US-12620762-B2 - Replicated cable connection panel for device replacement

Abstract

An apparatus comprises at least one replicated cable connection panel structure configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device. The apparatus further comprises a set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel structure, wherein the set of connection structures replicate a set of connectors of the device, wherein each of the set of connection structures is configured to accommodate a cable that is pluggable into a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.

Inventors

• Elayarajan Kannan
• Ming Chung Chow

Assignees

• DELL PRODUCTS L.P.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20230531

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An apparatus, comprising: at least one replicated cable connection panel structure configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device, wherein the replicating comprises, at least partially, visually and mechanically imitating the cable connection panel of the device without one or more electrical functionalities or one or more optical functionalities of the cable connection panel of the device; and a set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel structure, wherein the set of connection structures replicate imitate a mechanical form factor of a set of connectors of the device, wherein each of the set of connection structures is configured to physically hold a cable that is pluggable into a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the set of connection structures comprises a set of structures that each match a mechanical dimension of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the set of connection structures comprises a set of structures that each match a mating structure of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the set of connection structures comprise a set of connectors that match the set of connectors of the device.
5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel structure comprises a label to match a label of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one replicated cable connection panel structure comprises a first panel structure and a second panel structure separate from the first panel structure, wherein a first subset of the set of connection structures mounted on the first panel structure replicate a first subset of the set of connectors of the device, and a second subset of the set of connection structures mounted on the second panel structure replicate a second subset of the set of connectors of the device.
7. 7 . An apparatus, comprising: a set of replicated cable connection panel structures configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device, wherein the replicating comprises, at least partially, visually and mechanically imitating the cable connection panel of the device without one or more electrical functionalities or one or more optical functionalities of the cable connection panel of the device; a first set of connection structures mounted on a first one of the set of replicated cable connection panel structures configured to imitate a mechanical form factor of a first subset of a set of connectors of the device; and a second set of connection structures mounted on a second one of the set of replicated cable connection panel structures configured to imitate a mechanical form factor of a second subset of the set of connectors of the device.
8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the first set and the second set of connection structures comprises a set of structures that each match a mechanical dimension of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the first set and the second set of connection structures comprises a set of structures that each match a mating structure of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first set and the second set of connection structures comprise a set of connectors that match the set of connectors of the device.
11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein each of the first set and the second set of connection structures comprises a label to match a label of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
12. 12 . A method, comprising: obtaining at least one replicated cable connection panel configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device, wherein the replicating comprises, at least partially, visually and mechanically imitating the cable connection panel of the device without one or more electrical functionalities or one or more optical functionalities of the cable connection panel of the device, and wherein: (i) the at least one replicated cable connection panel comprises a set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel; (ii) the set of connection structures replicate a set of connectors of the device and are correspondingly labeled; and (iii) the set of connection structures are configured to accommodate cables that are plugged into the set of connectors of the device; unplugging a given cable from the set of connectors of the device; plugging the given cable into a correspondingly labeled connection structure of the set of connection structures; and repeating the unplugging and plugging steps for each cable, one by one, until the cables previously plugged into the set of connectors of the device are plugged into the set of connection structures of the at least one replicated cable connection panel.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising swapping the device with a replacement device having a set of connectors of a same type as the set of connectors of the device.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising: unplugging a given cable from the set of connection structures; plugging the given cable into a correspondingly labeled connector of the set of connectors of the replacement device; and repeating the unplugging and plugging steps for each cable, one by one, until the cables previously plugged into the set of connection structures are plugged into the set of connectors of the replacement device.
15. 15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the swapping, unplugging, and plugging steps are performed in an operational environment.
16. 16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein at least a portion of the set of connection structures comprises a set of structures that each match a mechanical dimension of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
17. 17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein at least a portion of the set of connection structures comprises a set of structures that each match a mating structure of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
18. 18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the set of connection structures comprise a set of connectors that match the set of connectors of the device.
19. 19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein each of the set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel comprises a label to match a label of a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device.
20. 20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one replicated cable connection panel comprises a first panel structure and a second panel structure separate from the first panel structure, wherein a first subset of the set of connection structures mounted on the first panel structure replicate a first subset of the set of connectors of the device, and a second subset of the set of connection structures mounted on the second panel structure replicate a second subset of the set of connectors of the device.

Description

FIELD The field relates generally to cable management in information processing systems. BACKGROUND Information processing systems may include various hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information, and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. Switch and other networking devices, for example, may be connected to many other computing devices (e.g., server devices, other switch or networking devices, storage systems, etc.) in a data center via cabling to facilitate transmission of data between such devices. In large data centers with many such devices, cable management and determining connectivity between devices are difficult tasks. SUMMARY Illustrative embodiments comprise one or more replicated cable connection panels for managing cables used to couple a first device to one or more other devices in an information processing system when the first device is being replaced. For example, in one embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least one replicated cable connection panel structure configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device. The apparatus further comprises a set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel structure, wherein the set of connection structures replicate a set of connectors of the device, and wherein each of the set of connection structures is configured to accommodate a cable that is pluggable into a corresponding one of the set of connectors of the device. In another embodiment, an apparatus comprises a set of replicated cable connection panel structures configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device. The apparatus further comprises: a first set of connection structures mounted on a first one of the set of replicated cable connection panel structures configured to replicate a first subset of a set of connectors of the device; and a second set of connection structures mounted on a second one of the set of replicated cable connection panel structures configured to replicate a second subset of the set of connectors of the device. In a further embodiment, a method comprises obtaining at least one replicated cable connection panel configured to replicate a cable connection panel of a device, wherein: (i) the at least one replicated cable connection panel comprises a set of connection structures mounted on the at least one replicated cable connection panel; (ii) the set of connection structures replicate a set of connectors of the device and are correspondingly labeled; and (iii) the set of connection structures are configured to accommodate cables that are plugged into the set of connectors of the device. The method comprises unplugging a given cable from the set of connectors of the device, plugging the given cable into a correspondingly labeled connection structure of the set of connection structures, and repeating the unplugging and plugging steps for each cable, one by one, until the cables previously plugged into the set of connectors of the device are plugged into the set of connection structures of the at least one replicated cable connection panel. The device may then be swapped with a replacement device, and the cable unplugging and plugging steps reversed. While not limited to any particular use case, illustrative embodiments are particularly well suited for use in the field, i.e., wherein device replacement is being performed within the operational environment of the device (e.g., at a customer site or location such as a data center or other information processing system environment). These and other illustrative embodiments include, without limitation, methods, apparatus, networks, and systems. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 depicts an information processing system with which one or more illustrative embodiments can be implemented. FIG. 2 illustrates a set of one or more replicated cable connection panels for use in managing cables connected to a device according to an illustrative embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates a methodology for utilizing a set of one or more replicated cable connection panels to manage cables connected to a device according to an illustrative embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Illustrative embodiments will be described herein with reference to exemplary information processing systems and associated computers, servers, storage devices and other processing devices. It is to be appreciated, however, that embodiments are not restricted to use with the particular illustrative system and device configurations shown. Accordingly, the term “information processing system” as used herein is intended to be broadly construed, so as to encompass, for example, processing systems comprising cloud computing and storage systems, as well as other types of processing systems comprising various combinations of physical and virtual processing resources. An information processing system may therefore compri