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Ask Slashdot: Server Room Toolbox?
jandersen writes "I am the system manager in charge of a smallish server room (~50 servers, most in racks), and I am going to buy a set of tools; but first I want to hear what other people think would be a good idea. Certainly a range of good quality screwdrivers — slotted, Phillips, Pozidriv, Torx. But what else? Tape measure? Spirit level (for aligning the racks)? Any meters or cable testers? A wood lathe? I can probably get away with a budget of a few hundred GBP, but there ought to be some mileage in that."
All your good tools will be stolen, just buy the cheap stuff so noone wants to takem. Its better to have cheap tools then none at all. (Or you could nuy nice ones and lock them up and then pray you NEVER leave the tools box unlocked)
Don't forget a good hammer for when all else fails.
The dust thrown out by the wood lathe is a good idea for ensuring a constant turnover of hardware in your server room, but I find that dust that is conductive works even better, so I'd recommend an angle grinder over a wood lathe.
always prove useful. And some ammo.
Irrelevant. He's a server-room system manager, so that implies he's in wizard mode and not getting his score counted.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Don't forget:
- a rubber hammer (for failing hard drives without visible traces)
- a cattle prod (for failing "visitors" without visible traces)
- a sledgehammer (for failing anything if you don't mind visible traces)
- thermite (to get rid of visible traces)
I gave up sigs almost a year ago.
have either of you cunts ever heard of tags?
Definitely get a sonic screwdriver. Most shops don't carry them, and the ones that do are always out of stock whenever I ask for one, but I've seen them used before and they can do anything.
Sounds like you have no cue
I am unsure why you would recommend a cue as being a good tool for someone to possess when running a server room. Is it for asking users "have you ever been poked?" and then giving them a good jab? Or perhaps for turning on the lights or kettle when you cannot be bothered to get up from your desk?
You listed a lathe on a budget of a few hundred GBP?
That one was a joke - it's something we are prone to in UK, sorry.
I thought of suggesting a scythe, but that sounded kind of rural, so ..., well you know how it is.
Ah, you get turned on by the sight of the raw computing power? Me too.
PS: What is a fleshlight? Is it just 'flashlight' as pronounced by 'Her Mejesty'?
"All of life’s problems can be solved with two things—duct tape and WD40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, you need duct tape. And if it doesn’t move and it should, you need WD40."
No, I'm rather serious!
When you have a board that is flaky, that works "most of the time" and fails intermittently, 10 seconds in a microwave is a wonderful way to make sure that the part fails as expected without causing any of the visible damage that might get your RMA rejected.
Few things suck worse than sending in an RMA and getting the same item back. (I've verified that this was happening by putting a few very discreet marks on the edges of the card with a permanent marker)
No, it doesn't have nearly the satisfaction of a hammer, but you can still cackle inwardly while you count to 10...
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.