"Router/server room" cable management

[utajoker]

Hi

Wasn't sure on best place for this but it is prob more DIY.

This is a small room on ground floor under my stairs. The house has virgin media ports and network ports in lounge/kitchen/4 bedrooms, they all come to this room where they meet the virgin connection from outside. It also has the BT box but that won't be used.

It is currently a mess as we have just moved in and i just wanted to get internet and my PC working.

I want to mount everything on the wall for easy access and free up the floor space and also sort all the cabling so it is nice and neat and easy to do what ever i need to do if i change anything.

Should i attach some kind of wooden board to the wall and mount everything to that or just go straight on to the wall (plaster board) with everything?

I'm thinking it might be easier to mount everything on a 'tray' that i then attach to the wall.

Anyone got a room like this can show me what you have done?

There will be a lot more wiring as i will set up a small PC in there and also connect up all the other rooms with a switch going in somewhere.


Thanks,

 

[rhysduck]

Some sort of rack/shelving is the best option rather than attaching the devices to the wall itself.

Take a look on eBay for second hand racks or if your handy with some screws and wood I'd be inclined to build something myself if you dont mind a challenge.

 

[jellybeard999]

If you just want to mount a switch, router etc, look into rackmount wall brackets or a 6u or 9u cabinet

 

[samcat]

Pegboard and tiewraps.. Works really well, dead easy to do and the range of holes lets you route cabling neatly.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Shorter wires will also help a lot once you decide what your doing.

As above small bit of peg board will make it easy but I’d personally just Mount it to the wall and cable manage using all the normal clips, Velcro straps and a few of those ones you can just nail into the wall.

Edit: you could just mount a switch directly above the ports and use very short patch leads to each port keeping things as flush to the wall as possible. Mount the modem where ever with a single patch lead going to it. You should then put what ever you wanted in front of it.

 

[martin363]

looks great to me, this is the 'server room' in our rented apartment.... and no, I don't know where anything goes!!

 

[utajoker]

sounds like a project brewing and an excuse to get a crimping tool!

 

[Captain]

What brand are those network plates please?

 

[Deleted member 77746]

a 9u rack! i have 3 patch panels and some cable tidy's if you ever buy a rack! I have them in the MM for sale with some Cisco routers if anyone is interested.

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/cisco-network-equipment-other.18851275/

 

[utajoker]

update!

i did this:



i will paint the wood white at some point. Its much better than it was tho.

Everything is stuck on to the wood with those command hooks.

It will stay like this until i set up a media PC when i will make it permanent, i will probably trim the wood piece down aswell.

 

[sja360]

Out of interest why is the mdf board fixed to the wall so big?

 

[utajoker]

It was just the piece I had. I will prob trim it down as I said but don't own a saw, will have to borrow my dads. I will wait till I get a pc set up in there incase I have to mount anything else on it first.

 

[sovietspybob]

I don't have any pictures of it finished but i bought a small network cabinet as i didn't want anything to be on display.

I think it's 6U and 30cm deep, it's got my router, NAS, 24port gig switch and 24 port CAT6 patch panel.

It mounts directly under the consumer unit:

 

[utajoker]

Mine is in an under stairs Cupboard on ground floor so it will only be a bit of a dumping ground for boxes etc. I will paint the wood at some point but not too fussed about hiding it.

 

[norm]

I don't have any pictures of it finished but i bought a small network cabinet as i didn't want anything to be on display.

I think it's 6U and 30cm deep, it's got my router, NAS, 24port gig switch and 24 port CAT6 patch panel.

It mounts directly under the consumer unit:

Possibly not the best place for it, data cables aren't supposed to go near mains wiring.

 

[Datamonkey]

I don't have any pictures of it finished but i bought a small network cabinet as i didn't want anything to be on display.

I think it's 6U and 30cm deep, it's got my router, NAS, 24port gig switch and 24 port CAT6 patch panel.

It mounts directly under the consumer unit:

If thats a new build how did that get signed off?

Hole right next to the mains socket, i would have thought that wouldnt meet regs.

Also as mentioned above right next to all that noise from the Consumer Unit.

 

[sovietspybob]

Possibly not the best place for it, data cables aren't supposed to go near mains wiring.

If thats a new build how did that get signed off?

Hole right next to the mains socket, i would have thought that wouldnt meet regs.

Also as mentioned above right next to all that noise from the Consumer Unit.

Yeah it's a self build, i put the cabinet in after it was all signed off, no idea about the hole next to the socket of if that's allowed or not.

Plus it's only a home installation, i'm not running a mission critical 24/7 server farm or anything, i just need to stream netflix around the house!

Also people worry about interference too much imo, at work we've got some technically terrible installations and they hold up fine. Even in places with fairly high radiation some basic STP works fine as long as you're not trying to run it at 10gig or something daft.

 

[Skiddley]

Because who doesn't love a 19" rack in their kitchen. Feng Shui guys, stop giving him a hard time

 

[sovietspybob]

Because who doesn't love a 19" rack in their kitchen. Feng Shui guys, stop giving him a hard time

Utility room but yeah, i work in IT so why wouldn't i want one on show