gatesy101
146019
2732
36
So i am the junior sys admin for $Company.
I have by no means OCD but when this monster stares you in the face each time you walk through the server room door, I couldn't help but sigh.
There was a lot of planning prior such as port mapping and checking switch port configs which involved a fair few hours also.
Believe it or not there is a system in place here ... apparently
After a few hours of tackling the snake pit you can acctually see the patch panels and switches.
A start of the management, the purple cables are the backbone structure which link peoples desks to the interweb and LAN
Ideally when this was originally installed i would have had them running further back in the rack rather than the side as they took up a whole load of space which i could have been using ...
A few more hours later (ignore the mess in the middle rack this is the one im currently working on)
After around 9 and a half hours work you can now see the patch panels , Who'd have thought !Whilst not the tidiest that is a job for a slightly later date once i have some more Velcro wraps
Moral of the story : Make sure the correct length cables are bought and don't just plug shit in willy nilly !, will save the nightmare later on down the line ... Looking at you predecessors
Edit : Neat front page on my first post, cheers guys! Send nudes n dogs n stuff ... One Love !
mizmoose
As a former sysadmin, I hope you followed protocol and sang "On Top of Spaghetti" the whole time.
whitter86
Did you take the whole network down to do this?
scottsinflavortown
Nice work
sikanof
"Who toucha my spaget?" -Previous IT guy
BklynPunisher
Sauce for your spaget.
AllinarushAndNoPlace2go
As an admin I can appreciate this.
spambarrage
Congrats on coming out of the cable closet, OP.
rssplowman
As a dude who had to do this 20+ years ago, that’s a damn fine job. Teach those behind you to follow suit and it shouldn’t happen again.
gatesy101
Thanks man :) , The story goes there was a building move and the before photo was actually meant to be an improvement .. (1/2)
gatesy101
I dread to think what it was like before the move, ive still another 5 or so racks to sort but this is probably the most time consuming one
maximumbawbag
Looks excellent dude. It's a great feeling ripping that out and rebuilding. Did something similar at my previous job, not as impressive.
maximumbawbag
Almost 20 years of hurried repatching redone. Was horrendous
Lambpasty
Keep your jumper cables handy for the first helpdesk tech who runs a 10 meter cable across the room without asking.
Badger96
Or for that guy who puts a 5 metre patch cable in when only <=1 meter is needed.
gatesy101
Pretty much the rest of the server racks are like that i have 3m cables going only 2u's down into the switch ...
gatesy101
Funny story i had to do that today ... was "temporary" though ... **sigh**
GifsAreMyFetish
ciroque
Do you make custom length cables for this? Looks great!
gatesy101
i didnt just worked with fixed lengths of 0.5m , 1m , 1.5m - Ideally i would have liked to have crimped my own but wasn't worth the headache
biblioteker
Good commercial-grade cords are so much more reliable than handmade, truly. Time consuming, waste material, cleanup, etc. No thanks.
gatesy101
Yep thats what i was getting at , would rather not run them to find out i hadnt crimped them properly or had dead lines
FernandoRumdebum
nettspaghett*
derpaderps
A FEW HOURS? I rip that shit out. If a tug doesn't free it, the knife comes out. Ain't nobody got time fo dat!
HaroldLoveggs
Check out these guys for bulk hook and loop cable ties https://www.buyhookandloop.com/catalog/strap-it-wire-cable-ties
JohnathanM
Dude, this only looks HALF as bad as what I saw at Panasonic HQ in NJ. It looked like C3P0 threw up AND it was for their cc system! Wait...
JohnathanM
The best part... the damn thing actually had 12 things plugged into... POWER STRIPS WITH EASY TO TURN OFF TOGGLE SWITCHES! WTF?!?!
JohnathanM
PS - great job on the reconfig/management!
