Catchy title? It all starts in the closet! Do you know what I am talking about? Your NETWORK closet!! Have you ever opened up the door to you network server closet, or closet where you keep your network equipment and find that it looks like spaghetti? There are different color and different length cables, things are unplugged, outdated and stacked one item on top of each other. This is a bad network closet.
It All Starts in the Closet
Having a bad network closet can cause you to have a bad network. It not only hurts functionality, but it makes it very hard to troubleshoot. When you have a network issue, and you need to figure out if it’s the PC, the network, the router or the firewall, you need to be able to look in the closet and quickly identify where the problem is. Having to sort through all kinds of wiring and equipment just makes it that much more difficult.
Clean it!
I know it sounds silly, but CLEAN THE CLOSET! Have you IT department come in on a weekend to clean out all the mess. They will have to unplug the entire network, replace cables, replace equipment and get it to a manageable point. Once this is done, they need to show up first thing Monday morning. Believe it or not, there will be some fallout. Some PC’s may not be connected, things may have gotten mixed up. If this is the case, it’s actually an easy fix once the network is neat, clean and easy to manage.
Keep in mind that there may be an extra fee for this. Some IT companies inherit a bad closet. If that’s the case, get it cleaned up from the get-go. Make it a part of your onboarding process. Keeping a tidy closet will keep your network strong and manageable. Remember, it all starts in the closet!
