Visualising Structured Cabling

When we first started out, we were given an Excel document tabling the Structured Cabling design. It was hard to follow as it had many rows and columns. We assumed it was accurate but we had a hard time imagining the layout. We had to draw on paper to grasp how the cables were to be connected.

Fortunately we had a vendor. They converted the table into a fancy Visio document. Fancy because it puts management at ease when they see a diagram. For management, a diagram implies you have a clear idea on how it should be implemented. For the engineers, while visually accurate, the document but still difficult to read.

Improvement to the table

Recently, I was reviewing another data centre's structured cabling design. They grouped the ports by slots; example Ports 1-12 = Slot 1, Ports 13-24 = Slot 2, etc. So when it came to my design, I used the same idea. Removing clutter in your table makes it easier to read. This wasn't a major improvement, but the slots gave me the next idea.

Visualising the layout

Putting the layout into Visio meant the vendor had to do the same paper drawing effort. The Excel table presupposes that the designer knew the exact layout he wanted confidently. But how does the designer experiment before he finalises his layout? In a Visio document, any change could mean redrawing the connection lines. That would be tedious.

Is there an easier way to provide a visualisation for both the designer and the vendor?

By visualising the slots as pigeon holes, I used an Excel workbook to create the cabinets and the patch panel slots. If you are familiar with Excel, a little column width adjustments and border drawing will quickly get you something like this:

Then you put in the cabling numbers in each slot. Each number should have a corresponding start and end.

If you want to improve the visualisation, you could also colour code the slots:

I uploaded the Excel file here if you are interested. But honestly, you could easily chalk this up on your own. If you come up with minor improvements, do let me know below.

Until next time, happy playing in your DC-Den.

P.S. Ideally, get a proper Data Centre Infrastructure Management tool. A DCIM tool would allow you to design the layout, make all the necessary changes to your heart's content. Then export the structured cabling as a table with lengths and part types. Some DCIM tools would even provide implementation service order with visualisation.