tracing data center wiring

The first time I tried, it quickly became obvious how difficult this task would be. Partly because, sure, the ethernet cords are all bunched up tight, hard to reach, and hidden. But this was a challenge also because of the consequences if I were to mess up. C'mon, the delicate optical fiber in there is measured relative to human hair! And they have dozens of connections converging here.

So I thought about ways to identify a particular cord--ways that were more effective than the ol' standby of tugging a wire and watching where it wiggles along the way.
And then I got inspired! (I can't recall exactly how, so I can't spin-up some fun *Eureka* anecdote to put here) I searched around the office until I found some plastic drinking straws that were slightly wider than the cord I wanted to trace. I cut it into bands, leaving a "spine" connecting each band to the next, and then making a split opposite the spine to form "legs".
Kind of like a centipede, I suppose.

Finally I found the ports!

Now, I can't say that this trick reduced my anxiety of rooting around in all those wires, but it did make the tracing process a lot more effective. The client was happy--didn't care how I did it, just that they got their info without any service interruption.

After the little centipede thingey did its job, I kept it as a pet to put on my desk.
Low-maintenance, like my plant.