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0
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0answers
34 views

Proper grounding for aerial STP cable [closed]

I am getting opposite answers on this matter so I am asking on this forum. I was curious on how would I proceed if I wanted to install several 100ft runs of Cat5E aerial rated STP outdoor with ...
15
votes
3answers
673 views

Connecting two desktop switches with more than one cable?

I was hoping to find a way to increase bandwidth between two desktop switches I have, and I wondered if connecting them with two cables (or perhaps three) instead of just one might increase ...
4
votes
3answers
143 views

Effect of reversing a pair, in cat5 cabling (e.g. swapping stripe and solid)

Is there any practical effect of reversing solid and stripe, when wiring cat5 cables? But if I've got a cable where each pair is a pair but one end is flipped, will this make any practical difference ...
-2
votes
0answers
45 views

Why are infiniband cables so expensive? [closed]

It is currently possible to buy Infiniband cards (2 x 10 Gb) on EBay for about 30 Euro. Switches seem to be fairly expensive, but not prohibitively so. The thing that horrified me was the cost of ...
0
votes
5answers
174 views

New office cabling: should we use CAT7 or CAT6a? [closed]

We are going to do the cabling in our new office building and we are thinking to lay down 10Gbit cables since we use HP switches that come with 10Gbit ethernet ports. We will also lay down few fiber ...
1
vote
0answers
77 views

Any tricks for checking if a ethernet cable is in use? [closed]

Faced with bundles of white cat5 in the attic, any suggestions for non-intrusive checks to determine which ones are in use? Thanks, Kent
6
votes
1answer
167 views

Why do metal fasteners (e.g., staples) around ethernet cables impair network performance? [closed]

At one point I was living in a 6 bedroom home that had cat 6 ethernet wired to each bedroom. The internet connection to the bedrooms furthest from the cable modem had terrible performance, though I ...
7
votes
1answer
351 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
93 views

SFP+ vs CAT6a for 10GbE

We are looking to implement 10Gig ethernet for our ESX hosts and SANs. There are a number of solutions we have been looking at and it has really boiled down to what will give us the best bandwidth. ...
3
votes
3answers
150 views

Sanity Check: Is my CAT5e cable probably bad, or do I just need different connectors?

I'm working with a small company, and since I'm the only one with even a half-ounce of network infrastructure experience I've got the job of wiring up our network. So please forgive my newbie-ness. ...
7
votes
3answers
425 views

How to test/debug bad network wiring?

I recently bought a place already wired with Cat 5E (8 ports, leading to a central closet). However attempting to get link, nothing works. On closer examination, it was obvious that the ends in the ...
5
votes
3answers
186 views

Creating a network link between 2 very close buildings

I have a charity who have two adjacent medium sized modern detached houses (in the UK): the buildings stand next to each other and are less than 5 metres apart. They have DSL connected to a single ...
0
votes
1answer
314 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
949 views

10GbE sfp+ cross over cable required? Is there such a thing?

To preface, this is my first experience with 10GbE networking and I have encountered an issue which my research does not seem to locate a solution for... I have two servers (older DL580G5 and ...
1
vote
2answers
848 views

How to test cat5/cat6 cable runs, using software-only, or simple tools?

Are there any utilities or simple tools or techniques to easily test a CAT5 cable, to see how well was it installed? Cat5 is often installed by amateurs, but has been installed and "working" for ...
6
votes
2answers
193 views

Can I use CAT 6a connectors with 7a cable (and get 6a performance)?

I'm re-wiring a building and want to get the best cable possible laid - it required re-plastering to make a change to the cables and the cables will be there for the next 10 - 20 years. Currently ...
4
votes
3answers
4k views

Cat 6e vs Cat 6a

From what I can understand, Cat 6e does not actually exist but a number of manufacturers are selling some cable labeled as Cat 6e. Some sources say that Cat 6e is just Cat 6a but the manufacturers ...
0
votes
1answer
142 views

Cable management in a server rack [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Cable Management Policy My company has 1 42U server rack which is about 1/3 full of equipment. Things have been added a bit at a time, sometimes in quite a hurry. And ...
11
votes
4answers
728 views

Why is a suspended ceiling not allowed in a wiring closet?

I have read in the book Cabling: The Complete Guide to Network Wiring that wiring closets should not have a suspended ceiling. In a few Google searches, I see this concept repeated. I have not been ...
1
vote
3answers
143 views

Cross cable auto route back if NIC is down? [closed]

UPDATE: I just clarified with my friend, he actually meant, the traffic will be passed through from the LAN to WAN port, it's specific to device, in our case it's the Symantec Web Gateway Appliance. ...
3
votes
2answers
218 views

External SAS cable or adaptor with 90 degree plug

We have an HP tape autochanger mounted in a rack, but it's so deep that with the external mini-SAS cable plugged in we cannot close the rear rack door - if we did we'd crush the SAS cable well beyond ...
8
votes
2answers
361 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
326 views

Rack tool for measuring cabling?

