[188420] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aaron C. de Bruyn)
Mon Mar 21 15:45:00 2016
X-Original-To: nanog@nanog.org
In-Reply-To: <CO2PR0801MB677EA3FB1DE213D8BC3E10C9E8F0@CO2PR0801MB677.namprd08.prod.outlook.com>
From: "Aaron C. de Bruyn" <aaron@heyaaron.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2016 12:44:41 -0700
To: "STARNES, CURTIS" <Curtis.Starnes@granburyisd.org>
Cc: "nanog@nanog.org" <nanog@nanog.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces@nanog.org
That's a good reason to use it. Who would cut it? ;)
-A
On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 8:53 AM, STARNES, CURTIS <
Curtis.Starnes@granburyisd.org> wrote:
> Just to throw it out there but I always try not to use RED cable.
> Normally, RED wire in any building is dedicated as FIRE system cabling.
>
>
> Curtis Starnes
> Senior Network Administrator
> Granbury ISD
> 600 W. Bridge St. Ste. 40
> Granbury, Texas 76048
> (817) 408-4104
> (817) 408-4126 Fax
> curtis.starnes@granburyisd.org
> www.granburyisd.org
>
>
>
> OPEN RECORDS NOTICE: This email and responses may be subject to Texas Ope=
n
> Records laws and may be disclosed to the public upon request.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces@nanog.org] On Behalf Of Owen DeLong
> Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2016 7:10 PM
> To: Yardiel Fuentes <yardiel@gmail.com>
> Cc: nanog@nanog.org
> Subject: Re: DataCenter color-coding cabling schema
>
> I don=E2=80=99t know of any universal standards, but I=E2=80=99ve used th=
e following in
> several installatins I was responsible for to good avail:
>
> Twisted Pair:
>
> RED: Untrusted Network (Internet or possibly DMZ)
> YELLOW: Optional for DMZ networks though I preferred to avoid documented
> in [1] below
> BLUE: Trusted Network (back-end, internal, etc.)
> GREEN: RS-232 straight-thru
> PURPLE: RS-232 X-Over (effectively Null Modem) 12345678 <-> 87654321 pin
> map.
> ORANGE: Ethernet X-Over (Best avoided documented in [2] below)
> GREY: Special purpose cabling not in one of the above categories
>
> Fiber:
> Orange =E2=80=94 Multimode Fiber
> Yellow =E2=80=94 Singlemode Fiber
>
> The absolute most useful thing you can do if you can impose the disciplin=
e
> to update the cable map rigorously and/or allocate manpower for periodic
> audits is to apply a unique serial number to each cable. I preferred to
> document not only the cable ID, but also the length. For the installation=
s
> where I have worked, 5 digits was sufficient unique ID, so I used formats
> like IIIII-L[.L] where IIIII was a unique ID and L.L was the length of th=
e
> cable in feet. (e.g. 00123-6.5 is cable number 123 which is 6.5 feet in
> length).
>
> The labels are (ideally) the self-laminating wrap-around types. I prefer
> the Brady labeling system which will automatically print 2-4 (depending o=
n
> font size) instances of the label text on the self-laminating label such
> that it can be read from virtually any side of the cable without requirin=
g
> you to rotate the label into view in most cases.
>
> The Brady labeling system is a bit overpriced compared to the Brother
> P-Touch, but the expanded capabilities and the quality of the label
> adhesives and such is, IMHO, sufficiently superior to justify the cost.
>
> Whatever you do, please do not use Flag labels on cables=E2=80=A6 I HATE =
THEM.
> They are a constant source of entanglement and snags. They often get
> knocked off as a result or mangled beyond recognition, rendering them
> useless.
>
> Similarly, I=E2=80=99ve found that circuit-ID and end-point labels on cab=
les are
> often ill-maintained, so if you do use them, please make sure you remove
> them when the cable is moved/removed.
>
> The length is very useful because it gives you a radius within which the
> other end of the cable must be located and you can usually expect it to b=
e
> reasonably close to the outer edge of that radius.
>
> More than a few times I=E2=80=99ve prevented a serious outage by giving t=
he port
> number to the remote hands guy and then insisting that he read me the cab=
le
> ID. =E2=80=9CNo, try the other port FE-0/2/4=E2=80=A6 You=E2=80=99re off =
by one. It=E2=80=99s
> above/left/right/below you.=E2=80=9D
>
> [1] I prefer to avoid Yellow cables because some people have trouble
> understanding that Yellow Fiber and Yellow UTP might have different
> meanings. I also feel that the distinction between UNTRUSTED and DMZ
> networks is usually not all that important in most cabling situations. YM=
MV.
>
> [2] In this era of Auto-MDI/MDI-X ports and the like, it=E2=80=99s very r=
are to
> encounter a situation that truly requires a crossover cable with no viabl=
e
> alternative. If such is needed, I prefer to document it on the cable tags
> rather than using a special color code. Again, you have the risk of peopl=
e
> not understanding that orange Fiber might not mean what Orange copper
> means. YMMV
>
> Yes, I know you can now get virtually any type of fiber in virtually any
> color, but the simple fact of the matter remains that when you send skipp=
y
> out to buy emergency jumpers or such, you=E2=80=99re most likely going to=
either
> get orange multimode or yellow singlemode and that=E2=80=99s just the way=
it is.
>
> Owen
>
> > On Mar 12, 2016, at 11:11 , Yardiel Fuentes <yardiel@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hello Nanog-ers,
> >
> > Have any of you had the option or; conversely, do you know of =E2=80=9C=
best
> > practices" or =E2=80=9Ccommon standards=E2=80=9D, to color code physic=
al cabling for
> > your connections in DataCenters for Base-T and FX connections? If so,
> > Could you share any ttype of color-coding schema you are aware of ?=E2=
=80=A6.
> > Yes, this is actually considering paying for customized color-coded
> > cabling in a Data Center...
> >
> > Mr. Google did not really provide me with relevant answers on the
> > above=E2=80=A6 beyond the typical (Orange is for MMF, yellow for SMF, e=
tc)=E2=80=A6
> >
> > Any reasons for or against it welcome too...
> >
> > --
> > Yardiel Fuentes
>
>
