Networking

Earthquake risk
Enclosures which are subject to extreme
dynamic loads, such as earthquakes, place
correspondingly high demands on the stability
and strength of the enclosure design,
especially where the enclosures accommodate
active components.
In connection with earthquake risks, the
standards applied by the American telephone
companies – Network Equipment-
Building System (NEBS), Telcordia Technologies
(formerly BELLCORE) Generic
Requirements GR-63-CORE – have become
established worldwide, since their test
specifications cover practically the whole
contents of other standards.
The geographical regions of a country are
allocated to an appropriate earthquake risk
zone. The Telcordia risk zones (see below)
refer to the United States and divide the
country into zones numbered 0 – 4. Zone 0
designates regions with no earthquake risk,
zone 4 regions where considerable earthquake
activity is to be expected.
We generally recommend that earthquakeproof
enclosures should be tested on a
customer-specific basis, i.e. using the customer’s
own installed equipment. Important
information for the design and testing of
earthquake-proof enclosures include:
● Earthquake zone in which the enclosure
is to be used
● Max. weight of the installed components
● Method of component installation (mounting
plate, 482.6 mm (19″) mounting
angles, etc.)
● Are there any limitations with regard to
dimensions? (earthquake resistance often
entails selection of a wider or deeper
enclosure version)
Rittal will be happy to advise you on the
configuration of your earthquake-proof
enclosure.
Rittal IT catalogue/Engineering/Consultancy
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2
Engineering and consultancy
The German standards, on the other hand,
define only three zones, though these are
essentially equivalent to the zones 1 and 2 of
the Telcordia specifications.
1
3
3
4
3
4
1 Zone 4 door reinforcement
2 TS 8 standard frame
3 Zone 4 corner reinforcement
4 Zone 4 diagonal reinforcement
5 Zone 4 horizontal reinforcement
6
Zone 4 base/plinth
3
4
2
1
1
0
0
0
1
2
2
Server safety and security
Rittal TS 8 standard enclosures with mounting
plates were tested at the University of
Bristol by the independent institute EQE
International Ltd. on the basis of Telcordia
GR-63-CORE. TS 8 standard enclosures with
a weight load of 150 kg (installed on the
mounting plate) subsequently received certification
of their suitability for use up to zone
3. Certification for zone 4 with up to 490 kg
was obtained by fitting special earthquake
accessories.
1
4
2
3
0
0
2
1
2
2
4
5
6
1
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Engineering and consultancy