Design Standards
Overview
These are the general IT design standards that OITS follows and are written to give a general, high-level overview.
Renovation and construction projects must follow the State of Georgia Telecommunications Guidelines specifications:
The GFSIC 2011 State of Georgia Telecommunication Guidelines (2011)
Network and Enterprise Services also maintains a set of CSU design specs to be included into new construction and renovation bids. The current Clayton State University General IT Specifications is a PDF document and can be made available as a Word Document if absolutely needed
2013 Clayton State General IT Specs
All Ethernet cables and ports must support 1Gbps connectivity for 100 meters for 802.11n wireless access points.. Therefore, all copper Ethernet cabling must be Category 6 cable or better. Cat5 and Cat5e are not acceptable.
Renovations and new construction projects should include these standards in their initial planning and design so that redesigns are not needed to meet the USG and OITS standards.
Classrooms
Clayton State is a Mobile Information Technology University, where all students are required to have access to their own Mobile IT, and to bring their Mobile Technology to class when requested by faculty. Consequently, Clayton State’s classrooms, laboratories, and conference rooms must all be designed to accommodate Mobile Information Technologies.
Clayton State’s classroom design standards equip all classrooms, laboratories, and conference rooms with chairs and tables that are sufficiently sized for Mobile Information Technologies (laptops, tablets, etc.), books, other learning materials, 120 volt electricity for recharging batteries at every student seat, and network conduits for fast and reliable wireless and wired Ethernet.
All CSU classrooms are equipped with individual high speed 802.11n wireless Access Points. In large classrooms, there are multiple wireless Access Points. 802.11n wireless networks can transmit typical office documents, spreadsheets, Power Points, email, web browsing, and highly compressed video streaming. 802.11n wireless should work fine with these applications.
The need for many students in a classroom to frequently transmit large operating system, application, image, graphic, media, or video files could over load a classroom wireless system. NES will help departments quantify their network data needs, recommend options, and help select the most appropriate solution for current and future data needs for classroom renovations or new construction.
Another Clayton State Design Standard is that all classrooms, laboratories, and conference rooms are designed with common multimedia AV presentation systems for teaching and learning. All Clayton State classrooms and laboratories must have AV designs that accommodate an ADA compliant multimedia podium with space for faculty to use their laptop that is wired with electricity, Ethernet, visual presenter, sound system, and LCD projector. All classrooms and laboratories will need to be pre-wired to accommodate web casting and videoconferencing. Media and Printing Services can be contacted for further information about AV specifications.
Student Tables
Each student seat should be equipped with one 120v power outlet. The tables should be deep enough to hold a student laptop and allow space for books and notes. Ideally the tables should be secured to the floor. Network conduit's should be sized as if the tables were to be wired with current standards of one drop per seat.
Instructor Station
Each instructor station should have 4 ethernet drops, power, and conduits to take the AV feed from under the podium to above the ceiling for connection to the projector. Two 2" conduits need to run from the floor box under the podium to above the ceiling for routing of AV cables. These are separate from the conduits for the data and electricity for the podium. Where wall mounted displays are used, the conduits should feed to a wall box.
In addition, there need to be 4 Ethernet pulls at the ceiling. Two should be for the projector. The other two are for wireless access points. The wireless pulls should be also located near the projector location, however should have enough slack to allow the access point(s) to be located anywhere in the ceiling space of the room.
Offices
Each office should have minimum one location with two network drops. Offices larger than 10x10 (usually Dean's or Department Heads) will probably require two locations, opposite of each other.
Other IT Locations
Any other IT wiring location, such as network based cameras, wireless access points, etc. should have two network cables for each location.
IT Closets
Types of Closets
In order to consolidate equipment, we try to reduce the number of active closets. This reduces the need for multiple power runs, Air Conditioning, UPS's and network chassis.
Large Active Closet (Building Entrance Closet)
These larger closets are typically found in larger buildings which feed a number of smaller active closets. Examples are the main closet in Laker Hall and the University Center. Due to the special nature of these closets, they are designed individually, however are typically just larger versions of an active closet. The air conditioning may need to be upsized given the amount of equipment that sometimes ends up in these closets.
Active Closet
If the closet has a running network equipment in it, then it is an active closet. Active closets will require cooling, power protection (UPS and generator power), fire protection, etc. as listed below.
Pass-thru Closet
These are closets that are just there so that wires can pass through from one floor to another so ports can be fed from a switch in an active closet on another floor. Generally, we just need to have a lock on the door and some sleeves in these closets.
Active Closet Needs
Active closets, being where the expensive equipment is placed, are the most important ones to get right. Power and cooling are two of the most important items for IT equipment. Failure of either one can bring down a whole building.
Air-conditioning
Any closet that has running network gear must have dedicated HVAC. We have standardized on the Mr. Slim Split-DX units, sized as needed (approx 28kBTU as an estimate for a normal active network closet).
Power
The main power for the room needs to be delivered as 208/240V service. The power to the closet, including the power for the split-dx unit (both the in-room fan and the condenser) needs to be on a separate power panel. This is done so that at a later time, that panel can be placed, as a whole, onto a transfer-switch for a generator. For new buildings, a generator should be designed in from the start.
A NEMA L6-30R is the required outlet to supply the power to the UPS, with several standard 110v quad outlets located in the room for convenience as well.
Fire Protection
Active closets should be protected by a properly sized FM-200 fire suppression system.
Plywood Backboard
All walls should be covered with a fire-resistant plywood backboard for mounting equipment on. This provides future flexibility, and is more cost-effective and safer for the equipment and connections to install during the construction phase.
Racks and Wire Management
Part of the active closet design is how it is laid out for installation, management and potential growth.
Racks
Standard 19" rack(s), black.
Ladder Rack
Ladder rack should run above the racks, with the rack secured to the ladder-rack. Also, ladder rack should run from the main ladder rack to wherever there is an entrance point for the cable into the closet. Once the cabling enters this room, it should be supported all the way.
Wire Management
When more than one rack is installed, there should be a 10" vertical wire manager between racks, and 8" vertical wire managers on the outside. We use Panduit.
Parts
| Item | Part Number |
|---|---|
| 10" Vertical Wire Manager | Panduit NRV10 |
| 8" Vertical Wire Manager | Panduit NRV8 |
| Patch Panel | Panduit CPPA48FMWBLY |
| Rack | Panduit CMR19X96 |
| Ladder Rack | CPI 10250-X12 or equivalant |
| Horizontal Wire Manager | Panduit PAN-WMP1E |
| UPS | APC SUA5000RMT5U |
| AC | Mitsubishi Mr. Slim |