It’s pretty sweet when you don’t have to worry about your servers. But while Dotcom-Monitor is monitoring your servers (free server tests here!) remotely for everything from speed to temperature, some poor system admins or IT techs are being dropped into a tangled nightmare. Here are 15 of the worst server wiring jobs ever, or in other words, welcome to Server Room Cable Hell.
Some installers underbid and come away with the job, but they simply did not care what kind of mess they were leaving for someone else to take care of in the future.
Sometimes it’s a matter of a big rush to get connected, then a humongous headache to go back and properly wire.
Jobs are scarce these days, but you might want to take a peak in the server room or data center before you accept the IT position.
The worst cable mess ever?
You may find a rat’s nest of cables in the basement, a bird’s nest of wires under the stairs, cables vomiting out of a rack and onto the floor.
Sometimes nothing is color-coded or labeled, inducing dread when the day comes that the guts of the system have to be rewired.
At first, we though this server had been slimed. But, no, just another day in Server Wiring Cable Hell.
Well, the neon green cabling was a nice idea… but probably would have been more effective with a few other colors thrown in as well.
Looks like something out of a 1980′s horror film.
Can somebody please tell me why the server goes down (free test of servers here) every time somebody flushes? Oh, wait. Here’s why…
It’s hopeless. They have me surrounded. Beam me up.
If the new IT guy can’t untangle these wires, they look like they would make a great noodle snack.
So how do you know when you’ve arrived in Server Cable Hell? You’ll know. You’ll know…
Are you in Server Hell? Find out how your website performs with our free website speed test.
About David Leonhardt
David Leonhardt is a technical writer and online marketing specialist who has been working with websites since 2002. David spends way too much time on Google+ and Twitter.
Pictures of apparent tangles of cables is NO EVIDENCE of bad cabling practice!
The essential requirement for a sustainable changing cabling environment is LABELING, DOCUMENTATION, AND STRICT STANDARDS. [each end is clearly uniquely identified and matched to its origins]
Fools often employ nylon cable ties to secure cables neatly in races and conduits so that they stay put. As any experienced engineer will realise, reusable (twist-ties) are far cheaper and more flexible.
As we age we learn.
JCF
Wow that is truly terrifying. And I thought my job could be bad.
I deal with this kind of mess everyday. We are the main contractors for our local school district(208 schools), and 96% of them are like that. That usually isn’t because of the cable installers though. We do an excellent job of dressing the trunk lines. It’s usually the IT guys who can’t seem to organize the patch cords….morons…
Some of these are absolute horror. How can anyone say that this is the most efficient way? Labeling both ends? First you need to find the ends!
I cringe at the poor ventilation caused by some of these messes. Overheating anyone?
A little more downtime for organization will save extremely long downtime in the future when something really goes bad. Too bad many businesses opt for the “get me up and running quick” option and regret it later when cost goes up for the extra labor needed to sort through the mess.
Twist ties? I still use cable ties. They don’t break or come undone as easily under load and can simply be snipped off and replaced. Just clean up the mess by sweeping the floor and you’re done.
Work on the server should not be an easy job …
Oh, wow
Sometimes I actually appreciate not having to work in server rooms anymore – always a challenge not to get ‘caught up’ at work, haha 
Hi, neat post. If there’s an issue with your web site in internet explorer, would you test this?
Hi Kevin. Yes, our BrowserView Platform Monitors websites with IE, Firefox, and Chrome browsers for page-element load time analysis and reporting (http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/browserview.asp).
Our free instant website speed test can be run from different browsers as well, giving you insights into browser specific load times (http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/WebTools/technical-tools-browser-test.aspx).
Cheers!
Wow, these are ridiculous! In my 17 years in the IT industry I’ve never seen a server room this bad. My fav is the yellow cheese one, second from the bottom. Why in the world?!?