Device, Cable, and Panel Labeling scheme.

V2 of the Device, Cable, and Panel Labeling scheme. It keeps the V1 content and makes the formats consistent. Items marked PROPOSAL are new rules that need your decision. Items marked UNTESTED have not been checked on a real printer or site. Items marked FIELD are how I actually label on jobs (first example: 919 Stanford, October 2026). Where FIELD and a proposal disagree, FIELD wins.

Scope

How to name and label sites, rooms, panels, patch panels, devices, and cables in my installations. Based loosely on ANSI/TIA-606 (see "Relation to TIA-606" below). Device naming (firewalls, switches, cameras, access control) is my own convention, not part of 606.

General rules

Rule	Detail
Characters	Uppercase letters, digits, - and . only.. No spaces, no &, no /. Lowercase is used only for the suffix letter (see below). IDs have no spaces. FIELD: location lines on a label may use spaces (GARAGE RACK01).
Patch panel port	FIELD: P + panel number, dash, port. Example: P1-16 = patch panel 1, port 16. This dash is part of the port ID, not a field separator.
- (dash)	Separates fields: site, then room or device, then patch panel or role. Example: SASC-IDF.1.01-P6.P6-12
. (dot)	Separates numbers inside one field: floor, door or panel number, port. Example: IDF.1.01 = IDF, floor 1, door 01. SW01.49 = switch 01, port 49.
Suffix letter	Lowercase a, b, ... for a second item at the same spot, or the legs of a split cable. Example: SASC-IDF.1.01b, P6.P6-12a.
Padding	PROPOSAL. Floor: 1 character. Door, panel, device number, port: 2 digits (01). Cable serial numbers: 3 digits (001).
Floors	PROPOSAL. 1 = ground or entry floor, 2, 3 ... above. B = basement (B, then C for a second basement level).
Site prefix	Required on room, panel, and device labels. May be left off cable labels when both ends are in the same site (saves label space).
Same label both ends	Every cable gets the same label at both ends. A cable label must use the exact device and port names on this page.

Site codes

PROPOSAL:Short 3code per site: letters, or 4the uppercasestreet letters.number for a building (919 = 919 Stanford). Fill in the table as sites are added.

Code	Site	Notes
919	919 Stanford	Multi-unit residential. See "Multi-unit residential" below.
SASC	(fill in)
MHF	Wilson (fill in)
925	(fill in)	Street	Numeric.number, Keep,like or rename to letters? See Open questions.919?

Rooms, panels, and doors

Doors and panels are numbered clockwise, starting at the Main Entry. PROPOSAL: on other floors, start at the stair or elevator nearest the Main Entry.

Type	Format	Example	Second one
Main Point of Entry (MPOE)	SITE-MPOE.floor.door	SASC-MPOE.1.06	N/A. One MPOE per site.
Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF)	SITE-IDF.floor.door	SASC-IDF.1.01	SASC-IDF.1.01b (second IDF behind the same door)
Media cabinet / panel	SITE-PNL.floor.number	SASC-PNL.2.01	SASC-PNL.2.02
Facility door	SITE-DR.floor.door	SASC-DR.1.01	SASC-DR.1.02
Patch panel (inside a room or cabinet)	P + number, top to bottom	P6	P7
Patch panel port	P#.P#-port	P6.P6-12	P6.P6-12a, P6.P6-12b (split cable)
Port, full name	SITE-ROOM-P#.P#-port	SASC-IDF.1.01-P6.P6-12

The patch panel face only needs the short form (P6.P6-12), because the room is already known. Use the full name in records and on riser cables.

Notes

MPOE: where the carrier's service enters the building (the demarc). In houses it is often under the stairs or in the basement. In large buildings, riser cables run from the MPOE (or the main equipment room) up to the IDFs on other floors.

IDF: the room or rack on each floor that holds the switches for that floor. It connects back to the MPOE with riser cables.

Device labels

Network and server devices

Type	Format	Example	Second one
ISP handoff (modem / ONT)	SITE-ISP##	MHF-ISP01	MHF-ISP02. Put the carrier name (e.g. ATT) in the records, not the label.
Firewall / router	SITE-FW##	SASC-FW01	SASC-FW02 (HA pair: 01 = primary)
Aggregation / distribution switch	SITE-AGG##	SASC-AGG01	SASC-AGG02
Access switch	SITE-SW##	SASC-SW01	SASC-SW02
Wireless access point	SITE-AP##	SASC-AP01	PROPOSAL (new in V2)
Server / host	SITE-SRV##	SASC-SRV01	PROPOSAL (new in V2)
NAS	SITE-NAS##	SASC-NAS01	PROPOSAL (new in V2)
UPS / PDU	SITE-UPS##, SITE-PDU##	SASC-UPS01	PROPOSAL (new in V2)

Cameras

Type	Format	Example	Second one
Internal camera	SITE-INT-What	SASC-INT-CashReg	SASC-INT-CashReg02
External camera	SITE-EXT-What	SASC-EXT-DrivewayN	SASC-EXT-DrivewayS

Cameras are named for what they look at. INT and EXT show access level at a glance: tenants and employees can usually see external cameras, but access to internal cameras is tightly controlled. The camera name is the exception to the uppercase rule, so it stays readable.

