This is probably a stupid question, but.... We've got a few racks in a colo. The racks don't have any decent cable management (square metal holes to attach velcro to). We either order cable too long and end up with lots of loops which get in the way (no place to loop lots of excess really) or too short to run along the side (which is worse). It appears others using the same racks have figured this out, but... Do y'all just order 10 of each size per rack in every color you need or is there a better way to figure this out? I'm guessing something like 24 inches + 1.75 inchex x Us) + 24 inches and round up to standard length...?
Cables should be within 2 feet of the total distance, if you order a stack several sizes too long then add something like above/below the switch: http://www.chatsworth.com/products/cable-management/horizontal-cable-managem... Slack should never be stored in the vertical, only in the horizontal. -----Original Message----- From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces@nanog.org] On Behalf Of shawn wilson Sent: Friday, April 17, 2015 1:44 PM To: North American Network Operators Group Subject: rack cable length This is probably a stupid question, but.... We've got a few racks in a colo. The racks don't have any decent cable management (square metal holes to attach velcro to). We either order cable too long and end up with lots of loops which get in the way (no place to loop lots of excess really) or too short to run along the side (which is worse). It appears others using the same racks have figured this out, but... Do y'all just order 10 of each size per rack in every color you need or is there a better way to figure this out? I'm guessing something like 24 inches + 1.75 inchex x Us) + 24 inches and round up to standard length...?
Hi Shawn, If you don't leave slack, you can't really pull the server out of the RU for maintenance (hot swaps, etc). Your best choice is to purchase cable management trays if that makes sense (Dell servers usually come with those). Otherwise you just need to deal with the loops and whatnot the best way you can. If your colo hardware is really random (dells, HPs, supermicros) then it gets worse, but if your hardware is homogeneous then you can come up with some way of attaching brackets to the side of the rack that could help you avoid a rats nest in the back of your rack (granted you can't find cable management trays or they are too expensive to justify the investment). On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 1:44 PM, shawn wilson <ag4ve.us@gmail.com> wrote:
This is probably a stupid question, but....
We've got a few racks in a colo. The racks don't have any decent cable management (square metal holes to attach velcro to). We either order cable too long and end up with lots of loops which get in the way (no place to loop lots of excess really) or too short to run along the side (which is worse). It appears others using the same racks have figured this out, but...
Do y'all just order 10 of each size per rack in every color you need or is there a better way to figure this out? I'm guessing something like 24 inches + 1.75 inchex x Us) + 24 inches and round up to standard length...?
Or you build the cable to fit the span. I must be getting old. Joe -----Original Message----- From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces@nanog.org] On Behalf Of Rafael Possamai Sent: Friday, April 17, 2015 3:00 PM To: North American Network Operators Group Subject: Re: rack cable length Hi Shawn, If you don't leave slack, you can't really pull the server out of the RU for maintenance (hot swaps, etc). Your best choice is to purchase cable management trays if that makes sense (Dell servers usually come with those). Otherwise you just need to deal with the loops and whatnot the best way you can. If your colo hardware is really random (dells, HPs, supermicros) then it gets worse, but if your hardware is homogeneous then you can come up with some way of attaching brackets to the side of the rack that could help you avoid a rats nest in the back of your rack (granted you can't find cable management trays or they are too expensive to justify the investment). On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 1:44 PM, shawn wilson <ag4ve.us@gmail.com> wrote:
This is probably a stupid question, but....
We've got a few racks in a colo. The racks don't have any decent cable management (square metal holes to attach velcro to). We either order cable too long and end up with lots of loops which get in the way (no place to loop lots of excess really) or too short to run along the side (which is worse). It appears others using the same racks have figured this out, but...
Do y'all just order 10 of each size per rack in every color you need or is there a better way to figure this out? I'm guessing something like 24 inches + 1.75 inchex x Us) + 24 inches and round up to standard length...?
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You must build them if you want the professional look. No way around that - unless you want to take up rack space with some sort of cable management wrapping system and that becomes a pain to make future changes or replace cables. Thank You Bob Evans CTO
Or you build the cable to fit the span. I must be getting old.
