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Computer Room Design?
Onion asks: "My company is considering giving us a new Computer Room, and Command Center, as our existing building is nowhere near meeting current needs, let alone future needs. I have seen a few plans for command center furniture, but no real designs or ideas for the layout of these two rooms. We have five racks for the actual computer room, and need around 25 screens for the command console. Add to this bench space for repairs, and things like: a cupboard, bookshelf, plus more storage space, and the design becomes more complicated. We need enough space for three or four admins. Has anyone seen plans for this type of setup ?"
My advice is to build your own command center by studying those featured in the James Bond movies. Most of the bad guys have a fully staffed, very impressive command center filled with computers and cool looking wall-sized flat screens. Make sure you get the center chair that overlooks the whole setup. Not only will it be a joy to work at but a command center like that will impress even the most stingy of VCs or customers.
Always happy to help,
GMD
watch this
I'm a little confused here. If you only have 5 racks of servers, why on earth do you need 25 consoles? 5 racsk can easily be controlled with one decent KVM, I prefer Blackbox myself. You also didn't say how much room you have. 25 consoles, even stacked 3 high take up a hell of a lotta room. Get a really good KVM, leave the people that need to be there in the noisy hel of a computer room, and then go back out to your desk and run everything from ssh or a Win2k terminal session. That's the way I do it.
--- Think of it as evolution in action ---
Heavens no. The servers should be a snarl of ethernet cable, switches, hubs, etc. all mixed in with torn apart boxes. If you can't tell which machine is the server except by which box has the SCSI card in it with the LEDs illuminated (cover on said box should be OFF of course) you're wasting valuable company time fiddling with a phillips screwdriver when you should be:
changing the f-ing toner cartridge on the LJet2 up on the second floor.
Hop to it, now, admin-boy.
Unless you want to get sued and fined by OSHA.
Noise levels, particularly high-pitched noise in computer rooms are way too high for human habitation. You will go deaf if subjected to for many years.
If people need to sit in the raised floor area, there needs to be a wood/glass wall between them and the computers and chillers.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK