To mount large components like that on the wall, I like to screw a 2x4 to the wall just below the component. This allows you to rest the cabinet on the 2x4 during install. You can also leave the 2x4 there to provide support for the cabinet. If you span the 2x4 wall to wall, you can run long screws into each stud in the wall.
Another channel that did videos like this (he has since gone inactive unfortunately) is FiberNinja. He has quite a few network rehab videos that are hours long.
@@JeffGeerling haha i am currently watching these style to work out how to get a cable downstairs there is at least 2 or 3 joists in the way though sadly
Don't mind me just living vicariously through these videos lol. If I can ever afford to build a house I'm totally having a network rack and it'll look super sharp thanks to you. Keep these coming!!
Never knew I would enjoy videos like this so much. I'd love to understand more about the materials cost and how much businesses pay for network rescues like this.
It took an embarassingly long time to dial in prices, but you essentially have a day rate per person working, and then you have materials costs, so the patch cords, the panels, the cable managers, the rack, the shelves, all that adds up. It can run easily into the low five figures. Hawaii skews the costs higher, we are one of the most costly places in the USA to live and work and that drives labor costs sky high. In a more connected region with supplies available and labor being more reasonable I think something like this would be around $2500 to $3000. In New York City or most of SoCal, I would add 50-100%.
@@tciproductions That's awesome, thanks! Keep these videos coming, they're great. One of these days the inspiration meter will be high enough for me to start cutting holes in my walls and use the box of cat6 I bought last month.
I recommend looking into torx-head fasteners in the standard sizes and lengths. With the appropriate clutch settings (so you don't shear off the head) they're an ergonomics gamechanger compared to phillips
I would have definitely installed a backer board. It makes hanging that rack so much easier and gives you and the client a lot more places to mount hangers and cable management. But to each their own.
I love these videos, and have got an improvement suggestion: After screwing in all devices into their proper places, wouldn't it make sense to refer to your documentation on what is plugged into where, and then use tape measure to measure the length of each connection? You'd then write that down in your documentation, and when you're done documenting the lengths between all ports (i.e. the minimum lengths of the cables), you'd sort the table based on the minimum cable lengths. Then, you'd start plugging in the shortest cables, then the longer ones, until finally you'd plug in the longest cables. (Obviously, you wouldn't create cables that are exactly the minimum length, but you could use cables for standard lengths, such as short, medium short, medium, medium long, and long, etc.) That way, there would be a neat layer of cables. What do you think?
I think this would work out, however I don't have that kind of time when working. The labor involved would be just too much for the return. Always have to balance the look with the cost and the speed of executing the job. If I was a government employee and had to fill the days, I think I would gladly do what you suggest :)
@@tciproductions Thank you very much for the response! :) Yes, on second thought, measuring things would add up. I've seen someone write in a forum that they use excel to somehow calculate the distances. I'm not sure how they meant that, but one way I could think of is to measure in advance the distances between the ports, and then use the same excel template to calculate them as you add the values. If someone has the time, they can perhaps write one and share it.
Love the video! I love the fact that you go step by step all the way from beginning to end. Would it be possible to see the spreadsheet where you keep track of all cables (patch panel, uplinks) and how you label the cables? Thanks again for your channel!
Best to use a tool after install a common tool being used for DCIM is Netbox For cabling work likely this just document them just like your switch lays it out. Most SMB switches have a GUI which is just going to be 2 rows of how many ports the switches his. Use a spreadsheet create same thing.
Big boys use DCIMs and that’s often what gets left out in our type of work as it’s not common for a IT team. But like I said Netbox and Visio (or applicable tool) will do the job. Also IT Glue, Hudu etc
So much I don't know about wiring closets, but learning. I'm curious how entire buildings are wired and where the ISP connections come into the building.
4:30 I always end up cutting off the anti-snag (more like anti-maintenance.) part on the domed ones like that because of how annoying they can be to disconnect.
lol wtf is happening hahah wow yeah I did laugh at how hard that was Also the inefficiency of the patching is crazy, the entire network could have been done with a single switch
Yeah I was concerned at first when I saw that rack going up on what looked like drywall anchors. :D I think every IT person hates those specific round boots. I'd rather my patches have no boots than those dang things. I keep a small flathead screwdriver in my bag thats entire lot in life is to make it easier to me to press those tabs down.
Between steps we conferred with the end users. They wanted to try with it in the cabinet, then they laid it sideways, then they took it out entirely. I don't personally like a PC inside the cabinet, but I'm always up to talk with the client and give them what they want.
the final pic still has a few weird wires in back that should be made more structured - why go to all that effort not to have look perfect - you should also shove the excess up into the ceiling instead of letting it loop down like a boa constrictor
i hate seeing relay racks and in europe you never see them at all. maybey in an antique building you might find similar relay racks. But i feel for it equipment it needs to be closed off certainly when its in an accessable location. Dont want people to patch gear in ore you get the mess you had before :D
I run CAT7-cable through my house and also CAT7-patchcords inside my rack to connect from patchpanel to my switches. But the patchcable in my rack feels very stiffy and uncomfortable. Could it cause problems, if I replace the cables inside the rack to unshielded cat6, to get more flexibility? It is a home network, no business.
Other commenters might chime in, but in my experience, using unshielded patches on shielded panels and cables can potentially cause some interference. However, it would take a high frequency signal before it manifested I would imagine. You may have to experiment and see if it has a noticeable effect.
Sometime, the client needs to "TOLD" as that setup just wasted a lot of space for a small rack. I then seen the use of a single stud, metal self-tapping screws and unless that stud was box steel or pipe, nowhere near enough strength. The UPS is still on the floor I am guessing. Floor-stander rack in corner, access from front and right side. UPS then could be racked with rest of gear.
Client tried a few configurations with them in the rack and decided to move them elsewhere. The NAS you can sort of see under the new rack on one of the wide shots near the end.
The fans are active and have plenty of room, yes. This wall cabinet has a cavity for the fans at the top, so even if you pack it with equipment the fans should still be operable.
These days I do it flat fee, we have done enough of these we can tell by site survey roughly how long it will take. Generally, something around this size is about 1-2 days, so you charge your day rate x2 and then whatever materials get burned up making it happen.
To bring people out for a full day is usually in the $3k range for the whole team. Hawaii is a very expensive labor market though, so check around locally where you are, it could vary a great deal.
It's random, sometimes we have ongoing jobs that are large and take many days, other times we split into teams and tackle small ones around town at the same time. So at least 1, and maybe 4 if we're busy.
