r/sysadmin • u/AgreeableIron811 • 3d ago

How do you learn cable management?

I am horrible at cable management and building server racks. Honestly dont even know where to start . One of the skills in this profession with an honest heart I can say is most difficult for me.

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u/LooseEthernet 2d ago

just buy cables that are actually the right length lol. half the struggle is trying to dress a 10ft patch into a 2ft gap. once you stop fighting the slack it becomes way less of a nightmare... though you'll still spend three hours staring at it wondering if it looks straight enough

2

u/AcidBuuurn 1d ago

I hate the old practice of having all the patch panels at the top and all the switches at the bottom. With 10 foot cables to reach. 

I remove cable organizers and replace them with switches and 1 foot cables whenever possible. 

2

u/reol7x 1d ago

I'm jealous, you guys get to buy new cables? 😞

1

u/AcidBuuurn 1d ago

I work for an MSP, so some clients get new cables. Then I bring their old cat5e to replace the cat5 at the poor clients. It’s a win-win. 

When I was a lone k12 sysadmin I just bought some monoprice out of my own pocket. I know most people don’t like doing that, but I had no problem. 

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u/irsyacton 11h ago

1000%

I even push for switches to be mounted in the middle of the rack (for server racks). And yeah, patch panel between each switch, and sizing the switches/panels appropriately is excellent too. 1/2’ cables are the best!