5 Best Tips to Improve Data Center Performance with Structured Cabling
Did you know data center cabling management is one of the most neglected aspects? Yet, if not handled appropriately, your business can be in big trouble.
Such problems can include unplanned downtimes that can cost more than you can imagine. Even more troubling is that the lack of good cable management in data centers can affect the long-term operation of your data center.
Consider the complicated intertwining of cables from multiple electronic devices within a company. This can take technicians many hours, trying to sort through. Going further, it can be disastrous to the IT infrastructure. Disorganized and improperly-labeled cables can hinder the effective and quick recognition of problems within the facility, only for it to erupt later at its worst.
Your cabling structure matters most in the day-to-day end-user business operation. It’s one of the most dominant advances in data wiring designs. Thankfully, today there’s a tremendous shift to structured cabling systems in data centers.
How Can You Improve Your Data Center Performance with Structured Cabling?
Using a structured cabling system to enhance your data center performance has significant benefits. Let’s look at the tips to improve your data center performance with structured cabling.
Ensure You Have Your Data Center Cabling Structure Designed Early
Your data center needs to follow a good cabling structure plan from the start. A cabling design that’s implemented and designed poorly can cause complex issues. It will affect the future management of your data centers. At such times, you may experience endless problems such as;
- Airflow impediment
- Obstacles to do with end-to-end identification
- Eliminating disconnected services adds time and complexity to the cabling system repair process.
Therefore, ensure reliable cable management in your data center from the beginning. That way, you can avoid unforeseen problems that can occur. Without the right cabling management plan, the resultant corrective actions can be too costly regarding funds and downtime.
Find Expert Structured Cable Installers to Avoid Bends or Twists in the Power Cable
When power cables are installed, they are meant to supply electrical power to your data center’s devices, including;
- Servers
- Storage equipment
- Networking systems
Thus, a cable that’s too long can cause extreme dielectric loss. The data center wiring can bend or twist, disarranging the electric current. This can raise the risk of physical damage to the cables.
The only solution is to find expert structured cable installers highly specialized in structured cabling systems Pompano Beach. They are a licensed specialty contractor with competent experts in structured cabling installation and has the necessary knowledge to complete the data wiring projects safely.
They understand everything it takes to improve your data center’s operations with convenient data center cabling techniques. Once well done, you’ll likely experience lots of uptime, which translates to more productivity and increased sales.
A poorly-done cabling structure that ends up twisted or bent can exert too much stress on the insulation and wire strands, leading to breakages or frays. Such physical damages can compromise the structured cabling system’s integrity. Ultimately, it becomes more prone to;
- Signal attenuations
- Crosstalk
- Complete failure.
Utilize High-Quality Cable Structure for Your Data Center Wiring
To enhance your data center’s performance, you need to use top-quality fiber cables. The structured cabling system should meet modern-day specifications.
Poor quality cables installed in your data center can also result in packed/congested/“spaghetti” cables. This makes it hard for the technical team to establish and troubleshoot a problematic cable in real-time. It also increases the chances for damage due to the constant flexing when you keep searching for the cable that needs fixing.
If your structured cable installers use older fiber cables, they won’t endure the reduced bend radius needed for today’s data center capacity. It can be enticing to employ the economics of the older cabling, which might prove cheaper. However, it won’t be long before it wreaks havoc, hence resulting in;
- An increased period of cable installation time
- Higher rate of cabling structure failure.
- Loss of stored organizational data
- Reduced performance
- Revenue loss
Prioritize Using Centralized Patch Panels
A data center with a structured cabling solution employing patch cabling installations reduces the need to add other direct cable applications. This also reduces the chances of cables being installed inappropriately.
The patch cabling is also why data centers today are witnessing a rise in direct route circuits. It helps the data centers to meet the demand for maximum bandwidth.
Therefore, it’s important to consider the patch panels for your structured cabling interconnected systems. This will offer your data center a backup or expansion of the initial installation.
The patch panels allow the data center to maintain large numbers of organized cables. The result is more flexible connectivity into the network hardware, which eases access to the wiring closet.
Consider Documenting All Types of Data Center Cables.
Cabling documentation may seem optional. However, it matters most for a data center’s operation. Poor or lack of documentation can cause difficulties in maintaining and providing new equipment. It also makes it challenging to troubleshoot connectivity issues.
So, to ensure increased efficiency and minimized downtime during implementation, it’s crucial to consider documenting the following:
- Cable types
- Connectors
- Cabinet elevations
- The number of data and power ports.
Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) tools make the searching, planning, provisioning, and documenting of patch cable installations to the port level easier.
The method helps in managing capacity and use of;
- In-rack patch
- Network switch port info.
Here, you can design visual diagrams that show which ports are currently in use on the device. This eases data center operations.
Wrapping Up
A good structured cabling design offers an extensive infrastructure for data centers to transmit data, audio, video, alarm, signals, or voice transmission through their networks. The cable-structured network works well for data centers since it’s more secure and reliable than other networks relying on wireless technology.
These structured cables supply multiple connections between data centers’ switches and servers. Hence, the cabling design and installation will offer robust support to different hardware. Most importantly, its usage remains relevant to the data center for today’s and future needs.
Ensure you have the right structured cable installers for your data center wiring.
The system, installed correctly, can handle your business’s present and future needs and demands. And, in case of any hardware additions in the future, the cabling structure will also support it.
