[racktables-users] Re: Linking ports

Hi,

We wanted the same thing and what we did was the following:

Each patchpanel has 2 ports per outlet (between brackets the name we use
which I will get to):
- RJ-45/1000Base-T [eth1]
- 1000Base-T link (this is a new port type) [eth1link]

We than linked the eth*link ports to the matching panels. In your case
you would have (only using 2 ports for the example).  (We use the naming
convention that the PatchPanel's local name is the rack-row where row is
the row it is in in the rack. The label we use to show where it is
going. Let's call your racks R1 and R2 where the patchpanel is on row 42
in R1 and the receiving end on row 20 in R2)

PatchPanel 1
Local name:R1-42
Visible label:R2-20
Ports:
eth1, RJ-45/1000Base-T
eth1link, 1000Base-T
eth2, RJ-45/1000Base-T
eth2link, 1000Base-T

PatchPanel 2
Local name:R2-20
Visible label:R1-42
Ports:
eth1, RJ-45/1000Base-T
eth1link, 1000Base-T
eth2, RJ-45/1000Base-T
eth2link, 1000Base-T

Now you connect eth1link from R1-42 to eth1link from R2-20 and eth2link
from R1-42 to eth2link from R2-20.

Now if you connect a server in R1 you connect the ports to your local
patch panel (in R1) and through an extension I've written you can trace
your connection from your server to it's endpoint
 
Local name       Visible label   Port type       L2 address      Rem.
Object   Rem. Port      
eth0     gb1     RJ-45/1000Base-T               a3-45    eth1   
        a3-45    eth1link       
        a4-37    eth1link       
        a4-37    eth1   
        mer-cs-01        eth9/1 

It does this through alternating between the normal linking that is used
in RackTables (which gets you to a3-45/eth1 in this example) and verbal
linking (which gets you from there to a3-45/eth1link) and back to normal
linking until you reach an endpoint.

We are currently upgrading from 17.1 to 17.6 and getting this code
untangled and ready for 17.7 is what we are trying to do now.
 
I hope this helps getting your manager sold on RT because it is a great!
application.
 
Jeroen


-----Original Message-----
From: racktables-users-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:racktables-users-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ryan McLean
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 18:29
To: racktables-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [racktables-users] Linking ports

Hi,

In my server room each rack has a panel of 24 ports that are a direct
connection to the main patch panel (R1/1 on the back of the rack maps to
R1/1 on the main panel), we then connect the patch panel port to a dell
switch to connect to the main LAN.
So:
Rack: 1 contains server 1.
Rack: 2 (I use rack in the loosest possible sense of the word) contains
the patch panels and switches.

Server 1 eth0 connects to the panel port R1/1 at the back of the rack.
R1/1 on the main patch panel connects to Dell Switch 2 port 23.

I want to map the whole connection (so looking at the server tells me it
is connected to r1/1 and then when I look at the patch panel object that
has r1/1 I can see it connects to the dell switch 2 port 23.

Is this level of mapping possible?

I am trying very hard to convince management to let me use this software
to track my server room as I really like it, however we need to be able
to track the port connections and if I cant do that then it is a show
stopper for using racktables.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Ryan

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