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Posted By: BillyBob standards for color - 06/11/05 06:35 AM
Are there any "standards" for the color of cabling to use - i.e., yellow for voice, blue for data, or whatever? I know that red has become the norm for fire-alarm cabling.
Posted By: Voyager Re: standards for color - 06/11/05 07:51 AM
Its whatever you have the most of in the warehouse! Just be consistant. Don't mix and match. [Linked Image from sundance-communications.com]

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Toshiba Technical Support at: fingerlakestelecom.net
Posted By: CMDL_GUY Re: standards for color - 06/11/05 09:38 AM
We make are own "standards" for the color of cable, just be consistant from job to job. It makes it easier when you go back-out to work on that customer site.
We use:
gray for phone
blue for data
green or yellow for special circuits
Sometimes the customer has a request, we have one that wants only black wire.
Posted By: Toner Re: standards for color - 06/11/05 09:18 PM
I like your standards comdial guy - those colours seem to be pretty common. One thing I'm sure of is it's NOT acceptable to use the same color for voice & data. It's no fun when you can't look at a cable and know where it terminates.
Posted By: newtecky Re: standards for color - 06/12/05 02:25 AM
The great thing about standards is that there are some many of them, you can pick the ones you like.

Been there, done that: Ran 200+ stations with Blue Cat 5 for both voice and data. Spent a very long time sorting, only to find a few in the wrong group, and pulling them out of my nicely wrapped bundles.

I would stay away from red in the ceiling, as it is usually the same as fire alarm. I've seen up to 4 different color cables, connected to matching colored jacks.
Posted By: BillyBob Re: standards for color - 06/12/05 04:08 AM
I use gray for voice and blue for data also. I was just wandering if some group or committee had started any standards for the color of cable.
Posted By: johnp Re: standards for color - 06/12/05 05:28 AM
The setup we use is:

gray - voice non plenum
white - voice plenum
blue - data (cat5e) non plenum
yellow - data (cat5e) plenum

This makes it quick and easy to determine stock and cable type.
Posted By: chris02081 Re: standards for color - 06/12/05 07:54 PM
I always thought that the "standard" was sort of like the cable pairs. We always use White jacket for voice (cat 3 or cat5e) use Blue jacket (cat 5e or 6) for data or just go with Blue Cat5e/6 and Yellow/orange Cat5e/6 for an IP network. If for any reason the customer is crazy and wants to go all out with the cabling (which is a nic problem to have) we go white cat3 then blue cat5e/6 1 and yellow cat5e/6 2. NOW if we are needing to pull cable from Graybar and they don't have something in yellow to match the "cookie cutter" I try to find something outlandish that is way out of the norm like pink or hot green for the second color,, it helps to distinquish (sp?) Only had to do that once or twice. Jack color is a whole new argument.

~Chris
Posted By: junkman Re: standards for color - 06/14/05 12:03 PM
We use gray for voice, blue for data, yellow or green for other functions to the same location, all cat 5e. Cat 6 on request. Jack color on station end is usually beige for plate & voice, orange for data.
Posted By: cconley Re: standards for color - 11/01/05 08:38 PM
I like using white or grey for voice... then any color available for data... try to keep the same color consistent through a job... if you are running two data circuits.. make data 1 blue and data 2 yellow... throughout the project.. etc...
Posted By: EV607797 Re: standards for color - 11/02/05 11:42 AM
White voice, blue data if plenum. Second data cable is yellow if needed.

Gray voice, blue data for non-plenum. Multiple data cables are still blue, just labeled properly.

That's been our norm for years. I think it actually has a lot to do with what our suppliers always had plenty of stock on, but we have now adopted it across the board.

Honestly, those silly jobs where the customer want's green for this, orange for that are usually just an IT guy spending other peoples' money wastefully. They can do that multi-colored thing with their patch cables if they want to. I doubt they would ever go into the ceiling or even take off a face plate for that matter. I hate when we get those jobs and get 75% done, then run out of purple cable. We got a good price buying all of the cable at once.

Coming back two weeks later looking for one roll of "purple" CAT6 shielded is like finding a car battery at McDonald's.

If you know what you are doing and care about it (which I am sure that we all do), it's not the color, it's the end result: A properly-labeled and functional wiring system.
Posted By: junkman Re: standards for color - 11/02/05 02:14 PM
Usually gray for voice, blue for data. Only had one job request multiple colors.

Plates & voice jacks beige, data jacks orange.
Posted By: mgere Re: standards for color - 11/04/05 11:35 AM
Green for voice and yellow for data. The important think is that you stay consistent, then there is no confusion when you go back.
Posted By: telcomtex Re: standards for color - 11/04/05 12:17 PM
For us it is generally blue for data and white for voice and the modules would be ivory for voice and orange for data. It is really the customer's call though. Just make every effort to not get in a situation like newtecky where the same color is used for both. It is a major pain in the a$$.
We did one job where the customer had us install 6 data modules in every faceplate. We did 6 different colors (cable and modules), each color went to a specific patch panel. It was actually a pretty cool looking job when all was said and done. Kinda like a skittles commercial! cool
Posted By: hbiss Re: standards for color - 11/04/05 01:16 PM
Just do like the IBEW did on a recent job. 8 pin for voice and 8 pin for data. Both the same color as the plate and nothing marked. :scratch:

-Hal
Posted By: plymoth1999 Re: standards for color - 11/09/05 10:25 PM
In my years of running cable I have use white for voice and blue or gray for data, i did have a few clients that requested all white cat6 terminated on the same data panel (3 cables per loc.)In this situation as with all correct labeling before pulling is a must or it's a crazy man's job to id at the end.

You could always use different color patch cords, to differentiate between a printer, server or a work station
Posted By: BillFlippen Re: standards for color - 11/10/05 08:17 AM
To be perfectly honest I don't see an advantage to having specific colors of cables for different applications. I like voyager "Its whatever you have the most of in the warehouse!" As long as everythiing is labled it really doesn't matter. Only the initial appearance of the backboard/rack would have any bearing and I say initial because within 2 years the cable bundle will look like a rainbow and no one really minds that either.
90% of the cble is in a bundle most of it's run. so identifing the voice data in the ceiling is fairly easy. (for this I would use white exclusively for the ease of poping a tile and seeing it easier in a dark ceiling) and since the cable is all but hidden except for the last 5-15 feet on the rack/backboard. it really is not seen at all.
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