Cable Management – Improving Organization and Scalability

Let's play a game, look at the picture below and try to guess if it is a freshly cooked bowl of spaghetti, or an example of poor cable management.

If you guessed spaghetti, we won’t blame you. Poor cable management affects businesses everywhere and can have some serious consequences. The first is the obvious eyesore aspect. Walking into a server room and seeing a tangled mess of cords is certainly not an appealing look. 

The bigger issue with poor cable management, is the financial impact it can have. Effective cable management can help to minimize server downtime. If your technician is stuck sorting through a mess of spaghetti to identify an error, you are wasting precious time. Server downtime can lead to decreased profits, on top of any additional charges you may have to pay to your technician. Organization is a key part of cable management and can help your company save money.

Another great reason to invest in proper cable management, is for future expansion. Over time, just as your business grows, so will your network. Not just in terms of physical space, but the actual hardware will change over time so maintaining an organized system is vital. When planning out your server room, infrastructure scalability is a pivotal detail to understand. Nobody wants to their growth to be bogged down by their server room setup.

So Where Do We Start?

Detangling the mess of spaghetti seems like a daunting task, but fortunately for you, PrimusCable offers everything you need to ensure your server room is set up with proper cable management.

Patch Panels

Lets start with the right patch panel. We offer a wide selection of patch panels to ensure that no matter what size you are looking for or how many ports you need, we have to one for you. Our patch panels come with numbered ports making it easy for you to track which device is plugged into where. Below is an example of our Blank Patch Panels, the PP3-6443/48B.

This high density patch panel comes with 48 ports that can support CAT5E, CAT6, CAT6A and even Fiber keystone jacks. When planning for scalability, the patch panel can make all the difference. Utilizing a blank patch panel allows you to add keystone jacks as your network grows, as well as to swap out keystone jacks as you upgrade your hardware potentially from CAT5E, to CAT6 and eventually CAT6A. In terms of aesthetic, the RJ45 ports mount flush against the panels face which helps to eliminate snags and the numbered ports help you to improve your organization and prevents cords from being mixed up and getting tangled. Because this is a high density patch panel, this panel is able to fit in 48 ports in just 2U of space, where a normal patch panel would only be able to fit 24 ports.

Server Racks

Now let's find a server rack to attach these patch panels too. PrimusCable carries a wide variety of server racks to help you simplify and expedite the maintenance of your server room. Just like the patch panels, our racks come in various sizes and shapes to match your needs or scalability plans. Below is an image of one of our 2 post racks, TR-K8-4225-25U.

This particular rack is free standing, meaning it does not have to be mounted to a wall like a lot of other server racks. With an 800 pound weight limit and 25U space, this rack can help you scale your server as your business grows. This 2 post free standing rack is also an ideal choice when working in a compact space, as it can be placed anywhere in the room.

Lacing Bars and Ducts

The next thing you need when setting up your server room is your lacing bars and ducts. These help you make sure your cables follow the same feed paths to ensure they don’t get tangled, as well as help you to tie up any extra slack. Below is an image of one of our lacing bars, RP-K12-3613-1U. 

This D-Ring Cable Manager attaches directly to your server rack, and provides a large supported area to organize and route cable bundles. This Cable manager can be mounted in two different positions, maximizing your cable management options. Face the D-rings toward the front of the rack to easily manage and support patch cables or face them toward the back of the rack where the open design provides easy support of trunk cables.

Fasteners

The last thing you need for your server room setup is cable fasteners. There are a wide variety of fasteners we offer here at PrimusCable, from cable ties to velcro wrap straps. One of our more popular types of fasteners is the hook and loop style pictured below.

Hook and Loop fasteners (often referred to and in association with Velcro®), are two pieces of fabric with hooks one end that are designed to adhere with the loops built into the other side of the fabric. Hook and Loop fasteners are efficient and easy to use when only a momentary bond is needed instead of a permanent one. They are an ideal option to quickly and easily wrap around your bundles of cable to ensure they don't end up a tangled mess together, as well as to tie up any extra cable slack.

The End Result

There you have it, cable management made easy. Simply follow these easy steps to avoid a spaghetti server setup and make sure your server looks as beautiful as the one shown above. Whatever your network need, PrimusCable has got you covered to help you meet your network needs!