00:00:01
hey friends Derek from TCI here with
00:00:04
another video to help you learn network
00:00:05
cable management in this example we're
00:00:08
going to be building out a small office
00:00:09
let me show you the space that I'm
00:00:12
working in
00:00:14
we're pretty far along in construction
00:00:15
here I've been brought in near the end
00:00:18
to terminate all of the Cat6 wires that
00:00:20
the installers have left me in terms of
00:00:23
offices and end points we're looking at
00:00:26
about 25 people plus printers when the
00:00:30
installers did the cables for me the
00:00:31
grand total ended up being approximately
00:00:33
73 wires
00:00:35
they're of different colors for
00:00:37
different purposes because this is a
00:00:39
live construction site with different
00:00:40
trades coming and going the installers
00:00:43
have left all of the cables in the
00:00:44
ceiling for me to retrieve it will be my
00:00:47
job to bring these wires down the wall
00:00:49
and install them in a frame on this
00:00:52
backboard
00:00:55
after getting my tools together my first
00:00:57
order of business is to bring the wires
00:00:59
down from the ceiling I'm standing a
00:01:01
little high on this short ladder so when
00:01:04
you go through this same step make sure
00:01:06
you use an appropriately sized ladder I
00:01:08
was being lazy and unsafe this is not
00:01:10
something you want to replicate
00:01:13
once I have all the wires down out of
00:01:15
the ceiling I'm going to build something
00:01:17
called a Chase pipe this is meant to go
00:01:20
at the top of the backboard it's a four
00:01:22
inch pipe and I've got two of them the
00:01:24
goal here is to create an entry path
00:01:26
from the ceiling space called the plenum
00:01:29
area into the lower space
00:01:36
I don't like the look of ragged holes in
00:01:39
the ceiling tiles so I put these pipes
00:01:41
here before the ceiling Tradesman
00:01:44
arrives when he finds these pipes he
00:01:47
will cut an outline around his tiles so
00:01:49
that this fits
00:01:51
this is probably a good time to mention
00:01:53
that whenever I'm transitioning cables
00:01:56
from one space to another
00:01:58
I like to have something like a grommet
00:02:00
or a Chase pipe or other indicator that
00:02:03
I meant to make that hole it's usually
00:02:06
not my desire to take a knife and cut a
00:02:08
jagged hole out of the ceiling or drill
00:02:11
and penetrate drywall as much as
00:02:13
possible I make it look like I intended
00:02:15
to do that all along because I believe
00:02:17
that this increases the professionalism
00:02:19
of the final product
00:02:22
with the chase pipes installed I will
00:02:25
now begin to remove the tape on the Cat6
00:02:27
that the installers have left behind
00:02:31
hey friends you're probably wondering at
00:02:32
this point what do we do with all of
00:02:34
this well I did label them they're all
00:02:37
labeled but the realities of a
00:02:40
construction site are that you've got to
00:02:42
stay out of the way of the other
00:02:43
Tradesmen sometimes so these were run
00:02:45
more or less at random by different
00:02:48
people different times so sometimes
00:02:50
there'd be painters in the way there'd
00:02:52
be flooring guys
00:02:53
so different sections of this job site
00:02:57
were run at different times
00:02:59
and if you're wondering how do we get
00:03:01
this combed and looking beautiful
00:03:04
there's no trick to it there's nothing
00:03:05
glamorous everybody in every other video
00:03:07
is not showing you what I'm about to do
00:03:09
which is you go through these label by
00:03:13
label and you undo it and you put them
00:03:16
back in order and then you comb them so
00:03:19
there's nothing to it but to do it so
00:03:21
let's get started
00:03:23
in a perfect world I would have had the
00:03:25
installers run these in numerical order
00:03:27
and organize them in groups of 24 for me
00:03:31
however just wasn't possible on this job
00:03:34
that's okay A little bit of elbow grease
00:03:37
and we'll get them sorted out
00:03:41
I've located my first 24 so I'm going to
00:03:43
comb them right away
00:03:45
your cable comb as I may have stated in
00:03:47
another video is a tool that you thread
00:03:50
all your wires into and then you pull it
00:03:52
down in order to organize them in a
00:03:55
beautiful braid however you don't need
00:03:57
this tool if you don't have one just use
00:04:00
your hand and some velcro secure the
00:04:03
braid as you pull downwards and you
00:04:05
won't have any trouble making a really
00:04:07
nice bundle here
00:04:10
okay friends I've reached the end of my
00:04:13
first call
00:04:15
all of these I'm going to tape off and
00:04:17
taper so that they can get from the
00:04:18
chase pipe and then most of this like
00:04:21
here this is all going to be cut so
00:04:25
I'm gonna wrap this piece up into then
00:04:28
I'm going to start on the next 24.
