Rack Cleanup and Beautification
After adding and adding to my rack, it had finally reached a point to where it was a complete mess. So, I took a few hours this weekend, to clean it up a bit. Here is the half* finished picture: This, is the almost* finished picture. *(Explained below) Here is what I started with: The before picture. Utter mess at the front of the rack. And- here is a picture I took DURING the cleanup. While- this isn't yet the completed project, it does look leaps and bounds better. What I did completeI replaced the patch panel with a fingers tray. The reasoning being- as much as I cycle things in and out of my lab, and as much as I change around links, keystones end up becoming a problem. So, instead a simple fingers try keeps everything nice and tidy, while making it much easier to change links around. It also works much better with the fiber. I also, relocated the cable management BETWEEN the switches, rather than above it. An additional brush tray was added above the 100g switch, to allow the thick DACs to pass through. I build a custom shelf for my optiplex micros, which keeps them nice and tidy. The extra space at the top will be filled soon though... Its not 100% completed. But- works quite well. I added blanks to cover up some of the unused space. I also, racked up a MD1200, which I will be using for future projects. What is left to do.I ran out of the "slim" monoprice cat6a cables, and have some more ordered. I really enjoy working with these- they are much easier to run, and much easier to keep organized and tidy. They do work with 10G, and POE too. Once they arrive, I will be replacing a few of the thicker, over-length cables. I will be adding more redundant links from the SFFs, and the r730XD, back to the 10G switch. The purpose is to provide redundancy in the switching layer. I have a new PDU in the mail, which allows per-outlet monitoring, and switching. This should allow me to clean up a lot of the mess in the back of the rack, where I have a combination of custom-flashed smart plugs, and HS300s for power management. I have not yet started cleaning up the back of the rack yet. I will be going through completely redoing the back of it as well. There is a mess of power cables, which needs organizing. Other notes- I will also proudly exclaim- I was able to do all of the reorganizing, which involved needing to move, relocate, and re-route nearly every cable.... WITHOUT disruption to anyone in my house. That- was fun. [link] [comments] |