How to Manage Cable in Server Rack?

“I bought a server rack for my network construction several days ago. And it is a 42U server rack. However, I have mounted much equipment with numerous cables in the rack. What can I do to manage the messy wires?”

It is annoying to see many network cables messing inside a sever rack. These cables not only give you an unaesthetic feeling but also obstruct the airflow between each other, making the whole network maintenance more complicated. Therefore, it is necessary to take cable management as a priority in server rack. Next, several cable management tips are given for better experience!

Server Rack Cable Management Best Practices

Fiber Patch Panel + Horizontal Cable Manager with D-Rings

Patch panels can provide space-saving, high-density cable connections. It is very convenient to use a fiber patch panel and a horizontal cable manager with D-rings together in a server rack. The combination of these two products offers a flexible and tidy way to manage fiber optic cables in server rack.

Rack Mount Fiber Enclosure + MPO/MTP Cassettes

Rack mount fiber enclosure can also hold different types of MTP/MPO cassettes such as MTP-8, MTP-12, MTP-24, etc. It offers the interface between the MTP connector on the trunk and the LC duplex jumpers aiming to get quick connection of the applications from data center. This kind of combination is generally adopted in 10G to 40G or 25G to 100G applications.

Ethernet Patch Panel + Horizontal Cable Manager with D-Rings

This is the most commonly seen combination in server rack cable management. Situations like this always use horizontal cable manager to arrange small bundles of Ethernet patch cables. Therefore, as the carrier of copper patch cables like Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a, Ethernet patch panel is an incontrovertible choice.

Vertical Cable Manager with D-Rings in Server Rack

The combinations above is good for tidy cable connection and space saving cable management in server rack while the independent use of D-rings in also a vital part. It can organize the long-length cables which are stretched out from all the servers with ease, which can easily be seen from the picture below.

Label Each Cable on Both Ends in Server Rack

Actually, in addition to the four rack cable management tips above, labeling each cable is an assistant but necessary step. If the cables are labeled, then it will be convenient for the replacement of certain cables damaged or outdated in the future. Having a good label printer in the data center or computer closet is absolutely essential to ensure good rack cable management. All you need is to print off every two pieces of small labels in pairs. To ensure the quick positioning of each cable, you can label the cable on both ends with the same symbol.

Conclusion on Server Rack Cable Management

As you can see, there are many tips for server rack cable management. These solutions are very practical either involved with different combinations of various products such as fiber patch panel, rack mount enclosure, Ethernet patch panel, horizontal or vertical cable managers, etc., or concerned with overall considerations like cable labeling. Once these solutions are applied to a server rack, the cables inside will remain clean and easy to manage for years to come.

Original source: http://www.fiberopticshare.com/manage-cable-in-server-rack.html

Ethernet Patch Panel: Keystone vs. Feed-Through vs. Punchdown

General Introduction on Patch Panel Ethernet

Patch panel is a device designed with a few jacks to monitor, interconnect and test circuits on network connecting and circuits routing. It is very convenient and is commonly used in computer networking, radio, audio, TV, etc.

Nowadays, patch panel ethernet, namely, ethernet patch panel, is almost the most common application of its kind. It is of great importance for cable management in data centers. Serving as the nerve center of the cabling network, the importance of patch panels cannot be neglected. There are different forms of ethernet patch panels. Here, let’s focus on the mostly used three, keystone patch panel, feed-through patch panel and punchdown patch panel.

Patch Panel Ethernet Comparison - Keystone vs. Feed-Through vs. Punchdown

Keystone Patch Panel Ethernet

Keystone patch panel is a traditional form of patch panel Ethernet. It is always in flat style with 1U rack space (24 ports). The clear numbering on the front provides a quick, easy way to identify cable runs, grounding wire included. In addition, keystone lets you create your own color coding scheme. You can choose to card into different color modules for color code management.

Feed-Through Patch Panel Ethernet

Feed-through patch panel is an in-line series of connections mounted onto a frame, which enables network cables to be terminated in an orderly manner. It is usually in 1U (24 ports) and 2U (48 ports) configuration. The feed-through patch panels have RJ45 ports on both sides for easy installation.

It can be repaired without punching a large amount of wires onto the back of the panel, which keeps the patch cable clean at the back of the panel. Without punching down the wires to the ports, it saves time and energy while maximize productivity. Among all the feed-through patch panels, Cat5e and Cat6 patch panel are commonly used in data centers nowadays.

Punchdown Patch Panel Ethernet

Punch down types are available in Cat5e or Cat6 patch panel. In the front of the panel, RJ45 ports (usually 24 ports) are used to directly connect Ethernet copper cable. And these ports have their own numbers as well for easy identification. In the rear, it has patch panel module with color markings for punching down Ethernet cable. This type of panel is a litter cheaper than other panels.

Normally, color coded labels are designed for T568A and T568B wiring configurations. You should insert each wire into its own slot and then terminate the wires with right configuration match. Once you finished the cable installation, you should have a double check with a cable tester to see if all the wires are correctly terminated.

Summary on Patch Panel Ethernet Comparison

Among the different forms of patch panels, keystone can provide different color module management. Punchdown is cheaper but with complex cable installation steps. While, feed-through patch panel is more expensive but it is less messy and is quite suitable for high-density network system, which can protect cable and improve cable management efficiency.

Original Source: http://www.fiber-optic-solutions.com/ethernet-patch-panel-keystone-vs-feed-through-vs-punchdown.html