Data Center Rack Install

       I worte this to provides guidelines for the process of data center rack installations at your company(s). Server installation is addressed specifically in the Server Installation standard. This will be achieved by a workforce including, but not limited to, contractors, vendor partners and employees who consistently apply safe work practices. Safe work practices, including emergency procedures in the event of disasters. A safe and secure environment helps ensure the health and well being of all individuals (including workforce and visitors) as well as minimizes the impact of incidents that could affect business operations.

       To mitigate potential and preventable impacts to facilities IT equipment caused by the incorrect installation of equipment racks and through the application of industry standards, governmental regulations and current best practices with the goal of ensuring 100% operability and reliability when called upon for service.

Workforce members should assist each other in following the guidelines.

       Rack standards are necessary to ensure the maximum levels of safety, reliability and compliance in the data center. Racks form an important part of the IT and telecom infrastructure as they house valuable equipment. Nineteen-inch NEMA rack cabinets are used for a myriad of applications, including mounting IT (servers and data storage products) and telecommunications products (switches and networking equipment).  Rack cabinets are available for variable height and depth requirements, but the standard height is 42 Units (1 U = 1.75 inches).

Data Center Rack Install Procedure
       The data center manager is responsible for ensuring that all racks meet the standards and are installed properly.

Rack General Requirements

• Place the leveling feet down on each rack so that it does not sit on the casters and is secure and level.
• Do not mix power and data cables in the same cable tray.
• Do not install cable management arms on the servers as they block air flow.
• Insure that both signal and power cables are segregated in the rear of the racks, appropriately tie wrapped with service loops in the cabling so that the servers can be extended and maintained without having to disconnect the cabling.
• Fill the open space in the racks with both horizontal and vertical blanking plates. This reduces the amount of bypass air in the data center. Bypass air is the unintended movement of hot or cold air into areas where the two mix and reduce overall cooling efficiency.
• Ground every rack in the data center per the Grounding SOP and Chevron Data Center Design Standards. 
• Use plastic covers over the front cable trays.
• Install all racks with the front of the rack on the seam between floor tiles when installed on raised floor.
• All racks are to be installed with side panels and fully perforated front and rear doors. 
• Leave two full floor tiles or approximately 4 feet in all cold rows.
• All equipment in the rack should be installed so that the cold air intake is from the cold row and discharges hot air into the hot row (front to rear airflow).
• Ensure that all cable hole openings in the racks are protected with a grommet.
• Installing a folding monitor and KVM as the server density requires is a good practice.
• Seismic bracing of racks is required for equipment in active earthquake zones.
• Ensure that racks are labeled per the DCOE Labeling.
• Ensure that racks are installed in a manner to comply with the DCOE Raised Floor.
• Ensure that racks are installed in a manner to comply with the DCOE Airflow.
• Internal cage of the rack is a standard 19 inches.
• External rack is 30 inches wide instead of the standard 24 inches (800MM instead of traditional 600MM). (HP rack is for server and storage use).
• (4) 4 inch by 4 inch cable trays installed in the corners of the rack to house the cables.
• 40 amp Hewlett Packard Power Distribution Unit (PDU)or similar power strip installed in the back of the rack. This PDU provides power from two different sources.

Installation of a Vendor Rack (rack which server equipment was loaded by a vendor) 
Example – HDS storage rack, ETC PC cluster rack loaded offsite

1. _ Verify power configuration in rack matches power installed at rack location exactly            a._ if not, recycle to data center power installation procedures
2. _ Verify power inside the rack is actually dual power corded or attached via a static switch
3. _ Label the power cords with UPS information and rack location which plug into the DC Branch circuits 
4. _ Grommet installed under the rack for cable pass thru – where required
5. _ Install rack with the front of the rack on the seam between the floor tiles – leaving the required 2 solid floor tiles in the cold row in front of the rack.
6. _ Ground the rack to under floor ground cable or bolt to the row of racks
7. _ Seismic brace the rack / bolt to the floor where required (active earthquake zones)  
8. _ Label the rack with the grid location
9. _ Add the rack to inventory and turn on data center billing

