Best Practices in Network Cable Management

       
              Cabling is the basis of all modern networking systems. Maintaining the cabling foundation is also as important as its installation. The mistakes and maintenance headaches in improper cabling can be avoided by a little planning and a few best practices. Thus the efficiency and reliability of data centre cabling can be improved.

      
        The problems in network infrastructure can affect the business adversely. Improper cabling can be one of the reasons for it. Here are some tips to get the most of it from the business data centre’s  network cabling which helps to install a reliable data centre. 

1. Avoid wasting cable wires:
   
          
         Measuring twice before cutting cables will be an intelligent decision. A lot of cables will be wasted if the cable wires are not carefully measured. The matter may seem simple, but in the end we can save much time, money and can reduce headaches. Cable length also matters. The EIA/TIA standard says that the maximum cable length should be 100 meters including the patch leads. So, if 10 meter patch lead is used at each end then the horizontal cable run should be only 80 meters long and if 20 meter patch lead is used , then the cable run should be 60 meters in length.
   
2. Labelling the cables:
   
   
         All the cables should have a label on both the ends including short runs and patch cables. When there is a need to test a bunch of circuits quickly, it will be very hard if cables can’t be identified. If the cables are not marked well, it’ll double the effort to be taken in testing and troubleshooting. Always make sure that the labelling system is consistent and if not, then take some time to stick labels on each end.
   
   
3. Avoid hanging cables in the rack:
   
   
          Gravity will induce more pressure in the cables hanging in the rack which can damage the cables. This may cause signal degradation and poor performance due to stretching of the cables.
   
   
4. Pulling Cables:
   
   
        Pulling the cables can cause damage to the inside copper core which may cause stretching and thinning of the copper wires which affects the signal quality. It may also unwind the twisted copper wires in some cases.
   
   
5. Testing the Cables:
   
   
          Cable testing is a necessary step after its installation. Use good quality testing tools which are familiar to use with. If the test doesn’t pass 100%, then redo the cabling again. This is to attain good network performance which can also prevent a lot of extra work in the end. A star pass (a test that rarely passes) is not good enough and is considered as a failed test.
   
   
6. Avoid cheap cables:
   
   
          Cheap cables have less copper and will result in improper signal propagation. They are physically weaker and can’t be stretched beyond a limit making them more likely to fail. Connecting non standard copper wires with standard ones can create interference problems due to impedance mismatch. Impure copper cores, poor packaging and sub standard sheathing, results in damaged copper cables.
   
   
7. Separate the cables from electric wires:
   
   
       Copper cables running parallel to electric cables create cross talk or interference due to electromagnetic induction which causes signal degradation. Keep maximum distance as possible between data and power cables. LED lights can be used instead of fluorescent lights that generate less interference and less power.
   
   
8. Keep the cables cool and dry:
   
   
           Cables in large bundles may get overheated. The extra temperature on cables can lead to disaster. So design the cable infrastructure in a way which keeps the cable runs cool, along with other networking devices. A change in thermal property changes the electrical performance of the cables and thus affects the signal propagation in the cable.

     
       The slowest node in the network decides the speed of the network. When cabling is considered as an afterthought, there will be a risk of resolving issues that could have been prevented with a bit of care in the beginning. A bad patch cable means the entire cable run is having mistakes. If proper identification labels are not marked, the faulty cable will be hard to detect. However a cable that was working well yesterday may degrade over time and slows down the performance tomorrow, as it is made out of actual stuff.