Access control (physical hardware in panels or on walls)

Type	Format	Example	Second one
Door access hub	SITE-CTL.floor.door	SASC-CTL.1.05	SASC-CTL.1.05b
Reader-Flex (no hub)	SITE-CTL.floor.door	SASC-CTL.1.01	SASC-CTL.1.01b
Badge reader	(controller)-RDR	SASC-CTL.1.05-RDR	SASC-CTL.1.05-RDRb (second reader, e.g. exit side)
Door intercom	(controller)-INT	SASC-CTL.1.05-INT

The door number in a CTL label is the same as in the door's own label (SASC-DR.1.05 uses SASC-CTL.1.05).

Cable labels

Two-lineEvery wrapcable label,gets the same wrap label at both ends:

ends.

• Line 1Upstream (top) = upstream end: the end closer to the ISP / core.
core)
• always comes before downstream.

  Structured cable runs (in-wall: rack to unit, rack to outlet, riser)

  FIELD. Three-line label:

  Line	Content	Example
  1 (large)	Cable ID = the patch panel port at the upstream end	P1-16
  2	Upstream location (room or rack)	GARAGE RACK01
  3	Downstream location (unit or room, and position)	UNIT J.02

  

  919 Stanford: the cable from garage rack 01, patch panel 1, port 16 to position 02 in the Unit J media panel.

  Patch cords between devices

  Two-line label. Line 1 = upstream device and port, line 2 (bottom) = downstream end:device and port, using the end closer to the user or device.

• Each line = device ornames port name fromon this page,page plus .port.

The diagram above is from V1 and may still show V1 formats.

This is different from TIA-606, where the near end is printed first so the order flips at each end. Here the order is always upstream first, so the label reads the same everywhere.

Cable	Line 1 (upstream)	Line 2 (downstream)	Notes
ISP to firewall	ISP01	FW01.WAN1	Second WAN: ISP02 / FW01.WAN2
Firewall to aggregation switch	FW01.03	AGG01.01	HA: FW02.03 / AGG02.01
Aggregation to access switch	AGG01.10	SW01.49	Bond / LAG: label each member normally (e.g. AGG02.12 / SW01.49 and AGG02.13 / SW01.50). Record the LAG in the docs.
Switch to patch panel (patch cord in rack)	SW01.12	P6.P6-12
Patch panel to wall outlet (horizontal)	Three-line		label: P6-12 / IDF.1.01-P6.1201	Outlet/ FL1-WALL. The outlet faceplate shows the same IDP6-12.	Split cable: P6.P6-12a, P6.P6-12b
Riser / backbone (between MPOE, IDFs, panels)	Three-line		label: P1-01 / MPOE.1.06-P1.06 / IDF.2.01	IDF.2.01-P1.01	Add the site prefix if the cable leaves the site.
Building rack to unit media panel	FIELD. Three-line label: P1-16 / GARAGE RACK01 / UNIT J.02		See "Multi-unit residential".
Camera	IDF.1.01-P3.P3-05 or SW01.05	INT-CashReg	The bottom line is the camera name.
Access hub to badge reader	CTL.1.05	CTL.1.05-RDR	Intercom: CTL.1.05 / CTL.1.05-INT
Switch to access hub / Reader-Flex	SW01.20	CTL.1.05

UNTESTED:FIELD: the 919 Stanford label fits one large line (P1-16) and two small lines of up to 13 characters (GARAGE RACK01) on the wrap label, with the clear tail left for laminating. I haveam notassuming checkedthis how many characters fit per line onis the 1.5" x 1.0" wrapM7-31-427 labelstock. Longer lines (M7-31-427).more MPOE.1.06-P1.01than is13 15characters) characters.are Print a test label before committing to the riser format.UNTESTED.

Service type (from V1)

V1 used a service prefix on patch cables: NET-001, TEL-001, COM-001. In V2 the panel port ID replaces the serial number. PROPOSAL: show the service with cable color (see Relation to TIA-606) or with a third line on the label. See Open questions.

Multi-unit residential

FIELD, from 919 Stanford. A building rack in the garage feeds a media panel (structured media enclosure) in each unit. The ISP's ONT sits in the unit media panel.

Names

Item	Format	Example
Building rack	(ROOM) RACK##	GARAGE RACK01
Patch panel port in the building rack	P#-port	P1-16
Unit	UNIT + unit letter	UNIT J
Position in the unit media panel	UNIT (letter).##	UNIT J.02
Room drop (unit panel to a room)	Letter + number, in order: A1, B1, C1 ...	D1
Drop location (small text under or over the ID)	FL#-MOUNT	FL1-WALL, FL2-CEILING, FL1-DRBL
Unused jack	BLANK	BLANK

Unit media panel label strip

Each jack gets an ID (large) and a location (small). Jacks fed from the building rack use the rack port as the ID and GARAGE as the location. Red keystones mark the jacks fed from the garage rack.

