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A-2
Cisco Nexus 5500 Platform and Cisco Nexus 5000 Platform Hardware Installation Guide
OL-15902-02
AppendixA Cabinet and Rack Installation
Cable Management Guidelines
The cabinet or rack must also meet the following requirements:
•The minimum vertical rack space for the Cisco Nexus 5596 chassis and Cisco Nexus 5020 chassis
must be two RU (rack units), equal to 3.50 inches (8.9 cm).
•The minimum vertical rack space for the Cisco Nexus 5548 chassis and Cisco Nexus 5010 chassis
must be one RU (rack unit), equal to 1.75 inches (4.4 cm).
•The width between the rack-mounting rails must be at least 17.75 inches (45.1cm) if the rear of the
switch is not attached to the rack. For four-post EIA racks, this is the distance between the two front
rails.
•For four-post EIA cabinets (perforated or solid-walled), the requirements are as follows:
–
The minimum spacing for the bend radius for fiber-optic cables should have the front-mounting
rails of the cabinet offset from the front door by a minimum of 3inches (7.6 cm), and a
minimum of 5 inches (12.7c m) if cable management brackets are installed on the front of the
chassis.
–
The distance between the outside face of the front mounting rail and the outside face of the back
mounting rail should be 23.5 to 34.0 inches (59.7to 86.4 cm) to allow for rear-bracket
installation.
–
A minimum of 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) of clear space should exist between the side edge of the
chassis and the side wall of the cabinet. No sizeable flow obstructions should be immediately
in the way of chassis air intake or exhaust vents.
Note Optional jumper power cords are available for use in a cabinet. See the “Jumper Power Cord”
section on pageC-9.

Requirements Specific to Perforated Cabinets

A perforated cabinet is as a cabinet with perforated front and rear doors and solid side walls. In addition
to the requirements listed in the “General Requirements for Cabinets and Racks” section on pageA-1 ,
perforated cabinets must meet the following requirements:
•The front and rear doors must have at least a 60 percent open area perforation pattern, with at least
15 square inches (96.8 square cm) of open area per rack unit of door height.
•The roof should be perforated with at least a 20 percent open area.
•The cabinet floor should be open or perforated to enhance cooling.
Cisco provides an R-Series rack that conforms to these requirements.
Cable Management Guidelines
To help with cable management, you might want to allow additional space in the rack above and below
the chassis to make it easier to route as many as 56 fiber or copper cables through the rack.