Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Clever Cable Management?
sooth... writes "What clever ways have network administrators found to cleanly sort varying length patch cables within IDFs, BDFs, and MDFs or simply wiring closets? Pictures or examples are welcome."
Since not everyone is a network administrator, let's expand this to include efficient or clever management of other cables. How do you route your computer cables (internal or external), your entertainment center cables, or any other corded setup?
Usually through holes in the floor. Better answers welcome.
Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
If you don't have a thick bundle of cables weighing several pounds, those rolls of light-duty velcro for tying plants to stakes work great for cables. A few bucks per several yards instead of several bucks for a few feet.
1) No cat5, I use wireless only.
2) When I do need to run cable, such as telephone wire for my fax machine, I put the cable in the middle of the room. Then I buy a big rug, and place it over the top of the cable.
3) When it's something complicated, like using a ladder, I always call a professional installer. The satellite company always send the most knowledable folks available.
Well, the obvious choice are different cable colors. This is easy to get with Ethernet cables. Another trick I did is buy a label writer and label both ends of a cable (by wrapping the label around the wire so it is a little "banner"). I do this for my power supplies, so I see which plug belongs in which device on top of the table, and which power supply I have to unplug (particularly useful if you have several hard disks from the same manufacturer, or ones where the power supply comes from a completely different company).
Also, I have a roll of velcro that I use to group together cables.
Ensure your racks are capable of good cable management - the racks I spec always have horizontal or vertical cable management capabilities. This counts especially when you deploying racks with a high density of ports combined with a large switch such as a cisco 4510 or 6513 (or 9x3750's).
Velcro cable ties are cheap, easy to use and simple to remove when required. It is amazing how much tidier the cables look when you have tied them up. It also makes cleaning around your electronics much easier.
The best way to buy Velcro cable ties is in a large roll where you can cut off the sizes you need.
For unused cables that you keep in a drawer, use zip-lock plastic bags to keep them separated.
I found a solution which I'm pretty happy about.
Take a good piece of double-sided velcro (that will bond to itself), about 10-20cm. Get a short, screw with a large, flat head. Put the screw through the middle of the velcro strip, and screw it onto the underside of your table, somewhere out of sight. Rinse, repeat.
Now you have velcro loops that can carry all your wires really neatly, with infinite and easy reconfigurability.
(Initially, I tried gluing / velcroing the velcro strips on. It never lasted, so I went with screws instead. That really works!)
With great numbers come great responsibility!
There are /. users that aren't network admins? Who let them in???
I have an iMac, it's about 5 years old. The sound card isn't adequate for music production, and indeed has actually started making strange noises, so I have a USB audio interface. The superdrive can read DVDs but not CDs any more, so I have an external firewire optical drive. With a power supply. 3 USB ports is not adequate, so I have a USB 2.0 hub. With a power supply. And still not really adequate, as I have at least three devices that *have* to be on the main bus. The internal 160Gb hard drive is no longer adequate, so I have an external firewire drive for my music projects. WIth a power supply. I also need a backup drive, so I have another USB drive. With a power supply.
I suppose if they'd made it a bit less intimidating to open and work on I could have replaced the optical and hard drives, but in a tower *all* of this stuff could sit inside the case and run off one power supply. And might actually mount consistently. Next computer: 2nd-hand Mac Pro or a new Linux build. Much less clutter.
velcro wraps, they actually have them for cable management.
sure you can use zip-ties, but zip-ties if drawn too tight can bind cable, and cause broken leads, which means "OH SHIT MY INTERNET DOESNT WORK" somewhere in the building. though for costs reasons I'd say go with those, the type with tags on them, and get a tool designed to tighten zip-ties so they dont get too tight. you can get them with screw holes in them too to keep them locked to the wall or surface.
note: this is for the immediate area in the server room/phone closet
for above the false-ceiling runs, use j-hooks and velcro straps. that way you can add cable later, and the cable is cleared from everywhere else.
or if you have some real money to spend, use conduit. Conduit is the best way to go as rodents have a hard time trying to chew through conduit.
How do you manage the pile of external power supplies for hard disks, routers, switches, phones, etc.? Is there some way to power external computer peripherals from the ATX power supply? I have a bunch of 12V 2A wall warts that keep drawing power even when the attached device is off. I think I should be able to power these devices from the ATX 12V rail, but I can't seem to find a product that allows me to safely attach external devices to the internal power supply.
Simple, i don't!
lets say i have a corner in my room that never approach or mess with! never! and every new cable is passing through this corner.
simple as that!
//LIFE WOULD BE EASIER IF I HAD THE SOURCE CODE!
http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=plastic+spiral+cable+wrap
Used to group sets of cables, relatively discretely.
Velcro wrap, also cable snakes for professional jobs. People dont care about seeing cables, they just want them out of the way. A short length of cable snake does just that. Clients are almost always happy to see one big cable snake then 6 or 7 smaller power/network/video cables.
