nanog mailing list archives
Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema
From: Jay Hennigan <jay () west net>
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2016 18:42:14 -0700
On 3/12/16 12:15 PM, Joe Hamelin wrote:
I know at Clearwire data centers we used gray for network, blue for management and orange for RS-232 console. At least for the initial build. Later re-work or additions were whatever the tech had on hand ;) They also had labels on each end of each wire showing the path through the system, sometimes up to six lines. It did make it easy to bring up a data center and find cabling errors. To see the system last more than a year or two up upgrades would take some strong rules and oversight. I think it would be worth it if your management system can keep the religion.
That's the issue, keeping it that way. "Gray for network" is likely to result in mostly gray cables which won't really help to differentiate things in the long run. Breaking it down further can get tricky in terms of definition. Each network has a color, but then there's this trunk link....
We had a customer who had a scheme involving five different colors. When they did the initial build their wiring vendor came in with barrels of new cables of various lengths and colors and it looked really nice with cable management and all.
After a couple of years it was pretty much random in terms of color coding. Keeping multiple lengths on hand for dressing in raceway without incurring either tons of slack or bow-string taut wires is tough but possible, doing that in half a dozen colors can be daunting.
The electrons on the inside can't see the jacket on the outside and most of them are rumored to be color-blind anyway.
Maybe a compromise of a single color for most things and a different one for specials.
-- Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay () impulse net Impulse Internet Service - http://www.impulse.net/ Your local telephone and internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV
Current thread:
- DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Yardiel Fuentes (Mar 12)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Joe Hamelin (Mar 12)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Jay Hennigan (Mar 18)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Owen DeLong (Mar 18)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Jay Hennigan (Mar 18)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Owen DeLong (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Baldur Norddahl (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Nick Pratley (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Owen DeLong (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Oliver O'Boyle (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Valdis . Kletnieks (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Oliver O'Boyle (Mar 14)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Owen DeLong (Mar 14)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Valdis . Kletnieks (Mar 14)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Baldur Norddahl (Mar 13)
- Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema Joe Hamelin (Mar 12)