon’s LightBow™ Fiber Termination System provides ALL of these benefits – speed, performance, reliability and the ability to verify the connection.

LightBow’s exclusive patent-pending termination tool dramatically reduces termination time by combining both splice activation and crimping in a single, optimized step and providing universal LC and SC connector compatibility with no time-consuming changeover. It also features integrated LC and SC strip templates molded right into the tool to ensure proper strip length of the fiber. To deliver superior consistent performance, the tool simplifies fiber insertion while its patent-pending bow feature maintains proper pressure of fiber ends during termination to eliminate air gaps. To further ensure reliability, the entire LightBow termination process is completed with the connector dust-cap in place, protecting the critical end face polish from contamination or damage.

And to immediately verify that a quality termination was achieved, LightBow pre-polished mechanical splice connectors feature a built-in verification window in the connector body for use with Siemon’s 0.5mW output power, Laser Class 1 visual fault locator (VFL), which is available in the LightBow Fiber Termination Kit. And following termination verification, the LightBow system offers the unique ability to adjust the fiber or reterminate the connectors if needed.

To showcase the speed and efficiency of the LightBow Termination System, Siemon is hosting a contest available to Certified Installers (CI) in the US, Mexico and Canada from March 1^st to July 31^st 2017. For this contest, CIs perform a successful termination as quick as possible and submit their recorded times to Siemon via video.  Already, entries show termination times well under 30 seconds!!

Siemon is also offering a FREE LightBow Termination Kit with the purchase of 300 LightBow Connectors. And the kit has EVERYTHING you need for terminations, including the patent-pending tool, the 0.5mW VFL, and a high precision cleaver with a long-lasting blade that lasts for 48,000 cleaves – all in a convenient carrying case.

Check out LightBow.

Published in 2011, the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) defines the fire performance of all construction products. Under this regulation, all construction products and building materials installed in the European Union (EU) must contain the CE mark that provides proof of compliance.

How Does CPR and the CE Mark Relate to Communications Cable?

As of 10th June 2016, copper and fiber telecommunications cabling is now subject to the CPR with a one year transition period. This means that as of 1st July 2017, all copper and fiber cables supplied to EU member states must comply with the regulation and carry the CE marking. With CPR specifications developed and adopted by EU member states, the regulation facilitates trade between EU member states for any construction products that are intended to be permanently incorporated into a building.

It’s important to note that the CE mark does denote quality—it means that the product meets standards for health, safety and economy of energy. It also only relates to cables intended for permanent installation, which excludes non-fixed cabling infrastructure components such as patch cords and jumpers.

For more background on CPR, visit: Construction Products Regulation (CPR)

 What are Euroclasses?

Under the CPR, existing IEC 60332 flammability ratings will be replaced by different reaction to fire performance known as Euroclasses. There are seven Euroclasses—A, B1, B2, C, D, E, and F—whereby A is the most flame retardant and F is the least. The requirements for the Euroclasses are outlined in the recently published standard EN50575, Power, control and communication cables – Cables for general applications in construction works subject to reaction to fire requirements.

 Who Determines what Euroclass is Required?

EU member states are required to follow CPR and each EU member state will decide which Euroclasses to adopt for their specific construction standards and regulations. Euroclasses B through D are considered low fire hazard cables and must meet EN 50399 Flame Spread testing in addition to EN 60332-1-2 while Euroclass E need only meet EN 60332-1-2 and Euroclass F has no determined performance. Broad use of Euroclass D and E is expected for residential and standard commercial premises throughout the EU.

 How Does the Regulation Impact Cabling Manufacturers?

Any cable manufacturer wishing to sell fiber and copper communications cable into EU is required to test their cables for CPR compliance with a “notified body” required to certify test results. Manufacturers must then draw up a Declaration of Performance (DoP) and affix the CE mark to its cable products and product labels. The purpose of the DoP is to hold manufactures responsible for conforming to the declared specification. As previously noted, all manufacturers supplying copper and fiber cables to EU member states must issue a DoP and affix CE marking to cable by 1st July 2017.

 What is Siemon Doing to Prepare for CPR Compliance?

As a leader in the structured cabling industry, Siemon is currently working with Notified Bodies to test its existing copper and fiber cables and establish Euroclass specifications. We are on schedule to receive Euroclass D and E certification for the bulk of our copper and fiber cables and are targeting to offer CPR compliant product with CE marking by the end of this calendar year. Further communication regarding product availability will be forth coming, and Siemon will continue to monitor all standards, trends and adopted Euroclasses within the EU and adapt cables where necessary.