Joe
-----Original Message----- From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces@nanog.org] On Behalf Of Rafael Possamai Sent: Friday, April 17, 2015 3:00 PM To: North American Network Operators Group Subject: Re: rack cable length
Hi Shawn,
If you don't leave slack, you can't really pull the server out of the RU for maintenance (hot swaps, etc). Your best choice is to purchase cable management trays if that makes sense (Dell servers usually come with those). Otherwise you just need to deal with the loops and whatnot the best way you can. If your colo hardware is really random (dells, HPs, supermicros) then it gets worse, but if your hardware is homogeneous then you can come up with some way of attaching brackets to the side of the rack that could help you avoid a rats nest in the back of your rack (granted you can't find cable management trays or they are too expensive to justify the investment).
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 1:44 PM, shawn wilson <ag4ve.us@gmail.com> wrote:
This is probably a stupid question, but....
We've got a few racks in a colo. The racks don't have any decent cable management (square metal holes to attach velcro to). We either order cable too long and end up with lots of loops which get in the way (no place to loop lots of excess really) or too short to run along the side (which is worse). It appears others using the same racks have figured this out, but...
Do y'all just order 10 of each size per rack in every color you need or is there a better way to figure this out? I'm guessing something like 24 inches + 1.75 inchex x Us) + 24 inches and round up to standard length...?
-- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
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On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 3:22 PM, Bob Evans <bob@fiberinternetcenter.com> wrote:
You must build them if you want the professional look. No way around that - unless you want to take up rack space with some sort of cable management wrapping system and that becomes a pain to make future changes or replace cables.
Or you build the cable to fit the span. I must be getting old.
I've found that the pre-crimped cables tend to hold up better than those you do yourself...? I can go fairly quick once I'm on a roll but I wonder if this is the right way to go here.
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 3:17 PM, Joe McLeod <jmcleod@musfiber.net> wrote:
Or you build the cable to fit the span. I must be getting old.
There's a "best of both worlds" version of this: buy lots of the short-length cables (1 to 6 feet) and "cut down" longer cables where the distance exceeds the short cables I can buy. I typically buy 25' cables each of which turns in to a pair of shorter cables with one manufactured and one field-terminated end. I end up with cables that are "just right" and well organized. Harder to do with power cables but still somewhat functional. -Bill -- William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
Ok I've got a few comments offlist too and they all seem to draw the same conclusion - crimp your own length. Thanks all for the input. On Apr 17, 2015 4:11 PM, "William Herrin" <bill@herrin.us> wrote:
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 3:17 PM, Joe McLeod <jmcleod@musfiber.net> wrote:
Or you build the cable to fit the span. I must be getting old.
There's a "best of both worlds" version of this: buy lots of the short-length cables (1 to 6 feet) and "cut down" longer cables where the distance exceeds the short cables I can buy.
I typically buy 25' cables each of which turns in to a pair of shorter cables with one manufactured and one field-terminated end. I end up with cables that are "just right" and well organized.
Harder to do with power cables but still somewhat functional.
-Bill
-- William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
Copper and fiber patch panels are key. This way you can control the length from the patch to the device (router, switch,server). Justin Justin Wilson j2sw@mtin.net http://www.mtin.net Managed Services – xISP Solutions – Data Centers http://www.thebrotherswisp.com Podcast about xISP topics http://www.midwest-ix.com Peering – Transit – Internet Exchange
On Apr 17, 2015, at 2:44 PM, shawn wilson <ag4ve.us@gmail.com> wrote:
This is probably a stupid question, but....
We've got a few racks in a colo. The racks don't have any decent cable management (square metal holes to attach velcro to). We either order cable too long and end up with lots of loops which get in the way (no place to loop lots of excess really) or too short to run along the side (which is worse). It appears others using the same racks have figured this out, but...
Do y'all just order 10 of each size per rack in every color you need or is there a better way to figure this out? I'm guessing something like 24 inches + 1.75 inchex x Us) + 24 inches and round up to standard length...?
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 3:23 PM, Justin Wilson - MTIN <lists@mtin.net> wrote:
Copper and fiber patch panels are key. This way you can control the length from the patch to the device (router, switch,server).
Yeah, I am talking about just the runs in the rack - I don't see a(nother) patch panel helping here.
participants (7)
-
Bob Evans -
Jameson, Daniel -
Joe McLeod -
Justin Wilson - MTIN -
Rafael Possamai -
shawn wilson -
William Herrin