Row	1	2	3	4	5	6
Top	P1-15 GARAGE	P1-16 GARAGE	A1 FL1-DRBL	C1 FL2-WALL	E1 FL3-WALL	BLANK
Bottom	GARAGE ISP-G	BLANK	B1 FL1-WALL	D1 FL2-CEILING	BLANK	BLANK

My reading of the photos, not yet confirmed: DRBL = doorbell. ISP-G = ISP feed for unit G. Media panel positions are counted left to right across the top row (so P1-16 is position .02). Room drop letters go down each column, then across. See Open questions.

Hardware and labels

Printer: Brady M710

Label type	Size	Brady part number	Per roll	Price (V1, date unknown)	Ribbon
Basic sticker	1.0" x 1.0"	M7-19-423	250	$43.50	(fill in)
Metallic label	1.0" x 2.0"	M7-20-435	100	$40.00	(fill in)
Cable wrap (self-laminating)	1.5" x 1.0"	M7-31-427	250	$68.00	R4300 ($73.00)

Templates

Site template (editable): NetworkIdentification.docx

Patch bay label templates:
PatchBaySize_12portLevitonKeystone.docx
PatchBaySize_12portSurfacemount.docx
PatchBaySize_24portKeystone.docx
PatchBaySize_24port.docx
PatchBaySize_48port.docx

These templates were made for V1 formats and may need updating.

Relation to TIA-606

ANSI/TIA-606 is the US cabling administration standard. ISO/IEC 14763-2 is the international equivalent. This scheme borrows its ideas (unique IDs, both ends labeled, records kept) but uses its own formats.

This scheme	TIA-606 term
MPOE	Entrance facility (demarc). Often in the same room as the equipment room / main cross-connect (MDF).
IDF	Telecommunications room (TR)
Riser cable	Backbone cable
Patch panel to outlet	Horizontal link
Multi-site with site codes	Class 3 (campus) / Class 4 (multi-site)

606 color codes (from memory, not checked against the current revision)

Color	Use
Orange	Demarc / carrier
Green	Network connections (customer side of demarc)
Purple	Common equipment (servers, PBX)
White	First-level backbone
Gray	Second-level backbone
Blue	Horizontal (to the outlet)
Brown	Between buildings
Yellow	Miscellaneous (security, alarms)
Red	Key telephone systems

606-B cable example (kept from V1)

Near end AG09-35:01/AJ06-35:01, far end AJ06-35:01/AG09-35:01. AG09 = rack at grid AG09, -35 = patch panel 35 rack units from the bottom, :01 = port 1, / = separates near end from far end. Newer revisions (606-C, 606-D) exist. I have not checked what changed.

Changes from V1

Item	V1	V2
MPOE	SASC-MPO.1.6	SASC-MPOE.1.06
IDF second unit	IDF-1-1a	SASC-IDF.1.01b
Doors	SASC-01-DR01	SASC-DR.1.01
Firewall on cables	FW-Primary-WAN1	FW01.WAN1 (same name as the device label)
Aggregation switch	AGG-## and AGGR-##	AGG##, with its own device row
Site 925 devices	925-FW01	Same format, but see Open questions about the code
Wilson-MHF patch port	MHF-IDF2.1-P1.1	MHF-IDF.2.01-P1.P1-01 (same rule as every site)
Access hub suffix	1.1A / 1.05a mixed	Always lowercase: 1.05b
Intercom / reader	-IntCom, -Reader	-INT, -RDR
Cameras	INTERNAL-CashReg	SASC-INT-CashReg
Camera cable	SASC-CAM-1.05	Port ID / camera name
Wire label order	Two conflicting wordings	Upstream	Linebefore 1downstream. =In-wall upstream,runs: line3 2lines =(ID downstream/ upstream / downstream), from field practice.
Patch panel port	P6.12	P6-12 (field practice)
Bond cables	-BONDa / -BONDb	Label each member normally. LAG in the records.
New		General rules, site code table, AP / SRV / NAS / UPS / PDU, patch panel naming, 606 mapping

Open questions

• Fill in the site code table. ShouldIs 925 stay numeric, or get a letterstreet code?number, like 919?
• Agree with the separator, padding, and floor proposals?
• Line919 1Stanford photos: is DRBL the doorbell? What is ISP-G? The media panel photo has an APT-G D1 tag but the cable label says UNIT J. Which unit is the photo, and should it be UNIT or APT?
• Media panel positions: counted across the top row first (so P1-16 = upstream:.02), isor thisdown each column? And what does the order you actually use1 in A1 mean: first jack at that location?
• Is the field?919 Stanford label printed on M7-31-427 (1.5" x 1.0")?
• Service type: drop NET/TEL/COM, use cable color, or add a third label line? What did COM mean?
• Are MPOE and MDF always the same room in your sites, or do you need an MDF room type?
• Do you want rack positions (rack units, as in 606) in the labels, or is P# top to bottom enough?
• PrintRiser and outlet labels with lines longer than 13 characters still need a test wrap label to check line length (see UNTESTED note).print.
• Ribbon part numbers for the basic and metallic labels.

Related pages

• V1 of this page, saved as a copy ending in "_old" (link to be added)