Why Do I Need Wire Management?
Data centers and closets can quickly become tangled messes, making them difficult to manage and often leading to the wrong cable being unplugged at the most inopportune time.
Wire management is the key to keeping your cable plant organized and easy to use. In addition to saving time and reducing headaches, a clean closet shows how much pride you take in your work.
6 Tips for Easy Cable Management
Practice these and you will always have a data center or closet that you are proud to show to others:
1. Install wire managers
You’ll need both vertical and horizontal wire managers on the rack. These provide a place to put the cable in an enclosed tray before it pops out to the patch panel or connecting device.
2. Use thin patch cables
Today you can buy thin patch cables that are far more flexible and less bulky on the patch panel, making it easier to connect and place within the wire managers.
3. Use patch cables that are the right length
If you use a 10-foot cable when you only need a 3-foot cable, you’ll have excess cable tucked away in the wire managers. This can get messy.
4. Use Velcro to bundle cables
If you have several cables that come through the wire managers and go to the same location, bundle them together to keep them tight and organized. Loose cables can get tangled over time.
5. Label everything
All cables that will be terminated to the patch panel should be labeled. All patch panels and user-side jacks should also be labeled for quick and easy identification.
6. Train your techs to properly install new patch cables
The number one way cable systems become unorganized is a lack of accountability with techs who plug in new equipment at random. Once your data center or closet has been cleaned up, set a clear policy on how to install new patch cables. This will go a long way towards ensuring it stays clean in the future.
Additional Reading