Ttarler
Done with a couple of months to spare before prod freeze. Nicely done!
kashmoney02
"okay, that looks neat, but is this why the internet has been down for 9 and a half fucking hours???" -employees
GaryDang3r
Might be a weekend or nightjob
Hamncheezsandwich
Lol I was gonna say... Must be nice not to have change windows or cab
Badger96
He maybe works in a 9-5 office and did it after 5pm when everyone has gone home? ive done that a few times
SoupCanMan
Assuming it's all live posted. It's labor day weekend.
whoisyourdaddy
IT nerds work weekends.
gatesy101
Work a 9 5 , some weekend testing occurs on servers but that segment of the network remained pretty much untouched, this was just ... (1/2)
gatesy101
The connections to the office floorports so was BAU, plan to do phase 2 next weekend sometime (2/2)
jsm9474
toomanythingstothinkabout
Planned downtime is a wonderful thing. You did great work. I deal with customer racks like your before picture all the time. Hope exists.
JasmineWindsong
In English please
PirateRubberDuck
He did it at the weekend when the office was empty. No idea what BAU is as I can only remember so many acronyms at a time.
Hyippy
Behavioural analysis unit
besuited
Normally means business as usual
CongratsYouAreHereNow
he's got a thin penis and would like to brush it lightly across a dandelion
yourmomisminenow
it do be like that
haguard
ingelri
me too tbh
WendyTheWendigo
iCantIvan
Nice job! We started using patch cables that have an optical fibre inside, so you just put a light on one end, and it lights up on another
iCantIvan
It's really nice, as you can easily identify the cables and which one goes where
soasp
Are there any -actual- technical benefits for this? I mean if I were your boss I would want a better reason for the cost and time than looks
ph4i1
I hope whoever installed it the first time was fired and blackballed.
deltaquadrant
How did you become a Jr sys admin?
Maldraek
I feel so much better after the last photo.
Popyachopinafan
Yep, enjoy that photo, it only needs a couple of lazyass contractors to get in there to make it spaghetti again
ATLien1986
Thanks for not using zip ties
MeowWoof
Upvoting the real hero
dragonthc
This. I am a field engineer. I will cut all your zip ties. Use Velcro like a professional.
bitemark
Fuckin love me some velcro wraps. I nearly danced when I found out about them. Cheap too!
schrodingersasymmetric12gauge
As an IT guy, Velcro straps suck. Use zip ties like you mean it.
Anarchduke
as an it guy, i would scream until you were fired if I saw you using zip ties on cables. you should only use zip ties on victims
ATLien1986
Wtf is wrong with you? You have to be trolling...
schrodingersasymmetric12gauge
Negative. Zip ties are stronger, neater, smaller, and cheaper. If you don't have zip ties and a knife with you you're not doing your job.
ATLien1986
Not for network cabling though. Because I'm constantly patching and re-patching everythingso you know how much of a pain zip ties are? 1/2
ATLien1986
Shit I had to cut 3 today just for a video cable because our electrical engineer tried to setup a pc but did it wrong and ziptied everything
DavidGodec
Releasable zip ties are like 10 times cheaper than velcro... As an electrician I also often use zip ties backwards in a temporary way...
ATLien1986
No!
DavidGodec
No what ? Pro zip ties are designed that way in case you didn't know...
ATLien1986
The difference is electrical stuff tends to be more permanent. Network cables tend to move all the time. Zip ties drive me crazy.
DavidGodec
which part of "releasable" do you not understand ?
ATLien1986
Still a pain compared to velcro
CafeNervosa
May I ask why zip ties are a no no?
TheInvalidUsername
PITA to make changes to. Only use them for permanent stuff that you know isn't going to change for a LONG time. Velcro is better anyways.
