Question : Problem: Racking Brocade Switches

Does anyone else have a problem with getting Brocade switches into 19" racks? The outside rails that clamp onto the rack are clearly marked 'left' and 'right' and yet apart from this wording I have been unable to differentiate between them.

The internal rails that clamp onto the switch are also marked 'front' and 'back' and there is an explaination with the (HP OEM) manual saying the back is the port side in the 32 and 64 port flavours but they have provided normal c13 kettle leads which stick out so far forwards that in the recommended position they stop the rack door from closing, there aren't any right-angled power cables included that one would expect to get with front-powered kit.

Particularly want to hear from IBM or Dell Brocade-OEM installers since I now know how to get them into an HP rack.

Answer : Problem: Racking Brocade Switches

I think that you may have the switch mounted backwards.

The fibre channel ports should be right at the rear of the rack leaving loads of space towards the front for the power cords.
        ____________|  <--- Fibre channel ports, rear of rack
|     /           |       / |
|    /            |     /   | <---- switch
|   / _______|__/    |
|  /              |  /      |
| /               | /       |
|/                |/        |
|                 |          |
|                 |          |
|                 |
|                 |
|                 | <-------- front of rack


Ahhh, ASCII art.