Specifications

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Summary of Best Practices for Storage Area Networks

• Do not route the cables near unprotected steam or refrigeration lines.

• Do not coil or bend the cable to less than a 96.0-mm (3.78 in.) diameter. If any

strain is induced on the cable, the minimum diameter will need to be increased.

• Do not pull cables into position; place them.

• Do not grasp the cable with pliers.

• Do not attach a pull rope or wire to the connectors.

• Always clean the connectors before attaching them.

• Do not remove the protective plugs or protective covers until you are ready to

clean the connectors and attach the cables to a device.

• Always leave the protective plugs and protective covers on unused ports and

cable connectors.

• Connect the cable carefully to prevent damage to the connector housing or the

fiber optic ferrules.

• Before inserting the connector, make sure the connector and receptacle keying

are aligned.

• Do not mix different cable sizes (primarily 62.5 and 50 micron) cables in the

same port-to-port link.

• Use cables of the correct length so that coiling excess cable is not necessary.

• Use cable management guides for vertical and horizontal support as well as to

prevent bend radius violations.

• Avoid using any cable with damaged connectors.

• Avoid using any cable which maintains kinks and/or loops.

A common issue with cable management is cables overlapping multiple pieces of

equipment. This simple design flaw has two major affects on infrastructure. A single

component may be hindered or prevented from being replaced without added

interruption. A typical environment implements a SAN design that has both resilient and

redundant components. In order to benefit from this architecture, it is critical that a

component can be replaced without interruption to the SAN. Due to overlapping cables,

adjacent devices may need to be disconnected to remove or replace a component. This

can turn a simple procedure that would only slight reduce the integrity into a massive

disruption.

The second major impact on the SAN infrastructure occurs when overlapping or

bundles of cables impede the exhaust of a device. This condition needs careful

monitoring to ensure cable integrity is not reduced from exhaust heat or the device has

poor air circulation which results in the device overheating.