Server room survival kit

server-room

Trips to the server room can mean extended periods away from the comforts of home, or at least your desk. Especially if it is an off-site hosting facility.

What should you take with you, apart from a warm sweater for places with good air-conditioning?

Best Answer

Things that I always carry on my person, so would be present:

  • cell phone
  • iPod
  • pen/notepad
  • thumb drive
  • multitool

Things that I keep in my laptop bag so I don't have to think about it:

  • "carb bars" (I don't know what these are, but they last forever. My wife made me start carrying them after I had to sleep in a data center during a blizard.)
  • quarters for snack/pop machines
  • a baggy of splenda (nothing worse than being stuck with people who only drink their coffee black)
  • notepad
  • Post-it notes
  • recovery disks (live CDs)
  • USB/serial/RS-232 cables and adapters (the 5-in-1 cable kit specifically, though I;ve tweaked it to have things like T1 loopbacks)
  • penlight
  • electrical tape
  • CO scissors (the kind that central office guys always carry around that you can cut and strip wires with)
  • screwdriver (the kind with 6 ends)
  • a small hand mirror for looking behind/around things

Things I keep in my toolbag - not guaranteed to have with me always, but I usually know if I'll need it:

  • a second 5-in-1 kit and some more cables
  • crimpers with RJ45 and RJ11 ends
  • labels (like, mailing labels - very sticky and handy for rapid labeling until a professional job can be done with a label maker
  • screwdrivers/plyers/end cutters/small socket set - basic tools
  • a huge screwdriver that can either be used as a crow bar or to reach the mounting screws on devices that stick out of the rack (like mid-mounting a 40-inch server in a 2-post telco rack)
  • velcro wraps and wax string (never used wax string? Try it, it's awesome)
  • a collection of writing utensils including sharpies and wax pencils to write on racks
  • a collection of screw driver heads - flat, phillips, hex, torx(sp?), and some other specialty ones
  • spare heavy-duty power extension cords and a three-plug expander
  • a decent digital mutilmeter
  • duct tape

I think I have more, but that's the basics. Everything on that list addresses a specific need I've had in my career. The laptop bag is heavy but well worth the bulk in saved trouble. The tool bag I'm rather proud of, it's not big (it's one of those "big mouth" bags that opens like a doctor's black bag), maybe 18 inches long and 12 wide. I spent a great deal of time customizing the contents to maximize the value for the volume. For instance, I threw away the bulky plastic container the socket kit came in; I built a much smaller organizer for it. Same with the screw heads - I built a cloth with elastic on it that the heads slide into. It's also modular - all the screw drivers are in a large pencil case, so I can find them easily and, if I know I will only need them, I can just grab them out of my car and carry them into the DC instead of the whole tool bag.

Related Topic