Installation of a New Empty Rack 

1. _ Verify power configuration in rack matches power installed at rack location exactly     a._if not, recycle to data center power installation procedures
2. _ Label the power cords with UPS information and rack location which plug into the DC Branch circuits 
3. _ Grommet installed under the rack for cable pass thru – where required
4. _ Install rack with the front of the rack on the seam between the floor tiles – leaving the required 2 solid floor tiles in the cold row in front of the rack.
5. _ Ground the rack to under floor ground cable or bolt to the row of racks
6. _ Seismic brace the rack / bolt to the floor where required (active earthquake zones) 
7. _ Label the rack with the grid location

Instructions
When to use it:
During the development of site-specific standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Why is it important? 
This template helps standardize procedure writing. This template complies with the requirements of the OEMS.

Sample Visio Diagram: Typical Telecommunications Room Design.vsd

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Ping Multiple Destination With Batch File

       A common tool that network and system admins make use of is the “Ping” command which is a very simple and effective way to verify a machine is available on the network (firewall rules depending of course). So if you find yourself having to ping multiple machines at once, a very useful tool is the batch files, which will not only ping all the ip addresses but also give you ping results in text file format with just single click.


      A batch file is a text file containing a series of commands intended to be executed by the command interpreter. When a batch file is run, the shell program (usually COMMAND.COM  or cmd.exe) reads the file and executes its commands, normally line-by-line. Batch files are useful for running a sequence of executables automatically and are often used by system administrators to automate tedious processes.

Steps to create batch file::

1. Open up Notepad, type in the following commands (Example)
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   @Echo off
   ping 192.168.1.1 > "%userprofile%\desktop\pingresult.txt"
   ping www.google.com >> "%userprofile%\desktop\pingresult.txt"
   ping 146.23.4.45 >> "%userprofile%\desktop\pingresult.txt"
   tracert 192.168.1.1 >> "%userprofile%\desktop\pingresult.txt"
   tracert www.google.com >> "%userprofile%\desktop\pingresult.txt"
   tracert 146.23.4.45 >> "%userprofile%\desktop\pingresult.txt"
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Remember::  > will run the command and create a file with ping results and >> will append or add next ip address ping results to the created file . So whenever you create batch file first command should always have single > and subsequent  commands should have  >>.
2. Now save this file with Filename Ping_result.cmd or whatever you want and Change  Save as type to All files.
3. Run the Ping_result.cmd and you will get pingresult.txt on your desktop.

       Play around with netstat , ipconfig and other commands by creating batch files in the similar manner.., just change the ping command to the command of your choice in the above example.

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How to Use the Traceroute Command

     Traceroute is a command which can show you the path a packet of information takes from your computer to one you specify. It will list all the routers it passes through until it reaches its destination, or fails to and is discarded. In addition to this, it will tell you how long each 'hop' from router to router takes.
    In Windows, select Start > Run > Type cmd or Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.  This will give you a window like the one below.

    Enter the word tracert, followed by a space, then the domain name.

    The following is a successful traceroute from a my machine in Thailand to liverpoolfc.tv:

     Firstly it tells you that it's tracing the route to liverpoolfc.tv, tells you the IP address of that domain, and what the maximum number of hops will be before it times out.
Next it gives information about each router it passes through on the way to its destination.
1 is the internet gateway on the network this traceroute was done from (an ADSL modem in this case)
2 - 5 are the ISP the origin computer is connected to (totbb.net)
6 - 8 are also in the xtra network
9 - 10 are all routers on the sg.bb.gin.ntt.net network (the domain that is the internet gateway Sigapore side)
11 - 13 are all uk.bb.gin.ntt.net in the UK (a telecom supplier in the UK)
14 - 15 are on the UK network 
and finally, line 16 is the computer liverpoolfc.tv is hosted on (liverpoolfc.tv)

      This is extremely useful when trying to find out why a website is unreachable, as you will be able to see where the connection fails. If you have a website hosted somewhere, it would be a good idea to do a traceroute to it when it is working, so that when it fails, you can do another traceroute to it (which will probably time out if the website is unreachable) and compare them. Be aware though, that it will probably take a different route each time, but the networks it passes through will generally be very similar. 
If the example above had continued to time out after line 9, you could suspect that sg.bb.gin.ntt.net was the problem, and not liverpoolfc.tv.