As for home, I use the cable ties that came in the box at strategic points. Occasionally sticky tape but normally I cant be arsed.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Yeah if you like throwing away money! my PC is going on 3 years old now, its gone from a dual to a quad, gone from 2Gb to 4Gb to 8Gb of RAM, gone from IGP to HD4650 to HD4850, and from a 500Gb to 2 500Gb to 1Tb to 3Tb of HDD. For you to do the same you would have had to toss your machine at least twice, possibly more. Talk about wasteful!
The easiest and cheapest way if the wires aren't needing to be moved is simple plastic zip ties. they are dirt cheap, once in place won't be coming off, and can quickly clean up even the biggest mess. And I should know as having a 4 port KVM switch does tend to get messy. But by having them zip tied there is only a single KVM cable neatly tucked under my table for when I want to play with a machine not on my network, everything else is zip tied to the back of the desk. easy peasy.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
A short length of scotch tape or painters' tape at either end of the cable allows easy labelling of cables.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
Check if some kind of frame runs under your table - you can zip-tie all sorts of stuff to it, such as a laptop power supply. Try also not to leave cables lying on floor, as they collect dust.
I had a situation where we had token ring, ethernet and voice all in the same patch frame once. Rather than getting huge supplies of different coloured cables in lots of different lengths myself and a colleague just got some large packs of very small cable ties in a variety of colours and would then just put a little coloured collar around each end of the cable in the frame to indicate the type of data it was carrying.
If you don't have the budget for an every port live situation or you have an environment where you have multiple use frames then the cable management bars between each pair of panels and switches are the best way I've encountered along with decent space for cables at the side of the cabinets [ie don't use 600x800 or 600x1000 cabs, or any other depth for that matter, always go for 800x versions so you have room at the sides.
Another situation I had to deal with was where we had multiple frames between end points in a data centre [don't ask - bad design!] and lots of glass to glass fibre patching. What we did was put a label tag on each end of the cable, on one side was the ultimate source/destination patch points and the other side was the source/destination points in the local cabinet so we could easily trace a cable through the mess of patching without manually tracing each cable.
Ultimately though in 20 years now I've not found a really good way to make patch frames that get used on a regular basis look tidy except making sure the entire building uses ethernet for just about everything from telephony to the building management and getting the budget to make every single data point live [and introduce lots of redundancy] and then mounting the switches between the patch panels and using tiny 20cm patch leads to plug every single port into it's neighouring patch port.
I am not a Frog. I am a Free Womble!
In my case I just connect one end to one device, the other end to the other, keep adding stuff as needed and then charge admittance as installation art.
I have not seen a broken microphone in my 20 year IT career.
I think cable ties are a great way to reduce the chaos in a pile of spaghetti-style cables.
Some people dislike them, but I think they are just not accustomed to using them. Proper use of cable ties means you are not afraid to use a LOT of them, and also not afraid of cutting them open when you need to change someting. I keep a cheap diagonal cutter and a bag of assorted cable ties in every desk drawer in my house (3 "kits" in total).
Its easy to work with, extremely flexible, and best of all: cheaper than most of the fancy "solutions" you can buy.
Just stop being afraid of cutting them open when you need to!
- Jesper
My security clearance is so high I have to kill myself if I remember I have it...
Free twisty-ties from the grocery store.
How many more years will slashdot have an off-by-one error on your Score in your profile?
I use the cable tie method using stick on mounting squares and loose loops of the ties under the desk.
At one job where I had little ability to run cables under the floor/through the walls, but had a bunch of thick multi-microphone cables plus a few other types to run I made my own "hanging cable tray" using upside-down potted plant hangers I found at Lowes,
I was only going to run them from the punch-down panel to the first audio rack, the client liked the idea so much they bought more and ran them all the way to the wall for the cables they didn't hire me for.
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
Cable ties are too permanent. I have seen too many times where they get cut off to trouble shoot and never put back for various reasons. Use Velcro to bundle up the cables because it is easier to take off and put back on when needed. No tools required.
Choose and use good cable management trays. There are lots of choices. Decide if you want the trays to have covers or not. I like the horizontal trays to be the type without covers and the verticals to have wide gaps with hinged covers.
I don't like the Panduit Panduct type stuff (http://www.panduit.com/Products/ProductOverviews/WiringDuct/index.htm) because they require you to cut tabs out for passing more than a few cables in and out at a time. They also tend to tear up your cuticles when working with them. Also, the covers snap on and off and people put the smaller horizontal ones in the weirdest places. -- Hard to find.
You can use different cable colors for identifying certain things in your environment (wireless, printers, servers, etc). If you can't justify buying all of the cables sizes you need in all of the different colors then you can use colored tape or some other type of identifier like plastic tags. You have plenty of options.
