Backup and Recovery Guidelines

      Following is a summary of the guidance which can be distributed to a larger IT community. Server backups are performed for business continuity and system/disaster recovery purposes.  

       Specific file recoveries from server backups are possible when adhering to the following criteria:  The server backups must be overwritten every 30 days or less for email servers and 90 days or less for all other servers. Note: For most enterprise Hub, the personal drive and share all drive tape backups are only retained for 60 days or less. (If your site uses Networker, VERITAS or other backup tools to perform backups, this means the savesets must be marked as expired every 30 days or less for email servers and 90 days or less for all other servers.)

Guidance on Specific File Recovery Request
Each request for specific file/folder recovery should be evaluated using the following guidance:  

1. If the request is associated with a system outage, then recovery would likely be necessary. Business continuity and system/disaster recovery procedures should be followed. 
2. Any file recovery request for information past the retention timeframes, requires the approval of the IT Manager.
3. Before restoring from server backup, verify that the information cannot be located online:
     a. Support personnel should check the requestor’s recycle bin and temp folders.
     b. Support personnel should check that the information has not been moved elsewhere on the server by searching several folder levels above the requested recovery location on the server. This will prevent the recovery of duplicate information. 
4. Verify ownership of recovery information:
     a. If the person is requesting personal file recovery, validate that the requestor’s ID matches the ownership of the personal file being recovered.  If the requestor is not the owner of the data, approval from IT Manager is required.
     b. If the requested information comes from a shared area (e.g. share all), the support person should secure approval from the requestor’s supervisor by email to ensure the request is valid.

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Benefits of VMware

Introduction 
     Virtual servers provide benefits in several fields: higher availability, faster deployment, lower cost, lower energy use, and simpler upgrades. 

High availability
     VMware's VMotion technology enables the live migration of running virtual machines. Virtual machines do not need to be shut down for the vast majority of physical server maintenance events or virtual-environment patching. The VMware infrastructure will detect physical server failures and automatically restart VMs on another host.

Dynamic load balancing
     The VMware infrastructure automatically distributes the load across a cluster of physical servers to ensure the maximum performance of all running virtual machines.

Hardware flexibility
     Changing the resources available to a virtual machine is possible through a simple configuration change. Storage, processor, and memory resources can be matched to actual resource usage throughout the lifetime of the hosted application.

Reduced power consumption - 95% savings 
     With virtualization, a single physical server can host tens of virtual machines; this reduces the power consumed per system. 

     Each typical physical server consumes 200-300 Watts each. In contrast, the VM machines host 30 virtual servers for a total of 400 Watts, meaning each virtual server instance uses about 14 watts apiece. That's approximately a 95% reduction in energy use per server. 

Fast provisioning
     Procuring a physical machine can take days or weeks. In contrast, a virtual machine can be provisioned in one business day. 

Lower overall cost - 75% savings 
Server consolidation reduces the cost of servers, makes more efficient use of data center space, and reduces energy consumption; all of these factors reduce the total cost of ownership. Over a three-year lifecycle, a virtual machine costs approximately 75% less to operate than a physical server.

Typical workloads cost less than $500/year to host on the VMware infrastructure.

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HP Power Calculator Program

      For anyone who are using or planning to use HP server, this help for calculate PDU before connect to the UPS. HP ProLiant Servers - Online HP Power Calculators The HP Online Power Calculator has been replaced by the HP Power Advisor for HP ProLiant G6 servers and beyond. Use the HP Power Calculator for HP ProLiant G5 and earlier server models. 

       The HP Power Advisor is a tool provided by Hewlett-Packard to assist in the estimation of power consumption and proper selection of components including power supplies at a system, rack, and multi-rack level. A variety of additional features are also provided including a condensed bill of materials, a cost of owner ship calculator, and a power report. 

Details
       The HP Power Calculator utility reduces the research and guess-work for determining power requirements of systems based on ProLiant servers. Each calculator provides precise data that planners can use to accurately predict power and cooling requirements for single systems and, consequently, for racks of systems

       HP develops a unique Power Calculator for a specific ProLiant server using data collected from server tests. Each test starts with a system fully-configured with the maximum number of processors, memory, hard drives, expansion cards, and power supplies. Proprietary software is used to exercise the processors and all peripherals while voltage and current measurements are taken. Tests are repeated for all levels of processor support at all speeds, with different memory amounts and hard drive sizes. Revised or updated servers are retested during development cycles to ensure calculator integrity.
 NOTE:  HP Power Calculator is intended to be a conservative estimator of power. No two software programs will consume exactly the same amount of power. Even programs that report the same CPU utilization will have different power consumption characteristics, based on the exact mix and sequence of instructions being executed. The programs used as the measurement reference for the HP Power Calculator were intended to consume as much or more power than actual user applications. 

Downloads

Please download and read the "HHP Power Advisor utility: a tool for estimating power requirements for HP ProLiant server systems".

   Click here to download the HP Power Advisor utility White Paper .

HP ProLiant G6 Servers 

With the release of the new ProLiant G6 Server family, HP has also launched the new HP Power Advisor. This tool will replace the Power Calculators for G6 servers and beyond. You can find the tool along with more information at the following URL.

   Click here to access the "HP ProLiant Energy Efficient Solutions" web page .

Reference: HP Power Calculator Program | powercalcs | DL385G5

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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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