     If it timed out after line 1, you would know there was a problem connecting to your ISP (in this case you would not be able to access anything on the internet).

    It is generally recommended that if you have a website that is unreachable, you should use both the traceroute and ping commands before you contact your ISP to complain. More often that not, there will be nothing to your ISP or hosting company can do about it.

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How to Use the Ping Command

       Pinging is a command which tells you if the connection between your computer and a particular domain is working correctly.


       In Windows, select Start > Run > Type cmd or Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt. This will give you a window like the one below.
      Enter the word ping, followed by a space, then the domain name.
      If the results show a series of replies, the connection is working. The time shows you how fast the connection is. If you see a "timed out" error instead of a reply, there is a breakdown somewhere between your computer and the domain. In this case the next step is to perform a traceroute.

      Online ping. If you can't use the Ping command from your own computer because of a firewall or other restriction, or want to do an Internet ping from another location than your own, you can use one of the following websites that offer online ping services:

his.com Ping http://www.his.com/cgi-bin/ping?
Network-Tools http://network-tools.com/
Spfld.com Ping   http://www.spfld.com/ping.html
Theworldsend.net ping http://www.theworldsend.net/php-ping.php

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Color Batch File To Check Network~Server

       I wrote this today to provide an easy way for anyone to see if a computer is on the network/internet and even do some basic troubleshooting. If someone wanted to take this. Just cut and past into a text file and save with a .bat extension and you should be good to go. Could easily be put on a floppy or e-mailed to someone to test with..

Here is the basic color command:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@echo off

::

:: cecho by thomas

::

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0C}{\n}

echo This is a private system operated for HXXX Company business.

echo Authorization from XXX management is required to use this system.

echo Use by unauthorized person is prohibited.

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0C}{\n}

echo WARNING: This computer system is accessed by authorized users outside

echo of HP. All security and control procedures must be strictly followed.

pause

cecho {00}**********{\n}

echo Unpacking cecho utility

call :unpack_cecho

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0E}***************************************{\n}

cecho {0E}** BKKGCAP01.asiapacific..net **{\n}

cecho {0E}***************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------- {9F}Location: Row {9F}2 {9F}Rack {9F}8 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping bkkgcap01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0A}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0A}** TLAEXC01.asiapacific.xxxx.net **{\n}

cecho {0A}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------ {9F}Location: Row {9F}2 {9F}Rack {9F}2 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping tlaexc01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0E}***************************************{\n}

cecho {0E}** BKKFILE01.asiapacific.xxxx.net **{\n}

cecho {0E}***************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------- {9F}Location: Row {9F}2 {9F}Rack {9F}1 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping bkkfile01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0A}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0A}** BKKCOE01.asiapacific.xxxx.net **{\n}

cecho {0A}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------ {9F}Location: Row {9F}2 {9F}Rack {9F}1 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping bkkcoe01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0E}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0E}** THACOE01.asiapacific.xxxx.net **{\n}

cecho {0E}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------ {9F}Location: Row {9F}2 {9F}Rack {9F}* {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping thacoe01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0A}***************************************{\n}

cecho {0A}** THNCIU01.asiapacific.xxxx.net  **{\n}

cecho {0A}***************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------- {9F}Location: Row {9F}1 {9F}Rack {9F}8 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping thnciu01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0A}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0A}** BKKSQL01.asiapacific.xxxx.net **{\n}

cecho {0A}**************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ------ {9F}Location: Row {9F}2 {9F}Rack {9F}8 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping bkksql01 -n 5

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {00}**********{\n}

cecho {0E}*************************************{\n}

cecho {0E}** BKKDP01.asiapacific.cpqcorp.net **{\n}

cecho {0E}*************************************{\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

cecho {9F} ----- {9F}Location: Row {9F}1 {9F}Rack {9F}8 {9F}------ {\n}

cecho {0B}{\n}

ping bkkdp01 -n 5

pause

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Download sample file
cecho.c      cecho.exe      cecho.vcproj      cecho BoYLaSeR.cmd    

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