Lastly, limit access to the wiring closets only to those that need it, have been trained, and are held responsible if it becomes a mess.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
Straps and brackets cost too much. We pay one tech to find cables
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
if you can...
Saw this on reddit a little while ago: http://www.shelterness.com/diy-cable-organizers-of-toilet-paper-rolls/
Cable colors for external and internal network is still a good idea, avoid any 'accidents' if you have 1000's of servers.
I disagree about labeling with server name. Do both name and 'bay code', so that in case your book documentation is wrong you still have one last chance to verify you are yanking the right machine.
And yes, velcro is better for cable if you change it often. Zip ties if you rarely/never change it
---- Booth was a patriot ----
For music production? Please stick with the Mac Pro.
I've bought a new Mac Pro for my project studio every few years since they came out and with Logic Studio and a good audio interface they are the finest production machine ever made. I have resisted throwing away the old ones, so they are lined up in my server closet.
It looks like a Castro Street production of Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
However, if you get a Linux build too, you should try a DAW app called Cockos' Reaper. You can use the Linux box to offload your real-time effects and even VSTi processes. Also, use it to stream samples and render masters. Look for "ReaMote".
You are welcome on my lawn.
I use toilet paper tubes for organizing small cables, it makes it very easy to find that cable to that old phone you just gave to that friend. The most important thing is to keep all the connectors on the same side of the roll, so you really get the right connector on both ends of the cable.
Disclaimer: I do this for a living I run a medium-sized datacentre, and my job is to plan new installations for anything from pizza-box servers to full mainframes. Here is a few lessons that I've learnt the hard way. Fighting human nature By nature people are lazy and interested in the quick fix. As soon as you compromise and let 1 'quick fix' through - it turns in to a production cable that you are then stuck with until it's time to decomission the system. Do not compromise - do it right the firs time, every time. Brady Labels These are the self-laminating wrap-round labels for cabling. Label everything with at a minimum the source and destination ports (along with a patch panel port if needed). This brings 2 major benefits - when it comes time to cable everything is already planned and so you just need to follow the labels, and secondly if there is ever a problem you don't spend hours tracing where each cable runs back to. Cable Ties Cable ties are fundamentally evil. Do not use cable ties. Wrapstrap is a better product (no affilitation with this product) - http://www.rapstrap.com/ Velcro Velcro is your friend. Buy in bulk. Keep a stock. At home I nail small 3" to 4" pieces at the back of each desk for instant cable management. Cable Lengths Check what lengths you can get from your supplier - you should have a stock of 1m to 4m patch leads at 50cm intervals as a minimum. Use the right lengths. Colour coding Establish a colour coding scheme and stick with it - colour code for primary and secondary networks, colour code for firewalls, colour code for management, colour code for uplinks to additional infrastructure. Colour coding is your best way of verifying and proving that you have full redundancy to each device. OCD is an occupational hazard Yes - the job will make you feel like you have premanent CDO (the letters should always be in alpabetical order) - but the first time you have a problem that you can solve in minutes instead of hours by following the general guidelines above you will be glad you have it.
I have more cable that I can think of to deal with so, even though it can be time consuming it's unquestionably neat. Plaiting and braiding cables is the way to go. Once you learn three, four, five and six way plaits and braids you can make any wiring loom neat and controllable in a unit.
Anyone lucky enough to have me build a performance gaming/audio/video workstation for them get the full service internally braided cables. Having hot rodded several cars, this is the one time I think a car analogy is in the right place. When you hot rod a car you have to figure out how to hide and manage the wiring. That skill translate perfectly onto computers and a box with hidden wires looks like an exceptionally neat piece of performance gear.
From that point it's relatively simple to come up with wiring looms for various discrete subsystems (like drum kit mike looms, braided low-voltage power supply cables). Don't try it with mains though, the inductance could be a fire hazzard. I've not tried it with a full rack, yet but I didn't experience any noise introduced into my signal path so I don't expect you would find increased packet loss from induced noise in ethernet cable. YMMV
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
I was just recently organizing the cables in the back of my entertainment media setup in the living room, and ended up using flexible plastic pipe that I cut open lengthwise. I picked about 1 inch diameter pipe, but it's easy and fairly cheap to find any diameter that's needed. Supposedly it's possible to find ready-split pipe too, but I couldn't locate any where I live.
Using the split pipe keeps the cables nicely together and avoids dust collecting between them. It also adds a bit of extra insulation (distance) so that power cables don't create interference to signal cables where they are running close to each other. Doing this was probably a bit more work than using velcro straps (splitting the pipe using scissors, getting the cables into the pipe), but IMO works well for those places where cables run on the floor and are likely to attract dust.
This method is not an universal solution by any means. For instance, it's not that good for cables hanging in the air, or going short distances. My recommendation is to use velcro instead for those situations.
A heaping rats nest on the floor behind my PC, duh.
