DCN April 2017 | Page 28

cabling, Enclosures, Cabinets & Racks LABEL YOUR CABLE Liesbet De Soomer, marketing manager at Dymo, explains why cable labelling within the data centre shouldn’t be overlooked. O rder and disorder is the make or break of effective cable management, particularly in complex infrastructures such as data centres, which house miles of wires and cabling systems. Without proper organisation, you risk being inefficient and ineffective when a sudden problem arises. The infrastructure is the heart of all data centres and without effective cable management and careful planning there could be some serious repercussions and cost consequences, not to mention the potential safety hazards within the workplace. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that cable labelling is not neglected. The cost of getting it wrong The cost of label mismanagement for a business can cause major disruptions and unnecessary delays, resulting in loss of revenue and reduced productivity. Google estimated that its outage in 2013 caused global web traffic to plummet 40 per cent and the loss of $545,000 – and that was in just five minutes! Without effective cable labelling, identifying and initiating correction measures to solve the problem could have taken 28 | April 2017 An efficient and reliable labelling system can help to ensure the safety of the workplace and prevent any costly health and safety repercussions. hours, resulting in vast, avoidable losses. Any business would see the same effects of technical malfunctions. Without correct labelling, a complex system becomes incredibly challenging for engineers to navigate and trace the source of the issue, which also becomes time consuming and expensive. A well documented, clearly labelled system is easier to update and repair, which equally results in lower maintenance costs. In the workplace it is essential for managers to abide by regulations and ensure that machinery and personnel are protected from potential faults and safety breaches. To ensure that employees are not harmed by faulty wires it is necessary to keep cables organised, as not only does this protect the wires from being damaged but it also prevents people from injuring themselves. Keeping an organised data centre also allows accessibility for maintenance engineers to complete updates and prevent faults in the system. The implications of breaching regulations could result in the injury of staff or a financial impact such as a substantial penalty fine. In this r