2020. 3. 2. 16:45ㆍ카테고리 없음
RackTables and NetBox are great tools! I'm a huge fan of Jeremy Stretch's work and contributions.My goal for PatchCableMgr is to focus on a single problem and providing as much value to solve that problem as possible. You'll notice that PatchCableMgr does not have a lot of bells and whistles (device discovery, IPAM, cabinet weight, power, etc.). To your point, there are a lot of existing products that do all of that very well.
I want PatchCableMgr to be used quickly for the very specific task of patch cable management. A narrow problem focus allows PatchCableMgr to be used with minimal setup and training.Managing/viewing/planning patch cable paths is necessary, but does not provide a lot of return to the organization for the time required. PatchCableMgr allows engineers to allocate more time to other tasks (and maybe an extra coffee break). Thanks for joining the discussion!I've thought about this a lot. There's no point in implementing a system if it's not going to be maintained. I hope to overcome this by having PatchCableMgr be a valuable part of day-to-day operations.
What does that mean?The data and insight about your environment provided by PatchCableMgr should be useful. Imagine you're preparing for a large project, but a quick look at the PatchCableMgr dashboard shows that one of the fiber trunks that is critical to the project's success is at 95% capacity. Now you can factor that into the project.Another way I can see this as valuable is automated ordering of cable stock. I have a vision of techs and engineers always having the proper length/color of patch cable available in the most efficient way possible.
Thanks for your question.Each patch cable used by PatchCableMgr needs to have each end uniquely identifiable. Cable ends can be made identifiable with whatever you want, but I suggest wrap around labels. Finally, those wrap around cables will have an ID printed on them which will be scanned into the PatchCableMgr app. You can make & apply identifiers yourself, or you can order preprinted labels, or even easier prelabeled cables from PatchCableMgr directly.Check out the in the user guide for more details.
This doesn't solve any of the documentation problems. This is just a piece of software to hold onto that info - ultimately this info will end up just as wrong or outdated as the visio diagram you describe due to lack of effort/completeness in documentation.Although it may be a bit easier to input the info, it still requires someone to physically document everything AND attach a barcode to each individual cable.
On top of that, the people in the closets need to then scan each cable every-time a move is made, which isn't much different than other ways of documenting a network.Doesn't 'fix' much, and racktables is just as viable, and it's free. I agree, as it stands right now, PatchCableMgr is not the end of the problem. However, I feel that it is a new approach with a lot of potential.I've attempted to make the documentation process more automated and less of a hurdle by:.making it mobile friendly so it's available in the closets.implementing a barcode reader to make accurate data entry a 1 tap process.providing an option to purchase prelabeled cables eliminating the burden on the customerThere is a free tier so smaller shops can leverage PatchCableMgr at no cost. If larger organizations want a hosted and supported solution, they'll find the pricing competitive.PatchCableMgr isn't for every shop/scenario. If you have the time, I'd really like for you to give it a try and let me know where it falls short of solving your problems so I can improve it. That's great!
More and more of our industry is demanding at least basic understanding of programming/scripting, and you can't beat Python when it comes to network automation.Do you follow Jeremy Stretch at all? He's a network engineer with coding/webDev chops.
Patch Panel Wire
I've looked at him as a sort of role model for my career.It might be taboo to speak of in, but application delivery might be an interesting discipline to look at. It involves networking, coding, and webDev. This seems to be where my career is leading me 8p.