I use Quantum Tango(tm) cables. Who needs to worry about managing them when you can just snip out the bothersome bits?
Clever cable management?
[_] If they're so clever, they can durn well manage themselves! ... CowboyNeal lays enough cable every morning during break.
[_] Is that why the cable bill goes up when you're not looking?
[_] Wireless FTW!
[_] We cut the cable, cut the satellite, and get everything in HD with a cheap pair of bunny-rabbit ears.
[_] Are you kidding? There goes my job security!
[_] We're still on token ring, you insensitive clod!
[_] We color-code them by length. No exceptions. So, when we're out of a certain length, you have to move the computer/desk/user. Your new location is the broom closet.
[_] I'll believe it when I see it.
[_] Duct tape. LOTS of duct tape. And a tennis ball with a slit in it. And some RC cars with cams so we can pull cable in places that, when it breaks, we'll never be able to fix it.
[_] No thanks
In house cable runs are the pits, whether done by Cable company contractors, or just about anyone else these days. My Father was an old time telephone man and "back in the day" cables were ALWAYS fished through the walls, or run down the inside of closets and along baseboards. Now days the OUTSIDE of most houses around here have a web of cables running to each room where there is something that needs to have a cable connection -- whether it is for TV or telephone it does not matter. Oh, and one cable installer at my neighbors house used a hammer to just knock a hole between the garage and the LIVING ROOM to pull the cable through -- no plate, no cover just an raw open hole.
Also, since I'm lazy and the places where I work often don't have enough bags/ties to go around, I just use an abbreviated version of the Monkey's fist sailor's knot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXdHcH3FRcM
I stop around 1:00 and just tuck a loop of the remaining loose end into one of the holes. Then the cable just sits in a somewhat tight bundle (without kinking or exceeding the minimum bend radius too much), and they don't get tangled with each other. It's pretty quick, and no tools are required.
Even better, to undo, I just pull the two ends apart and it unspools pretty nicely. If I want it to "lock", I could feed the cable through the two holes once or twice, though.
Best part is that I can just grab the middle of an overlength cable and wrap it up like this without having to unplug it at either end. And it's pretty difficult for someone else to come along later and run another cable tangled through one of these things, unlike what happens with other slack loops I've seen.
Yeah, definitely, definitely, bread ties. Uh oh, fifteen minutes to Judge Wapner.
We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.
I cannot take credit for this one, but a cheap cable tray is a plastic rain gutter you can purchase in 10 foot lengths at any hardware store => http://lifehacker.com/5299994/rain-gutters-as-cable-management-tools
I always kept a huge plastic box on top of the fridge.
It held a full kilometer of ethernet, hubs, a couple routers, power blocks, testing apparatus, crossovers, and doodads, including a long spool of cool flat ribbon type ethernet which I never used (no rugs).
The problem with cables is they always spaghettify. Like all the extra computers. Too many.
I think I almost never had a use for the cable box and extra pcsand after much getting slapped around a little finally agreed to part ways with them in my last move. That was a very tough decision but decided too many cables needed to be recycled.
As for ties, only used twisties (like on bread) and once upon a time plastic ties. I had a beautiful thick sky blue Swedish designed spiral thingy that could hold together a bunch of cables but it was so pretty I only used it for one desk and then kept it unsullied in a box..!
The famous yellow wall: http://c2.api.ning.com/files/3zAOt4*KFA7a5X7Lial3jTuen599xhJFiCGuo8LItNKbr-EjHii31m6nQ05H6W4V06Dr2ORegGbUo3e51YispUB-u7xQRDu0/yellow_wall.jpg
We use these a lot in the datacenters.
So, the rack looks like this:
[patch panel]
[panduit tray]
[switch]
repeat
What about the cords to the monitors on the left and right of it?
Zip ties suck! Velcro straps are FAR better solution if you ask me. Cost more, but far easier to deal with when you have to add / remove a cable.
I've done quite a lot of work on an aerodynamic experiment rig recently and found that cheap food ties (the sort you get for doing up sandwich bags) work great for keeping cables together and are a lot cheaper and less permanent than cable ties; sure they're not great for heavy loads, but most of the time they keep things neat. Also learn to coil cables properly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLwwB29uQRg; you're not always going to have cables that are properly cut to length and using this method allows you to coil cables in the centre of the cable if necessary without causing extra twisting or tangles in the cables.
I label with 1/2 inch labels, 2 lines. Top line where it comes from, bottom line where it goes to. In case of bidirectional links, use the majority of traffic flow as indicator.
Print 2 labels, one for each end. Since they're both printed the same, you just have to look for the match. I'd love to build cable documentation, but it's one of those things that seems to get forgotten about over time. We do keep fairly good records of equipment interconnects in other locations, so it's not as bad as it sounds.
