What to carry in your sysadmin toolkit

Backpack

To carry your arsenal of IT goodness a backpack is in order. I use a Swiss Army pack that can be picked up at a local retailer for around $50-70. It has adjustable straps and is large enough for your laptop and all of your gear plus your tablet of choice.

Smartphone

A smartphone is as much of a necessity as your laptop today. You can surf the web for a quick fix, call for support, listen to music, and take notes. The camera can be used for those hard-to-see areas in your server rack and you can install a flashlight app for those dark corners. Perhaps most importantly, your phone can be used as a mobile hotspot if all network connectivity is down. (Be sure to carry a spare charger and earbuds.) I personally carry the iPhone 4 but as noted with the laptop, other flavors of smartphone are all welcome in this discussion.

Serial to USB

As laptops evolved over the years one of the items that didn’t make the design cut was the serial port. To overcome this, many IT departments keep an old laptop lying around just for configuring switches, routers, and firewalls. I carry this keyspan serial to usb converter and it seems to do the job fine.

USB drive

Just about everyone today carries a USB drive with them. This is a 32GB Sandisk that has encryption software for things you don’t want others to see. The large capacity means plenty of storage space for drivers, anti-malware utilities, even entire operating systems.

Toolkit

A screwdriver is an absolute must, and until laptops, servers, switches and racks all use the same screw, a multidriver is required. This kit is perfect for mobility as it’s only about 6”x4” and less than an inch thick.

Other tools not pictured

• Cables- I don’t go crazy with these but I do carry an ethernet cable and a small variety of USB cables.
• Notepad and pencil- tried and true and always useful.
• Dropbox or Box.net- you can keep files there and access them anywhere with an internet connection. Also perfect for sending links for others to download patches and hotfixes.
• Ninite- this one-stop-shop for common downloads is the best thing since sliced bread; in one download you can get antivirus, iTunes, OpenOffice, and a host of other free utilities.

Rubber bands

I always keep a handful of rubber bands in my kit to keep things organized and many times the rubber band has been the most important tool I carry. How’s that you ask? How many times have you been replacing a hard disk in a server only to find the head of the screw is stripping? The fix? Place a wide rubber band between the screwdriver and the screw --  and the rubber band will fill in the stripped area. Try it and you can thank me later.

Rubber band "tool" in action

Portable Apps

The most popular comment, posted by rindi1 is Portable Apps. An excellent suite of applications you can carry on that USB drive I told you about.

CyberTool

TechRepublic commenter, tristanhood shared his choice of all-in-one toolkit with the CyberTool, definitely a great choice for the backpack pocket.

Telescoping magnet

Jfrange added in a telescoping magnet for picking up that server screw that fell behind your server rack.

Zip ties

How could I forget possibly the greatest invention in the last 100 years?

Bent paper clip

Plus one other diminutive office supply hero. If you’ve ever needed to retrieve a stuck cd or had to hard reset many devices you’ve turned your desk upside down looking for one of these.

Other items not pictured but worth mentioning:

• Linux boot disk. Many different options here.
• Carabiners
• Dedicated flashlight rather than app
• Anti-static strap
• Console cable
• Hemostats
• Ziploc bags
• Canned Air
• Duct Tape

Still other readers came up with their own homemade tools, like this one from Ron:

Way back when, working my way through college installing air conditioning and heating systems (this is pre-computers), I had to run thermostat wires in some awfully tight locations. I found a 6-foot length of beaded chain, to drop down inside walls invaluable!! Now I carry it to fish cables up from behind desks, etc. Just a cheap hunk of chain with an alligator clip on the end.

What have we missed?