Five Easy Steps to Great Server Rooms and Communication Closets

Have you ever looked into your school's file server room or communication closets and mistaken it for a disaster area? If you have, this article is for you.

Your school's file server room and communication closets are the vital arteries for the health and life of your school's technology. Unfortunately all the disorganized rooms and closets that I have been in over the years have led me to believe that the disarray of these rooms is more often the norm rather than the exception.

Because your file server room and communication closets are essential to your school's technology, these rooms need to be well designed and properly organized. Furthermore, they need to be strictly maintained in order to avoid future technical problems.

I have put together five easy steps to help your school establish and preserve orderliness in server rooms and communication closets.

1. Label and Route Cabling
The foundation of any network is the cabling – this is true in both wireless and wired settings. All cabling entering the file server room and communication closets needs to be neatly routed and clearly labeled. An engineer can waste numerous hours on a problem that could have been fixed in seconds because of issues due to poorly routed or labeled cabling.

2. Identify External Communication Lines and Circuits
External communication lines and circuits (Internet, point to point, modem lines, etc.) should be clearly labeled and identified. If your school loses an Internet connection or point to point line to a school across town, your personnel should be able to quickly troubleshoot the cause of the problem; labeling your external communication lines and circuits will ensure a quicker diagnosis.

3. Utilize File Server and Communication Racks
All file servers and their peripherals should be secured and managed within a file server rack, and all routers and switches should be stored in a communication rack. Not only is it easier to manage these systems by utilizing the rack's one keyboard and monitor design, but also the equipment is more secure and adequately cooled and ventilated, which prevents unnecessary downtime while extending equipment life.

4. Label and Safely Store Backup Tapes and Media
All backup tapes and backup media should be clearly labeled and locked in a fireproof media safe. In the event of a failure you will want to be able to quickly and easily locate the correct backup tape. Furthermore, make sure that the date that the tape or tape set was put into service is noted: this gives your personnel an accurate idea of when the tapes should be taken out of service – usually after 1-2 years depending on the media type.

5. Lock Up Software and Licensing
All software and associated licensing should be stored in a locked software closet. With all of the money that your school has invested in software and associated licensing for everything from Network Operating Systems, Anti-Virus, Backup to Microsoft Office, you will not want it to be lost or unaccounted for. As you may already know, the price for replacement can be very expensive.

By utilizing these five steps, your school's file server room and communication closets will be more manageable and ultimately result in fewer failures, quicker recovery and fewer support costs. Think of it as fall cleaning!

Don't forget to visit us at the NJASBO Convention in Atlantic City at booth # 2104 or join our group session (#7), Successfully Managing Rising School Technology Costs , on Thursday, October 27 at 9:30 am.

Enjoy the fall,

Paul Crawley

Paul Crawley is an MCT, CNI and CCNA. He has taught network operating systems for both Microsoft and Novell beginning in 1994. He is President of Crawley & Associates, Inc., an education technology consulting firm founded in 1995. The company is located in Fair Lawn, NJ. Paul can be reached at pcrawley@crawleyinc.com.

www.crawleyinc.com
121 Lincoln Ave.
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
Phone - 973-636-7350