Electrostatic Discharge; Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage; Preventing Electrostatic Damage In New Cable Installations - Nortel 4500 Series Installation Manual

16 Installing the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch

Electrostatic discharge

This section provides information and procedures to prevent electrostatic
discharge during installation.

Preventing electrostatic discharge damage

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a discharge of stored static electricity that
can damage equipment and impair electrical circuitry. These electrostatic
voltages can result from friction including, but not exclusive to, pulling
cabling through conduits, walking across carpeted areas, and building
static charge in clothing. ESD damage occurs when you improperly handle
electronic components and can result in complete or intermittent failures.
While networking equipment is commonly designed and tested to withstand
common mode ESD events, voltage can sometimes discharge to some
connector pins but not others, or to some pins before others, which can
potentially damage the networking equipment.
To protect the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch against ESD damage, take
the following preventive measures before you connect any data cables to
the device:
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Preventing electrostatic damage in new cable installations

With new cable installations, Nortel recommends that you use an ESD
discharge cable to reduce the potential for damage from static that can build
up in cables. The following figure illustrates an ESD cable.
ESD cable example
Copyright © 2007, Nortel Networks
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Always use anti-static wrist straps. Make sure you adjust the strap to
provide good skin contact.
Ensure that you properly ground work surfaces and equipment racks
for protection against electrostatic discharge. You must connect the
common point to the building ground wire. In a properly wired building,
the nearest reliable ground is typically at the electrical outlet.
Avoid contact between equipment and clothing. The wrist or ankle
strap protects only the equipment from ESD voltages on the body; ESD
voltages on clothing can still cause damage.
Avoid touching any connector pins.
Do not remove the wrist or ankle strap until the installation is complete.
Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 4500 Series
Installation Guide
NN47205-300 02.01 Standard
5.0 23 February 2007
Nortel Networks Confidential