Questions[cable-management](server)

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 headaches.

With some of the racks I am using Vertical PDUs from APC (0U) so it's kind of neat as am getting 0.3m/0.5m cables and connecting them to servers which are close to the PDU sockets. It's kind of neat, but it could be better.

With horizontal PDUs it is really bad -- no matter how hard I try there is always few cables that are too long and are hanging loose below the APC.

Eg. http://www.flickr.com/photos/92011471@N00/25695150/ -- this will cause the cables on the bottom to be different length and its going to get quite messy...

What are best practices for power cabling? How do you guys do this so your cables once put in once are neat and you don't have to worry about them for years? Do you also cut them to match right length? Do you use some special organizers? Or maybe you know some tricks like hiding them between the side of the server and rack?

I went through many many posts on SF however most of the are oriented around network cabling and very few are touching slightly on the power problem.

Of course I am talking about having network cables on one side and power cables on the other side.

Any suggestions, recommendations, suggestions much appreciated.

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 require 1-to-1 connections from switch to patch panel?

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 cables? Do you use any tracking software?

Do you physically label the cables?

What are you identifying when you label each end? Mac address? Port number? Asset number?

What do you use to label them?

I was looking at a hand held labeler, but the wrap around laser printer sheets might work. The Brady ID PAL seems good, but it's pricey.

Ideas?

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 expertise and experience on how to make sense of it. Someday, all hell will probably break loose and I'll need to fiddle with the cables and switches.

So I'll need to have an overview of where which cable leads to etc. What approach should I take?

EDIT: I guess I did not clarify myself well enough :) I also mean that it a little more detailed. Such as, you say: Color both ends. Yes, but what is the easiest way to figure out which cable leads to where? :)

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?

I'm not looking for "Don't do spaghetti wiring!" but practical, objectively measurable policy that can be readily explained, followed, and inspected for whether it passes or fails the requirements in the policy.

Please avoid, "Don't do x, y, or z" - instead re-form the requirement as a "Do A, B, and C" where following the second requirement will eliminate the problems explained in the first requirement.