I'm looking for a tool that can be used to measure the length of Cat 6 cables that need to be installed in a comms rack. I won't be making the cables myself. For example the length of a cable required ...
5
votes
6answers
817 views

Structured Cabling Server Racks

We have the opportunity next week to rewire five server racks which is currently in a real mess. Each rack currently has a switch installed up top with lots of cables hanging around. We are thinking ...
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 ...
2
votes
2answers
566 views

How to decide cross or straight cable

I know that you have to connect same devices with cross cable and differents with straight. Although, that's the common idea, in Cisco Packet Tracer you have to connect a PC and a router with cross ...
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
506 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 ...
2
votes
4answers
2k views

SFP+ twinax cable compatibility

How compatible are twinax SFP+ cables when used with different hardware vendors' equipment? E.g. are Cisco SFP+ cables fine between an Arista switch and a Solarflare card? How about an Amphenol cable ...
4
votes
3answers
587 views

Moving server room to another part of the building

This question is a bit different than the typical we are moving our server room to an off site location or we are moving the whole office to a new building. Management wants to add some more office ...
3
votes
6answers
750 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 ...
16
votes
5answers
2k views

What else do I get with Cat 6 beyond future proofing my wiring?

We are about to put in the wiring in an expansion of our office building and the vendor is proposing we use Cat 6 cabling because it is "faster." Gigabit works fine over Cat 5e which is what our ...
2
votes
3answers
358 views

replacing an ethernet backbone with fibre optic

I live and work in a building that is nearly 20 years old. My Internet connection is in the cellar along with my servers and has a nominal rating of 100 MBit. I have a gigabit switch in the cellar ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views

How to correctly run cables on servers in a data center?

I've read about a few key points, e.g. run all ethernet cables on the right side, all power on the left side, but if possible I'd like to know what you guys do from experience? For example, how do you ...
3
votes
3answers
159 views

Link mode on unmanaged gigabit switches

I have two RJ45 sockets connected by an inaccessible unknown-category twisted pair cable. I plug two unmanaged gigabit switches into the sockets using Cat6 cables, and they negotiate a 100Mbps link. I ...
0
votes
2answers
177 views

long retractable utp cables

Maybe this is not a problem for serverfault but maybe someone knows this. We are planning to go wireless but due to the costs involved we are still using cables in our conference rooms. Does anyone ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views

Best cat6 patch panels? Is price really a factor?

I can go down to my local graybar right now and purchase some AllenTel 48 Port Cat 6 Patch panels I need (part number AT66-PNL-48). They are $275 each. That seems a bit high considering I've seen ...
3
votes
5answers
648 views

Groupings for Network Cable Colors

I noticed a thread Network cable color conventions? that talked about what types of colors to use for cabling in server rooms and closets. I thought that if there was a general consensus as to the ...
0
votes
3answers
127 views

When I plug in a network patch cable to a test notebook what would cause it to not see the link?

I plugged in my notebook via cat5e patch cable to a terminated jack (we had some consultants do the runs), I get no signal not even an indication that it is connected but has no DHCP. I try another ...
3
votes
3answers
3k views

Network wiring template for Visio

Anyone come across a good template/symbol pack for Visio for doing network wiring, patching, switch topologies, etc.? Everything in Visio for networking is 3D, and isn't really conducive to cabling.
2
votes
1answer
154 views

Roughly cutting Fibre Cables

I recently asked a question about which type of Fibre optic cable to use for my installation. We have now found a cable type and supplier and I'm about to order the cable (OM3, Tight Buffered, 12 ...
25
votes
2answers
1k views

Why do cat5 cables sometimes have the fluffy fiber bit in them?

Why do cat5 cables sometimes have the fluffy fiber bit in them?
4
votes
0answers
5k views

What’s the best way to label cables in a data center [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What is the most effective solution you used to label cables? We're in the midst of planning for a big data center renovation at my office, which is going to result in a ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views

Creating a Network link between 2 buildings

My company needs to create a network link between two buildings. Currently we have a cat5e network in one building and would like to connect some computers(about 15) in our second building to the ...
4
votes
6answers
382 views

Cabling: What to keep in stock?

I have worked a few different places, each one with a different solution, so I would like to hear your suggestions and ideas. I am looking at a situation with multiple server-rooms. We have a mixture ...
4
votes
1answer
235 views

Fibre Optic Cabling - Where to start?

I'm a sysadmin/developer that works for a small IT company. We are having a new office building built, and we have a limited time window in which to put in the core infrastructure network cabling that ...
3
votes
2answers
175 views

Resources concerning cabling and wiring

I have some rudimentary knowledge of cabling and wiring but I would like to expand my knowledge. Currently, if we need any rewiring done for our PBX system we call in contractors which is expensive. ...
6
votes
4answers
242 views

What's better for performance: rack-to-endpoint or rack-to-switch-to-endpoint

When putting Ethernet cables for an office there are two ways to put the cables: From the rack patch panel a cable to each end-point (workstation). From the rack patch panel a cable to each ...
3
votes
1answer
651 views

MRJ-21 Patch Panel System

I was reading about the MRJ-41 Patch Panel system here, but not sure I entirely understand it. It looks like it allows me to wire my own patch panels because it it uses a special cable to attach the ...
5
votes
3answers
528 views

Cable guides for CAT 5e in the rafters?

I've got to pull six or so lines through the rafters of this building. There's a mess of wire up there, and I'd like to keep these lines separated a bit. Are there any cable guides that could be ...

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