Critical Laws of Using Technology to Grow Your Business

Keeping your data centre accessible

21 March 2016

Christina Watkins

A data centre is the core system of many businesses. This is where all the cables and modems are gathered to provide internet and electricity for your entire facility. It's therefore of vital importance that your data centre is functioning properly at all times. All malfunctions could mean that your employees aren't capable of doing their job and thus delaying the entire business. One of the most important things you can do to prevent data centre malfunction is to make sure all cables are functioning properly. However, to do this you first need to make sure they are properly sorted and easily accessible.

Same length 

One very simple thing you can do to keep your data centre accessible is to keep all cables the same length. Excess cable needs to be rolled up or otherwise stored, and if you have many cables like this, you create a bundle of cable that doesn't fill any function to begin with. If you're a beginner at data cabling, you should call a commercial electrician that can cut and reinstall the cables for you to make sure you don't cause any disruption in the data flow.

Colour coding

Another thing you can do is to colour code the cables. This means you'll be able to easily decide what cables you should troubleshoot when you're experiencing a malfunction. You should, however, avoid colour coding every cable separately, even if this gives you a better overlook for single cables. Keep to the same colour for the same type of cables. This might mean you have to test more than one cable to find the solution for one particular problem, but you won't have to try and remember what specific colour signifies what specific cable.

Separating the cables

To make your data centre as accessible as possible, you will have to separate your cables to make them easy to reach. Use clamps, tape, or even pieces of strings to make sure the cables aren't overlapping as they run along the shelves. You should also make sure to separate electric cables and internet cables completely. Let them run along separate shelves and place the outlets far from each other. This is to protect the internet cables, as they can become affected by the power cables and stop functioning properly. The electric cables are also the largest fire hazard, why they should be kept away from other vital equipment that could be ruined in case of a fire. This could save your entire data centre from being completely wiped out.

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