Patch cable Colors / Uses

[Liquidkristal]

What colours do people use for what traffic as far as colors of patch cables are concerned and is there a standard, the reason I ask is that I've always used the following:

Blue - Data
Red - Voice (TDM / IP)
Black - Servers
Green - Telecoms (ISDN)
Yellow - Analogue Voice
Orange - Core Network.

but I had an onsite IT guy get all uppity over the fact that voice was meant to be green and he was going to have to get a load of green cable to fix my job, so it got me thinking if maybe all these years I'd been going against the flow somehow.

 

[SockMan!]

There might be color coding for what kind of cable it is - such as orange for multi-mode fiber patch cable or yellow for single mode. However, there aren't any standards for color coding based on application/data type aside from personal or company standards.

With ethernet at home I don't care and at work I just use one of three colors depending on the function of the server (workstation, server, or other device) - unless I run out of one color then I just use whatever I have.

 

[WesM63]

As long as i've been doing my job, I've never heard anyone clam color coding a specific way.

Various customers of mine use different colors for different things.

However, my favorite is a customer that is using Violet as Voice/Data and Black for servers. The data center is just a sea of intertwined Violet and Black.

 

[Tytalus]

To paraphrase some random intelligent person:

"It isn't the color of the cable, it's what's inside."

Or, if you prefer:

"All internet service providers (and their wires) bring you to the same internet."

I like slogans.

 

[marley1]

i never heard of some color code, i like stuff to be one color for one thing, another color for another thing, and so on

for example cable running from modem to firewall is one color, firewall/switch to server is another, firewall/switch to computers is a different.

just makes it easier to troubleshoot down the road.

 

[dbwillis]

Where I work, we use colors for what the cable carries...
RED - Broadband/dirty/unrestricted Internet
BLUE - Main domain (email, file shares, etc)
GREEN - KVM type cables
PURPLE - secondary domain (graphics, etc)
YELLOW - specialty network connections
GREY - IP phones

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

There's no golden rule.....as long as you can make sense of it.

I'll commonly try to do..
Patch cable to switches...black
Router to switch...green
Servers to switches...blue or yellow
Switch to switch (uplink) red...or yellow if yellow isn't used yet.

 

[Jay_2]

no rule. We use red for patch Data, grey for server to switch, blue for server to router etc.

 

[ring.of.steel]

Untrusted/Internet = Red
Desktops = Green
Servers = Yellow
Routers = Blue
Access Points = Purple
PoE = Black

 

[Captain Colonoscopy]

Where I work:

green=printers
red=cross-over
black=phone
purple=servers
blue=router
orange=firewall
then everything else is whatever we got, try to use a different color for APs, desktops, etc

I have run into quite a few places where their existing phone system used green patches, though. Maybe it is some common practice for analog PBX guys or something.

 

[SpaceHonkey]

Only thing significant we had was purple=crossover.

 

[TechieSooner]

I follow nothing...
I've got Blue, White, and Grey. All mixed together...

I do see the simplicity though of color coding in larger datacenter environments... If you're looking for a cable it certainly helps narrow it down.

 

[swatbat]

but I had an onsite IT guy get all uppity over the fact that voice was meant to be green and he was going to have to get a load of green cable to fix my job, so it got me thinking if maybe all these years I'd been going against the flow somehow.

I would have called him on it and asked him to show me a standard he was following.

Anyway the only thing that I've ever really seen as a standard is a lot of crossover cables seem to be yellow.

Personaly most of the jobs I've done the cables were either black or grey in the patch panel. I have done a few though were I've done color coded wires.

Also one of my friends got his hands on some uv cat6 a while ago(might have been 5e, can't remember). His home and work data center are wired with it. Hit it with a blacklight and watch all of the cables glow. It was sweet.

 

[Ockie]

Production = Blue
Backup = Purple
Temporary = Orange
Crossover = Red (never really use these)


In my previous position, we used colors based on the cable length:

Yellow = 1'
Black = 3'
Orange = 7'
Blue = 15'
Green = 25'
Purple = 50'
Red = 100'

 

[Oneos]

It would really seem it's all up to personal preference. This guy has always done green as voice, and he wants to stick to doing it that way, but you already have the cables in place and working, so there is no need to do so.

Just point out how there is no specification on cable colours and so they're "lucky" you chose any sort of colour coding system at all.

If this guy goes ahead and runs new cable he will waste company time and money, and most of all make you look like an ass, don't let him do it. Print out a couple signs / legends and tape them next to your patch panels and other networking equipment.

 

[Dew]

The only coding standards I have ever seen are:
Red/Yellow = crossover

And in military owned permanent structures where SIPR is not run:
Green = Voice
Blue = Data

But then again, those setups were using the other TIA standard.

 

[jratzo]

but I had an onsite IT guy get all uppity over the fact that voice was meant to be green and he was going to have to get a load of green cable to fix my job, so it got me thinking if maybe all these years I'd been going against the flow somehow.

I don't think he had a specific color in mind, its just the fact that he had to go and get different cables than he had

 

[PopeKevinI]

On our patch panels, it's generally this:

white: VOIP (this *is* a strict standard, since VOIP is new)
blue: data
red: temporary connections or ghetto mods using the existing network cable to carry an analog phone line rather than run a jack.

 

[SockMan!]

For copper ethernet we use different color connector covers to signify crossover cables (those strain-relief snagless rubber covers that fit over the connector). It's a decent way of identifying crossover cables without breaking the color coding 'standard'.

 

[PopeKevinI]

For copper ethernet we use different color connector covers to signify crossover cables (those strain-relief snagless rubber covers that fit over the connector). It's a decent way of identifying crossover cables without breaking the color coding 'standard'.

You know, I can't even remember the last time I thought "hey, I need a crossover for this". What do you do that you still need those?

 

[Grentz]

I have always liked to use this method for simple small business setups:

Blue = Standard Patches and Connections
Red = Unprotected (from Modem to Firewall)
Green = Protected (from Firewall to network) (sometimes I just use blue)
Yellow = Temporary or Server (depending on the size of the job and needs)

Most of the time I will just use blue though as I use blue Cat5e cable and it is easy and cheap. I also like doing the red from the modem to firewall though as it stands out.

 

[SockMan!]

You know, I can't even remember the last time I thought "hey, I need a crossover for this". What do you do that you still need those?

For those rare occasions where I need a direct computer-to-computer connection. Or if I'm using older switches; we've got quite a bit of old hardware.