In the Beginning...

   

In the Beginning

It's easier to start out right then to try to retool later. While this is true for most things, it is certainly true for managing the configurations of systems. The more configuration control that has been placed over the system from the beginning, the better the results will be moving forward. Everything from color standardization on cables and labels, the placement of the equipment in the data center, system naming conventions, system installation, and patch maintenance is important.

Correct placement of the equipment in the data center is important, so that the systems do not need to be moved later. If possible, think about the future growth that will be required. Because human interactions with equipment can cause issues like cables to "fall off," the wrong disks to be replaced , the wrong system to be upgraded, it is good to minimize human interactions. In general, the less human contact that the equipment has, the better off it is.

The data center environment should be planned for simplicity and convenience. Is the equipment accessible to what it needs to be accessible to? Are the systems expected to need more storage, and if so, is there room for it? Think about the long term .

Naming conventions become important so the correct system can be quickly identified and found. This is important so that systems are not mistaken for each other and the wrong peripherals or cables are added or removed.

Whenever possible, plan. The old saying of hope for the best but plan for the worst is valid here. In cases where you inherit systems that were never under configuration management, it is possible to get this fixed, but it can be painful to uptime constraints and time consuming for the system administrators.

Systems need to properly labeled so that the systems con be identified quickly and correctly. At minimum, it is important that both the front and the back of the system is labeled. Selecting colors for the labels for similar system types can also be helpful for identification.

   


Enterprise Data Center Design and Methodology
Enterprise Data Center Design and Methodology
ISBN: 0130473936
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 142
Authors: Rob Snevely

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