I try to color code, but it can be tough to keep enough of the "popular color," and you end up hauling around a bunch of spools.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
Bulldog clips that you can buy at Staples or Office Depot are genius for home. Run the cables Turku the wings and clip them somewhere. I use them to manage drive and power cables. Recently did the same for my mother's printer and camera cables and she no longer drops them.
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
Once I was all about zip ties. Then I saw that cable lacing article on wikipedia that zippthorne posted about earlier and went bananas, lacing everything with marine whipping twine. But any time anything in your setup changes (namely, 12-72 hours after you're done with your cable management project) you have to start over.
So I'm all about velcro. monoprice has velcro ties for ultra-cheap.
My home theater: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150195660470606&l=49d60950a5
My new products came out of my need to have a zip tie that "didn't suck". Products are almost ready for retail sales through my website.
It holds well, is not scratchy, is reusable, can form multiple loop, is not bulky and, too boot, is easy to use. And its companion product is good for reusable surface mounting.
I'll just give the YouTube video links which give the overview which gives the website:
EZTY Use in 60 Seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxPVe1GFoiw
EZTY Overview in 60 Seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWw-RzEY3tQ
PyramidTY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XniSxUbWOt4
I have not seen a broken microphone in my 20 year IT career.
I've got a broken mic on this laptop that I'm using to type this message out on. In keeping with my near-darwin-award-esque personality, I very stupidly plugged my guitar amp into the mic port of this laptop to see if it could handle it.
I found out that it couldn't. YMMV, so go ahead and try it.
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_lacing
In the notes section you'll find the Qwest Telecommunications Equipment Installation Guidelines (TEIG). Lots and lots of good information here, pay attention to Chapter 5 Cabling: Forming, Running, and Securing. The NASA stuff is interesting, but I notice they've gone to the dark side and started allowing cable ties. No wonder they have so many problems.
http://www.qwest.com/techpub/77350/77350.pdf
As for "oh, but I have to make changes," you plan for changes from the start. If you expect you'll be adding/dropping often, use patch panels (many of them have cable management built in). Run extra and store it in the floor or out of the way on the ladder rack. If you need to re-run cable, take the time to do it correctly. If you use the lacing techniques in the qwest docs you should be able to loosen up the run, remove the offending cable and pull a new one. Temping something in should just be that: getting something up after hours or until the maintenance window. If the equipment so mission critical that it can't be taken down, build in redundancy.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2373443?start=0&tstart=0
hope this helps.
Stop using diagonal cutters and go to flush cutters. When we were using zip ties I was almost militant about this due to the scars I have on my hands from my time as an aircraft mechanic. Amazon has a Xuron set for $11 currently, and I'm sure there are cheaper buys out there, so it's a cheap investment.
Never understimate the power of human stupidity -Lazarus Long
If you need to figure out how to run your communications cables just ask the friendly people at Greybar. They have been dealing with this exact issue since 1869, yes, before the telephone. You have a Greybar near you, you've just never noticed. They open early so you can get your parts on your truck and too your job. Electrical, voice and data copper, to fiber. They have it in stock.
All that cool wire management stuff the telephone company has? They have it at Greybar. Need the racks and cable management to build a data center? They have it. Those special tools you need to put it together? They have them.
Free coffee and popcorn too!
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
This is pretty much the line of thought I've been going down. Cost is a factor, but I'm already using Logic and I can get it at student prices which is a great deal. I've heard Ableton now runs in WINE very well, but obviously would want to test that before committing to it. I really like Reaper and recommend it to everyone I can, but it's very difficult to piece together an efficient, affordable collection of some missing essential plug-ins like a good drum sampler, usable FM synth and multiband compressor.
Part of me is just steering away from Apple because of their atrocious behaviour in the tablet/mobile market, and the fact that they refuse to sell me a new computer with more than four USB ports for less than two grand. Still, if I buy used then I'm only half-encouraging them, which suits my half-approval :-P
Velcro cable ties are great...you can buy a 100 pack from the hardware store for $5. They work almost as well as regular zip ties, but they are velcro. The only disadvantage is it takes a few more seconds to wrap them and you might not get them as tight as zip ties. They even have a little loop on the end so you can fasten them to your cable. I use them on just about every cable in the house (usb cables, power cords, laptop power cables, etc.)
The mic is fine. You're mic pre-amp is fried. Much harder to replace.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
Ah - any ideas? I'm open to suggestions :-)
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
The persistence of cables being crossed and tangled in the simplest computer installation got me studying topology and knot theory.
One book I like is Formal Knot Theory by Kauffman.
The area where crossings and tangles get much simpler is if you organize a single cable into a loop before storing it. If you hold both ends in one hand, then folding the remaining cable becomes a very symmetric process. For coiling a cable, routing successive turns on opposite sides of the plane of the coil does something very interesting, it creates a balanced number of twists in each direction.
