ok, this is horribly pragmatic, but it's real. yesterday i was in the
westin playing rack and stack for five hours. an horrifyingly large
amount of my time was spent trying to peel apart labels made on my
portable brother label tape maker, yes peeling the backing from a little
label so remote hands could easily confirm a server they were going to
attack.
is there a trick? is there a (not expensive) different labeling machine
or technique i should use?
randy
Many label makers (including Brother) use tapes that have a split up the
middle of the back layer, so you can peel it off half-at-a-time and not
fight with finding edges, etc.
Otherwise I suppose it's just a case of finding the knack. My label
maker is of the cheaper variety and the tape i've been getting for it
doesn't have the back-split, so I get to fight with it on the occasion
that the knack doesn't seem to work...
Mark.
Brothers' are fine; buy the tapes that have the split-down-the-middle
backing on them.
It reduces the unpeeling problem from
more-time-than-the-label-took-to-type-in to about 2 seconds. You just
grab the edges at an end and bend it, so the backing bulges outwards,
and off it starts to come.
-george
In a message written on Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 01:08:46PM -0800, Randy Bush wrote:
ok, this is horribly pragmatic, but it's real. yesterday i was in the
westin playing rack and stack for five hours. an horrifyingly large
amount of my time was spent trying to peel apart labels made on my
portable brother label tape maker, yes peeling the backing from a little
label so remote hands could easily confirm a server they were going to
attack.
The Brother I have that takes "M" tape has the problem you describe,
it's nearly impossible to get the backing to separate from the label.
I have another Brother that takes "TZ" tape, the backing of the tape of
slit down the middle lengthwise. Gently curling the tape by squeezing
it causes the middle to pop open, easy to grab.
You can guess which one sits on the shelf, and which one gets used a
lot.
The TZ tape unit I use is a P-Touch 1100QL, I don't think it's made
anymore but there are several similar curent models.
If they are Dell servers, you could always name each host in their BIOS so
it shows up on the display of the host.
-Mike
The other trick is to pre-print your labels.
We use a Brother PT-9500PC to print our labels. It is a dedicated PC
printer, but it always half-cuts a little tab at the end of the label so
you bend the label at the cut and it is simple to pull off.
Thanks,
Erik
ok, this is horribly pragmatic, but it's real. yesterday i was in the
westin playing rack and stack for five hours. an horrifyingly large
amount of my time was spent trying to peel apart labels made on my
portable brother label tape maker, yes peeling the backing from a little
label so remote hands could easily confirm a server they were going to
attack.is there a trick? is there a (not expensive) different labeling machine
or technique i should use?
If you can't find the split back I've used a black uniball pen. Stick tape between pen and metal clip. Rotate pen about 90 degrees so there's a bend in the tape. But thumb against the metal, holding the tape in place. Pull pen along the length of the tape. (think about the old trick with scissors and making wrapping ribbon for presents turn into a curlycue.
That tends to create enough of a tension between the front of the tape and the back and it'll be peeled apart.
randy
Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net
If they are Dell servers, you could always name each host in their BIOS so
it shows up on the display of the host.
provided the dell actually had that display, and provided the server
didn't toss a PS ...
sort of looks neat, wonder if the tape is the split-type.
If you're building a datacenter probably not. Other than giving the remote
hands some identifier and making them label the servers themselves. If
you're at a conference you could get away with using masking tape and a
sharpie. If you think it was time consuming applying the labels wait until
you need to remove one.
Nobody's been a smart ass yet and suggested a roll of duct tape and a sharpie?
All the labelers I've used have had the split down the middle tape, so just bend the label horizontally onto itself, and the backing separates.
Which reminds me, I have a new fiber transit connection I just turned up which needs labeling...and someone seems to have run off with my brother.
I did that with a batch of sun v20z's... when they got to the colo, no one knew which was which until they're powered and the service processor is fully booted. (a process that takes several minutes) By then, they've been racked in the wrong racks and in the wrong order. 
