Network Labelling

swinnie

swinnie

swinnie

Soldato
Joined
30 Apr 2007
Posts
3,095
Location
Kent
Hi All,

I've been doing a few CAT5e and CAT6 cabling jobs recently where customers have moved into new builds. When I run cable, I pull two or more boxes, and label each cable at each end so that when I terminate onto the patch panel each socket in the building follows round in a reasonably sensible pattern.

When making them live and testing a couple of customers (or more specifically their in house IT guys) have commented how neat the numbering system is. Previously the cables were terminated anywhich way they can and then numbered according to the patch panel.

What is your preference?
 
I don't understand the question, but my cable ends have a "Brother" label on each end and then all of the faceplates are labelled matching the corresponding patch panel label.
 
Of course do them in order.

I print off 1-24 in a template I made and slide them into the CCS moudle label tab.
 
OP - do you mean you others have terminated cables on the patch panel so sockets 1,2,3,4 might be at the start of the panels, them 5,6,7,8 are somewhere else (ie not following right after 1,2,3,4)?

If so, IMHO, the person terminating like that should be taken out and shot. We look after a hotel and the cowboys who did their cabling terminated ports in any old order. They have a 42U cab pretty much full of panels and finding a socket to patch means checking every panel :mad:
 
Patching should always be 100% consistent: port #1 at one end should always be port #1 at the other end. I once had to work somewhere where they were off by 1 at each end, so #1 at one end was #2 at the other end, and so on, and it was utterly confusing to work with.
 
I enter the room and start at the closest rj45 socket to the let of the door and that becomes socket 01, I then increment each socket working round the room clockwise. Room/socket is shown back at the patch panels sequentially as 01-01, 01-02, etc.
 
ubersonic said:
I enter the room and start at the closest rj45 socket to the let of the door and that becomes socket 01, I then increment each socket working round the room clockwise. Room/socket is shown back at the patch panels sequentially as 01-01, 01-02, etc.
Click to expand...

Similar to my approach as I have labelled my cable runs in each conduit with a room / alpha locale description and this is repeated on faceplates with the addition of a sequential faceplate index for that room, followed by a port number.
 
I'm glad that I'm not the only one who takes this approach. I have looked at the previous work and it is an absolute shambles, I'd dread to think about having to do any sort of troubleshooting on them... whereas with my panels it's straight forward.

It's how I've done it for years, so that's how it's staying, too!
 
Pull, patch and terminate, label (using the prefix XX-YY, XX for patch panel, YY for socket on patch panel) sockets against patch panel using LED cable identifiers to help.
If dealing with multiple networks then segregate using different coloured runs and patch panels.

Tbh, as long as sockets are correctly labelled and can be quickly identified back at the patch panel, then doing pretty patching patterns or labelling as you go just makes the job ten times longer and tends to stick you in the realm of unpaid hours.
 
I don't have an issue if the ports out on the floor don't follow a logical order - as long as they are labelled. We tend to go with xx.yy.zz where xx is the rack number, yy is the 'U' position on the rack, and zz is the socket number on the patch panel.

I have no idea how cable installers manage to pull in hundreds of runs and keep track of each one, it's pretty magical. I'm also glad I don't do it any more and leave it to the people who do it every day and have the proper gear.
 
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