Today's photo caption: Ahh, the proverbial haystack 

Welcome back to Tech Service Today's IT Disaster of the Week series where we showcase the ugliest IT environment our technicians ran into this week. 

Can you imagine trying to find an open port on this rack where you could add a new network user? It really would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Upon first seeing this image, my initial gut inclination was to talk about ways in which using color-coded patch cables can help you quickly visually identify the network equipment you are looking for. But then the mass of cable cobwebs filled my mind, nearly leaving me unable to utter anything coherent until that mess gets addressed.

If you look at the equipment near the top of this rack, you can clearly see that someone initially did a fair job of keeping the cables organized (as they run neatly from the equipment ports out to the left & right rack rails). But as time went on and more equipment was added, it appears they either slacked off with their cable management techniques, or they rushed through the job and ignored cabling best-practices altogether. Regardless of the reason, it resulted in this network being featured as our IT Disaster this week.

For me personally, the scariest part of this network are the loose patch cables hanging out of the middle of this jungle. Granted, I may not have an intimate, first-hand working knowledge of this particular network. But I think it's safe to say that all these cables should probably be plugged into one of the pieces of equipment mounted in this rack.

Remember this, folks. If you rush through an installation and fail to organize and manage your cables today, it will not only cause you headaches in the future but also increase the amount of time you'll be required to spend every time you need to make even the simplest moves, adds, and changes to your network in the future.

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING, OR TO DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY.

Quit wasting your time searching for the needle in haystack (or the open port in the relay rack) and clean up that cabling jungle. If it's gotten too far out of hand for you to tackle, just call us for help.