MLM Directory

Re-Patching the Network?

Good day to you all, I am here today to pick on your brains because I am out of ideas and having a few hundred more people look into this other than me is always a good thing. I only want answers from users that have a network background. Basically our patch panels are a mess and we need to re-patch everything? It'll cost us 10,000 pounds for a company to re-patch two cabinets, color coded...etc Due to the contingency we as a company cannot afford it! Can anyone request. Information we don't have includes; where all the voice and network ports located around the building are located on the patch panel. Our database is out of date and therefore we need to start from scratch. 1. What is the best way to find out which port number relates to which patch in the cabinet. Is there a cheap product or device on the market that allows us to do this. We have the basic Cat 5 cables and no fibre optic. 2. Do you know of any good Network Diagram software that allows us to create a visual database of where are ports are located on the patch panel eventually when we find out. Basically anything that can help us define our network diagram over a large network as original documentation was lost in translation. Cheers AR

Public Comments

1. 1. What is the best way to find out which port number relates to which patch in the cabinet. Is there a cheap product or device on the market that allows us to do this. We have the basic Cat 5 cables and no fibre optic. Use a LAN toner for this. http://www.google.com/products?q=lan+toner&btnG=Search+Products&show=dd It's going to be pretty labor intensive, and in a large network it will take a while. It's the only way I know of to locate every port though. 2. Do you know of any good Network Diagram software that allows us to create a visual database of where are ports are located on the patch panel eventually when we find out. It's going to help tremendously to have properly labeled patch panels. As for diagramming the network, I've never found anything that could do this for free. I've used Visio Pro in the past, it did the job well enough. If you need something that's more specific, check out this article. http://www.networkdocumentation.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=2
2. Adding to what texasogre said, you may also want to look at wire management panels(to hide all the extra slack for the patch chord) for your cabinets. http://www.ortronics.com/us/products/product-guide/view.aspx?famID=103030 A labeling machine to label Your ports on the user side. http://www.amazon.com/Brother-PT-1910-Labeling-System/dp/B00006B7R2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1232333802&sr=8-5 With that being said you should implement the TIA/EIA-606 labeling standard ex: 1A-B002: 1- Wiring closet/TC room on first floor A-Rack/Cabinet designated as A B-Patch panel B 002-port 002 of the patch panel. The labeling process should take a full weekend with 2 guys and some radios.