Server room kit?I feel like this is a question I've seen on here before, but some searching didn't do me any good. This [1] looks similar, but I'm looking for stuff I leave there, not what's in my go-bag.
What would you say is indispensable equipment in your server room? I've inherited one that's a bit light on stuff (except for servers, those are in there). We're in the single digits of racks, if that matters.
I'm thinking of things like:
Community wiki, because, really.
[Edit] I suppose it's important to say that it's a colo facility, kind of far from the office. No food, water, etc. :(
ACCEPTED]
Generally make the server room your fortress of solitude, where you can retreat when the brown stuff hits the rotating thing. Nothing like coming out smiling after one hour of hacking, and the broken server is back up, with all data.
I'd add
A magnifying glass** so you can read the ridiculously teeny-tiny writing you get on some equipment, and a mini-maglite so you can use it.
** yes, I am seriously old
Aside from tools I would highly recomend a small first aid kit, and some nonmessy snack foods that keep in storage well. Being able to put a bandage on a paper cut or other small nick on the spot is nice insted on having to hunt down someone from security just for a small bandage. The snacks are good for when it has been two hours too long and you are still more or less stuck in the computer room.
Telephones as mentioned above, but with a long enough cord to take the handset to any cabinet. And yes, corded phones -- there's likely to be enough signal on whatever freq you choose for there to be a problem with cordless.
While I'm on the subject, even if the site uses VOIP phones, you need a non-VOIP, non-PBX, direct line to handle the instances where the VOIP or PBX equipment is down.
Other stuff that hasn't been mentioned: Printed reference material - phone numbers, networks, remote host dependencies, etc. Stuff that you might need to bring up the server where the online copies reside.
A big, big roll of sheet plastic and duct tape.
For when the ceiling leaks (water), or someone decides they have to drill holes in the walls (dust tent), or when you have to rig up some emergency cooling.
Larger, easier to handle screwdrivers, torx wrenches, wire cutters.
The small packs are nice in an emergency, and they go with you, but trying to use those little guys for hours on end can begin to hurt your hands.
Multiple spools of cat 5 cable, along with several boxes of RJ45 ends, because you know you want to use that cable-crimper you've been lugging in your go-bag.
Zip ties [1], preferably in various colors, and some kind of snip (I use wire cutters) to cut them free.
Velco ties for short-term binding.
Keep the server room all pretty and neat.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_tieRolling carts. For the single-digit server room you describe, one may be enough, although I'd guess you'd want 2 or more.
Use them as a portable tool bin, an easy-to-move worktable, etc. Some setups might have a couple as wandering worktables, and another couple as dedicated terminal carts.
I've seen some people mention zip ties, and while they are nice looking, I don't like them so much anymore anymore. I've come to prefer twist ties. They're easy to remove (don't require a tool to do so) and they are also easy to modify (if you need to add additional cables to the bundle). I picked up a spool of it from the gardening section of menards that comes with a cutter... that's similar to this [1]...
[1] http://www.buy.com/prod/twist-tie-spool-160-ft/q/loc/66357/203157318.htmlI'd say these are something I've needed and I've started keeping in the Server Room kit:
Digital camera, so that when you have to unplug or move things, you can put them back the way they were.
Quality tools. Cheap tools like screwdrivers that the tips shear off when you're trying to remove that overtightened screw can ruin your day, especially if you're at the colo in a downtown urban centre at 3am, and there is nowhere within a hour drive (or commute) to get a replacement. They don't have to be top of the line machinist tools, but decent quality, not a bigbox / department store set bought on sale for $4.99. Wiha, Wera, Snap-On, and Klein Tools are recommended brands.
And the right tools, that actually fit. Needing to open a case where the screws have been "stripped" due to screwdriver slippage, or using the wrong screwdriver is an act of unnecessary frustration.
After years of replacing cordless screwdrivers because the NiCad battery wore out, the Flashcell cordless screwdriver [1] is very welcomed.
[1] http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4223118.htmlI'm looking for stuff I leave there, not what's in my go-bag.
The only thing that should be stored in the server room is servers. Everything else should be stored nearby, but removed from the server room when not needed.
To add a bit to my above statement. Colo's and Server rooms are two different animals. With colos you generally have your cage space and that is it - would be nice if they provided lockers for client use but they generally don't.
Before we shutdown our colo we had a crash cart with the following:
We have and use "community" fold-up tables and chairs in our colo areas. Provides the work surface, a place to sit and takes up little room when stowed.
Also a light jacket for when it's 90 degrees outside, you're wearing shorts and a t-shirt and you end up spending most of the night in a 65 degree server room.
A small tool box to keep small tools mentioned above.
A desk, so you can go in there and work when the "outside" world gets to be too much. Also a fold-up bed/cot, for those times when things get so bad you're too tired to drive home afterwards. Oh yeah, and a beer fridge won't go astray either.
Personally, I've found one of the most valuable items to be a rechargeable torch (flashlight), mounted just inside the door. Non-rechargeable types have a habit of always being flat just when you need them most.
A PC with a floppy disk drive and a DVD burner, and a stock of floppy disks and writable CDs/DVDs.
A time will come when you will need to flash that firmware...
TOOLS!
Keep them locked away in the server room so they don't go walk about...
a small pry bar (I use a Stanley Wonder Bar II) has come in handy a number of times -- trying to get a tight server out of the rack; replacing swollen batteries out of a UPS. But it gets its most use when I have to shift everything in the rack up a couple of mm because the server I'm inserting is just a hair taller than whatever it was I just took out. (lossen a higher machine, lift it 'til it's tight against the one above it, tighten screws, repeat down the line).
... if you weren't in a colo, I'd also suggest a crash cart w/ serial terminal, and a lift cart (for those times when your management won't give you a maintenance window, and you really, really need to move that server; it also comes in handy when you don't have enough people to safely unrack that ancient 8U UPS, but can extend it far enough to get a lift under it)
I work for a Colo Company and in our Cages we have:
