Enterprise Design Guide - Public - CommScope

Telecommunications Room (TR)
The telecommunications room (TR) is the demarcation point between the horizontal cabling
and the backbone (riser) cabling. Horizontal cables terminate in either the TR, or directly link to
the equipment room (see page 19). Data cabling is usually terminated with a connector and
plugged into a patch panel. Voice-only cabling can be directly wired to a punch-down block
as well as being terminated at a patch panel. Depending on the network type, the patch panel
may connect to a crossconnect with a series of short cables called patch cords. The active
electronics (hub, router, switch, etc.) that direct and amplify signals may also reside here.
The TIA/EIA 568 standard sets 90 meters (295 feet) (plus a total of another 10 meters [33 feet] for
the patch and equipment cords) as the maximum cabled distance for horizontal data links (voiceonly
links can extend to 800 meters (2624 feet), longer with repeating electronics). Do not exceed
this distance with twisted pair cables. Optical cable, however, can greatly exceed this distance
depending on the speed of the network (see the chart on page 23 for details).
Consolidation point
A consolidation point is a permanent mid-link connection for up to 12 horizontal segment
twisted pair cables. The consolidation point should be at least 15 meters (50 feet) from the
telecommunications room. Total link length, including the consolidation point, remains at a
maximum of 90 meters (295 feet).
Multi-User Telecommunications Outlet Assembly (MUTOA)
MUTOAs are like consolidation points except they may be easily reconfigured. MUTOAs are
used in open-office environments to serve a maximum of 12 work areas and should be at
least 15 meters (50 feet) from the telecommunications room. MUTOAs allow trading off longer
equipment cords for shorter horizontal links. Some examples are given below. Add 5 meters of
patch cable to complete the link distance:
MUTOA EqUIPMENT CABLE LENGTH
AWG equipment cable 26 AWG equipment cable Horizontal cable length cannot exceed
13 meters (44 feet) 11 meters (36 feet) 80 meters (262 feet)
22 meters (71 feet) 17 meters (57 feet) 70 meters (230 feet)
Consolidation point or MUTOA
Maximum 90 meter TIA/EIA recommended
twisted pair link from outlet to patch panel/crossconnect
Equipment connection plus patch cable length
shall not exceed 10 meters total
Maximum 300 meter TIA/EIA recommended
collapsed backbone link to equipment room
Telecommunications
Room
Patch panel
Active
equipment
Horizontal
crossconnect
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