Best practices for tracking intra-facility crossconnects

Tue Aug 9 16:20:00 UTC 2016

On Mon, Aug 8, 2016 at 1:14 PM, Eric Kuhnke <eric.kuhnke at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> I am looking to see what the community's experience has been with different
> types of labeling systems and XC tracking systems for intra-facility
> crossconnects.
>

I haven't used these in a long time, but here are a few example cable
run lists that can be modified to your hearts content:

  http://bit.ly/CRL2016

I found the format useful to create implementation detail and generate
labels. It was easy to pay the data forward and reverse afterwards.
Exported data should be loaded into a management system. It could also
work in reverse, but being able to have dynamic documentation to end
with as-builts is generally a win.

> In addition to the standard practice of labeling every fiber at both ends,
> if you're using a system that wraps a cable marker around the cable every 3
> ft/1 meter, what type of system are you using to track XCs?
>

Greybar or Anixter-like supply houses can sell you/your vendor striped
fiber optic bundles. It's an additional expense, but it's not entirely
ugly. The last deployment I worked on with respect to a fiber
interconnect system IIRC we asked the electricians to wrap a loop
every N' using different colored electrical tape for the A and B runs.
That worked too.

> If you have implemented a standards-based system with some type of GUID for
> every cable, and a unique per-cable tracking system that is utilized with a
> ticketing system for each distinct cable (whether -48VDC, fiber, cat5e,
> alarm wire, whatever), what did you have to customize for your needs?
>

I don't have any advice other than don't over think it. If a text file
or excel spreadsheet works; embrace it.

Best,

-M<