The network

My home network is a disaster.

When it was originally set up about three years ago everything was nice, clean, labeled and organized. As of today it is a complete mess... I realized this over the weekend when I couldn't get a specific cable to link up to my switch, only to discover that the cable I was using had been pinched in my door a few too many times causing a break. I then looked at the rest of the network and realized that this is really bad.

My home networks primary purpose is an experimentation playground. Want to play with OSPF between two Cisco routers? Sure. Want to play with an 802.1q VLAN on a Cisco Catalyst talking to an Extreme Summit? Ok. Need to do some web / database development? Yep. This type of playing results in a lot of moving equipment and cables around... and the result is this:

Now everything is working and I know what's going on with everything... it just looks like a mess. A lot of equipment is off because of thermal issues... this closet doesn't have the best air circulation so heat can become an issue. I used to have a Catalyst 5000 in here which was capable of heating a good portion of my home. This was great during the winter months, but as soon as summer came around, it had to go to save myself from a ridiculous electric bill.

A couple notes on this equipment:
That is my 4th Linksys router. I have never had one last me more than 2 years before it fails. I have to reset mine about once a week... it works fine until it just stops routing packets. By best guess is just that it get's too hot? It shouldn't be an issue though, this closet doesn't get that warm and nothing else in there fails. Next time I will spend the extra money and get a good Cisco Aironet.
Also, Extreme Networks switches are awesome!

When I finally move, I will dedicate a lot more space to my systems, working on them in such a small space is not so much fun...