North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical RE: Building a NOC
On 24-Mar-98 Howard C. Berkowitz wrote: > At 09:22 +0000 3/24/98, Bill Unsworth wrote: >>At 08:52 AM 3/23/98 -0500, you wrote: [snip] The notes below will be a keeper for our organization for some time. We are in the process of building a NOC. Anyone interested in hearing the progress (or lack of) thus far, let me know and I can email some of the information direct. Thanks to those who contributed to the list below, I will be using it much from now on. Morgan > > The anecdotes in this discussion thread, I think, are definitely worth > keeping somewhere, although I'm not sure of the venue. Some of us had been > vaguely chatting in Albuquerque about a documentation part of the NANOG web > page. > > But some non-obvious threads are surfacing in this discussion, at least > non-obvious if you haven't been there. Restating a few of the less obvious > ones, > > -- Define the NOC's function > > -- Define the NOC's audience, including people that will have no useful > function but do have political influence that MUST be satisfied > > -- When considering a physical site, do a careful and paranoid threat > of the planned space, the building, and its immediate environs. You > will want to identify possible hazards including fire, flood, etc. > > -- Consider how you will get large equipment in and out of the site, > especially those that might need emergency replacement. What if the > building is on limited power and the elevator is down? Some buildings > have to have large equipment lifted in with a crane or helicopter. > Air conditioning equipment or major power supplies are examples of > very hard to handle components. > > -- As part of the site survey, understand how electrical power and > communications feeders come into the space and building. Are there > alternatives for redundancy? > > -- Will there be a backup NOC, even consisting of a node into which staff > can dial? > > -- Do a thorough electrical requirmements plan, and be sure the grounding > system is up to current practices. When devices have multiple power > supplies (e.g., Cisco 7000/7500), be sure they are plugged into circuits > on different breakers. > > -- Think through who will be planning, installing, and inspecting signal > cabling. If it's a union shop, or especially if non-union personnel > will be doing any work in a union area, see if you can get the shop > steward on your side. > > -- Be sure cellular/cordless phones will work in all your wire closets, > or be sure there are voice jacks where a telephone set can be plugged > in to coordinate testing. > > -- When planning cable runs, be sure you can access critical components > that otherwise might be buried under a heavy mass of cables. Plan the > runs so they will not interfere with cards sliding in and out of > chassis. > > -- Beware of snakes, floor drains, shock hazards, etc., under raised > floors. > > -- Consider backup facilities for critical people. If there was a major > disaster that isolated the site, but still let some of its function > work, > where will staff sleep? Are there emergency food supplies (not a bad > idea even beyond major disasters -- if people are working around the > clock, it's good to have alternatives besides pizza, if that is > available)? > > > Especially if you are in earthquake or amorous rat country, think about > catastrophes that can knock out the NOC but leave parts of your network > working. > > ----------------------------------------- Morgan Sarges Voice Phone: 605-338-8334 [email protected] Fax: 605-335-3942 System Administrator Dakota Telecommunications Group, Internet Division Network Operations Center No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas. PGP Public Key block available upon request. ------------------------------------------
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