[TriLUG] Labelling conventions...

[sholton at mindspring.com]

Chris Knowles <chrisk at trilug.org> writes:
> I could slap two labels on each fiber, but that's annoying.

Might want to re-think this.

When you have a cable end in your hand, there are three things
you need to know:

  What is this cable capable of carrying?
  Where does the near end of the cable go?
  Where does the far end of the cable go?

In most cases, the type of cable itself will tell you what
it's capable of.

Having the answer to either one of the other two allows you
to get the answer for the other one. 

I'd recommend two labels on each end of each cable (4 total)
with one label saying the device it's connected-to on the
near end and the other saying the /location/ where the far 
end can be found.

Remove the near-end label when you disconnect it from a device
to indicate it no longer has a near-end destination. The far-
end label still tells you what it /could/ be used for.

Change the far end label only if you ever move the far end
of the cable (for some insane reason).

And make a religious habit of never changing the wire colors
in the middle.

This is for point-to-point wiring. Branch wiring requires a
different system.


-- 
Steve Holton
sholton at mindspring.com
"Convenience causes blindness. Think about it."