Standardized Labeling Of The Data Center

By Todd Fries

It has become extremely important to properly label the data center. As technology advances and
companies grow, the design and complexity of each system needs to expand to meet the growing
demands placed upon it. Documenting and labeling the structure of the installation is critical to
maintaining, organizing and updating your data center.

The ANSI/EIA/TIA-606-A label standard has been around for a few years and primarily deals with
how to label the NOC (Network Operating Center) or the branch office. The standard is an outline
that is designed to provide a common method of marking the data center, racks and cabinets, the
patch panels within the cabinets, the sub panels, ports and the cables.

The range it covers is broad, but is done in a very logical format that is designed to accommodate
scalable needs and allow modular implementation. The labels themselves are not vendor
specific, but are simply specified that they should be of a size, color and contrast to be readily
visible and should have a useful life that is equal to or greater than that of the component labeled.
To maximize legibility, all labels should be printed or generated by a mechanical device and may
not be written by hand.

Some of the basic principles deal with what information should be encoded on each label. The
information printed is meant to specify a very specific location within the data center. As an
example:

Cabinets and Racks

The standard suggests that the location of a cabinet or rack within the data center be based on a
GRID system using X and Y coordinates to identify position. A label on a cabinet that reads as
1A-AJ05 can be translated as follows:

1A-AJ05 = Floor 1, Data Center A, Cabinet at grid location AJ05

The standard also allows the user to mark the racks and cabinets based on their row number and
their location within a row. A label marked as 1A-A12 can be translated as follows:

1A-A12 = Floor 1, Data Center A, Rack in row A at position 12.

Patch Panels Within The Rack/Cabinet

The patch panels within the rack can be identified using several different options. First, the patch
panels can be identified by their Rack Unit position within the rack or cabinet. A patch panel
marked with a label that reads as AD02-27 can be translated as follows:

AD02-27 = Patch panel in rack unit position 27 in the rack or cabinet location at grid location
AD02.

The standard also allows the panels to be marked alphabetically starting from the top of the rack
down. The panels can be marked as panel A, B, C, D, and so on with wire managers ignored.

A patch panel marked with a label that reads as AD02-C can be translated as:

AD02-C = Patch panel C in Rack or cabinet at grid location AD02.

The key is to choose the method that best fits the size and type of data center being administered.
The beauty and simplicity of the new standard is that the labeling is modular and expandable. As
you data center grows, your labeling scheme grows with it.

Typically the actual pre-printed port identifiers on the patch panel can be used. However, the
standard does specify the marking of Near End and Far End identifiers for the patch panels
and cable labels. Using addendum 1 of the current 606-A standard, a typical label on a patch
panel will be printed as follows:

AD02-35 p 01-06 to AG03-35 p 01-06

This can be translated as follows:

6 cables running from a patch panel 35 rack units from the bottom of rack at AD02 to a patch
panel 35U from the bottom of cabinet AG03.

Cable Labels

The individual cable connecting one port in this patch panel (near end) to the one port in a patch
panel (far end) would be printed as having the near end information printed first at each cabinet.

So in summary, the cable connected to first position of the patch panel would contain the following
label for the cable from patch panel AD02-35 port 01 to patch panel AG03-35 port 01:

AD02-35:01 / AD03-35:01

The same cable in cabinet AG03 would have the following label, which contains the same
information, but with the sequence reversed:

AG03-35:01 / AD02-35:01

The standard also covers how to label sub-panels and even covers the administration of pre-
terminated cabling solutions. It doesnt matter if the cable is fiber or copper and does not define its
purpose, but merely identifies a position for that component within the data center.

While most installers currently use Windows-based database programs, such as Excel or Access
to record their labeling data, the challenge is always to easily convert this data to pre-printed
labels. Because of the labor involved, many data center administrators dread marking thousands
of wires and cables.

There are industry-specific label printing software programs that allows Excel databases to be
opened directly into the program and then converted to labels in a variety of formats. These
include laser, ink jet printable, thermal transfer and even dot matrix printable labels. In many
cases, using existing printing equipment, the administrator can print thousands of labels in just a
few minutes and send these to the various installations as a complete package. Small hand-held
printers can then be used to print any lost or any additional labels that may be needed on site.

If the standard is taken at face value, it really is a concept that is easy to use. The growing
emphasis in the telecommunications industry is creating more awareness of the need to
standardize on all labeling in an installation. It should encourage many that have not traditionally
followed any labeling guidelines to move toward common integration within the industry.


Todd Fries helps market Identification Systems for HellermannTyton in Milwaukee, WI. You can
contact him at: corp@htamericas.com or visit http://www.hellermann.tyton.com.