cross connect reliability

Thu Sep 17 22:37:16 UTC 2009

[lots of stuff deleted]. 

We've seen cross-connects fail at sites like "E" and others. Generally speaking, it is a human-error issue and not a component failure one. Either people are being sloppy and aren't reading labels, or the labels aren't there. 

In a cabinet situation, every cabinet does not necessarily home back to its own patch panel, so some trashing may occur -- it can be avoided with good design [cables in the back stay there, etc].

When you are talking about optics failing and they are providing "smart" cross-connects, almost anything is possible. 

The true tell tale is whether you have to call when the cross-connect goes down, or if it just "bounces". Either way, have them take you to their cross-connect room and show you their mess. Once you see it, you'll know what to expect going forward.

Deepak