Patent Publication Number: US-8988245-B2

Title: Cable management display

Description:
The is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. Pat. No. 8,493,228, originally application Ser. No. 12,859,528, entitled “Cable Management Display” and filed on Aug. 19, 2010 for Tara Astigarraga et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The subject matter disclosed herein relates to communications cables and more particularly relates to providing a display on communications cables to aid in cable management. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Cable management can be a notoriously difficult problem in data centers and other installations that use large amounts of cable to connect computers and computing devices. For example, a storage area network (SAN) may have communications cables such as Ethernet cables, Fibre Channel cables, and others that connect the various components of the SAN. In a large data center, the tangle of communications cables can become so complex that the resulting hugger-mugger is often referred to as a bird&#39;s nests. It can be extremely difficult to determine what a particular communications cable connects to, or to follow its length from one connection to the other. This presents problems when trying to service or manage the data center. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     A communications cable has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available cable management systems. Accordingly, the applicants have developed an improved cable management product. 
     A messaging apparatus for a communications cable includes a bi-stable liquid crystal display (such as a ferroelectric liquid crystal display, or FLCD) that is configured to be positioned on an exterior segment of the communications cable. For example, the messaging apparatus may be part of a connector for the communications cable, such as an 8P8C connector. A display module connects to the bi-stable liquid crystal display. The display module receives a signal associated with one or more messages about the communications cable and causes the messages to be shown on the bi-stable liquid crystal display when the display module receives the signal. The message may include characters, numbers, and colors. 
     The signal may be sent to the to the display module over the communications cable, with the signal being generated by a signal generation module. The signal generation module may be part of a computing device (such as a switch) connected to the communications cable, or may be realized in a hand-held driver. The display module may be connected to pins of the communications cable to enable it to receive signals. The display module may, for example, be connected to a ground pin, a signal pin, a horizontal position pin, and a vertical position pin of the connector. The messaging apparatus may, in certain embodiments, use low pass filters and/or high pass filters to separate signals intended for the display module and those signals intended for computing devices communicating over the communications cable. 
     The signal may include a set signal, a horizontal location signal, and a vertical location signal to indicate which pixel to target and what action should be taken (for example, lighten or darken) at that pixel. The signal may include one or more pulses. Once the signal is complete, a message will be displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display. 
     The cable management approach disclosed herein may be realized as part of a system. The system may include a communications cable with a first messaging apparatus and a second messaging apparatus. These messaging apparatus may be built into the connectors for the communications cable and attached to each end of the communications cable. The system may also include signal generation modules that send signals to the messaging apparatuses. As noted above, these signal generation modules may be located in the computing devices that communicate over the communications cable or may be located in hand held drivers. 
     The cable management approach may involve a method. The method may involve connecting a display to an exterior segment of a communications cable and connecting the display module to the display and to the pins of the communications cable. The method may also involve configuring the signal generation module to send a signal to the display module, and configuring the display module to show a message on the display in response to receiving the signal. 
     References throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language do not imply that all of the features and advantages may be realized in any single embodiment. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments. 
     These features and advantages of the embodiments will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of embodiments as set forth hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the advantages of the embodiments of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the embodiments briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only some embodiments and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of scope, the embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a communications cable with a display; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a messaging apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of connector for a communications cable having a display; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a display module in communication with a display and a communications cable; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of communications cable with displays on each terminated end; and 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for configuring a communications cable with a display. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon. 
     Many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in microcode, firmware, or the like of programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like. 
     Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of computer readable program code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module. 
     Indeed, a module of computer readable program code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. Where a module or portions of a module are implemented in software, the computer readable program code may be stored and/or propagated on in one or more computer readable medium(s). 
     The computer readable medium may be a tangible computer readable storage medium storing the computer readable program code. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic, micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     More specific examples of the computer readable medium may include but are not limited to a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-Ray Disc (BD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a holographic storage medium, a micromechanical storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, and/or store computer readable program code for use by and/or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     The computer readable medium may also be a computer readable signal medium. A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electrical, electro-magnetic, magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport computer readable program code for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Computer readable program code embodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, Radio Frequency (RF), or the like, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     In one embodiment, the computer readable medium may comprise a combination of one or more computer readable storage mediums and one or more computer readable signal mediums. For example, computer readable program code may be both propagated as an electro-magnetic signal through a fibre optic cable for execution by a processor and stored on RAM storage device for execution by the processor. 
