5
Preinstallation Requirements and Planning for Cisco 2800 Series Routers
OL-5784-01
General Site Requirements
Site Configuration
The following precautions will help you plan an acceptable operating environment for your router and
will help you avoid environmentally caused equipment failures:
•Ensure that the room where your router operates has adequate air circulation. Electrical equipment
generates heat. Without adequate air circulation, ambient air temperature may not cool equipment
to acceptable operating temperatures.
•Always follow ESD-prevention procedures described in the “Preventing Electrostatic Discharge
Damage” section on page 3 to avoid damage to equipment. Damage from static discharge can cause
immediate or intermittent equipment failure.
•Ensure that the chassis cover and module rear panels are secure. All empty network module slots,
interface card slots, and power supply bays must have filler panels installed. The chassis is designed
to allow cooling air to flow within it, through specially designed cooling slots. A chassis with
uncovered openings permits air leaks, which may interrupt and reduce the flow of air across internal
components.
Equipment Racks
Cisco 2800 series routers include brackets for use with a 19-inch rack or, if specified in your order,
optional larger brackets for use with a 23-inch rack.
Note Brackets for a 23-inch rack are not available for Cisco 2801 routers.
The following information will help you plan your equipment rack configuration:
•Allow clearance around the rack for maintenance.
•Allow at least one rack unit of vertical space between routers.
•Enclosed racks must have adequate ventilation. Ensure that the rack is not congested, because each
router generates heat. An enclosed rack should have louvered sides and a fan to provide cooling air.
Heat generated by equipment near the bottom of the rack can be drawn upward into the intake ports
of the equipment above.
•When mounting a chassis in an open rack, ensure that the rack frame does not block the intake or
exhaust ports. If the chassis is installed on slides, check the position of the chassis when it is seated
into the rack.
•Baffles can help to isolate exhaust air from intake air, which also helps to draw cooling air through
the chassis. The best placement of the baffles depends on the airflow patterns in the rack, which can
be found by experimenting with different configurations.
•When equipment installed in a rack (particularly in an enclosed rack) fails, try operating the
equipment by itself, if possible. Power off other equipment in the rack (and in adjacent racks) to
allow the router under test a maximum of cooling air and clean power.