I have been pulled into a mess at our company. The cabling is not a mess, as it doesn't exist yet. It's the power struggles and the budgets causing the problems.
We are building a new data center for our wide array of servers and backups. Large UPS's, generator, the whole works. They are planning for 40 APC cabinets, but the first phase is for 10.
My dilemma is they (data operations guys) have already designed and planned out the cabling. The plan is to run 48 cat 6 cables from Patch Panels located the "Core" switches to Patch Panels in the bottom of the cabinets. 24 will be "A" cables and 24 will be "B" cables, each located with the corresponding Core switch in different locations. The runs are about 15 ft for the shortest (not including the rise and svc. loop) to about 50 ft for the longest. Once you do the math is it a total of 1,960 cat 6 cables, or probably 80 to 90 thousand feet of cable going into the floor from racks to cabinets.
I have suggested scraping the copper and going fiber, but nearly all the equipment has already been purchased, and of course, it is all RJ-45.
So without redesign suggestions, because I don't think those will fly, what's new and exciting in the cabling world for high density installations? Bundled or single jacketed cables? Smaller RU, higher-density patch panels?
I have a contractor who will purchase and install what we tell them to, but they are just a little short in the design department and don't have the relationship with the cabling companies that they used to.
I appreciate any suggestions.
gambitfw