[150009] in North American Network Operators' Group
RE: common time-management mistake: rack & stack
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (George Bonser)
Fri Feb 17 11:29:32 2012
From: George Bonser <gbonser@seven.com>
To: Jeff Wheeler <jsw@inconcepts.biz>, NANOG <nanog@nanog.org>
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:28:30 +0000
In-Reply-To: <CAPWAtbLe+PCM8+JRKo5op5v_HTr8q3JBu9qmymKyCOw66nHhUw@mail.gmail.com>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Wheeler=20
> Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 11:30 PM
> To: NANOG
> Subject: common time-management mistake: rack & stack
>=20
> Randy's P-Touch thread brings up an issue I think is worth some
> discussion. I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes
> well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack &
> stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
>=20
> Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up
> ATMs.
> Flying a sharp router jockey around to far-flung POPs to install gear
> is just as foolish.
>=20
> Not only does the router jockey cost a lot more to employ than a CCNA,
> but if your senior-level talent is wasting time in airports and IBXes,
> that is time they can't be doing things CCNAs can't.
>=20
I see this as a double-edged sword. You don't want your "C" staff out in =
the field actually installing gear as a general course of operations as tha=
t is a great waste of their time/talent unless the "C" role is more "honora=
ry" than anything else. That said, you might want a senior technical perso=
n on site overseeing the installation, checking the configuration, interfac=
ing with vendor staff, testing things, etc. And it is good to have this se=
nior staff member present when things go sideways as is often the case with=
new installations and often these issues are physical and are best solved =
with someone senior on site who can make decisions on the spot or carry mor=
e weight with the provider to get things done quickly. This should be someo=
ne that was involved in discussions with the vendor's rep. during the plann=
ing phase. If you get too reliant on sending only the cage monkeys (a term=
I use with fondness) then what happens when problems turn up greatly depen=
d on your corporate culture. Do they simply stop, report the problem and w=
ait for direction? Is there anyone on site that has the trust of the organ=
ization to make decisions on the fly and cut through the organizational red=
tape? Can they authorize a configuration change to work around something u=
nforeseen? Having someone senior enough on site to make these decisions an=
d carries some weight with the vendor can greatly reduce the time it takes =
to get a data center up and running. Granted, he doesn't need to be there =
when the initial cables are being laid out but should be there once equipme=
nt starts being installed in racks and configured. Having that experience =
and authority on site at the time of installation can be quite valuable.
