Grounding the Rack

The rack must be properly grounded.

Use a rack grounding kit and a ground conductor that is carried back to earth or to another suitable building ground.

At a minimum, follow these guidelines to ground equipment racks to the earth ground:

• CAD weld appropriate wire terminals to building I-beams or earth ground rods.
• For a DC-powered switch, use a minimum 14 AWG stranded copper wire for grounding.

  AC-powered switches do not need separate chassis grounding.

• Position the earth ground as close to the equipment rack as possible to maintain the shortest wiring distance possible.
• Use a ground impedance tester or micro-ohm meter to test the quality of earth ground connection at the chassis. This will ensure good grounding between the chassis, rack, and earth ground.

Note

Because building codes vary worldwide, consult an electrical contractor to ensure proper equipment grounding for your specific installation.