Documenting and Managing
Infrastructure Connectivity
David Cuthbertson
Square Mile Systems Ltd
[email protected] www.squaremilesystems.com
Square Mile Background
• Develop toolsets, training and techniques for operational
management of complex IT infrastructure
• Focus areas
– Data center management
– Connectivity management
– System change impact analysis
– Documentation techniques
– Infrastructure visualisation
• All technologies! (Cabling, Power, Cabinets, Buildings)Fixed Infrastructure Hardware Infrastructure Network, Servers, UPS, Storage, Other
Virtual Infrastructure Network, Servers, Storage, DBMS
Applications
PC, server, mainframe, SOA Services
End user, infrastructure, supplier Business Processes
Departmental, Company
Session overview
•
Communicate practices and techniques to
colleagues and customers that will aid
better management of infrastructure
connectivity
•
Recognise good and bad methods of
labeling devices and cabling
•
Take into account operational
management needs when designing or
installing cabling infrastructures
Is it a Problem?
•
Standards already cover cabling design,
installation and labelling
– TIA568A, ISO 11801, EN50173, TIA942
•
Standards already cover administration
– ANSI/TIA/EIA-606, EN50174-1,
ISO/IEC14763-1, TIA942, BS6701:2004
•
Connectivity is more than just about data
cabling!
– Power is becoming just as complex
How
ma
ny f
ollow
the
se f
or a
ll
cabl
ing
imp
lem
ent
ations
?
Changing Requirements
BEFORE AFTER
No. of Servers per cabinet 3-6 30-40
Power Dissipated per cab. 300-2000W 3kW - 25kW
Current service to cabinet 16A 2x32 A or 3 phase
Types of Equipment Servers Blade Servers
Monitor Power Distribution Units
KVMs MidSpan Boxes
Power Strips Disk Arrays (Storage)
UPS Smart Power Strips
Regular Power Strips
Network types 100M 1G, 10G, SAN
No. of Cables Power 1 or 2 2 to 6
(per server) Network 1 or 2 5 to 10
Where Do We Focus?
• Earthing and bonding• Containment
• Firestopping
• Spaces (rooms, racks etc.)
• Vertical wiring
• Horizontal wiring
• Power
• IT equipment
Standards Recommendations
1. Class or Hierarchy Structure
Class 1 – Single equipment room
Class 2 – Multiple rooms
Class 3 – Campus
Class 4 – Multiple sites
Naming conventions and approach will differ
with administration systems.
Standards Recommendations
2. Naming conventions and examples
Country, site, floor, room, rack, unit, sub-unit, port
1A-AC01/A-01 Floor 1 Equipment Room A Rack AC01 Patch panel A Port 01
Standards Recommendations
3. Standardised Naming & Coding
Glossary of terms and abbreviations
Symbols for drawing
Termination point colour coding
Patch cable coding
Standards Recommendations
4. Recommended data sets to maintain
Port type
- RJ45
Cable type
- Cat6A
Cable length - 65m
User name
- Daves PC
Test results - U:\Cabletest\1Atest.xls
Drawings
- Floor, room drawings
Why Does It Happen?
1. Standards have been referenced for the design, implementation and testing of infrastructure
2. Good components have been chosen - which rarely go wrong
How Do We Manage Today?
•
Informal / formal processes
•
Site survey, pre-installation checks, audits
•
Ownership is often on a local basis
•
Create knowledge sets as individuals or
within teams – Excel, Visio, Word, Notes,
Sharepoint, Access
•
Or give the problem to someone else
Different Teams, Different Focus
Fixed Infrastructure
(Cabling, Power, Racks, Rooms, Buildings) Hardware Infrastructure
PCs, Network, Servers, UPS, Storage, Other Virtual Infrastructure
PCs, Network, Servers, Storage, DBMS Applications
PC, server, mainframe, SOA Services
End user, infrastructure, supplier Business Processes Departmental, Company Service Management Data Centre Networks LAN/SAN Applications Mid-range Servers Systems Desktops IMAC
Adding a New Server?
Patching spreadsheets Building wiring diagrams Computer room layoutPABX port mapping
Labelling standards
SAN Architecture Point to Point Cabling Asset list
Structured cabling only Inventory list Legacy systems Storage diagrams KVM LAN diagrams WAN diagrams Backbone switches
Edge switches Blade switches IIS Architecture KVM Architecture LAN Architecture Power distribution PDUs Circuit breakers Power architecture Power strip connections Rack Diagrams
Different Views
LINK 10/100 FEATURE LAN SERIAL CURRENT ON = I OFF = U BLINK = REMOTE OUTL ET # I /U TOGGLE RESERVED STATUS 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 100-240V ~ 50~ 60Hz 1.2A KVM Server Firewall Switch Storage Copper Fibre Power Managing change at equipment level requires different views of connectivity! Or monitoring results from power, network or storage can’t be interpreted LINK 10/100 FEATURE LAN SERIAL CURRENT ON = I OFF = U BLINK = REMOTE OUTL ET # I /U TOGGLEIs It Just Too Difficult?