Of course, I've done that to myself as well... pull a stack of machines and forget what order they were in 
--Ricky
+1 for the TZ tape. It is made of a heavier material than the M tape, and has better adhesive that will better on equipment that has any sort of textured finish, such as many types of cabinets, patch panels, and fiber termination bays. Labels that are made with M tape will start to peel off of just about anything that doesn't have a smooth finish shortly after being applied.
jms
Once upon a time, Randy Bush <randy@psg.com> said:
is there a trick? is there a (not expensive) different labeling machine
or technique i should use?
Like others, I use a Brother P-Touch with TZ tapes with a split down the
middle. However, the last couple of tapes had splits that weren't cut
quite right, and they wouldn't peel easily.
What I usually do in that case (or with non-split tape) is to curl the
end of the tape across the blade of my pocket knife. The tape and the
backing curl differently, so this makes it easy to then get the blade of
the knife between the tape and the backing and separate them.
Randy,
Personally, I got tired of buying batteries, and expensive label
tapes, and tend to stick with Avery labels from the office supply store
(or Brady labels for cabling), and preprinting. Either can be run
through a typewriter, and the Avery labels tend to run through a standard
office printer just fine.
Then I just have to peel a standard label off of wax paper, which
is much easier than dealing with plastic tape that appears to be fused
to its backing at the factory.
The split back variety is a little better, but even then it can be
hard to get your fingernails under the other side. We haven't really
improved much on labeling technology in decades.
--msa
No mention of good (*detailed*) documentation based on model/serial number and facility rack ID/rack position in case the label were to inadvertently be removed/fall off/etc.?
Only issue with that approach is that if the colo facility moves your hardware at some point you need to ensure that they let you know that so you can update your documentation to coincide with (hopefully) their documentation of where your equipment is located.
Justin
And watch for the removable faceplates. We've been bitten before
after a server move by rebooting a server that had the correct label
but the wrong faceplate. Now we label the faceplate as well as
underneath of it too.
-B
1) You should make sure you're buying the newer crack-n-peel labels, on
which the backing is scored along the center.
2) If you have the older stuff, bend a corner sharply from the plastic
side (front) towards the paper side (backing). The plastic label has more
spring in it, and will spring back away from the paper -- which will stay
bent -- and you'll have some separation that you can peel from.
Cheers,
-- jra
Cloud computing - when you pay a premium for them not to let you know
when they do that.
Hi Randy,
I know where you are coming from. I have going throw many types. Currently we use the Bothers P-Touch with the TZe Tape with the specific "Cable/Wire Labels" tape. It works ok and the labels last much longer then the previous masking tape with sharpe method.
Overall I pay more money then I would like for the machine and the Tape. But it seems to work well and that does mean something.
One of my techs have been look at the "TekGun - Cable Labeling System" for cables. It does look kind of cool. Anyone here have experience with that TekGun and what are your thoughts on it?
Mark Keymer
CFO/COO
Vivio Technologies
Some tapes have a split backing; bend the tape along the long axis and
you can peel off both halves very easily.
If you can't find such tape for your model of label maker, you will need
fingernails and either a very good sense of touch or good eyesight.
Fold one of the corners of the label, just a tiny corner, back towards
the backing paper, then forward. The backing paper will come off that
tiny corner. Use the aforementioned fingernails to get under the label
at that point. It's usually easier to grip the label than the backing
paper, because the label is a little sticky underneath.
Some people say you should fold forward then back. Some people use a
penknife instead of a fingernail.
Another technique, that I've never been able to master: Hold the label,
backing towards you, about a centimetre from the cut end, place the cut
end at right angles against and across the underside of your right
forefinger, pressing very lightly, and drag your finger down. Done
right, the backing peels off and curls down your finger.
Both techniques rely on the label being slightly stiffer than the
backing paper, and thus bending less.
Regards, K.