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Documenting and Managing Infrastructure Connectivity
David CuthbertsonSquare Mile Systems Ltd
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!
Business ProcessesDepartmental, Company
ServicesEnd user, infrastructure, supplier
ApplicationsPC, server, mainframe, SOA
Fixed Infrastructure(Cabling, Power, Cabinets, Buildings)
Hardware InfrastructureNetwork, Servers, UPS, Storage, Other
Virtual InfrastructureNetwork, Servers, Storage, DBMS
Data Center Infrastructure
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 many follow these for all
cabling implementations?
Changing Requirements
BEFORE AFTERNo. of Servers per cabinet 3-6 30-40Power Dissipated per cab. 300-2000W 3kW - 25kWCurrent service to cabinet 16A 2x32 A or 3 phaseTypes of Equipment Servers Blade Servers
Monitor Power Distribution UnitsKVMs MidSpan Boxes
Power Strips Disk Arrays (Storage)UPS Smart Power Strips
Regular Power StripsNetwork types 100M 1G, 10G, SANNo. of Cables Power 1 or 2 2 to 6(per server) Network 1 or 2 5 to 10
Cabinet Total 20-30 300 - 400
Where Do We Focus?• Earthing and bonding• Containment• Firestopping• Spaces (rooms, racks etc.)• Vertical wiring• Horizontal wiring• Power• IT equipment• Other equipment
Which is Easiest to Document?
Standards Recommendations1. Class or Hierarchy Structure
Class 1 – Single equipment roomClass 2 – Multiple roomsClass 3 – CampusClass 4 – Multiple sites
Naming conventions and approach will differ with administration systems.
Example TIA606
Standards Recommendations2. Naming conventions and examples
Country, site, floor, room, rack, unit, sub-unit, port
1A-AC01/A-01
Port 01
Rack AC01
Patch panel
A
Floor 1
Equipment Room
A
Standards Recommendations3. Standardised Naming & Coding
Glossary of terms and abbreviationsSymbols for drawingTermination point colour codingPatch cable coding
Standards Recommendations 4. Recommended data sets to maintain
Port type - RJ45Cable type - Cat6ACable length - 65mUser name - Daves PCTest results - U:\Cabletest\1Atest.xlsDrawings - Floor, room drawingsWork flow - Work orders and changes
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
3. Is it only a people issue?
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– Outsource, out task.
Different Teams, Different Focus
Fixed Infrastructure(Cabling, Power, Racks, Rooms, Buildings)
Hardware InfrastructurePCs, Network, Servers, UPS, Storage, Other
Virtual InfrastructurePCs, Network, Servers, Storage, DBMS
ApplicationsPC, server, mainframe, SOA
ServicesEnd user, infrastructure, supplier
Business ProcessesDepartmental, Company
ServiceManagement
DataCentre
NetworksLAN/SAN
Applications
Mid-range Servers
Systems
DesktopsIMAC
Adding a New Server?
Patching spreadsheets
Building wiring diagrams
Computer room layout
PABX port mapping
Labelling standardsSAN
Architecture
Point to Point CablingAsset 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
PDUsCircuit breakers
Power architecture
Power strip connections
RackDiagrams
Different ViewsLINK 10/100
FEATURE
LAN SERIAL
CURRENT� � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
ON = I OFF = UBLINK = REMOTE
OUTLET #
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
LINK 10/100
FEATURE
LAN SERIAL
CURRENT� � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
ON = I OFF = UBLINK = REMOTE
OUTLET #
I /U TOGGLE
CopperFibrePower
Managing change at equipment level requires different views of connectivity!
Or monitoring results from power, network or storage can’t be interpreted
Is 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 costlyDefining update processesWill involve multiple technical teamsDisinterest 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– Risk and recovery tasks creating additional knowledge sets
What’s the upside?1. Reduced operational expenditure
– Optimise existing infrastructure2. Reduced cost of changes
– Planning, implementing, reporting3. 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
Power
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– Reservation, build instructions, audit trail, changes
Example - Cable Labelling
PatchPanel
A
PatchPanel
PatchPanel
PatchPanel
01 02 13 14
PatchPanel
PatchPanel
PatchPanel
03 23 24
UX01
UX02
SW01
SW02
UX03SW03
BC
D E
F
G
Cable Labelling ExamplesPossible Options - Some Benefits
1. No Label No administration requirements
2. Port number at each end(SW01/P01)
Easy to ensure cable is in right port
3. Local end points of cable (SW01/P01 – PP01/01)
Easy to trace ends of patch cable
4. Device end points of cable (SW01/P01-UX01/ETH0)
Easy to know impact of disconnect
5. Unique label on each cable(04567489)
Easy for software tools to reference
6. Common path label on cable (1123238)
Easy for workflow and end path tracing
Recommended Labelling• 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
Before - uncoordinated data After – Less data sources Consistent views & reportsCapacity & audit trailsWorkflow and reservation
Word
Visio
ExcelExcel
Visio
Word
Word
Word
WordVisio
Visio
ExcelVisio
Excel
Visio
Word
Word
Visio
Excel
Excel
Word
WordVisio
ExcelExcel
Excel
Visio Excel Word
Reporting
Excel Excel
Define the Level of Detail1. Local patch
PatchPanel
2. End to End path
PatchPanel
PatchPanel
3. All devicesconnected to theswitch
PatchPanel
PatchPanel
Example – Do This Yourself
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-CORE2
SW-BHAM-05 SW-BHAM-02SW-BHAM-04
UK_BIRM_UX04UK_BIRM_UX06 UK_BIRM_UX07 UK_BIRM_UX08 UK_BIRM_UX10
NetworkAssets/Inventory
Excel
Visio
Excel
Port ConnectionsPower
1. Draw diagram using Excel data2. Refresh Visio for updates
More Sophisticated1. Paths Physical
LogicalDevice
2. Diagrams PhysicalLogicalMulti-technology
3. Capacity Fixed infrastructureActive componentsPower
4. Workflow Reserve, designBuild instructions
Specialist DCManagement Toolset
Outputs
Data FeedsMonitoring, Discovery, Test
Results, Project Plans, OtherIt 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 - Operate1. Create an inventory
- All components involved in connectivity2. Document the fixed infrastructure
- Backbone, power, SAN3. Record the connectivity
- Paths, ports, labels4. Create reports and diagrams to suit the need
- Capacity, topology diagrams5. Embed in project workflow
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– Increase the level of control
Thank you for your attention
Questions or feedback?
David CuthbertsonSquare Mile Systems Ltd
www.squaremilesystems.comwww.assetgen.com