SurgGuard’s data center telecommunications equipment ground bonding equipment is suitable for data centers. Data center equipment is sensitive to electrical disturbances. While minimum grounding requirements are designed for personnel safety and fire prevention purposes, data center downtime and damage to equipment as a result of inadequate grounding can cost an organization millions of dollars. Proper grounding is the most important factor in reliable network equipment performance. According to the IEEE the typical AC third prong ground is almost never sufficient to prevent damage to network equipment. According to insurance industry data, improper grounding of communication systems leads to $500 million per year of damage to property and/or equipment due to lightning. TIA 607-C states that a computer room should contain a supplementary bonding network grounded to the Primary Bonding Busbar (PBB) or Secondary Bonding Busbar (SBB). Metallic components in need of bonding are racks, cabinets, ladders, surge protectors, cable trays, routers, switches and patch panels, each bonded to the TGB or TMGB using a minimum sized conductor of No. 6 AWG.
The goals of the grounding system within a data center are to equalize electrical potentials and to create a low impedance path to ground. You want a grounding system that directs damaging currents away from equipment. TIA-942 requires each rack to bond directly to the grounding grid or common bonding network, directing current away from sensitive electronics.