ITHACA, N.Y. -- What is, typically, the most challenging part of an EzraNet project? Surprisingly, it's not the construction. It's not meeting the wide-ranging needs of multiple departments in the same building. It's not even the painstaking work of mapping out, reviewing and revising network plans. 

It's finding space for the telecommunications rooms.

When every building could use more space for classrooms, for labs, for offices and for meeting rooms, how can such a precious commodity possibly be given to something that doesn't even house people? It's not easy, but it's essential.

The telecommunications room is a kind of Grand Central Station for the building's phone and data networks, and it connects the building to the rest of the campus. The search for this critical space begins very early in an EzraNet project. The first question raised is, inevitably, "Why do you need such a large space?" Why indeed couldn't the telecommunications room be just large enough to fit the open relay racks that house the wiring components and electronic devices, the overhead ladder rack that routes cables to their terminating locations and the wall field where cables are terminated?

As it turns out, even doing just that makes the room fairly sizeable. Simply terminating a single four-pair cable requires a four-inch-square area. A typical telecommunications room at Cornell has about 300 to 400 of these. Allowing for center rack installation, the smallest a telecommunications room can be is 8 feet by 10 feet, per industry standards. The actual size is calculated from the total number of jack locations fed from the room; the total distance of the wire run that is equal to or less than 295 feet; and the total square footage of the serving floor or building.

But it's not solely about what is being installed now. It's also about thinking ahead to future network needs, so the next major upgrade won't need to be as construction-intensive as this one. Once the size is determined, the quest for the location begins.

Not all space is equal when it comes to telecommunications rooms. The routing of building ventilation, the presence of electromagnetic interference (EMI), and the building's network needs are the limiting factors.

The electronics in telecommunications rooms require stable environmental conditions, so ideally the room will be included in the building's existing ventilation system. If it can't be, then it will need to be slightly larger to accommodate a standalone HVAC unit.

EMI makes networks sluggish and unreliable. That rules out space near transformer rooms, and requires careful consideration of the proximity of fluorescent lighting fixtures, microwave ovens and other devices that use electricity.

Standards for wiring and network performance determine the telecommunications room's reach -- how many places in the building it can serve and how far away they can be. Depending on the complexity of the building and the network needs, two or more telecommunications rooms may be needed.

Eventually, the field for telecommunications rooms is narrowed to a few choices, and then, in a joint effort by CIT and building stakeholders, the delicate work of making the final decision and possibly relocating any existing occupants begins. Especially for buildings where the existing telecommunications rooms are little more than broom closets, the shift to dedicated rooms that meet industry operating protocol and safety standards can be arduous. But the payoff -- having a stable, secure, powerful, future-oriented network -- is worth it.

For technical details about telecommunications rooms, see http://www.cit.cornell.edu/ezranet/publications.html.

Current Status of EzraNet 

• In design: A.D. White House, Clark Hall, Comstock Hall, Olin Hall, Rhodes Hall, Willard Straight Hall
• In construction: Biotechnology Building
• Completed: Upson/Grumman Halls