On the mess behind my desk. I am at last a member of the let 'er rip and dustbunnies galore group.
proaudiotorrents.org
Buy them when you can, but never let lack of money prevent you from making music.
I have found that being able to try plugins and virtual instruments first has led to me purchasing more of them than I would have otherwise. My production suite is 100% legal licenses now, but only because I've been able to make some money. And to get off the ground I occasionally used unofficial demos of music apps.
This way, it has worked out for me and for the developers of plugins and VIs. Everybody wins.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Wonderful until someone accidentally nicks one of the cables, I've seen it happen more than once. Velcro is the way to go.
Also cable ties are not recommended for Fibre optic cabling as they can, particularly if applied too tight, result in damage to the bundle. Velcro ties do not have this problem as they are more pliable and it is difficult to exert excessive force.
Likely a small surface mount op-amp. Not a fun task to replace and requiring special & expensive tools. USB sound interface would be my suggestion.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
Thanks, it figures :-(
Appreciate the suggestion.
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
Hmmm... I thought I was logged in when I posted
For a small bundle like a rolled up mouse or keyboard cable, a "tin-tie" peeled off a coffee bag (ie Starbucks) works nicely if you just wrap it around the bundle like a boa constrictor (not twisted on itself like a "twist-tie"). Easy to adjust and reuse.
It's a solution that only works in a very limited number of cases, but when it does, the results are beautiful
I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
You're
Your. Much harder to replace?
I don't know an off-the-shelf product for this, but it's easy to DIY.
Buy some hard drive power splitter or extension cables. Chop off the hard drive end. You now have four wires: +5V (red), +12V (yellow), and two grounds (black).
Now chop the wall wart off the device's power cord. If you don't want to sacrifice a wall wart, head over to Mouser or Digikey, buy the appropriate type of plug and solder a tail on it.
Strip the bitter ends of the wires and attach them with wire nuts, crimp lugs, solder + electrical tape, or any other method. Just make sure you get the polarity right - usually it's center positive, but check the diagram on the wall wart. Use a multi-meter if you're not sure.
I've done this a few times with no ill consequences.
It was a grammar nazi troll. ;)
(No, I just fucked up.)
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
Like any addiction, the first step is to admit that you've got a problem. :)
Seriously, though. You've got to realize that whatever the result of your efforts is, it's still going to be non-ideal, even if it looks as uniform and as neat as humanly possible. The truth is, no matter of initial neatness will prevent someone from coming along and fucking it up, whether unintentionally and with good cause or because they're a lazy git.
At home, I will label both ends of a cable that is likely to be sitting in a pile with other cables (usually - particularly when they're likely to be confused with others and when tracing the cable will be difficult). Just a simple file folder label or piece of tape, usually. Mostly, I don't worry about it, because at home "oops, I unplugged the system" only bothers me and/or my family. At work, it's another story: everything you do should be done to help mitigate downtime and improve your ability to effectively work with the cabling.
On server racks, I prefer a handful of techniques. There are a couple principles I abide by:
* always assume the rack will get messy over time
* your original intent will not be the intent of the next person to come along
* never assume a standard, because everyone has a different idea of how things should be done, and first impressions to that effect can be wrong
* standards only make sense when the implementation requirements/specifications/etc. are identical/universal, eg. with electrical wiring or in a large hosting facility where everything is the same or there is a standard which can be applied to. This isn't usually the case with most colocated racks or with most server rooms, in my experience.
* "Do things right the first time so you don't have to do them again". This applies generally to things like figuring out which cable goes where. "Right" is not necessarily the most aesthetic or "neat" option, but it is the laziest and most time-efficient, with an eye for long-term maintenance.
The techniques are:
For ethernet:
* ethernet should not be bundled approximately 5 per group.
* ethernet cable should be a rainbow of color, with different colors in each bundle. Eg: a bundle should have blue, green, red, white, etc. not multiples of any given color. This helps drastically when determining which cable goes to which system.
* Jack ends should be labeled descriptively and dated at the time of labeling. The description should describe the other end of the cable, not the end you're labeling (eg: sw2j5 for the 2nd NIC in server 5 that goes to switch 2 jack 5, or 'svr5n2' on the other end).
* use generic (not the 'fancy' ones) velcro straps to bundle the cable
* do not bundle the bundles, especially with velcro (because it will stick to the bundle velcro and make things a mess). To hold them up and away, I prefer using 6" ball bungees (http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Bungee-Cord-6-White/dp/B000S5TWWO) or similar,
* DO NOT USE HORIZONTAL CABLE MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS. DO NOT. They make a mess of things and, more often than not, get in the way more often than not. The one exception to this is on a part of the rack where you've got a patch panel or switching which is likely to remain consistent through several server iterations.
* Do not pull the Ethernet to one side of the rack only. "Alternate" the bundles of ethernet to each side (like pigtails, sorta).
