Learn Network Cabling - 4 Post Rack How To

Learn with us as we build a medium sized network - about 115 wires, 3 switches, UPS, and related items, all configured within a 4 Post rack by ICC. We cover a ton of items, from pulling the cables, to testing and closing out. Beginners will get a lot out of this hopefully, and we think some experienced people will see things they want to comment on that will also help new installers. Thanks for your support!
Ceiling Entry Kit: www.cabletechsolutions.com/4-...
Below are the items I used in this video - these are Amazon links that help me out, but of course you don't have to use them.
TrendNet 48 Port Blank Keystone Panel - amzn.to/3XdrXqg
Neat patch - amzn.to/447oCwa
All in One Crimp Tool - amzn.to/3KZn8ez
Crimp Tool Cat6 Jacks - amzn.to/3LlllBQ
My toolbag, and its contents:
Bag - amzn.to/3QMyV4m
Punch tool - amzn.to/3DYWoaW
Crimper from vid - amzn.to/3P2KanS
A better crimper - amzn.to/3shOOFS
Construction Pen - amzn.to/45dOg2m
DeWalt Jab Saw - amzn.to/3O8ec9T
Low Voltage Cutout - amzn.to/3pELzXP
Voltage Sensor (Always-on version) - amzn.to/3LUrO5W
Tape Measure - amzn.to/3QHYEea
Cordless Screw Driver - amzn.to/3nF48KP
All in One Crimp Tool - amzn.to/3KZn8ez
Needle Nose - amzn.to/3slXhYs
USB C Flashlight - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...

[@NetITGeeks]

A well put together installation video. The last bit reminds me that I need to ground my network rack at home. :)

[@LuisArcadia641]

You are the Bob Ross of cable management

[@estetotakbystechceli7526]

I watched several of your videos and this is the exact type of tutorial I needed (not just this video but all of them). I like precision in your planning and how you explain steps needed to be performed. I love how you pass all your knowledge without unnecessary talking. I did not skip any second from your video. I will not make network for any company, just for my home. But it is easy to scale down. Thank you

[@tciproductions]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@samuelstroh8631]

Stopped by to say, I like the idea of grounding the rack, I have a DIY home network and never thought of grounding the metallic box. THANKS!

[@tciproductions]

The old timers would have mentioned it if I had skipped it :)

[@Felix-ve9hs]

Thanks for sharing, this is an aspect of networking that is rarely shown. :)

[@Gilgwathir]

Cablegasm made easy! This was really satisfying to watch.14:00 if you are doing a retrofit, that's the moment where you pray that your information on where the floor heating is laid in, is accurate

[@tciproductions]

Wow I would never have thought of that! In Hawaii, it would be unheard of to have heating under the floor like that. Good point!

[@rotohcf1400]

I've been in the trade for 20-ish years and yet managed to pick up a trick :) I wish more of us would share our experiences in such detail.

[@Rockettommy]

Extremely informative Derek. LOVE TCI's work!!! 🤩

[@LoycCossou]

Excellent video, full of details. Thanks, this is gold!

[@Asbjoern]

Stellar work! When drilling in the floor, a can of air can clean out the dust a lot better than just using a vacuum. Just make sure to use a straw and cover the hole with the vacuum. Sucks to get a dust facial.

[@VagueDustin]

Incredible and very detailed video, I learned a lot from this. Thank you so much for posting these.

[@ronaldnaeyaert3653]

Great video. I appreciate the detail on bonding the rack.

[@bassman7115]

Awesome work! Thank you for the tips!

[@ScottPlude]

Outstanding video! I appreciate the time you took to show the entire build step by step. I have shared this with other like-minded people.

[@jbaezhernandez]

Nice work 👍

[@johnevans6451]

I was working on my home Dell Network rack, tracing and terminating cables with my son, when this got recommended. Definitely will be trying to implement some of the tips, like grounding my rack and getting some vertical cable management. I also now want the electric screw driver you were using in it, as currently I'm doing every by hand. Finally, I got myself a lot of velcro, so I was proud of myself as you were recommending to use it multiple times.

[@d00dEEE]

"I'm doing every by hand." My wrist hurts in sympathy...

[@jonathang6920]

Im not sure about what model his electric screwdriver was, but I have and prefer the metabo model the can be straight or fold in half for a pistol grip. It’s roughly $80 when on sale.

[@michaeldavid2320]

The Dewalt one like that is pretty nice. @@jonathang6920

[@hulksmash8103]

I'm new to the trade. Thanks for sharing your videos

[@LD1971]

Thank you for video. You did amazing job. 👍

[@nathenn]

Amazing vídeo. Thanks

[@FredsTech1]

Wonderful video! Thanks!

[@idontreadcomics40]

Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I always wondered who conducted this work whenever I walked into a server room.

[@jezusrvd]

This is great 👍🏽

[@Vatharian]

Thank you so much for your walk-through! I really needed that, and I hoped for a video tutorial like this for years. It's easy to learn if you are starting in this kind of business, but if these tasks gets thrown at you without prior warning, it's hard to find reliable learning source or reference videos. Couple thoughts I had: - I never thought about using boxes and pulling wires in parallel. I pulled one cable with a cord attached, pulled next cable with second cord attached, pulled next cable with first cord attached, etc. It's so much easier to do this all at once... But I have never done that big of a job myself, so it wasn't obvious to me. Also hard when you hear "we will order cable as you use it" and can't justify ordering 20 boxes of Cat 6A. Aaaah! Stingy bosses! - Cable comb - that's absolutely the tool I have been missing! It's easy to 3D print (can't find it locally), and it's a blessing. It would save me SO MUCH TIME! - The Hilti concrete nailer absolutely blew my mind. Do you know how HARD the concrete is with compressive force? I actually wonder if you need gun permit for this thing in my country... Otherwise messy job done in a split second. - These 45 degree terminals look so much better than anything I have seen in local retailers, and look genuinely easier to terminate. Next time I'll be doing this, I am switching to these! And couple of questions: 1. How often you have to rerun a piece because of manufacturing defect of a cable? 2. Do you label cables (for customer) mid-run, in important places (like between floors or when all have to go through a fire wall in one place, etc.), or no matter what it's always just the ends? 3. I noticed, that my cable labels often flake out / wear out (I have Brother handheld) especially where there is lots of flex (like on non-bolted racks), I finally resorted to putting clear heatshrink over them. Little overkill and expensive. Have you had this issue? 4. What do you think of rack-mounted drawers? They are very popular over music production folks, and I use them to store extra cage nuts, documentation, rack specific stuff, etc., but I heard so many negative comments about them from networking folk, but no concrete arguments, beside "wasting space" (I wouldn't install them in the first place if there wasn't spare room, but that's beside the point). 5. You threaded all the runs through the rack. That's fine, as long as most of the stuff is 2-post compatible. However, there are more and more full-depth switches, which would block such run if mounted at the top. In such a case, would you use some additional hardware for supporting cable bundles, while it hangs on the side, or is the ladder shelf enough?

[@tciproductions]

You win for largest comment so far. To your questions: 1) - Never have had that, HOWEVER, if you buy Chinese off brand products, I have had several that were just aluminum coated in copper and those fail every certifier test there is. Careful who you purchase from and test a length of it before deploying. 2) - I label if I cross a riser closet, but that is about it. 3) - All labels tend to suck like that, so I wrap them with a clear scotch tape, but shrink wrap works too. 4) - I have no opinion generally. As I am fond of saying, even if the customer gives me something I hate to see, I tell them how cool it is :). IT staff can be very particular about their racks and equipment so I never criticize. It's their baby, I'm just trying to bring their vision to life. 5) - Cables in a thick bundle often hold their shape well, but if drooping is an issue, I will add cross bars and other cable supports to assist me. I play it case by case, but a long run with no supports is likely to lose shape.

[@Vatharian]

@@tciproductionsHaha! Thanks :) Thank you very much for your answers - and again, for great video. Observing how an expert in the field works not only allows to catch nice to haves and good ideas, but also learn good habits. 1) That's reassuring, it's a great fear of mine. For Cat6/6A it's quality first! If you're splurging at it already no point in going half-way. 3) Maybe I have worse tape where I live, but it often falls off after few months, so shrink wrap it is. At least now I know it's not me doing something wrong. 4) That's a good take!

[@mediocreman2]

Looks like a good start. Unfortunately your service loops are practically non existent. Always assume there will be a need to relocate panels in the future. Also, the best method for patching is to use 1-2 foot cables and go directly to the switch. Putting them into a cable manager just leaves one more thing to trace out if needed. In this case it also blocks the switch ports visibility. But that's probably not your choice.

[@tciproductions]

Man, I knew I missed something in my clips. I'm not really a fan of service loops within the rack itself, I normally keep them in the ceiling. When it comes to cable managers, I appear to be in the minority, but I prefer them over the direct to switch patches. A single cross connect or out of position vendor switch will cause an IT person to make spaghetti with it. I give them the managers and teach them to use them, sometimes the rack stays organized longer. Eventually they all turn into a rat's nest. There's no end on improvements to be made of course, I would put myself on the middle of the talent spectrum for this work. Some of my colleagues are true artists. If you see anything else I didn't mention throw it out there so folks can learn from my mistakes. Thanks!

[@BertPdeboy]

very nice!

[@Discgolfingdevin]

My only thing I would recommend would be to add the ladder rack from the floor up to the other ladder rack. I don’t like zip ties all the way to join it.

[@swiftswamp4599]

I love your videos, I would love to know what kinda pricing was done on a job this large! Would be very interesting if thats something youd share in another video.

[@tciproductions]

It varies by region and contractor but normally I charge per wire and then add on the rack materials and accessories for it. I try to factor in how many days it will take to finish, the daily rate I pay my guys, and so on. I think at least in the US you'd be looking at a range of $150 to $250 per wire for a decent set up. For something high-end, maybe more like $500 to $700 per wire.

[@ICgasm]

Should've placed a 4 inch conduit on the side where the other conduits popped up to and then run them down the back, I'm not a fan of running cables along the wall, since they can be snag points.

[@tciproductions]

I couldn't really use that side wall, but that would have been better, yes.

[@SPPhotography89]

That ground prevents the use of the 1U slot on the other side. It could have been drilled on that side, where there would be more space.

[@labarr1598]

Nice work! what are you using for your drop ceiling passthrough? is that a specific type of grommet? Excellent work!

[@tciproductions]

I will add it to the vid description, that kit is this one here: www.cabletechsolutions.com/4-Inch-Suspended-Ceiling-Cable-Penetration-System

[@labarr1598]

@@tciproductions cheers! very clean looking product. Appreciate you sharing!

[@IamDoQtorNo]

Great videos. Where can you get the velcro from?

[@tciproductions]

Its just normal velcro, nothing fancy. Like this one: www.amazon.com/Rip-Tie-Wrap-Strap-Inch-Feet/dp/B07RM5DKBP

[@kgnia]

Cat 6 ... haven't used it in over 10 years

[@ValNov]

Very interesting. How much this work cost?

[@alexl3146]

Amazing incredible work. Thank you for sharing and making these videos, I’m currently learning all of this in school right now. Are you located in California if so and you ever need some help, I’d be more than happy and willing to help and get some hands on experience as well. I just want to learn as much as possible 😅

[@tciproductions]

I'm afraid we're in Honolulu, so you'll have to stop by when on vacation :). Glad you are finding this useful.

[@alexl3146]

@@tciproductions no worries, I might take you up on that if I ever hit the island. Really great work, keep up all the great content.

[@TheBird956QC]

Regarding grouding, I thought it was sufficient to have a powered device (like a switch) in the rack, since it is already grounded through its power supply. Is the additional ground necessary or simply a nice thing to have?

[@tciproductions]

The going theory is that if elsewhere in the rack infrastructure, say the cable ladder tray or something, if there is foreign high voltage that somehow gets on there, you want the rack to be grounded so that the breaker trips. If the source of a problem is your own equipment, then the grounded power cords are enough, but sometimes you get "help" from somebody screwing around elsewhere in the space and it touches your network elements and you want to play it safe.

[@eryclyons4628]

I agree with a lot of the critiques by the user eric. I also wanted to add that the amount of your user end terminations aren’t done to BiCSi standards. I was wondering if you or any of your guys have their certifications. Other than that, it was nice to watch.

[@tciproductions]

Can't really dispute anything there. May I inquire what you mean by the amount of end user terminations aren't Bicsi? I have taken some Bicsi courses for fun but we don't need the certs because we aren't a union shop. I can't think of anything that would apply, unless you are referring to the service loops, which I have hidden in the ceiling and didn't really think to film. If not that, could you elaborate? Always looking to up my game.

[@jonathang6920]

As an 01 electrician (the guys that run the conduit and power wire), while I was impressed by your workmanship, I was ashamed by the conduit work on this job site. Particularly the completely misaligned heights of those sleeves coming up through the floor to the left of the rack.

[@tciproductions]

I really felt for the electrician here, they called them pretty late in the build so they missed out on the roughing in phase. I couldn't have done the work without their help, they really had to work hard. I'm not experienced enough that I would have noticed the sleeves didn't line up, learned something just now :)

[@BartKus]

Fully painted rack resists being grounded :( Bare metal racks FTW there.

[@tciproductions]

I got hassled once for not scratching away paint so the bare metal could touch and assist the grounding, now its stuck with me.

[@mystame]

At 19:58 you mention you like these modules as they are 45 degrees, do you have a make and model or link you could please?

[@tciproductions]

Hi there @mystame, I am using this product in that shot: amzn.to/3SiZezu

[@shubinternet]

Avery labels? You don't use Brother or Brady? I'm curious to learn why you make that particular choice....

[@tciproductions]

Sometimes its faster to mass print the labels on an 8.5 x 11 sheet vs printing them out in the field, just one more annoying thing to do under a desk. If I were smart I would have pre-labelled my plates back at the office before I deployed them. I like Brady a lot, but have you seen the Epson one? One of my subs has this one and it is pretty sweet: labelworks.epson.com/for-work/printers/lw-px900.html

[@Eric-qx1kx]

Honestly, I didn't love the final result with the cables coming into the rear of the patch panels. Aesthetically it was just OK, especially with using the cable comb, should have looked a little cleaner but maybe you were under time constraints. Moving the vertical manager to the front of the rack and utilizing the rear of it to bring your cables down would have looked nicer IMO. I also probably would not use Tapcons for anchoring the rack down, I think 3/8" or 1/2" wedge or drop in anchors are pretty much industry standard. Overall, I enjoyed the video though, you dont have the typical annoying, perky KZbin voice...lol....everything is slow and clear, you missed your calling, you would have made a good ESL teacher.

[@tciproductions]

I'd put my skill level solidly at the middle/acceptable range but not super good. I have been told by many people to amp up the energy of the videos and act really fake like LTT or Network Chuck, but I can't really act and I hate that stuff too. Appreciate that feedback.

[@Eric-qx1kx]

@@tciproductions Oh hell no, not NetworkChuck, I could not watch that, acts like he's tweaking on crack or hyped up on Jolt Cola, or something...lol. For an instructional video, your calm, clear delivery is perfect, gives a person time to process what they are seeing. As is the over all production of the video in general, very professional. I guess a lot of folks have short attention spans and need that hyperactive, fake energy to stay engaged but I could not stand 5 minutes of his video and this 27 minute video flew by for me.

[@killablaze1830]

​@@tciproductionsWell I love how your videos are!!

[@WillCornus]

Hi, did you done some installation in facility where all walls was made from concrete ??

[@tciproductions]

Yes, from time to time it happens. Usually for hole cutting a concrete contractor assists and for anchors we use hilti and masonry drills. I'll try to record one when I get a chance.

[@WillCornus]

@@tciproductions I am asking bcs I preparing a network in my flat, and it is littlebit hard to connect sockets to cat6a, as I can not have a big service slack. So there is no room to mistakes :D

[@alphaknite1458]

What is this job called?

[@tciproductions]

If you are looking for job listings, you might try something like Structured Cabling Installer or similar. We are all just computer support staff that got on ladders one day, but typically you'd follow the electrician's career path to properly get into this line of work.

[@Kabodanki]

You could not have done that better, because it is now done, nothing to do redo, it's all setup and it's all what was asked

[@janokoariefka]

Thankyou fr Indonesia

[@DellsLiveSteamers]

My eye twitches watching you drill the floor mounts because you are not using an OSHA approved silica dust control mechanism. Drills either need to be wet or hepa vac

[@tciproductions]

Seems a bit overkill for a tapcon, but I'll look into it.

[@cjkokay]

And so you have a ladder too short for a commercial job. Standing on the top two rungs is dangerous.

[@MN-Hillbilly]

And please wear safety glasses when sticking your head above the ceiling grid. In Minnesota the ceiling guys like to stick the end of the grid wire out at a 90 degree angle.

[@supernoob5217]

wwwwow

[@MN-Hillbilly]

Ugh, two hole zip ties? I thought only security and fire guys used those. Bro, use tie cleats. The next guy you'd help could be you.

[@vanomel528]

Is it safe for man to have painted nails?

[@Iwishiwasflying]

Yes but tbh who cares. As long as the person does the job correctly it shouldn’t matter

[@d00dEEE]

Unless they're being used for a ground point, in which case you want to scrape away the paint to get better contact.

[@jedprice9122]

Drives me fkn nuts when techs call Cable "wires". Its not wire. Sez it right on the box Cat 6 cable. Wire is what you make a fence out of, or what electricians use for a ground, and us when we ground our rack.....we dont pull wire, we pull cable. Wire is one strand, cable is multi strand get it right ffs