Cable Management Systems
Cable Management for Server Racks & Rooms
A server room floor littered with snaking cables and unidentifiable equipment is a nightmare. To avoid this you need to plan your layout properly, it will make your maintenance and troubleshooting work a lot easier while saving you thousands of dollars. Use diagramming tools to help you plan your layout. One of the first things you need to decide on is whether you want your cables to run under the floor, overhead, or both ways. Next, identify specific areas for where your cables will run. These areas should be away from electrical lines, this is because copper cables are heavy and they can crush your fiber cables. It is also important to allot space for your server room cabling prior to buying the equipment rather than making it an afterthought. Most server rooms use overhead cable trays but under the floor cables are also recommended for added security and if you require additional cooling above the racks. Here are some guidelines in helping you organize your cables with a connectivity map:
- Use a diagramming tool to layout the placement of all devices managed by your network.
- Assign a number to each device.
- Tag each device with the number you have assigned to it.
- Tag the patch cable for each device on your patch panel.
- Connect patch cables going from the patch panel to the switches in an orderly manner as they are re-plugged. Use a color scheme for the patch cables to categorize devices, for example, red cables can be used for servers, blue for workstations, yellow for printers.
Other pointers you can observe in organizing cables are:
- Correct cable lengths. Use only the appropriate length of cord for each piece of equipment. Route cables up and down on the sides of the rack rather than have an unmanageable number of point-to-point wires. Avoid putting up a direct connection that goes straight across because you donÂ’t have a longer piece of cable; get yourself a longer one to keep things in order.
- Cable ties and clamps. These tools will help organize network cables going into the server room.
- Label the RJ45 jacks in all locations with the same number you used on the patch panel in the server room.
- Run all cables along one side of the rack before moving up or down to a switch. This makes it easier for you to do maintenance work with a clean front panel.
These pretty cheap pointers will help you do away with the hassle and cost of locating a broken or disconnected cable. Keep your cables neat, tidy, and properly identified – that’s everything you need to know about cable management.
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Sources: http://www.focus.com/briefs/information-technology/best-practices-data-center-desig
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