00:04:31
I think I'll just transition to that one
00:04:33
I'll spare you as that okay
00:04:39
there we go all done and you didn't have
00:04:41
to watch me now I will bring them
00:04:43
through the chase pipe
00:04:51
here is the rack that our clients
00:04:53
supplied us
00:04:55
it's 12 rack units it's an open frame
00:04:59
and he's arranged it himself so that the
00:05:02
cage nuts are not used that we will
00:05:05
instead be using the tapped holes
00:05:07
these open frames present a lot of
00:05:10
difficulties
00:05:12
they don't have any features for cable
00:05:14
management and there's no side panel or
00:05:16
top panel that you can use to cover up
00:05:18
any unsightly rigging you may have had
00:05:20
to do to make this work
00:05:23
in order to mount this frame on the wall
00:05:25
the first thing I do is get my cables
00:05:27
out of the way I do this by velcroing
00:05:29
them to an overhanging pipe that's up
00:05:31
above my head temporarily so that it
00:05:34
clears the backboard in order for me to
00:05:36
apply the screws
00:05:38
in order to install the frame on the
00:05:40
backboard by myself I first drill a
00:05:43
single screw on the upper left of where
00:05:45
my frame will be I don't put it in all
00:05:48
the way just enough so that it can hold
00:05:50
some weight
00:05:53
I then carry that frame up onto the
00:05:55
ladder and put its first hole through
00:05:58
that screw in order that it will hold
00:06:01
the weight for me that gives me a chance
00:06:03
to sync a second screw and get my level
00:06:05
going
00:06:08
after I verified that my frame is on the
00:06:10
wall in a level way I'll go and get some
00:06:13
washers and then I will reapply the
00:06:15
screws one by one with the washers to
00:06:18
properly lock it onto this plywood
00:06:22
after I'm satisfied that the frame will
00:06:25
not fall off the wall and is secure I
00:06:27
will begin to attach the elements that
00:06:29
are important here I'll start with the
00:06:31
patch panels you can see here in this
00:06:34
diagram that I am following a plan so I
00:06:37
will map what is on my plan to the rack
00:06:40
units on the front of this Frame
00:06:44
during this phase of the build I will
00:06:46
only be installing the panels so that I
00:06:48
can terminate with as much freedom of
00:06:50
movement as possible
00:06:53
after I am done terminating I will begin
00:06:55
to install the cable manager and the
00:06:57
associated switches
00:07:00
the cables that I have hanging I will
00:07:02
now begin to bring into the inside of my
00:07:04
frame
00:07:06
I combed these in groups of 24 so that
00:07:08
it would be easier for me to show you
00:07:10
how I manage these cables when you
00:07:12
bundle them in groups of 48 one per
00:07:15
panel it is really difficult to manage
00:07:17
it
00:07:21
now's my favorite part this is where I
00:07:23
put in a standard rack shelf upside down
00:07:26
so that it has more stiffness and the
00:07:28
supporting lip for the equipment is
00:07:30
facing downwards and not bothering my
00:07:33
arms while I try to terminate I like to
00:07:35
do this temporarily so that I have a
00:07:38
work surface while I'm putting this
00:07:40
Frame together
00:07:43
in order to begin my terminations I'm
00:07:45
going to start with the bundle that is
00:07:47
intended to go to the lowest panel
00:07:51
in order to properly manage the length
00:07:53
of the cables as I terminate them I make
00:07:55
use of the empty sockets Within These
00:07:57
unloaded patch panels
00:08:00
once I have every Cable in this bundle
00:08:02
in position I will velcro it to keep it
00:08:04
in place I will then velcro it on the
00:08:07
rear as well so that it cannot
00:08:08
accidentally fall out of its socket
00:08:10
while I'm terminating one of the other
00:08:12
ones
00:08:14
here is an up close shot of the first
00:08:16
panel I'll be working on now that I have
00:08:18
all the wires in position and properly
00:08:20
velcroed
00:08:22
okay let's get our tools out going to be
00:08:25
using an all-in-one crib tool along with
00:08:27
these Jacks that are compatible with it
00:08:29
I really prefer this method as it's
00:08:32
great for beginners and you make a lot
00:08:34
less mistakes doing it this way
00:08:37
as you watch me terminate try and
00:08:40
imagine what this would look like if
00:08:41