CafeNervosa
ingelri
because it's a pain in the ass in case you need to add or remove a cable
CafeNervosa
Bobmonkey07
Additionally, when not done well can cause issues with crimping if pulled to tight, and can leave sharp bits to catch your fingers/cables.
gatesy101
Zip ties for permanent e.g Backbone , everything else velcro wraps - least thats what ive been lead to believe anyways
clucja1
Wrong. No zip ties on data cables period. Backbone is the worst place to use them. Damage it and have fun pulling multiple cables 300 feet
JamesKing16
Velcro can't be overtightened
mugman1
If you use zip ties you deserve everything bad that happens to you. Source: fucked cabling from zip ties
noctisumbra0
Nah, I work in a Datacenter, zip ties for power cables, velcro any network cables. The edges of the zip ties can cut the jacket
DavidGodec
Yeah right, cause obviously cutting the jacket of the power cable couldn't cause any harm...
noctisumbra0
Or... the jacket is thicker and less likely to be cut by the zip ties, compared to network cables
dawnfatal
Certified cabler in Australia, can't use zip ties on cat 6 or above period.... Looks good though op!
clucja1
I wouldn't use it on cat5e either. If it carries data, no zip ties.
ATLien1986
If only the guys who initially ran our network cables used this philosophy. Our patch cables are all fiber and all zip tied...
H3RLA
That must be fun to maintain :/
ATLien1986
MTRJ connectors too... I want to kill people...
noctisumbra0
BigJewishHulk
Fiber and zip ties? Are they insane????
nolittleplans
I am not in this business but want to join in the fun, I can't believe that guy did that I DONT KNOW WHY IM YELLING
justadudewholovescats
you are in what bs now?
Triggahands
I see that some of them are labelled where as others are not. Which means tracing them back is gonna be much more difficult than before..
Hamm5ter
+1 for spaget
biblioteker
Should have been titled "Net Spaget". Just saying... ;-)
BarlaVon
levish
Patch panel -> switch -> patch panel -> switch order makes for less cable. Not always enough slack in runs though
infoadLifter
Or just buy panduit wiring racks they are amazing. Then switch placement and patch panel placement is all you worry about and voila.
infoadLifter
No velcro needed just run wire through panduit organizers down sides
Butyournotsayingitright
All I can with all those wires being unplugged is “oh shit.. were screwed”
TheMoest
You need a bonus $$$
bl4ckbox
Pro tip. Stack two switches in between the patch panels for even shorter cables. /a/Z8Rk4ZL
bl4ckbox
*the
mercbrit
Amateur tip: use multi coloured liquorish sticks in random places to confuse future IT people.
v
MFWthisUSERnameISNTtaken
Twizzlers too. At least when they get angry theyll have a neat snack
bl4ckbox
Here is some more of my work. /a/Uya2f
Jamerperson
gatesy101
Would love to have done this but the purple cables run to the entire office so were pre-installed around 2 years ago (1/2)
gatesy101
The patch panels are pretty much stuck in place now (2/2)
bl4ckbox
Yeah that makes it pretty tough
LeSethX
I love that they are color coded as well. R/cableporn would love this. I've seen some messes thus bad, but only was able to partially fix 1
gooblegobbleoneofus
That's that good shit
NotTheChad
I'm doing just this in our cabinets etc going forward with 1ft patch cables color coded by device.
NotTheChad
Purple for data/voice, green for management, yellow for APs, and orange for firewall,wlc.
dragonthc
This may seem like a good idea, but it's a terrible idea. Patching on the fly and new equipment make this pointless. Use cable managers.
BenAndrus
I totally disagree. Nothing gets patched on the fly and every drop should be patched to a port. This way just the port has to be adjusted
BenAndrus
And all ports are live
dragonthc
Do you have any equipment in your rack that you do not own or manage? If so, your idea is terrible. You should be using cable managers.
wordtoyourface
Thoughts exactly. I do the same with my company. Makes cable mgmt much easier. And label everything...avoid using colored cables.
erischilde
Or both. But whatever choose, make sure no one "temporarily" uses other colours, or says "I'll label it later".
Everydayisbbqday
Both is best in my experience. Color for type of data or VLAN then label purpose or patch point.