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TIA Unveils Revision C of the Global Data Center Infrastructure Standard

Arlington, VA (May 9, 2024) – The Telecommunications Industry Association—the trusted industry association for the connected world — today announced an update to its Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers, ANSI/TIA-942. This newly published document marks the third revision since the inception of the original ANSI/TIA-942 standard, which sets forth the requirements and recommendations for designing and implementing data centers worldwide.

TIA develops its standards in accordance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) procedures, which require a standard to be revised, affirmed, or rescinded every five years. The ANSI/TIA-942-C standard features several major updates to the previous TIA-942-B version including recognition of a new media type and connectivity requirements and references to technical documentation published by other Standards Development Organizations (SDOs).

“TIA-942 standards build on the previous version by incorporating new technologies that will lead to improved data center performance and efficiencies,” said Tom McGarry, the vice president of standards at TIA. “Many of these enhancements were based on valuable user feedback. This latest update to TIA-942 is essential for ensuring that the implementation of new applications and technologies in data centers results in enhanced performance, service delivery, and resilience across various aspects.”

ANSI/TIA-942-C major enhancements include:

  • Incorporation of previously published documents focusing on edge data centers
  • Recognition of new cable media and connectivity requirements
  • New requirements and recommendations related to cabling, floor loading capacity and minimum cabinet width
  • References to other technical documents including recommendations and requirements for Data Processing Environments and Edge Computing
  • Modification and addition of Informative and normative annexes including site selection and space considerations
  • Many clarifications of the requirements based on feedback and best practices from the industry

TIA-942 applies to all data center types ranging from hyperscale to colocation to enterprise facilities and covers architecture, telecommunications, power, cooling, fire protection, physical security, safety and monitoring.

Capitoline’s CTM Certified TIA942 MasterClass is based on this new version. The CTM course is also part of the TDCD Certified TIA942 Data Centre Designer and CLAT Certified Lead Auditor TIA942 course packages. Signup for Capitoline’s courses to get up to date with the latest standards and best practices in Data Centres.