Welcome to the Cable Management Blog – where you’ll find network cable management ideas, server rack cabling techniques and rack space saving tips, data center trends, latest innovations and more…
– Louis Chompff – Founder & Managing Director
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- Data Center Cable Management – Best Practices for Efficiency Optimization
Learn proper data center cable management focusing on efficiency, performance, and savings. Improve your cabling with this resource now. - Edge Computing – A Contrast to ColocationEdge computing is an innovative strategy that moves data storage and processing closer to users and data sources. On the contrary, colocation utilizes a third party’s centralized area and data to share resources and space with our clients. Although it may appear that location differentiates the two, there are still many other distinctions that make them suitable for different uses… Read more: Edge Computing – A Contrast to Colocation
- Throughput vs. Speed – Basics of Copper and Fiber Optic Cables for Superior Data Transmission
Copper cables have been a staple for data transmission for decades, with their roots tracing back to the telegraph and telephone. Fiber optic cables, introduced in the 1950s, have grown in popularity since the early 1970s. When choosing between copper and fiber optic cables for your applications, understanding the differences in throughput and speed is crucial. Let’s explore the history,… Read more: Throughput vs. Speed – Basics of Copper and Fiber Optic Cables for Superior Data Transmission - Optimize Your Data Center for a Potential Downturn – Doing More With LessWith every recession, companies make valiant attempts to reduce their spending. One of the first things to go is marketing. Then the C-Suite starts to look for other potential savings, including in the area of servers and data management. But the need to process and analyze data, access the internet, and other tasks doesn’t go away. To be competitive, data… Read more: Optimize Your Data Center for a Potential Downturn – Doing More With Less
- Choosing the Right Power Cord – Rack Optimization TipsThere are several aspects of optimizing data centers, from making the best use of space, time, power, and personnel. But there are some surprisingly simple solutions that are often overlooked with power cords, especially when it comes to rack optimization. Here are just a few of them. SVT vs. SJT Power Cords One of the first needs of a data… Read more: Choosing the Right Power Cord – Rack Optimization Tips
- Optimizing Ethernet in Data Center NetworksDemand for faster data transfer, and more of it, has exploded exponentially over the last decade. Even before the pandemic, growth was already at exponential rates, but with the work from anywhere trend and more people gaming and streaming from home, demand rose even further. With it came an explosion in innovation, and a necessary one. Data Center Interconnects (DCI)… Read more: Optimizing Ethernet in Data Center Networks
- Hot and Cold Aisle Containment in Data CentersData centers are often made up of hot and cold aisles, and the design of the hot / cold aisle data center is far from new. However, the traditional setup causes warm air exhaust from one aisle to flow into the air intake of the next, meaning that the overall efficiency of the data center is impacted. And really, that’s what… Read more: Hot and Cold Aisle Containment in Data Centers
- The Data Link Layer – How DAC and AOC Cables Can Work For YouAs the need for data storage and speed increases, the need for hyperscale data centers has increased. So has the need for edge data centers as well. While large-scale centers serve companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, other organizations are looking at smaller data centers closer to the end-user. In both cases, the data link layer of the data center is… Read more: The Data Link Layer – How DAC and AOC Cables Can Work For You
- Faster Polymer Plastic Cables? Not So Fast!Just about a year ago a group from MIT demonstrated a polymer plastic cable the size of a human hair that could transmit data faster than copper – much faster. How fast? Well, they recorded speeds of more than 100 gigabits per second! So where is this new technology and where is it headed? Well, here are some answers for… Read more: Faster Polymer Plastic Cables? Not So Fast!
- How a Fire-Rated Power Distribution System Reduces RiskFires are not super common in data centers, but they do happen, and most often when they do, they are not reported (at least not in the news). Much of the reason for this is that fires are usually small and quickly contained. It is unusual for a data center to become fully engulfed. Even when such fires are reported… Read more: How a Fire-Rated Power Distribution System Reduces Risk
- Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography – Keeping Moore’s Law AliveIn 1975, looking at the next decade, a guy named Gordon Moore revised his previous forecast of the number of integrated circuits in a microchip doubling every year to doubling every two years. Moore was not a prophet, nor a brilliant data analyst, but as his prediction held true, it later became known as a law. The law has become… Read more: Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography – Keeping Moore’s Law Alive
- Edge Data Centers – Space and the Final FrontierComputing on the edge: it seems that everyone is doing it, from big industry to manufacturers, from ISPs to Cloud Computing centers. When you can locate computing and analytics power closer to machines connected via the IoT and other data sources, the faster you can gather data, and the more data you can store and analyze in a timely manner.… Read more: Edge Data Centers – Space and the Final Frontier
- 7 Considerations When Choosing Fiber Optic CableFiber optic cable has become the go-to choice for a variety of applications by data center managers. The reasons are many, including advances in cable technology that make it an even better choice. But there are several things to consider when choosing fiber optic cable to ensure it’s the right fit for the application. Here are seven of the most… Read more: 7 Considerations When Choosing Fiber Optic Cable
- How to Prevent Data Center DowntimeData center downtime is no joke. It can literally make the difference between a data center surviving and failing. And a new study by the Ponemon Institute shows that modern data centers and data centers at the edge are more susceptible to downtime than ever before. This is because data centers are much more complex than they ever have been.… Read more: How to Prevent Data Center Downtime
- Modular or Traditional Data Center Builds – Which is Better?“The future of data centers is modular,” one popular website states. “The traditional data center is not dead,” says another. Who is right? What is the future of data centers? Is one better than the other, and if so, why? Here are some pros and cons, and some potential answers data center managers might want to consider. Jump to Section:… Read more: Modular or Traditional Data Center Builds – Which is Better?