     Computer readable program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, but mean “one or more but not all embodiments” unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “including,” “comprising,” “having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to,” unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” also refer to “one or more” unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of an embodiment. 
     Aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference to schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams of methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program code. These computer readable program code may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, sequencer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program code may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program code may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the program code which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatuses, systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions of the program code for implementing the specified logical function(s). 
     It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks, or portions thereof, of the illustrated Figures. 
     Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding embodiments. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the depicted embodiment. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted embodiment. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer readable program code. 
       FIG. 1  depicts one embodiment of a communications cable  100  comprising a cable  108 , connector  112 , a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 , and pins  114 . The communications cable  100  may be any variety of cable system capable of transmitting a signal to an electronic device. Examples include, but are not limited to, coaxial cable, multicore cable, twisted pair cable, fiber-optic cable, and others. The communications cable  100  may be an Ethernet cable, SCSI cable, Fibre Channel cable, USB cable, or other variety of cable. The communications cable  100  may be used to support a variety of communications, such as Fibre Channel (FC), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and others. The communications cable  100  may be, for example, Category 7 cable. The communications cable  100  generally includes a cable  108  with a connector  112  on each end of the cable  108 . The connector  112  makes a connection between the cable  108  and the computer to which the communications cable  100  attaches. The communications cable  100  may be used to connect to a SAN switch, a storage peripheral, a printer, a client, a server, or other electronic device. The connector  112  allows the computer to interface with the cable  108  and send information over it. 
     The connector  112  may be, for example, an 8 position 8 contact (8P8C) (also commonly referred to as RJ45) connector commonly used to terminate twisted pair and multi-conductor communications cable  100 . The connector  112  includes pins  114  that allow connected computers, SAN switches, storage peripherals, printers, clients, servers, or other electronic devices, to send information over the cable  108 . 
     The communications cable  100  may also include a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  (also commonly referred to as zero power displays). The bi-stable liquid crystal display may be a ferroelectric liquid crystal display (FLCD), a zenithal bi-stable devices (ZBD), a polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCD) display, or other appropriate display. The bi-stable liquid crystal display is made using material that can present an image and maintain an image even in the absence of power. 
     For example, the molecules in FLCDs snap to one orientation or another depending on an applied voltage. The result is a light or dark section. The molecules maintain their orientation even after the applied voltage is removed. Thus, power is necessary to set the orientation (and thereby set the image on the FLCD), but power is not necessary to maintain that image. The bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  may have 10×10 pixels, 20×20 pixels, or another appropriate number of pixels. 
     The bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  is configured to be positioned on an exterior segment of the communications cable  100 . In one embodiment, the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  is located on the connector  112 . The bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  may be built into the connector  112 . The bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  may also be a separate component that connects to the connector  112  or the cable  108 . 
     In one embodiment, the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  is an FLCD created using an Indium Tin Oxide (ITD) coated polyethersulphone film as a substrate. ITO electrodes are then structured and a polyamide is deposited on the substrate using a flexographic printing process. A roller may be used to orientate the direction of the FLC molecules. Transparent etched spacers of 0.8 microns may then be deposited. Polarizers are added to give a final thickness of approximately 0.5 mm. This may result in a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  that is stable over human handling pressure and that works over a temperature range of −20 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees Celsius. Other approaches may be used to create a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . In addition, the approaches are dependent upon the particular bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  technology being implemented. 
       FIG. 1  shows only one connector  112  with one bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . In many embodiments, the communications cable  100  will have two ends, both of which terminate with a connector  112  and bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . 
     In certain embodiments, the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  displays messages about the communications cable. The message may include characters, numbers, colors, or some combination of them. The message may be descriptive. The message may be an arbitrary code which a user can look up to determine what the message means. For example, if the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  can display only two characters, a two character message may be presented. A user can then look up that two character message (for example, in a message book) to determine what the message means. Below is an exemplary table of possible messages that are codes and associated meanings. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Message 
                 Message Meaning 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 00 
                 No change to bi-stable liquid crystal display 
               
