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Cisco ASA 5500 Series Hardware Installation Guide
OL-10089-01
Chapter 1 Preparing for Installation
General Site Requirements
Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage equipment and impair electrical circuitry. ESD damage occurs
when electronic components are improperly handled and can result in complete or intermittent failures.
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Always follow ESD-prevention procedures when removing and replacing components. Ensure that
the chassis is electrically connected to earth ground. Wear an ESD-preventive wrist strap, ensuring
that it makes good skin contact. Connect the grounding clip to an unpainted surface of the chassis
frame to safely ground ESD voltages. To properly guard against ESD damage and shocks, the wrist
strap and cord must operate effectively. If no wrist strap is available, ground yourself by touching
the metal part of the chassis.
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For safety, periodically check the resistance value of the antistatic strap, which should be between
1 and 10 megohms (Mohms).
General Site Requirements
The topics in this section describe the requirements your site must meet for safe installation and
operation of your system. Ensure that your site is properly prepared before beginning installation.
This section includes the following topics:
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Preventive Site Configuration, page 1-4
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Power Supply Considerations, page 1-5
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Configuring Equipment Racks, page 1-5
Site Environment
Place the chassis on a desktop or mount it on a rack. The location of the chassis and the layout of the
equipment rack or wiring room are extremely important for proper system operation. Equipment placed
too close together, inadequate ventilation, and inaccessible panels can cause system malfunctions and
shutdowns, and can make the chassis maintenance difficult.
When planning the site layout and equipment locations, keep in mind the precautions described in the
next section “
Preventive Site Configuration, page 1-4
,” to help avoid equipment failures and reduce the
possibility of environmentally caused shutdowns. If you are currently experiencing shutdowns or
unusually high error rates with your existing equipment, these precautions may help you isolate the
cause of failures and prevent future problems.
Preventive Site Configuration
The following precautions will help plan an acceptable operating environment for the chassis and avoid
environmentally caused equipment failures:
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Electrical equipment generates heat. Ambient air temperature might not be adequate to cool
equipment to acceptable operating temperatures without adequate circulation. Ensure that the room
in which you operate your system has adequate air circulation.
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Always follow the ESD-prevention procedures described previously to avoid damage to equipment.
Damage from static discharge can cause immediate or intermittent equipment failure.
