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4. Data Centers
Note: sometimes it can be hard to imagine how this works without seeing it first hand. An example site is available here built on the data from this repo.
Before we create our first data center, an explanation of the resulting location code is in order. A location code is made up of the following attributes. Each attribute should be as short, unique and descriptive. Only letters, numbers and "-" are accepted. Data center code - This might be the initials the data center is known by. In the example database, it is "sf01" representing a data center in San Francisco. It could also be based on numbers, like "dc01", dc02" etc. Cage code - I have just numbered them in the past but they could correspond with the facility numbering if it is not too long. Rack code - Typically this is the data center assigned rack numbers.
These are then combined into an unique rack location, so from the example database, the SF data center, Storage cage, rack 1563 with a server in RU 18, would have a code of sf01_02_1563_18. The underscores are inserted automatically.
Use the DCIT drop down and select Data Centers. Press the + Data Center button.
The information needed is:
Data center full name - required : Name it is publicly known by.
Data center code - required : short abbreviation your company knows this data center by.
Founding Company - this is your company name. This field is primarily used for differentiating between different acquisitions or mergers.
Here you can keep the contacts that are related to this data center. Use the "Main" type for the location of the facility itself.
Other things you might want to add here are DC Security, Support (remote hands), Account Manager, or Accounting. Don't limit yourself just to those employed directly with the facility. You can include the local structured cable contractor for instance, recommended airports, hotels and restaurants. It is a great way to keep all the relevant information in one place.
Note: To get the most out of DCIT and your own documentation. It is important to have a cage floor diagram. Although I would love to include this feature, it is a long way off at this point. Some people use Vizio which has some great features like Layers and Templates but I always found it cumbersome. A free option I like quite a bit is Google Drawing. Its main advantage is it can be a single source of truth. Everyone can work on the live document simultaneously so there are no check outs or merging, especially helpful in meetings when you are working out a new layout. Here is a link to a small site example that goes with the example database.
You are going to need a place to put your racks, whether you only have a few racks in a larger shared cage or you have an entire room. These will need to be defined as a cage.
The information needed is:
Nickname - required : what do people refer to this cage as? Is it the main cage? Cage in the back? The old cage? This is up to you.
Code - required : this will be part of the location code, try to keep this down to no more than three letters or numbers.
Facility ID - required : what does the facility call it, if you call remote hands and need to tell them what cage to go to, what would you say?
Additional "cages" you will want to create are "Receiving" and "Staging". Receiving is the cage you assign things to when you know they have arrived but they have not been unpacked and placed in their permanent position, since I number my other cages with a 2 digit code, I number receiving "00" so it is always the first cage in the list. Staging is where you assign equipment that is getting ready to be shipped out, usually for RMA or Recycling. I number this cage 99 so it is last.
Racks are actually rack positions. A location where a rack can be bolted down. Just add the dimensions of any rack that is bolted down in that location.
If you are tracking the racks as equipment these racks will be added to Equipment with a RU location of 00 and a RU height of however many RU positions are available.
The information needed is:
Code - required : This is the rack number.
Facility Name - required : This is what the facility call the rack.
Total Rack U Count - required : RU Height.
Note about floor position. Typically, raised floors are laid out with 2 x 2 foot tiles. This can be an excellent way to build a grid, just don't expect your equipment to always fit on this grid. Racks of different widths and other data center furniture can make it a futile effort to try and line things up. Typically I have used the front right corner of the rack or furniture as the X Y location coordinates.
Currently networks are based on VLANs. You may have the same VLANs numbers in different data centers but they must be unique within a data center.
Entering all of your network information here will make it easy to find for reference but is also used for configuration reports in other parts of the application.
Future version may use subnets to base networks on.
This is for a future feature where you would list the main branches here and then add the circuits to the racks. These circuits would then be linked to the PDUs in the racks so it would be possible to trace the power all the way back to the branch. This could be useful in determining redundancy or power reliability issues. Currently only parts of this have been implemented so remains optional.