How do I get Good at Cable Management?

Question

I&rsquo;ve known a bunch of folks who were really good at network cable management, none of whom were full time network techs. When I try to imitate them, my cabling ends up a total mess. If you&rsquo;re good at cable management, how did you learn it?

brudgers · Accepted Answer

Replace &ldquo;cable management&rdquo; with &ldquo;piano playing&ldquo; and the idea that virtuosity is a collection of tips, tricks, and shortcuts is exposed as the absurdity it is.my cabling ends up a total messGood cable management means tidying up the mess as opposed to accepting the mess.That&rsquo;s work of course, but being good at something doesn&rsquo;t mean working less. At best it means becoming more efficient so more gets done in the same amount of time.In the average case being good is more work. Good luck.[edit] The important thing about learning the piano is the expectation it will take time and dedication to a process of correcting poor results.Sure you can hire a piano teacher. But you can also hire a consultant to come in once a week.

Justsignedup · Answer

Honestly, watch some YouTube.I did that for running cables inside computer builds and it gave me so many ideas.Then... Buy a ton of zipties and such and try it. Then take it apart and do it better. I'm sure within 10 attempts you'll get pretty good at it.

PaulHoule · Answer

It helps to be able to cut cables to an exact length, but you have to leave a little slack. There was that time a friend and I connected about 40 pairs to the board of a college radio station that were exactly the right length and somebody yanked on the board and broke many of them.

navjack27 · Answer

Do things over and over. Use velcro ties. Think through the entire cable run in advance. Think the logic of the run. What has to plug into what first? What can stay unplugged while you manage the run? What will need to be unplugged in the future more often from what end most likely? Things like that.

How do I get Good at Cable Management?

I’ve known a bunch of folks who were really good at network cable management, none of whom were full time network techs. When I try to imitate them, my cabling ends up a total mess. If you’re good at cable management, how did you learn it?

Honestly, watch some YouTube.
I did that for running cables inside computer builds and it gave me so many ideas.
Then... Buy a ton of zipties and such and try it. Then take it apart and do it better. I'm sure within 10 attempts you'll get pretty good at it.

It helps to be able to cut cables to an exact length, but you have to leave a little slack. There was that time a friend and I connected about 40 pairs to the board of a college radio station that were exactly the right length and somebody yanked on the board and broke many of them.