My Server Room is a MESS! HELP!

Your business is clean, organized, and professional... but what about your server room? If you've ever stepped into your company's server room and cringed at the mess, it's time to do some tidying up. 

By maintaining your server room’s organization, not only can you save money, but you'll have quicker access to the equipment, thus reducing downtime and preventing wear and tear on your hardware. In this article, we will dive into the benefits of keeping your server room clean and organization methods to keep everything tidy.  

Benefits of keeping your server room organized 

Keeping your server room organized can help get rid of clutter and prevent fire hazards. For example, networking cables are a fire hazard because they can ignite easily. Any accidental physical contact with these cables may result in damage to the electronic equipment or servers inside that room.  

By keeping your server room organized, you proactively prevent downtime by having quick access to servers, data, and networking equipment.  

It's easy for things to be misplaced or lost when everything is cluttered. Minimizing downtime means that technicians and employees can immediately access necessary equipment when they need it most.  

Sever room equipment costs lots of money, so it's essential to take the best care of it and have it last as long as possible. 

If something were to need repairs because of a disorganized server room, it could be costly to remedy it. Especially if your business isn’t anticipating an expensive repair in the budget. 

If you have a lot of equipment and supplies in your server room, you need to consider how best to organize it. You want your servers and networking equipment to be easily accessible whenever somebody needs to perform maintenance or has to troubleshoot something. 

5. How to Organize Your Server Room 

There are multiple ways you can arrange your server room to keep it accessible. Consider the following:  

Bundling and Mounting Cables 

The most efficient way to keep everything managed is to bundle and mount all your networking cables. Firstly, ensure that no extra cables are lying around or tangled up. You can do this by using cable ties at the cross-connects for patch panels, switches, routers and other network devices. 

Cable ties are great for securing cables to a rack or even mounting hole spacers if you do not have a cable ladder in your server room. 

Labelling Cables 

You can name all of your networking cables by making use of cable management and labelling tools. You should place labels near each end, and at patch panels, patch cable runs locations and near each device where the wires are connected. 

Labelling keeps equipment organized, but it also helps to prevent mistakes. For example, if you have lots of cables in your server room, it can be easy to plug something in incorrectly or make mistakes when running new cable harnesses through walls. 

Server Racks 

Server racks are an excellent way to organize your server room. You can choose a small or large rack solution, depending on the amount of equipment you need to store in your server room and how much physical space it takes up. 

Solutions that offer rackmount servers and shared storage allow you to expand your capacity by adding more servers as your business grows. 

Employ a cleaning schedule 

This is one of the most important steps you can take to maintain an organized server room. A cleaning schedule makes sure nobody leaves supplies or equipment lying around that could cause tripping hazards. It also helps technicians access everything they need for troubleshooting purposes when there's a problem with your network. 

Once you have all of your equipment and cables labelled, bundled and mounted, make sure you have a cleaning schedule in place to maintain the organization and access. 

Conclusion 

The organization of your server room is a great investment. Proper care will help you keep a clean environment, minimize the chances of any fire hazards, wear and tear on equipment, and keep it accessible for when you need it most. 

With many organization solutions such as bundling and mounting cables, labelling cable bundles, having server racks, and maintaining a cleaning schedule - businesses can keep their server rooms mess-free! 

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