- 4 Steps to Prepare Your Data Center for Net Zero Carbon EmissionsThe race to net zero carbon emissions is on – our economy and our world depend on it. The data center industry, one that tends to gobble up lots of power is at the forefront of a number of initiatives being implemented around the world. How will you prepare your data center for net zero carbon emissions? Here’s 4 steps… Read more: 4 Steps to Prepare Your Data Center for Net Zero Carbon Emissions
- 8 Critical Data Center Practices for Floor Design and DeliveryThe physical layer of the internet, the data center, is largely dependent on floor plans, not only the floor design and type of the floor itself, but where you put everything, and how that impacts data accessibility and delivery for your clients. Perhaps the most important feature of any data center is agility and flexibility. To prepare for the future,… Read more: 8 Critical Data Center Practices for Floor Design and Delivery
- Is The Future of Data Centers Hyperscale and Colocation?Whenever we talk about data centers, we talk about the fact that many businesses, even large enterprises, have moved to a cloud version of a data center, allowing someone else to manage their servers, storage, and other network elements. But colocation, born in the cloud DVR era, has started to make a comeback and is in fact, its own type… Read more: Is The Future of Data Centers Hyperscale and Colocation?
- 3 Steps to Avoid Cable Management TroublesDo you ever have one of those projects that just turns into, well, a problem at every turn? You see it on your to-do list or as you walk by that area in the data center, and think, “I should finish that.” But the pain of the project, and the problems you’ve had with it, are just too much? Here… Read more: 3 Steps to Avoid Cable Management Troubles
- Dead Servers Walking – Zombie Servers and Data Center EfficiencyData centers use a lot of power, and while the move to renewable energy helps, other efficiencies must be created to keep these power-hungry behemoths in check. It is estimated that 2% of the carbon emissions in the world come from data centers, and that will only increase as we stream more, save more on the cloud, and demand internet… Read more: Dead Servers Walking – Zombie Servers and Data Center Efficiency
- Key Considerations When Choosing Your Next Data Center LocationIn business, the adage location, location, location has always been a concern for any physical structure. This is true of data centers as well. When it comes to your next data center location, where do you build? Jump to Section: Data Center Starts Safety and Network Proximity Taxes, Labor, and Incentives Going Green is the New Black Key Takeaways There… Read more: Key Considerations When Choosing Your Next Data Center Location
- Proper Power Cable Usage Prevents Poor PerformanceData centers are moving away from under floor cooling and cabling, and in many cases to overhead cables and more advanced cooling systems. At the same time, what may seem the simplest of things, power cables, are evolving and changing as well. The reasons are quite simple. New angles, new cable types, and even new connection types are designed to… Read more: Proper Power Cable Usage Prevents Poor Performance
- Data Center Cabling Above and Below – Raised vs Concrete FloorsIt used to be that data centers were simply built with raised flooring. This was for several reasons: to allow for airflow, power and other cable routing, and flexibility during moves and changes. However, for most modern data centers, concrete floors, or slabs, have become a more common choice, with cables and even cooling running above rather than below. But… Read more: Data Center Cabling Above and Below – Raised vs Concrete Floors
- Data Center Planning Post COVID – 4 Drivers of ChangeCOVID and the other events of 2020 have had a huge impact on data centers. Traffic has shifted to residential areas with the work from anywhere trend, and overloaded centers are in need of expansion. But that expansion has been slowed by the pandemic, and social distancing and other restrictions. So what’s next for the post COVID world of 2021?… Read more: Data Center Planning Post COVID – 4 Drivers of Change
- Artificial Intelligence in Data Centers: The New Reality
For years, artificial intelligence, or AI has been the topic of science fiction, from Skynet in the Terminator movies to more benevolent systems. But AI has now become a reality, and that reality has put artificial intelligence in data centers, and the trend is growing. Data centers employing this technology are often referred to as enhanced data centers. Jump to… Read more: Artificial Intelligence in Data Centers: The New Reality - How to Design an Effective Data Center Cable Labeling SystemOne of the things we talk about often in cable management besides having the right cable management and rack management systems that make your data center the most efficient, is using an effective cable labeling system. Jump to Section: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Use the Right Cabel Label Printer Color Coded Cable Labels Label Size and Information Matters Label Wherever You… Read more: How to Design an Effective Data Center Cable Labeling System
- Server Rack Configuration and Cable Management Best Practices
There are only three types of currency in the world: time, money, and expertise – and we can’t afford to waste any of them. You have the expertise needed to run a data center and you hire others with the same expertise. But there are two things you can always save in your data center: time and money. Jump to… Read more: Server Rack Configuration and Cable Management Best Practices - Rapid Data Center Growth: Keys to Rack Management SuccessThe COVID pandemic hit, and workers headed home for good, but not just to binge old episodes of Fringe and eat ice cream on the sofa. They headed there to work, which meant that suddenly data centers were overloaded. Operating at near maximum capacity, HVAC systems strained to keep up, and data center managers lost fistfuls of hair seeking solutions… Read more: Rapid Data Center Growth: Keys to Rack Management Success