For power:
* Do not use the 6'+ power cables unless you need to. The cables are big enough and cheap enough to buy them in shorter lengths so you do not need to bundle them as much and the bundles are neater.
* Label both ends with the name of the system in question (UPS side) and the UPS in question (server side).
* Color code, if possible, by UPS. IE, if you have 2 PSUs per host, the first PSU gets black cables which go to one UPS, and the second gets grey cables which go to the other.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
I braid them.
One of my first network gigs, they converted from twinax to Cat5 for an army of 5150 terminals. Some glad to get rid of triax, but as they brought up the twisted pair terminals, they had trouble keeping some of them online for more than a few minutes. IBM subbed the cabling work out, and it took them weeks to give up and admit they had no idea what was wrong.
At this point the powers-that-be were discussing the problem in the machine room, and their telecom tech was feeding another stick of gum into his mouth when I asked if they could stand a little advice. I recommended they loosen the cable ties that they used to bundel up the cable runs in the room and the various MDF rooms, they were pretty but very, very tight. Solved the problem. Turns out twinax waveform at the time was essentially a square wave, and UTP is not sielded like twinax. Crosstalk was the culprit. The clue? One big complaint from users was that they would get someone else's session for an instant on the scrren, then the terminal reset and they had to log in. Another session? Not exactly, but it did sometimes paint a little of screen from another session (cable) before it flipped out. Very unusual.
This should not affect Ethernet, being resistant to all forms of interference including crosstalk etc, but no point in testing the theory. Velcro ties don't cause the crimping that ties do, and that crimping was the culprit. Compression shorts do still happen, not as often as they used to in telecom.
And yes, plant ties are the bargain. Maybe soaking a few rolls in black dye to avoid the stigma of 'plant' ties will give you the panache you were looking for. Salt water sets the dye, avoids ruboff and black fingers. Or sell green as the new black.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
It is possible in most rack-mount (big cable complexity) systems to
get your cables routed from the source, to the edge of the array,
down (or up) the rack then across to the destination, if the wires
are long enough. This is important if a box in the rack ever
requires replacement, because all cables NOT routed to that box are out
of the way for removal/replacement operations.
It is relatively commonplace, in science labs, to see wiring tied to the
rackmount modules' handles, just to keep its loops draped on the
side, out of the way of maintenance and configure and monitor operations.
It ought to be more commonplace, IMHO.
Disclaimer: I did design comms cable systems and data rooms, but I have been out of the game for a few years. The opinions below are however based on physics, which hasn't changed too much in the last couple of years.
Cable ties are not great for cat 5e, cat6, or higher speed twisted pair cables.
The reason for this is that the zip tie gives you a point of mechanical assistance when tightening them, this gives you easily enough strength to deform the cable which can reduce its throughput. Double sided hook and loop is much better for this reason, and it is able to be reconfigured more easily. Most cable manufacturers will not permit the use of nylon ties of the cable that is installed in the walls, so you shouldn't encourage it in the office / data cabinet space either.
I have designed a server room with cable hangers near the door with different length patch leads, if that is your thing. Generally however, if you provide enough space for vertical and horizontal cableways in the rack you can use patch leads of a single length (save purchase cost, if they are cat6 leads you will need that length anyway to reduce error rates) and the extra length can be hidden in the floor or above the rack in a cable tray.
I quite like the cable managers with rounded 'fingers' that have covers that can clip off either way. Well labeled patch leads are great too!
As the "IT guy" The most important thing for you to do is consider the volume and weight of the patch cables when you are designing your rack layout, you may be able to get a super high density switch, but if you don't leave enough RU around it then you will just create yourself a headache.
Aside from obviously keeping your cable management channels neat, PatchSee cables have been great. No more tracing a cable from the patch panel to the switch ... just inject light on one end and clearly see where the other end terminates.
http://www.patchsee.com/
They are a bit more expensive than regular patch cables but totally worth it
We always seem have have millions of spare rubber bands in our house so, for my home office cabling needs, I affix ethernet and phone cables to the tops of the legs of my desk to prevent my kicking them by accident, using rubber bands.
Now rubber bands don't actually last that long, a few months at most, before they dry out and snap. When they snap I tend to pull everything out of my office, vacuum and mop the floors, scrub the desk down and generally file all my shit. Then I go down to the kitchen and grab another 8 or so rubber bands and set everything up again. This both works well to keep cables off the floor and provides a handy timer to remind me to tidy up my office. And best of all those rubber bands are free.
I used to have a better sig than this, but I got tired of it
I've been a musician for 35 years .. and I gotta say, I have NEVER found a 'clever' way to sort em.. basically, draw it on paper, and tape 'em where they converge , and tape em where they diverge..
Best i know...
