Cable Management is the term used to describe how one cables up an infrastructure.
6
votes
8answers
407 views
Stripping cat5 cable which doesn't have a ripcord
I need to patch a couple of cables. Normally I'd work with cat5 cable which contains a ripcord. The ripcord is used to pull outer insulation off without accidentally cutting the individual strands of ...
7
votes
1answer
354 views
Server room wiring questions
I'm looking at rewiring our server room to be more presentable, organized, and easier to troubleshooting.
Right now we currently have 4 HP racks (don't know the model right now). We do not have a ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
What is the best way to store cabling data [closed]
I work in a massive-scale enterprise environment and I was wondering how to best store and represent cabling information for my company's data centers, in the most general sense.
I can clarify ...
1
vote
1answer
809 views
Difficulty racking HP ProLiant Gen8 servers
We're an all Proliant shop with around 50 servers, mostly DL360s and DL380, from G5's through G7's. We just got our first two G8's in and went to rack them. We were stunned to find out that the new ...
181
votes
15answers
8k views
I've inherited a rat's nest of cabling. What now?
You know, you see pictures like below and sort of chuckle until you actually have to deal with it.
I have just inherited something that looks like the picture below. The culture of the organization ...
21
votes
5answers
3k views
Best practices for power cabling racks in DC
With network cables it is easy. I use velcro-ties, coloured cables, 0U vertical cable organizers from APC on side of the rack -- easy and neat.
However with power cables it was always giving me ...
27
votes
13answers
33k views
How do you organise the cables in your racks?
I'm migrating my current half-size rack to a full-size rack and want to take the opportunity to reorganize and sort our spaghetti-hell of ethernet cables.
What system do you use for organising your ...
1
vote
2answers
218 views
Wall jacks to patch panel?
OK, I'm by no means a seasoned networking pro and I had no say so in the design of our current server room which is in dire need of an extreme makeover. Basically, in our server room we have 12 wall ...
10
votes
1answer
842 views
What is the proper way to manage cabling behind patch panels?
I have a 4-post 19" rack with a 72-port 2U quickport patch panel where horizontal structured cabling terminates. The cables are bundled and enter the rack at the rear. From the back of the rack, ...
0
votes
1answer
315 views
Organizing cabling from patch panel to switches
The cabling between our patch panel and switches isn't a complete nightmare (like this), but is far from well organized. As we add new wall jacks, or office moves happen, cables get moved on the patch ...
2
votes
2answers
177 views
Label Scheme for Rack Mounted Equipment [closed]
Given a lot of the users on here have vast experience, what is the best way to label individual cables for equipment mounted in a rack?
I was thinking something like:
Port Number of Switch | ...
12
votes
5answers
4k views
Why do rack switches have their ports on the front?
I've ordered some rack hardware from Dell. A 42U rack, a 3U EqualLogic SAN, two 1U PowerConnect 5424 switches, three 1U PowerEdge servers, and some other stuff such as a tapedrive, firewall, UPS, etc.
...
11
votes
4answers
401 views
Cable Routing: Can I route power and network cable through a Server Arm?
I know that power cables can sometimes interfere with network cables. When routing cables it is best to separate the power from the network cables.
When using a cable management arm (like below) ...
4
votes
5answers
4k views
Effect of heat on CAT5 Ethernet Cabling
I am wondering what the heat rating is on standard CAT5 cabling or where I can check the heat rating of my cabling by using the information inscribed on the cabling?
In my specific situation, I am ...
5
votes
1answer
118 views
Pulling cable: Torsion relief
I'm laying out 70 meters U/UTP cat 6 cables between two floors, and I was wondering if someone had a strategy to remove as much torsion as possible from a cable as it is pulled from its roll ?
is ...
3
votes
3answers
364 views
Cable Management
I was given the task of (re)organizing cables in one of our racks, and I have never done this before. What system/equipment do you use to organize your cables?
The rack I have is 23" and has 19" ...
8
votes
2answers
363 views
Cable management strategy for a small chassis switch
I'm working with a small site buildout that contains a single HP ProCurve 4200vl chassis switch. The data cabling contractor did not provision for any cable management. I'm looking at the rack ...
6
votes
6answers
3k views
Rackmount cable length calculations & best practices
I'm redoing the cable management for a small company with a modest server room. It's my first time trying to organize an absolute mess that their former IT-guy left.
A huge problem that I'm finding ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
Acquiring location - need cable map/toning/testing done in house…tools needed?
I was going to ask "best approach?" but I figured it would be closed.
I know how to tone/test a cable...but I'm looking for tools, ideas, approaches that will make the following project manageable ...
33
votes
13answers
3k views
Help me fight this spaghetti monster [cabling]
So I have gotten a new job at a medium sized company as an IT-administrator.
I have also inherited this monster (actually, there is 2 of them) from the previous administrator:
I'd like you guys ...
25
votes
14answers
42k views
What is a patch panel?
What is a patch panel? How it is different from (layer 2) switch?
EDIT:
I think my primary question (and confusion) is this:
Why don't network connections go straight to the switch?
Don't we still ...
0
votes
4answers
533 views
identifying and labelling CAT 5 cables and sockets
I have a network admin problem, is there a simple and minimally disruptive way to identify for a given network cable where it goes into the switch?
I have a lot of unlabelled cables and unlabelled ...
1
vote
5answers
798 views
Specialized Mounting Brackets
We are currently upgrading our tower based build server to a new 19" rack mounted unit for our software development team.
Our new rack server has a maximum depth of 22 inches. So to accommodate this, ...
5
votes
2answers
299 views
Tool(s) for labeling cables with unique ID numbers
We are looking to (finally) implement a cable labeling procedure.
We already have a labler. Now we need a system to maintain unique IDs not related to anything.
I thought of getting a tally counter ...
3
votes
6answers
754 views
Do you really need cable management for a cabinet with just switches and patch panels?
We are about to start wiring out a building expansion and our vendor has laid out the racks in the following configuration:
Option 1
1U Fiber patch panel
2U Cable Manager
2U 48 port Patch Panel
2U ...
0
votes
2answers
144 views
Adding a networking rack after the fact
I'm working on a network project where the networking equipment is located in utility closets which aren't very secure.
I'd like to put all the networking equipment and servers in free-standing (ie, ...
2
votes
1answer
602 views
Loaded Vs Unloaded Patch Panels
What is the difference between loaded and unloaded patch panels? Is it simply that loaded patch panels come with endpoint sockets and unloaded patch panels do not?
6
votes
4answers
907 views
Does UPS Rack Position Matter
Short version of question:
Is there any reason a UPS (or any other device) should be at a particular level in a rack.
Long version (with explanation):
I have a full height rack with two servers, ...
3
votes
2answers
179 views
Patch Panel Cable Tangle
Possibly the noob-est question ever (I'm a developer stepping in to do some sysadmin stuff):
I have a 48-port patch panel bolted to a wall about 10 feet from where my rack is.
Right now there's a ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
What is the easiest way to attach sata cables to the backplane of a 1U super micro case?
It seems that the raid controller breakout cable thats designed for the backplane makes its incredibly difficult to cable it. The right angle bend sata cables need to bend down, making it very ...
9
votes
2answers
507 views
How do I label the network ports in our office?
We have a new office that was punched down with Ethernet in every office and every cubicle. The electrician didn't mark the ports on the patch panel or the wall ports, so I don't know where say port 1 ...
5
votes
3answers
361 views
How to support 10-15 users sharing one big open space?
The company I work for is going to be moving offices soon, and the new space is completely lacking in power or ethernet cabling right now. About 1/2 of the total office space is a 30'x30' open room, ...
2
votes
8answers
4k views
Any thoughts on 6 inch ethernet patch cables?
It seems like no matter how strict and careful we are in our closets when we set them up, they eventually turn into a giant knot.
In part I blame the fact that we've got a rather large number of ...
2
votes
6answers
1k views
Heat shrink cat5 cable labels
I'm looking for some feedback from someone who has used heat-shrink labels for cable management/identification in a server room environment.
Specifically, I'm looking at the Brady IDXPERT printer ...
8
votes
6answers
1k views
Effecient organization of spare cables and hardware
As many of you also likely do, I have a growing collection of cables, hardware, and spare parts (screws, connectors, etc.). I'm looking to find a good system of organization so that everything isn't a ...
4
votes
5answers
621 views
Fiber in Cable Management Arm
I'm aware of the existing debate on cable management arms. For those people who DO use cable management arms, do you put Fiber into the arms? It looks like I'm fine on minimum bend radii, but am ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
How to fix the wiring mess that is my server room
So, I have inherited a mess of a server room.
Rack 1: 5x 48 port patch panels; 140 in use | 3x 48 port switches
Rack 2: 4x 48 port patch panels; 120 in use | 3x 48 port switches
Rack 3: 3x 48 ...
7
votes
16answers
4k views
To use cable management arms or not
I would like to open up a discussion on your experience with either using cable management arms or not.
It seems like a nice idea to ensure that you have enough cable slack to be able to pull a ...
36
votes
7answers
3k views
Cable Management Policy
We've all seen good and bad examples of cable management.
What are objective, measurable requirements that can be used in a policy to maintain cabling order in the rack/server room/data center?
...