               
                 01 
                 Make entire bi-stable liquid crystal display dark 
               
               
                 02 
                 Make entire bi-stable liquid crystal display light 
               
               
                 03 
                 Optical Cable 
               
               
                 04 
                 Copper Cable 
               
               
                 05 
                 Cable fully functional 
               
               
                 06 
                 Cable degraded, error prone 
               
               
                 07 
                 Cable completely non-functional, end of life 
               
               
                 08 
                 Untested cable 
               
               
                 09 
                 Cable has worldwide cable name (WWCN) of          
               
               
                 0A 
                 Attach this end of cable to worldwide port number        
               
               
                 0B 
                 Unique barcode for inventory purposes 
               
               
                 0C 
                 Usage statistics: % attaches used          
               
               
                 0D 
                 Vital product data is           
               
               
                 0E 
                 Warranty period has expired 
               
               
                 0F 
                 50 micron optical cable 
               
               
                 10 
                 62.5 micron optical cable 
               
               
                 11 
                 Crossover cable 
               
               
                 12 
                 Straight-through cable 
               
               
                 13 
                 Length of cable is          
               
               
                 14 
                 DICOM compliant cable 
               
               
                 15 
                 SCSI cable 
               
               
                 16 
                 USB cable 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The above are simply representative of the sorts of messages that may be displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . Other messages are also possible. One embodiment is where the worldwide cable name, and/or the messages in Table 1, are stored as either a 1-dimensional or 2-dimensional barcode on a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . In yet another embodiment, non-English characters such as Chinese Kanji are displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . And, as noted above, depending on the limitations of the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  that is used, the full message (as opposed to a message that is a reference code) may be displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . 
       FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of a messaging apparatus  200  including a display module  202  and a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The messaging apparatus  200  may also include a signal generation module  204 . In certain embodiments, the signal generation module  204  may be physically implemented in a separate physical device. 
     The messaging apparatus  200  allows messages to be displayed and changed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The messaging apparatus  200  may be implemented in a connector  112 , may be a physically separate device that connects to the communications cable  100 , or some combination thereof. The display module  202  may, in certain embodiments, connect to the pins  114  of the connector  112 . Examples of possible connection schemes are presented below. In the depicted embodiment, the signal generation module  204  is separate from the messaging apparatus  200 . 
     The display module  202  connects to the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The display module  202  receives a signal associated that is associated with one or more messages about the communications cable  110 . The display module  202  causes one or more messages to be shown on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  in response to receiving the signal. The signal may actually be made up of various signals. For example, the signal may include a set signal. A set signal, as used in this application, tells which pixels to darken and/or lighten on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The set signal may be a square wave with amplitude ranging between +5 Volts and −5 Volts. The signal may also include a horizontal location signal (indicating the horizontal location of the pixel that is the subject of the set signal) and a vertical location signal (indicating the vertical location of the pixel that is the subject of the set signal). Thus, the signal may (for example) include a first pulse with a set signal, horizontal location signal, and vertical location signal. The first pulse may set a first pixel. The signal may include a second pulse that sets a second pixel, and so on, until the message is properly displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The signal completes with the last pulse. In certain embodiments, the various different signals described above that make up the overall signal may be sent in parallel operations. In other embodiments, the various signals may be sent serially. 
     A signal generation module  204  generates a signal to be sent to the display module  202 . The signal generation module  204  may be part of a hand held driver that is used to change the display. In one embodiment, the hand held driver is attached to the connector  112  of the communications cable  100  and sends a signal to the display module  202  using a physical connection. In another embodiment, the hand held driver sends the signal to the display module  202  wirelessly. The hand held driver may allow a user to enter the message to be displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The hand held driver may allow a user to select a particular message meaning (such as the examples shown in table 1) and use the signal generation module  214  to send a signal that causes a message that is a code (such as the examples shown in table 1) to be displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . 
     In certain embodiments, the signal generation module  204  is part of a computing device that connects to the communications cable  100 . For example, the signal generation module  204  may be part of a switch. In such embodiments, the computing device may be configured to cause the signal generation module  204  to send an appropriate signal in response to a particular event without user intervention. For example, if the computing device determines that errors are being generated during transmission over the communications cable  100 , the computing device may automatically and autonomously cause the signal generation module  204  to send a signal associated with a message alerting the user to possible problems with the communications cable  100 . In certain embodiments, a user may cause the computing device to send a particular signal. The computing device may have a special driver port used to send the signal, or the computing device may be configured to use any port to send the signal. 
     In one embodiment, the computing device is an end-to-end cable tester. In such embodiments, the end-to-end cable tester may cause the signal generation module  204  to send a signal causing the display module  202  to display a message including values such as the signal to noise ratio (SNR), resistance, and other relevant values. 
       FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of a connector  112  with a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  and a display module  202 . The display module  202  may connect to particular pins  114  to enable the display module  202  to receive signals for setting the message on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . Certain pins  114  may be used exclusively for sending and receiving data on the communications cable  100 , while other pins  114  may be used exclusively for sending signals to the display module  202 . The display module  202  may connect to unused pins  114  in a connector  112  for a communications cable  100  supporting Ethernet. In other embodiments, the display module  202  may connect to pins  114  used to transmit standard data over the communications cable  100 . 
     For example, an 8 P8C connector  112  may use only four of its eight pins  114  for Ethernet communications. As shown as an example in  FIG. 3 , pins  104 A-C and  104 F may be used for transmitting and receiving data. In such an embodiment, pins  104 D-E and  1 - 4 G-H may be used to send signals to the display module  202 . In other embodiments, the signal generation module  204  (whether part of a hand held driver, computing device, or other) connects to the display module  202  using a connection that is separate from those provided in a standard connector  112 . For example, an optical cable may require that dedicated pins  114  be built in to support communicating with the display module  202 . 
       FIG. 4  displays one embodiment of a display module  202  that includes low pass filters  302   a - d  and high pass filters  304   a - d . The display module  202  may contain more of fewer components than those shown in  FIG. 4 . The display module  202  shown in  FIG. 4  may use lines in the communications cable (such as the RX+, RX−, TX+, and TX− lines) that are used to transmit data and use these lines to receive signals indicating what to display on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . In one embodiment, the display module  202  contains low pass filters  302   a - d . The low pass filters  302   a - d  may be used to prevent 1-10 GB/s information from being transmitted to the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  and unintentionally changing the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . In such embodiments, low frequencies are used by the signal generation module  204  to send the signal to the display module  202 . For example, a frequency of 50 kb/s to 1 Mb/s or slower may be used by the signal generation module  204 . Such a frequency may be sufficiently lower than the frequency for standard data to allow the low pass filters  302   a - d  to distinguish between signals intended for the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  and those intended for computing devices using the communications cable  100 . The low frequency signals are received by the display module  202 , pass through the low pass filters  302   a - d , and result in a message being displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . 
     The display module  202  may also include high pass filters  304   a - d . The high pass filters  304   a - d  may be used to prevent signals intended to set the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  from being transmitted over the communications cable  100  to a computing device on the other end of the communications cable  100 . The low pass filters  302   a - d  and high pass filters  304   a - d  may be resistor-capacitor (RC) filters, Butterworth filters, or other appropriate filters. 
     In certain embodiments, the display module  202  may include only low pass filters  302   a - d . In such embodiments, the signals to set the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  may be sent only when the receiving ports are logged off or otherwise offline. Thus, all signals to set the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  would be ignored by the receiving port. Such an embodiment may still require low pass filters  302   a - d  to prevent the high frequency data travelling over the communications cable  100  during operation from unintentionally changing the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . 
       FIG. 5  shows one embodiment of a communications cable  500  with a cable  508  terminating in a first connector  512   a  and a second connector  512   b . Each connector  512   a - b  may include a messaging apparatus  200  as shown in  FIG. 2  that includes a bi-stable liquid crystal display  510   a - b  and a display module  202 . Each bi-stable liquid crystal display  510   a - b  may have its own display module  202 . The bi-stable liquid crystal display  510   a - b  may be FLCDs that shown one or more messages about the communications cable  500 . Thus, the first connector  512   a  may have an associated first messaging apparatus  200  and the second connector  512   b  may have an associated second messaging apparatus  200 . Each bi-stable liquid crystal display  510   a - b  may attach to a display module  202  that receives a signal associated with a message about the communications cable  500 . The display module  202  may cause the message about the communications cable  500  to display on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  510   a - b  that is attached to the display module  202  that receives the signal. The signal may be sent by a signal generation module  204  located in a hand held driver, a computing device (such as a SAN switch) or other device. 
     In certain embodiments, the first messaging apparatus and the second messaging apparatus coordinate to ensure that the messages displayed on their respective bi-stable liquid crystal displays  510   a - b  are the same. In other embodiments, different messages may be displayed on the bi-stable liquid crystal displays  510   a - b.    
     The messaging apparatus may be configured such that the bi-stable liquid crystal displays display messages providing information about where the other end of the communication cable  500  is connected. For example, the bi-stable liquid crystal display  510   a  may display a message about where the connector  510   b  is attached (or should be attached). Similarly, the connector  510   b  may display a message about where the connector  510   a  is attached (or should be attached). The message may include the hostname, port, switch name, blade number, port number, or other information. 
       FIG. 6  shows one embodiment of a method  600  for communications cable management. The steps shown in the method  600  need not occur in any particular order. The method may begin with connecting  602  a bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  to an exterior segment of a communications cable, such as communications cable  100 . In certain embodiments, this entails connecting the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  to a connector  112  for the communications cable  100 . 
     The method  600  may also involve connecting  604  a display module  202  to the pins  114  of the communications cable  100  and to the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110 . The method  600  may also involve configuring  606  a signal generation module  204  to send a signal to the display module  202  and configuring  608  the display module  202  to show messages on the bi-stable liquid crystal display  110  in response to receiving the signal sent by the signal generation module  204 . 
     The embodiments may be practiced in other specific forms. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.