ANSI/BICSI 002-2024, Data Center Design and Implementation Best Practices (overview page)

Overview

BICSI 002 covers site selection, architecture, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, security, cabling and operations, and gives both requirements and recommended practices. Because the standard is paid, this record relies on the public page and widely published descriptions of the availability-class model; the full text was not read. The class model uses a 0-4 scale applied per subsystem: facility F0-F4, cabling C0-C4, network N0-N4, data processing/storage S0-S4. The class is chosen from operational level (annual planned-maintenance hours), allowable annual downtime and impact of downtime, not from a fixed topology.

F0 is a single path with no standby generator and possibly no UPS; F4 is fault tolerant with multiple active paths. For on-site fuel autonomy, secondary sources cite 8 hours (F1), 24 hours (F2), 72 hours (F3) and 96 hours (F4). These come from exam-prep summaries and need checking against the standard's own table. As a historical note, a 2010 draft used F0-F5; current editions use F0-F4.

The document's place in the library is to offer an alternative standards profile next to Uptime Tier, TIA Rated and EN 50600 classes. Its limits are that the numbers are secondary-sourced and equivalence between class schemes stays conceptual only. In practice the same site can have cabling at C2 and network at N3, producing a per-subsystem table instead of one label. In the fuel example the spread between F1 and F4 runs from 8 hours to 96 hours, a twelvefold difference.

Key points

1. Availability classes 0-4 per subsystem: Facility F0-F4, Cabling C0-C4, Network N0-N4, Processing/Storage S0-S4
2. Class selection uses operational level (annual planned-maintenance hours), allowable annual downtime and impact of downtime
3. F0: single path, no standby generator (may lack UPS); F4: fault tolerant, multiple active paths
4. Recommended fuel autonomy cited as 8 h (F1), 24 h (F2), 72 h (F3), 96 h (F4); secondary source, verify against the standard's table
5. A 2010 draft used F0-F5; current editions use F0-F4
6. Covers site, architecture, electrical, mechanical, fire, security, cabling and operations

Using it in design

• Offer BICSI classes as an alternate standards profile alongside Uptime/TIA/EN, with an F1~Tier I/Rated-1/Class 1 ... F4~Tier IV/Rated-4/Class 4 table labelled 'conceptual equivalence only'
• Let the profile change default fuel autonomy in the generator module (F3 -> 72 h, F4 -> 96 h)
• Mark those values 'verify with licensed copy' until golden tests confirm them
• Ask for a separate class per subsystem: facility, cabling, network and processing

Who should read it

Consultants who want a multidisciplinary design standard, and engineers mapping BICSI classes to other rating schemes.

Related standards

• ANSI/BICSI 002
• TIA-942
• EN 50600-1
• Uptime Tier Standard: Topology

Publication details

Authors

BICSI

Publisher

BICSI

Year

2024

Document number

ANSI/BICSI 002-2024

Document language

English

Source type

Standard

Access

Free to read

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation