We have a narrow space behine the row of racks. There are several LAN cables (CAT6) running between racks and over/beside UPS power cables - all unshielded.
will this seriously hamper LAN performance? mnust we out the electrical cables into metal trunking?
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I don't know about there in .sg, but here in .us we're required to keep communications and power cables separate. Not necessarily in separate conduit, but if they're in the same cable tray there is supposed to be a permanent barrier or "listed" divider between the 2 types of cables. Often it's just a strip of 14 gauge aluminum the same height as the cable tray. That requirement is for safety, not for RF interference suppression, by the way.
Cables are near impossible to keep separate in a server room. Crossing over other cables and snaking through the rack is not pretty, but not the end of the world.
Degradation due to proximity like that is an academic discussion. How does one measure it? How to establish a baseline with so many variables, and the inability to recreate the same conditions.
In theory, there will be RF interference.
As for safety, communication cables and power cables need separation if run the same conduit/raceway. The safety is not because of inherent problem with those cables being next to each other. Most Cat5 cables is rated to 300V or 600V. The lowest insulation rating prevails for limiting the current carried in the conduit/raceway.
The safety problem is when a low-voltage contractor or DIY installer dives and starts pulling and cutting cables. Grab the wrong one, and it's a bit more than "oops".
IIRC, when comm cable and power cables are running parallel for 6ft, you need a separation of 2". Think of a rack-mounted server with cable management arm. You've got 2-3 feet run with the patch cable tied to the AC power cable.
I wouldn't sweat it too much. Best to keep it as neat as possible, without making it laborious/dangerous to make moves/adds/changes.
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by: atrevidoPosted on 2009-11-03 at 13:33:35ID: 25734011
I've never had a problem. My LAN cables are fairly close to the power cables for the servers.
Our rack has power running down one side and patch cords down the other but they do get pretty close sometimes in the back. All my HP rack mounted servers have their power and LAN in the same wire management panel that HP sells. I assume that these are regular UL listed power cords and not bare electrical cables.