It can be frustrating trying to locate a device in a DC. Even if you know the section, row, and rack number there may be multiple devices of the same make/model, which is where labels come in handy. Unfortunately, there isn’t a vendor-neutral industry standard place to add a label, the glue may fail causing the label to fall off, etc. For now, I’m going to focus on the label location. I would like to submit an RFC to the IETF because I have not found one as of this writing. The RFC would be an industry standard for hardware vendors to follow when designing new equipment.
The specifications should be based on a 1 U device, which would cover non-rack mounted devices, but also be applied to larger devices. There are 2 key components to identifying a device, hostname (ideally one that resolves in DNS), and IP address. Many organizations also label devices with an “Asset Tag” which provides details on purchase and depreciation. The location and size of these should also be standardized.
There should also be a location on both the front and back because depending on the device, and the job, determines which side you work on.
Additionally, room for a QR code that can provide more details could be handy.
Having done a good bit of DC work I think this is sorely needed but I never thought to get an RFC for it. The designated label space should allow for a reasonable number of characters for a hostname. However, would hardware vendors honor the RFC?
I think they would if enough people asked for it. It’d be a selling point for their HW. No one wants to lag behind competitors.