Data Center Cable Management

The hardest part of data cable management is organization. The cable routing should be in writing and diagrammed out before you ever lay any cables. This will take longer than actually laying the cable if you do it right. You will need to label all cables for identification on the server end and on the router or modem end uniformly and at any points in between. Some companies use color-coded cables. Proper labeling saves you time later if a part of your system goes down. It will be easier to locate the problem if you properly labeled cables and your diagram is up-to-date. Whenever you make changes to your data center, whether you are adding or taking out equipment, you need to update your diagram and plan.

The three primary places that you want to concern yourself within your data center are as follows:

1. Inside the server device rack
2. Inside the storage device rack
3. Inside the physical network layer

With your documentation in place you will be able to trouble shoot a problem easier. If you are replacing a switch, server or storage part, or the cable itself the diagram and cable labels will make it a breeze. Imagine if you had a mess that looked like spaghetti. You would spend countless hours trying to figure out which cable goes to what. This will take too many hours and too much down time for your company.

Proper and neat cabling will insure that your data center is cooler and more efficient. With the cables neatly in place, the servers will be able to keep the air circulating and your equipment will not overheat. Your documentation needs to be in a designated place for easy access to any of the maintenance crew. Your networking team and cabling team should work together to properly document and label your cables. This way, anyone called in to troubleshoot a problem will be on the same page. If you stick to the standards you set in the beginning, it will make your date center the pride of the company.

I have listed some examples of cable labels.

For Fibre cable:
a. Switch Name
b. Port Number
c. Switch location
d. Device Name
e. Port Number
r. Device Location

Make sure that you label the front and the back of your servers. Make sure that your labels are all uniform. You should label the servers like the cables. If your storage system comes pre-racked, you will want to label the front and back of each component. Label the inside of the rack, the front, and the back of the control and disk shelves also. When it comes time to install a new part to your data center, you will be glad you took the time to properly label and document your entire system. If you need to find one bad cable in the system that went down, you will be able to find the problem quickly and efficiently with the up-to-date documentation