this was a punch down block and you had
00:08:43
a fluke punch tool then you were trying
00:08:45
to do this by the rear it would be quite
00:08:48
a bit more difficult to manage the
00:08:50
length of the cables
00:08:54
many of my competitors and friends that
00:08:56
work in this industry have settled on a
00:08:59
particular brand of all-in-one crimp
00:09:01
tool you might look into doing something
00:09:03
similar for your projects
00:09:06
with my first panel complete I'm going
00:09:08
to start to roll my slack back up into
00:09:11
the ceiling
00:09:12
some people like to leave their service
00:09:14
loop down below the ceiling where they
00:09:17
can see it but I think that it looks
00:09:19
more aesthetically pleasing when you
00:09:21
cannot see the extra Slack
00:09:26
notice that the only visible wires are
00:09:28
what is needed to reach the panel
00:09:30
everything else I have hiding in the
00:09:32
ceiling
00:09:35
now that I've got my slack out of the
00:09:36
way I will secure my bundle with
00:09:38
additional velcro I don't want to put
00:09:40
anything that could cause strain on my
00:09:42
panel
00:09:45
with that first panel out of the way I'm
00:09:46
then going to grab the next 24 cables
00:09:49
and start on the row above that
00:09:52
you can see here that I'm repeating the
00:09:55
process of bringing my cables through
00:09:57
the unloaded patch panel ports in order
00:09:59
to manage their length once I have all
00:10:02
of them through I'm going to apply
00:10:03
velcro again so that they don't fall out
00:10:05
on accident and then I will begin
00:10:07
terminating once again
00:10:10
for this row I'm just going to
00:10:12
transition to this being magically
00:10:14
terminated here we go
00:10:16
the cables turn out pretty uniform if
00:10:19
you use the unloaded panel to guide the
00:10:21
length and if you tuck the rest up into
00:10:23
the ceiling as a service loop it tends
00:10:25
to look pretty good even if you're a
00:10:27
beginner
00:10:28
before I start my third and final panel
00:10:30
it's become apparent that my temporary
00:10:33
velcro just isn't gonna hack it anymore
00:10:36
so I'm going to switch to these saddle
00:10:39
straps in order to permanently zip tie
00:10:41
these to the backboard
00:10:44
whenever you zip tie a group of cables
00:10:46
make sure that you are doing so gently
00:10:48
Don't Force It Down as tight as you
00:10:50
possibly can because this is bad for the
00:10:52
cables just use enough to give it some
00:10:54
strain relief
00:11:01
let's finish up by doing the final set
00:11:03
of 24.
00:11:04
by now you should have a pretty good
00:11:06
idea of the pattern that I'm doing so
00:11:08
I'll just speed right through this
00:11:29
foreign
00:11:36
[Music]
00:12:10
if you've managed to get this far within
00:12:12
your own project go ahead and give
00:12:13
yourself a hand and take a much needed
00:12:15
break
00:12:19
before I wrap up for the day I need to
00:12:21
inspect this bundle and make sure that
00:12:23
nothing is drooping so I'll go through
00:12:25
and make sure that everything is as
00:12:27
horizontal as I can possibly make it
00:12:29
making sure that my zip ties are helping
00:12:31
me out and my velcro is secure
00:12:36
as you can see in this profile shot I'm
00:12:38
looking to make sure that there is room
00:12:40
for my switches and my cable managers
00:12:43
and that the cables themselves are not
00:12:46
actually drooping onto them
00:12:49
I'm going to pause here for the day but
00:12:51
before I go it's very important to clean
00:12:53
up any evidence that I was here working
00:12:55
I don't want the project manager or a
00:12:58
general contractor or any other
00:12:59
Tradesman to have to clean up my mess
00:13:03
I've been away for a few days and now
00:13:05
that I've come back to the job site I
00:13:07
barely recognize it the construction
00:13:09
team has made a lot of progress
00:13:12
to finish out this Frame I'm going to be
00:13:13
getting all of my equipment ready I've
00:13:15
got cable managers patch cords switches
00:13:19
and a router that I need to install here
00:13:21
today
00:13:23
I'm going to begin this process by
00:13:25
installing my switches first whenever
00:13:27
you're installing something heavy in the
00:13:29
rack use the bottom screw holes on the
00:13:31
rack ears to make sure that it comes out
