How to manage data center cabling?

Tracking and managing data center cabling is one of the most overlooked tasks in data center management. However, if not handled properly, it can cause a variety of problems, ranging from costly downtime to inefficient use of capacity.

Wiring spaghetti, a complex tangle of wiring from various electronic devices, takes a lot of time to sort out. This can be detrimental to IT infrastructure because improperly labeling and organizing wiring can hinder the effective identification of problems within the facility.

What are the dangers of “noodle-like wiring”?

Signal interference. Power cables should be installed on both sides of the cabinet and isolated from data cables to reduce the risk of electromagnetic interference (EMI). If power cables and data cables in a parallel group or loop are too close, EMI may be generated, resulting in transmission data errors.

Obstacles to accessing rack components. The high density of cables within the cabinet creates difficulties in accessing network components, servers, and other enclosed components. This can extend troubleshooting and maintenance time, thereby reducing data center uptime.

Airflow Restriction. High-density cabling can restrict airflow to components within the network cabinet. If vents and fans are blocked, equipment overheating, downtime, and severe equipment damage can result.

Productivity. Time spent sorting out cabling to resolve issues is time that can be allocated to other production processes. An effective cabling management system, with clearly labeled and organized cables, allows issues to be resolved promptly so that uptime is not interrupted.

That’s why it’s so important to understand the basics of data center cabling, how to track and manage it, and how the industry’s best data center managers can dramatically simplify cabling management.

What is Data Center Cabling?

Data center cabling is the process of connecting different parts of data center infrastructure and equipment to enable network connectivity and power distribution.

Data center cabling can be divided into two major categories:

• Structured cabling. Structured cabling is designed to follow predefined standards, with connection points and paths pre-set according to the bandwidth requirements of the system. It is tested, organized, and labeled. Structured cabling may be expensive and time-consuming at first, but the benefits of increased operational efficiency, reduced maintenance costs, and longer life far outweigh the other options.
• Unstructured cabling. Unstructured cabling, or point-to-point cabling, lacks the standardized methods of structured cabling. Since there is no predetermined design, unstructured cabling is often cheap and quick to install, but it can quickly lead to serious scalability and operating cost issues.

What is Data Center Cabling Management?

Data center cabling management is the labeling, organization, and documentation of the cabling infrastructure within a data center. The goals of data center cabling management are to improve troubleshooting time, uptime, and capacity utilization.

Why is Data Center Cabling Management Important?

Tracking and managing your data center cabling infrastructure can save time and money in a number of ways.

• Maintain uptime. Accurate data center cabling documentation makes it easier to respond to issues quickly and reduce downtime. Properly organizing cables eliminates “cable spaghetti” that blocks access to racks and servers, enables optimal airflow, and makes cable tracing easy.
• Improve capacity utilization. Knowing which cabling and ports are available allows administrators to identify spare capacity, predict when it will be exhausted, and make the best use of available resources.
• Increase productivity. Cabling management enables faster, more informed decisions. When everyone has access to a highly accurate and real-time view of all physical assets and connections, and cabling is properly organized, it becomes easy to troubleshoot, perform impact analysis, and execute moves, adds, and changes.

What types of cabling are used in data centers?

Modern mission-critical data center environments are complex, with a variety of cabling, connectors, and port types.

The following are the most common types of data center cabling.

Do data centers use copper or fiber optic cabling?

There are some key parameters to consider when deciding whether copper or fiber is the right choice for your data center.

• Distance. Copper cables are best suited for shorter distances. They are usually sufficient to provide connections within the same rack. Fiber can cover longer distances at higher speeds to accommodate connections between equipment in different racks.
• Reliability and flexibility. Copper cables are highly reliable, with a mean time between failures of 50 million hours, for maximum uptime. Fiber is lighter, thinner, and has a smaller bend radius than copper cables, providing greater flexibility in data center configuration.
• Cost. Copper cables cost about 20-50% of fiber cables. Given the size of modern data centers, the savings can be in the millions of dollars. Copper cables also require less cooling resources because they use less electricity and are designed to dissipate heat. It is estimated that by using copper wire instead of fiber, data centers can save 100 kilowatts of cooling energy.

Generally speaking, the best approach is to use a mix of copper and fiber cabling. Consider the unique circumstances of different data centers and consider using fiber where performance, flexibility, and distance are primary factors, and copper elsewhere to reduce cabling costs.

