Organizing Computer Gear Clutter?

slashyslashy asks: "At first I had only a PC and a printer. Now the home network setup has grown to consist of many units: linksys router, ASDL modem, Vonage VOIP terminal, linksys NSLU2 network storage device, and couple of external harddrives. Powering all these units is done with three Belkin 6-Outlet Surge Protectors all connected to 1 wall outlet. Currently all of these units are stacked under the table, causing their wires and cables criss-cross each other. Troubleshooting any single unit is a mess. How do other Slashdot readers organize their home computer gear? Any ideas on cheap solutions ($100) to manage this clutter?"

Comments

Network stuff.

[saintlupus]

When I lived in an apartment, I contained a lot of the network clutter in a milk crate. Get a milk crate and a bunch of cable ties from a hardware store.

Zip tie one of your surge strips inside of the milk crate, along with your router and your cable modem. All on different sides. Hook them all up together and use more zip ties to bundle up the cables between them.

Now put the milk crate on the floor, with the open side down, and stack more stuff on top of it. This means you not only get rid of the desk clutter from your cable modem and router, but you now have a printer stand as well. And a couple of headless boxes can get put there, too.

Here's my old setup.

http://www.roadflares.org/hardware/images/blueandy ellow.jpg

Worked well.

--saint

Re:Two cheap solutions

[TripMaster Monkey]

I'd recommend against cable ties unless you're making an attachment you know you won't have to move anytime soon...otherwise, you waste too many cable ties cutting things loose. A better solution for more temporary attachments is double-sided velcro...comes on a roll, you can cut pieces to need.

Re:My solution

[Shag]

Yeah, wire shelving is pretty cool. Last time my wife was away at college, she had some like this, and it's now been integrated into our bedroom. It's rated for some obscene amount of weight per shelf, and of course since the shelves aren't solid cables can be run anywhere, there's good airflow, etc.

As far as the sheer quantity of stuff... ours is kind of distributed. The DSL modem, switch/wireless router, VOIP box, etc. live by a phone line demarc I've set up in the center of the basement, with one Linux box down there as a "server" of sorts. Then there are a couple laptops that roam around on wireless, and my kid's computer is connected via a 50' cat5 cable.

At the shelf that serves as my "desk" I've got a 7-space plug strip, which typically has three to six spaces open.

Re:Two cheap solutions

[threephaseboy]

Releasable Cable Ties 100 Bag $4.79 I get them from Wierdstuff in San Jose for about $2.50/bag. I use them for organising cables as well as on frequently used cables on the shelf. Long-term cables that come out mabye once a year or less get normal zip ties.