- The Spaghetti Mess – Rack Cable Management EssentialsWe often talk about the importance of network cable management in data centers, and how important it is to efficiency, airflow, equipment longevity, and more. But what about on managing cables on the rack itself? Jump to Section: The Server Rack Itself Rack Cable Managers Bundling and Labeling Cable Length and Rack Cable Management Have a Rack Cable Management Plan… Read more: The Spaghetti Mess – Rack Cable Management Essentials
- How Cable Management and Airflow Management Impact Each Other in Data CentersHere’s the simple truth of the matter. Cable management can impact airflow management , and airflow should definitely inform the method, type, and execution of cable management. To understand how the two impact each other and what the best overall solution will be for your data center, it is important for use to take a look at cable management and… Read more: How Cable Management and Airflow Management Impact Each Other in Data Centers
- The Impact on Data Center Services – Before and After COVIDThe COVID pandemic has impacted nearly every industry, and while some have been impacted negatively, others are thriving. The key to all of these things is the ability to adapt. Nowhere is this truer than in data centers. The impact of COVID on data center services has been significant, and those in this “essential industry” can’t work remotely for the… Read more: The Impact on Data Center Services – Before and After COVID
- Using Data Center IoT to Automate and Improve Operational EfficiencyIn order to meet demand, data centers are facing the need for physical expansion of their capabilities, such as the addition of new server racks, greater capacity HVAC systems and more. The problem is that those needing to making physical changes cannot do so remotely. Fortunately, there is a solution, which combines traditional data center infrastructure management (DCIM) with the… Read more: Using Data Center IoT to Automate and Improve Operational Efficiency
- Data Center Tiers – What Level Are You?Chances are, if you are in the data center business, you know about the uptime tier standard. But do you know what the data center tiers system really means, and what level you are on now? Knowing how to showcase what your data center offers will help your customers choose the option that works best for them. The thing to… Read more: Data Center Tiers – What Level Are You?
- 5 Ways Effective Cable Management Benefits Your Data CenterIt’s easy for computer cabling to get out of control – even at your office desk disorganized cables can be a problem! So, when it comes to the many tens or even hundreds of servers in a data center, cable management is clearly an important element to get right. Congested and disorganized cabling can quickly lead to a “spaghetti mess.”… Read more: 5 Ways Effective Cable Management Benefits Your Data Center
- IT Infrastructure and Business ContinuityIf there is one thing that is certain in the current environment, it’s uncertainty. From COVID 19 to unprecedented racial tensions and unemployment crisis, we are facing a fluctuating and unpredictable economic recovery. These factors are affecting every single business, and business continuity across many sectors. Business continuity can be disrupted by any number of events and preparing for them… Read more: IT Infrastructure and Business Continuity
- 4 Cable Improvements That Increase Data Center Efficiency and Build ScalabilityThe data center of the future is needed now. Added to rising growth in a world lived increasingly online, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and 5G are driving greater demand for data speed and volume. How can you ensure your data center is operating at peak performance now – and has the capacity to sustain performance as demand grows?… Read more: 4 Cable Improvements That Increase Data Center Efficiency and Build Scalability
- How Are You Greening Your Datacenter?An intereting article from Northrop Grumman highlights the actions taken by large data center owners, including Amazon, Facebook and Google, in creating green data centers. What steps are you taking to green your datacenter? What initiatives have you found to be most effective?
- Discover the Hidden Source of New Data Center Innovation (It’s Right Under Your Nose…)We’re often asked by our customers for help in devising the best cable and rack management solution. We appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the opportunities and challenges our customers face and enjoy working with them to find the best possible solution. There’s an additional benefit to understanding your customer more, one that may not be immediately apparent, but… Read more: Discover the Hidden Source of New Data Center Innovation (It’s Right Under Your Nose…)
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WHITEPAPER – Understanding Stranded and Solid Conductor Wiring in Modern Networks
An overview of the differences between stranded and solid conductor wiring, the properties of each and the best cable type to use in a variety of typical settings.
- Types of Stranded and Solid Conductor Wiring
- Comparison of Electrical Properties
- Factors Impacting Attenuation / Insertion Loss
- Choosing the Right Cable
WHITEPAPER – Understanding Ethernet Patch Cords in Modern Networks
This whitepaper explores the differences in ethernet cable and connector properties, the relevant Standards and provides a guide to best use cases within data center environments
- Ethernet Patch Cords and RJ-45 Connectors
- Ethernet Patch Cords and UTP Cabling
- Twisted Conductor Pairs – What’s All the Twisting About?
- Straight-Through and Crossover Patch Cord Cables