What are the data center cabling standards?

Industry standards ensure safety and provide guidelines for maintaining a high-performance cabling infrastructure.

The most common cabling standards for data centers are as follows:

• ANSI/TIA-942 covers the physical aspects of telecommunications infrastructure and data centers, such as site location, architecture, electrical systems, mechanical systems, safety, and security.
• ISO/IEC 24764 specifies the cabling to support the various communication services used within a data center.
• ANSI/BICSI 002-2014 provides guidance for data center design and operations. The guidance covers planning, construction, security, management, maintenance, and efficiency.
• ANSI/TIA 606-B is a labeling standard that helps identify and track cabling.

How to Manage Data Center Cabling

Managing your cabling infrastructure doesn't have to be a lot of effort. By following a few basic principles, you'll have well-documented and organized cabling that will enhance every aspect of data center management.

• Properly label the wiring. Perhaps the most basic and simplest method is to organize and label the wiring. Labeling simplifies troubleshooting and speeds up wiring tracing, making it easier to avoid downtime and increase productivity. Labeling practices should include clearly labeling each wire, using a commercial-grade label maker that allows for import lists and color-coded labels, and following labeling standards such as ANSI/TIA 606-B.
• Ensure cabling does not impede airflow. Remove any unused or discarded cabling from beneath raised floors or inside cabinets. These unnecessary cabling can block airflow and cause temperatures to rise, leading to downtime or wasted energy due to inefficient cooling.
• Keep cabling cool. Everyone knows that data center equipment needs to be cooled, but it’s easy to forget that cabling gets hot, too. If there’s a lot of cabling, the extra heat can cause power outages. Deploy and monitor temperature sensors to ensure all equipment and cabling are properly cooled.
• Use a cable organizer. Cable ducts, cable rings, and cable ties are great for bundling cables and making their path easy to follow. Remember to run the cables horizontally on the rack first, tie them, and once you reach the vertical space, twist the ties and run them vertically.
• Determine the location of the cabling. If the data center is small and the equipment is not changed frequently, it is recommended to install the wiring bridge directly on the top of the rack. This is quick and easy. However, large data centers will benefit from the wiring path suspended from the ceiling. With it, racks can be moved or new racks can be installed without having to readjust the wiring path.
• Use patch panels. Patch panels help organize large amounts of cabling and provide greater flexibility to network infrastructure. They can be mounted in a rack and include blank ports on one side and termination points on the other. Cabling can be easily terminated, labeled, and patched into network hardware.
• Keep accurate documentation. Trace data and power circuits in real time to accurately plan capacity, perform failover analysis, and quickly respond to outages. The better your network documentation, the greater your uptime and the less time it takes to deploy new equipment. Instead of physically tracing cabling, quickly reference documentation to understand what connects to what.
• Deploy DCIM software. With DCIM software, data center cabling management becomes simple, such as visually designing cabling infrastructure, accurately recording cabling installation, measuring cabling length before purchasing, and more.

Why do you need data center cabling management software?

Modern data center sites have a large number of IT assets to manage, each with a large number of associated power and data cables. For example, an average data center with 100 racks will have more than 70,000 individual cabling and port components. These components must be accurately tracked and managed to efficiently perform moves, adds and changes, understand port capacity and resolve issues to reduce downtime.

In the past, data center managers relied on tools like Excel and Visio to manage connections. There was even a free network document template. However, these tools are not up to par with today's complex distributed data center environments. They are time-consuming, buggy, and difficult to manage.

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software makes cabling management simple. Second-generation DCIM tools have a large library of vendor models that provide the correct number of ports and specifications for each device deployed. The system has built-in validation to ensure that all planned port connections can be implemented in the real world because they are compatible and available. Modern data center cabling management software provides insightful reports with zero-configuration analysis and 3D visualization, making it easy to understand port capacity and end-to-end cable paths.

Using DCIM software, you can reduce operating expenses by automating time-consuming manual processes. It can also eliminate the need to send technicians to the site to manually query available resources or track and troubleshoot circuits. It can also defer capital expenditures by improving capacity planning and leveraging existing resources.

Summarize

In summary, data center cabling cannot be neglected. Cluttered cabinets and poor documentation can negatively impact the ability to troubleshoot issues and deploy new equipment, while following best practices for data center connectivity management will improve uptime, efficiency, and productivity.