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•Guest Column: Cable Labeling As Part Of Data Center Management Part II

By Tim Anderson DCIG, LLC

In this blog entry I will discuss the need for proper labeling of cables, servers, and storage hardware. I have been in many data centers over time and have seen extremes from no labeling to everything being labeled. What I will try to assist you with in this blog entry is find a happy medium between the two.

Cable Labeling - The importance here is to ensure that each end of the cable is labeled, as well as any junction box interconnects that may exist for the same portion of glass or copper. This will ensure that when there is a physical plant problem of some kind, it will make it extremely easy for you to locate and run down the issue.

The same process holds true when it comes to labeling your power cords to include the source and destination for the device and the PDU's. This will ensure you have the same physical tracing abilities as you have for networked cables. There are many misconceptions that you need to spend a slew of money on an expensive cable labeling system (1k and more). However I have found that all you really need is a laser printer and some sheets with printer labels on them. These printable labels will work on both copper and glass. The link below shows many of the options available and are all reasonably priced.

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•Guest Column: Cable Labeling As Part Of Data Center Management Part II