[TriLUG] Re: OT advice on connectivity and machine closet/room

[STaylor at srspos.com]

See comments in Red.

It's not nearly as daunting as it appears. You may want to tour the Data 
Center's in RTP to see how they engineer.

Then follow the lead on a smaller scale!

Good Luck.

Shawn


1. Broad band provider.

Bellsouth has a synchronous product at around 300 kb that is very reliable 
or RR Business service is also very good.
Just depends on what your UP requirements are.

2. AC unit for machine room or closet

I saw the other day that APC is making a rack with AC and UPS built in. 
This is the way to go if you only need 1 rack of space which is what it 
sounds like you need. As soon as you start to break out of the 1 rack or 
if you see growth in the near future start building the room out now.

3. rack

Lots of Providers. I like IBM or APC. I have some extra com racks if you 
want a used one cheap.

4 rackmount ups

I like APC myself but I also hear good things about powerware.

5. connection to the upstairs

Fiber if you can swing it but it's much more expensive than a pair of 
ethernet cables.

6. Connection to main office

Again Fiber or wireless if it's a haul. Ethernet being the cheapest again.

7. Patch panel

Make sure it and your punch blocks are at least cat 5e or cat 6 at this 
point. No point in moving backwards.
Again, I have some extra 5e's if you want a cheap one or two. Never been 
used. No punch blocks though.

8. Firewall/gateway/router

You probably won't need a router if you have a simple network. I would run 
with something small and web based.
Netscreen has a good product www.netscreen.com or you can look at any of 
the big guys, like cisco, foundry etc. You might also want to consider a 
linux box with RouteD and IPtables.
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