00:13:33
level
00:13:33
also I was given a tip by one of the
00:13:36
YouTube commenters in a previous video
00:13:38
that you should install screws just
00:13:40
below where you intend to put your
00:13:41
equipment and those screws can hold the
00:13:43
weight by leaving the rack years on
00:13:45
those there we go got all the switches
00:13:48
in place
00:13:49
next I'm going to install the router
00:13:51
that the client has supplied me it's not
00:13:53
my favorite kind it's a really low end
00:13:55
sonic wall in a rack adapter this unit
00:13:58
is not normally rackable so you'll see
00:14:00
me struggle quite a bit here to get this
00:14:02
thing to line up properly once that's
00:14:04
out of the way I'll begin to install my
00:14:07
cable managers
00:14:10
the type of cable manager that I'm using
00:14:12
is called a knee patch this type has a
00:14:15
deep back that allows me to hide cable
00:14:17
slack and other loose items inside of it
00:14:19
when I'm using an open frame system it's
00:14:22
a lot easier for me to be able to hide
00:14:24
unsightly elements inside this deep
00:14:27
Channel
00:14:28
with the final cable manager in place
00:14:30
you can see that my rack is really
00:14:32
starting to look like something finely
00:14:35
now I'm going to link my switches
00:14:36
together with a fiber patch cord I was
00:14:39
initially going to use a DAC cable
00:14:41
however I discovered that because those
00:14:43
things are very finicky the one that I
00:14:45
happen to have on hand just wasn't
00:14:46
compatible with my switches no problem
00:14:49
I'll just bring the fiber patch through
00:14:51
the rear of my knee patch and then bring
00:14:54
it in through the finger duct
00:14:56
I'll show you another angle on that when
00:14:58
I get a moment but for now I'm going to
00:15:00
begin patching in the bottom panel I'm
00:15:02
starting there because there are the
00:15:04
fewest cables here it's easiest to
00:15:06
manage if I'm going to run into a
00:15:08
problem I like to know early I start
00:15:10
from Port 1 and I go in groups of two
00:15:12
rolling the slack into the neat patch
00:15:14
each time I patch something in
00:15:20
here's the cable manager from the front
00:15:22
now that I'm done I didn't run into any
00:15:25
problems with length cables reaching
00:15:27
things looking ugly Etc so I'm going to
00:15:30
start on the larger panel up top as you
00:15:33
watch me patch this one in you might be
00:15:35
wondering why didn't I use six inch
00:15:36
patch cords and eliminate the cable
00:15:38
manager altogether you could totally do
00:15:40
that if this is your rack in my case I
00:15:43
had no say over what switches the
00:15:45
customer is going to provide me and when
00:15:47
I don't know what I'm going to deal with
00:15:49
in terms of equipment I always bring a
00:15:51
cable manager with at least 2u and some
00:15:54
slack in the back where I can roll
00:15:55
things up and that that way I can handle
00:15:58
pretty much anything that the customer
00:15:59
throws at me
00:16:02
here's what the full 48 Port panel looks
00:16:05
like from the front
00:16:07
I'm almost completely done with this
00:16:08
project the last thing to do is to patch
00:16:11
in the router to the switch I'm going to
00:16:15
try to do this one-handed so that I can
00:16:17
show you how I'm routing this cable
00:16:19
through the rear of the knee patch and
00:16:21
then again in through the front of the
00:16:22
finger dunks
00:16:26
with the router patched in I'll show you
00:16:28
a profile view
00:16:30
what I'm trying to highlight here is
00:16:32
that there are no extraneous cables
00:16:34
drooping or dragging or leaning or in
00:16:36
any way being unsightly here in this
00:16:38
rack
00:16:42
there's still plenty more to do here but
00:16:44
my job is over the customer has their
00:16:46
own technology staff that is going to
00:16:48
install a UPS beneath this rack and
00:16:51
they're also going to hook up the
00:16:53
internet provider's connection I'm not
00:16:55
going to be a part of that so this is
00:16:57
where the video ends for me
00:17:02
well that's it for this pill I got
00:17:04
plenty more coming so there'll be more
00:17:06
videos thank you for hanging out with me
00:17:08
appreciate it I'll see you in the next
00:17:10
one
00:17:14
foreign
00:17:20
[Music]
