Government Computer News
Data centers untangled
A mess of cables can hurt network performance and cause cooling problems. Here’s how to get them under control
In many organizations, the cables that run between servers and network equipment are usually out of sight — in closets, under the floor or in the ceiling — and out of mind. But as data centers grow, evolve and age, the miles of cabling in the background can become a nightmare to manage.
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Ask the Internal Revenue Service. In 1996, when what is now the Government Accountability Office examined the agency’s data centers, it criticized the agency for multiple problems with its data center cables. The agency had some exposed data cables that could be cut or tapped. Inspectors determined that the foam keeping the cables in place was a fire hazard, and data center employees could not identify some of the cables that ran through the facility.
That was a prime example of what happens when a clear plan for cabling isn’t included on the ground floor, as it were, of data center construction.
“I start thinking about cabling from the very start,” said Albert Ramos, a facility engineer at Terremark, which offers hosting and collocation services to the government.
Ramos is involved in building Terremark’s new $250 million data center in Culpepper, Va.
Fortunately, some simple measures can help keep your cables from growing into a gigantic, untamable monster. These best practices can make your life easier when dealing with cables, managing your data center or just overhauling a wire closet.
“A data center is as good only as the weakest link,” said Chris Henri, a program manager at integrator American Systems who is setting up a data center for the Marine Corps. “The infrastructure, if thought out, can be flexible, comprehensive and complete,” Henri said. “It can be…the best return on investment if done properly, or it can be one of the worst.”
Here are 13 tips for taming the cable monster.
1. Remove old cables. When servers or switches are decommissioned, facility workers often don’t remove the associated cables. The shortcut is to just cut the heads off the cables and leave them in place, said Mike Clemson, vice president of facilities at Server Vault. As a result, “over time, dead cables occupy a larger and larger volume of under-floor or overhead space.”
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