Re: Suggetions on labeling all items for a rack reloaction to new rack in new data center

On 8/25/2016 4:51 PM, Booth Martin wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/hqedpdv

Item level: 15 items, 15 colors. Buy 15 rolls of flagging tape, one for
each item. Wrap each cable end by that item's color tape.

Cable level: use unique flagging tape for each matching plug & socket on
each item.

Result: every item has a unique color and each cable end has the
matching color. Within each Item group, each cable's secondary flagging
color mates to it's matching connector.

My ham radio club does something similar with our field equipment.
Something on the order of a hundred cables going to 3 different trucks
and 12 antenna towers. We use coloured electrical tape, and put the
matching colour on the equipment as well as the cable near the
connector. We use the resistor colour code.

On 8/25/2016 1:24 PM, Steinmetz, Paul wrote:

We're relocating our data center, 60 feet away.
Rack details below, 15 items.
Moving the entire rack is not an option.
I need to minimize the down window, no HA.
Every item needs to be un-cabled, un-racked, re-racked, and re-cabled....

1) Number each cable. Flag them with coloured tape, masking tape with a
number on it, zip ties, string tags; whatever seems useful.
Professional cable markers exist; see a place like cabletiesandmore dot
com. Coloured velcro loops, freezer tape, and P-Touch labels all work too.

2) Record where each end goes; especially if the ends have different
connectors, grrr. eg Processor P5 to tape drive P1

3) Take a digital picture of both ends of the cable. Photo 1 will be
the processor end, photo 2 will be the equipment end. So you'll have
the 'from' and 'to' right next to each other in your photo album.
Better yet: annotate them or name them so anyone can look at them and
figure out what goes where. Having the tag/label visible in the photo
is a plus :-)