Data Center Cleanup: Part 1

For quite some time, we had discussed "cleaning up" our data center.  Past installations had made ongoing support tricky.  For example, it was easy to accidentally bump a power cord and unplug a server.  Additionally, it was very difficult to see / trace cables.

Fortunately, as part of a new project, we were given the green light to address the situation.

Here is an example of two of the server racks in our data center (before):

Clearly there were many issues that needed to be addressed.  Where to start?

Most of the original power cords that came with the servers were 8 - 10 feet long black power cords.

Step 1: Color code and shorten the power cords lengths.  
We swapped the original cords out with 2' red and blue power cords.   The color coding now allows us to quickly confirm that each server (dual power supply server) is running on both the A & B PDU.  Additionally, the shorter cables have allowed us to start to eliminate the extreme amount of excess cabling in our racks.

Here are the power cords that we removed from just 1 cabinet.  The excessive length of the power cords had obstructed our view of the servers.  Additionally, the weight of the cables made it VERY easy for the cords fall out of the PDU.

Although this is just a beginning, at the end of the first step (left cabinet), we could finally start to glimpse the servers (after step 1).