Data Centers

What not to do in a server room

By // September 17, 2010, 6:59 AM PST // billdetwiler

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  • Stacked Servers

    Your server room may be perfect; every Ethernet cable in place, all KVM and power cables neatly tucked into the sides of the racks. Your comm rack may be a marvel of modern cable management. Unfortunately, not all server rooms are so lucky.

    Some server rooms are nothing but living examples of bad planning and worse execution. Dare I say, viewing some are even trips to the legendary 11th level of Hades itself (it's where the Apple Netwon and Microsoft BOB are). We now embark on an adventure to one such server room. If you dare?

    Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

    Server rails are a great thing. They allow you easy access to your server for any needed hardware maintenance. What could be better than a nice rail kit you ask? Why stacking your servers directly on top of each other!

    Image the surprise and fun you'll have when you slide out a server to add a stick of RAM only to have two other servers topple out on top of you! Boy, will there be egg on your face then, when a simple RAM upgrade turns into a two server replacement.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Cable Lasso

    Cowboys need their lassos. They have cattle ropin', and the like, to do. IT workers though, generally have little need for lassos. Luckily, if the need ever arises, here is a ready made fiber cable lasso ready for that big 'ol IT roundup.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Leaning Tower of Servers

    The leaning tower of Pisa is one of the most recognized landmarks in the world. People the world over travel just to catch a glimpse of it. Why not recreate that feeling in your own server room with the Leaning Tower Servers! All that's needed is to use racks that are too long for some of your servers, so that only one end can be attached and then stack the servers right on top of each other, and WHAMO instant Leaning Tower of Servers! Tourists will be beating a path to your server room door!

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Wall o' Power

    Having your power cords off the floor is good. No accidental kicking out of power cords, no IT personnel flying through the air into a server rack; it can be a beautiful thing. Placing your power at perfect waist level though--where every IT person's utility belt of electronic gadgets will constantly batter against the cords--not such a great idea.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Rack Monitor

    KVM's are a pain in the you-know-what. Why bother with all that painful switching, when you can now buy the RACK MONITOR 2006! With this huge leap forward in luddite technology you no longer need to deal with the slow death of KVM's. Now you can just simply move RACK MONITOR 2006 to the location needed, plug in the easy use VGA and power cables and BLAM an instant monitor for your servers.

    Keyboard and Mouse 2006 sold separately.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Dust Mystery 1

    WHAT?!!?!?!?! Why is there a mysterious dust covering the top of a server? Where did it come from? How did it get there? Is it growing? Is it the beginning of a new sentient dust/server hybrid life form?

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Dust Mystery 2

    What's this? The mystery dust is also on top of the rack, along with the apparent archeological remnants of a previous technological area. They mystery deepens..

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Dust Mystery 3

    AH HA! There's the culprit. Someone (who's name is being withheld to protect the guilty) cut new wiring holes in the ceiling over the rack, without using any method to catch the dust! OK, he did use the "this fancy rack thingy here will catch the dust" method, but that hardly counts.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Cable Waterfall

    The wonders of nature are truly beautiful to behold. Why not attempt to recreate one in your server room?

    Here we present to you the Cable Waterfall. Notice the gentle drifting of the brightly colored cables as they flow to the floor. Be amazed at the up and down roping as it sways gently in the A/C breeze. Stare longingly as you wish to dive into it, and feel its ropey texture against your skin.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Cord to no where

    (Sung to the tune of Ozzy Osborne's classic The Road to Nowhere)

    ?Ah ah
    ?The cord to nowhere's gonna pass here by
    ?Ah ah
    ?I hope we never have to say goodbye
    ?I never want to live without you

    ?Chorus
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here
    ?The cord to nowhere leads to here

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Proper Placement

    While every effort should be made to maximize your space in your server room, there are some shortcuts that should, perhaps, be avoided. Sitting your equipment on cables, even if you do it gently, can NEVER lead to anything good.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Guardian

    Run Away. Run Away. It's the legendary guardian of this dread domain Cableus. Its fearsome multiple tentacle attack will sap the strength of even the bravest server monkeys. There is only one known method of defeating it...

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

  • Water from the gods

    You must call upon the blessed water from the gods, which can only be used in the direst emergencies. The power of this water is such that even a single shower of it could destroy this entire infernal realm. There is nothing here that can stand up to its power, and its mere presence above is enough to keep all of the other denizens of this plane in place.

    © CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

Stacked Servers

Your server room may be perfect; every Ethernet cable in place, all KVM and power cables neatly tucked into the sides of the racks. Your comm rack may be a marvel of modern cable management. Unfortunately, not all server rooms are so lucky.

Some server rooms are nothing but living examples of bad planning and worse execution. Dare I say, viewing some are even trips to the legendary 11th level of Hades itself (it's where the Apple Netwon and Microsoft BOB are). We now embark on an adventure to one such server room. If you dare?

Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

Server rails are a great thing. They allow you easy access to your server for any needed hardware maintenance. What could be better than a nice rail kit you ask? Why stacking your servers directly on top of each other!

Image the surprise and fun you'll have when you slide out a server to add a stick of RAM only to have two other servers topple out on top of you! Boy, will there be egg on your face then, when a simple RAM upgrade turns into a two server replacement.

© CNET Networks - Submitted by Joshua Hoskins

Related Topics:

Data Centers Networking Hardware Virtualization Storage Cloud

About Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...