Red Bigfoot IT — Network Standards

Network Standards for Cable Colors

v1.0 · Approved 2026-08-19. Copper patch colors by role, mapped to the RB VLAN standard. All colors are common-stock CAT6/CAT6A in every length. The label is authoritative — color is recognition speed.

Copper (CAT6 / CAT6A) — color by role

Use	Description	Suggested VLAN	Color name
Workstations	User endpoints: desktops, laptops, docks	100 (splits 110 / 120 / 124)	Black
Workstationsalso acceptable	Blue, black, and white are ubiquitous and used interchangeably in the field — all three mean workstation	100	Blue
Workstationsalso acceptable	Same use as above	100	White
Carrier / demarc / untrusted	ISP handoff, modem/ONT to firewall WAN, DMZ segments — everything before or outside the firewall	30–39 (WAN transit)	Red
Servers & hypervisors	Server and host NICs	240–249	Purple
Transit / uplinks	Switch-to-switch and switch-to-router trunks	tagged trunks (native VLAN 1 unused)	Yellow
VoIP	Desk phones, PBX appliances	180	Green
Infrastructure endpoints	Wireless APs, printers, cameras, IoT devices	173 · 150–152 · 174 · 182	Orange
Out-of-band management	iLO / iDRAC / IPMI, switch management, UPS management	175 (via 178 jumpbox) 171 · 172	Gray
Fiber — any role	Jacket color states the fiber type per TIA-598 and is never repurposed for role — mark role with labels and colored boots	n/a	Per fiber type

Rules

The label is authoritative. Both ends labeled per the RB Naming Standards regardless of jacket color.
Existing sites migrate opportunistically — recolor as cables are touched, never as a rip-and-replace project.
No right color on hand? Use what's there and label it. Never delay a fix for a jacket color.
TIA alignment: blue (horizontal) and purple (common equipment) match TIA-606. Red-for-untrusted, yellow-for-transit, and orange-for-endpoints are Red Bigfoot house rules — documented, so don't "correct" them.

Fiber jacket colors (TIA-598): OS1/OS2 single-mode = yellow · OM1/OM2 = orange · OM3/OM4 = aqua · OM5 = lime · APC-polished connectors = green. These state the fiber type — buying "purple fiber for servers" would destroy that signal.