For many organisations, the internal culture does not enable more coordinated team practices
Why is it difficult?
Creating a start point or baseline is costly Defining update processes
Will involve multiple technical teams Disinterest by project teams
Connectivity Costs!
It is easy to use technical teams and suppliers inefficiently!
– Travel to check on existing connectivity or site survey
– Meetings to communicate local cabling architecture
– Reconciling differences in systems documentation
– Creating build and patch instructions
– Drawing diagrams which become out of date and uncontrolled
– Audit connectivity to check on resilient paths / SPOF
– Tracing connectivity to help with fault diagnosis
– Manually produce reports on numbers of changes / installs
– Switch port tracing to identify free and pre-patched ports
– Producing risk and test plans as part of projects
What’s the upside?
1. Reduced operational expenditure– Optimise existing infrastructure
2. Reduced cost of changes
– Planning, implementing, reporting
3. Faster implementation of changes
– Reducing planning and communication
– Forward planning and capacity control
4. Reduced risk of disruption
– Impact analysis is easier, less mistakes
5. Less effort to keep accurate documentation
Project SLAs
Time
Year
What Types of Documentation?
Specific path connectivity
– End Points and paths
Definitions
– Types of ports, addressing, naming, labelling
Diagrams
– Views of physcial locations, physcial and logical paths
Capacity reports
– Fixed infrastructure (patch panels, power strips, PDUs)
– Active infrastructure devices (network switches, SAN, PBX)
Management & Workflow
Example - Cable Labeling
Patch Panel A Patch Panel Patch Panel Patch Panel 01 02 13 14 Patch Panel Patch Panel Patch Panel 03 23 24 UX01 UX02 SW01 SW02 UX03 SW03 B C D E F GCable Labeling Examples
Easy for workflow and end path tracing
6. Common path label on cable (1123238)
Easy for software tools to reference
5. Unique label on each cable (04567489)
Easy to know impact of disconnect
4. Device end points of cable (SW01/P01-UX01/ETH0)
Easy to trace ends of patch cable
3. Local end points of cable (SW01/P01 – PP01/01)
Easy to ensure cable is in right port
2. Port number at each end (SW01/P01)
No administration requirements
1. No Label
Benefits Possible Options - Some
Recommended Labeling
•
Our recommendation is;
– Unique labels at both ends of a patch cable
•
Why
– No re-labelling if devices change names
– Cables can be re-used, pre-patched
– Easy to audit recent changes
– Needed by software tools as a reference
•
But you need to look for a software tool
that accepts (and can create) cable labels
Reducing The Amount of Data
Word Visio Excel Excel Visio Word Word Word Word Visio Visio Excel Visio Excel Visio Word Word Visio Excel Excel Excel Word Word Visio Excel Excel ExcelBefore - uncoordinated data After – Less data sources
Consistent views & reports Capacity & audit trails
Workflow and reservation
Excel
Reporting
Define the Level of Detail
1. Local patch
Patch Panel
2. End to End path
Patch Panel Patch Panel 3. All devices connected to the switch Patch Panel Patch Panel
Example – Do This Yourself
Excel Excel Visio Assets/Inventory Port Connections ETH 2 27 ETH 2 23 ETH 0 15 ETH 0 11 ETH 0 9 ETH 0 1 SFP1 G10-4 SFP1 G10-3 SW-BHAM-CORE2SW-BHAM-05 SW-BHAM-04 SW-BHAM-02
UK_BIRM_UX04
UK_BIRM_UX06 UK_BIRM_UX07 UK_BIRM_UX08 UK_BIRM_UX10 Network
Power
1. Draw diagram using Excel data 2. Refresh Visio for updates
More Sophisticated
Specialist DC
Management Toolset
Data Feeds
Monitoring, Discovery, Test Results, Project Plans, Other
1. Paths Physical Logical Device 2. Diagrams Physical Logical Multi-technology 3. Capacity Fixed infrastructure
Active components Power
4. Workflow Reserve, design Build instructions
It is wise to develop your own requirements before choosing
any specialist toolset!
Steps to Success - Build
• Ensure hand over documentation reflects the built environment
• Insist that format and content are consistent with the standards or systems adopted
• Why not get suppliers to deliver the operational processes as well as infrastructure data?
– They do it already for HVAC and power systems
• Any further works should result in updates to existing documentation sets
Steps to Success - Operate
1. Create an inventory
- All components involved in connectivity 2. Document the fixed infrastructure
- Backbone, power, SAN 3. Record the connectivity
- Paths, ports, labels
4. Create reports and diagrams to suit the need - Capacity, topology diagrams
Are We Working Too Hard?
• Reverse engineering existing systems• Producing different views of connectivity
• Travelling and meeting unnecessarily
• Coping with inconsistent information
• Be smart – work more as a team!
– Save on cost, time and effort
Thank you for your attention
Questions or feedback?
David Cuthbertson Square Mile Systems Ltd www.squaremilesystems.com