I keep all twist ties from new equipment in a pile for re-use. I strongly prefer them over zip strips... you can undo them. And then re-use them. I can't count how many times I've needed to add "just one" new cable and didn't have a zip strip handy.
You can remove twist ties without tools. Further, half the time when I want to remove a zip strip I've only got a knife handy instead of diagonal cutters... that's just playing with fire...
The only downside that I can think of with twist ties is that they're metal. I suppose they could cause a short if they snapped and fell into the wrong place... however, considering how many staples and paper clips litter floor of the average office, I think the additional risk from my twist ties are minimal.
For evil fun, simply go to the wiring closet and tighten each and every zip tie as tightly into the cables as possible.
Then put in a large wiring change request.
Pardon?
For me the problem was just as much the variety of physical devices to and from which cords were running as the problem with cords themselves (i.e. modem, router, UPS, etc.). Therefore, I went and had some pegboard cut to spec and mounted it on the back of my computer desk - such that some of it is accessible from the front, as well - and bought a variety bag of pegboard hardware (hooks, etc.). I then proceeded to mount my modem, router, UPS, USB hub, speakers, etc. on there, wired everything up, and used releasable zip ties to bundle up the cords. So far it's worked very nicely, and given me more desk space.
I heart anarcho-capitalism.
I think you slashdot changed it's policy. You can't be logged in from different IP-addresses or browsers (haven't checked yet) at the same time.
New things are always on the horizon
1. Attach cable to the desk at the edge but with enough to move the mouse around obviously.
2. keep the desk completely clean. Just a keyboard and mouse (my LCD-monitor is on a stand hanging over the desk).
That way there is nothing in the way.
Also supposedly, a clean desk means less distractions.
New things are always on the horizon
A few precepts for dressing patch cords from jack panels to connection equipment: 1. Tag cable ends for a hint to find matching ends, but don't trust them. Confirm by tugging from one end to the other. 2. Do not use text labels such as HostX-eth0: these will inevitably get re-used for HostY. 3. Always tag power cords. 4. Do not tie or bind cables tightly along their length. Doing so makes tracing cables impossible. 5. Avoid cable trays, wire mold, etc. Aluminum angle and C-clamps do it better and cheaper. 6. A bit too long is better than just enough. Avoid making a waterfall of short patch cords. 6. Coil with the sun.
I use elastic bandages to wrap my cables. I use different colors for different cables, red for power, green for network, etc. Its easy to wrap and unwrap
http://www.amazon.com/ANDOVER-COFLEX-ADHERENT-ELASTIC-COLORPACK/dp/B0006GWRCW/
That sounds like someone who needs to open up the iMac case and reseat the Mic connection...
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
Some rules and technologies my company has adopted:
Between racks
1. Raised floor for air only, high ceilings for air buffer and room for overhead wiring, hot and cold aisle partitioning including doors at the end of aisles
2. Power in conduit immediately above racks
3. Cable ladders above power for Cat6, cable bundles are zip tied to ladders every second or third cross rung
4. Fiber trays above cable trays for fiber
5. Run cables from the rack to a row of 2 post rack w/ patch panels in a network cage
6. Run cables from devices in another parallel row(high density line cards etc) to more 2 post racks in the first row via ladders running parallel and perpendicular to rows
7. Use horizontal runs between rack and device patch panels to patch racks to infrastructure
8. Dedicated 2 post racks for telco DMARC gear in another row again, perpendicular cable ladders between rows
9. Clearly label everything using wire wrap labeler
In the racks
1. Use appropriate lengths for everything, fiber, patch and power
2. Label everything using wire wrap labeler
3. Use velcro straps as in rack cabling can change more frequently
In specific we use RapidNet, you order pre terminated modules that you clip into 19" panels, they come terminated, tested and strapped in bundles of 6. Once your cable ladders and trays are up you know how long your runs are.
http://www.hellermanntyton.us/rapidnet
Some good pictures in: http://www.hellermanntyton.us/media/documents/LITPDDCS.pdf
Check out page 9 for some similar to what I described above w/ different racks/cross connects.
You can find rolls of cheap double-sided velcro in the garden center of many big box hardware stores that is used for plant ties. Much cheaper than the pre-cut color coded ones. Any color you want as long as it's green.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
http://letmebingthatforyou.com/?q=how%20to%20ask%20a%20question
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Wow, that is fantastic! A thing of beauty is a joy forever. And I'm not using that in the ironic sense in this case.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
After an incident over Christmas when our kittens got bored and chewed up 15 cables, we went with split flexible corrugated tubing. It comes in 3/4" and 1 1/4" diameters and we got ours at Lowes.
I had considered using a short piece of pvc gutter to build a cable tray, but decided not to in my case.
For the computer desk, I ended up pulling the equipment on the floor out about 6" from the wall and cut some Masonite panels to create a gap along the wall with no kitten access.
Apparently iPod charger cables are specially formulated to be extra tasty.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff