Tooling and Runbooks
Infrastructure Management Tools
Technicians rely on a suite of digital tools to manage the facility:
- DCIM: Platforms like Sunbird or Nlyte for tracking rack layouts, power consumption, and asset inventory
- Monitoring: Nagios, Zabbix, or Prometheus for real-time fault detection and alerting
- Ticketing: ServiceNow or Jira for work requests and incident tracking
- Remote Access: Tools like iDRAC or IPMI for diagnostics and coordination with remote engineers
- Knowledge Base: Confluence or SharePoint for storing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Standard Runbooks Examples
Hardware Replacement
- Verify ticket details and approvals
- Identify rack and server location via DCIM
- Coordinate power-down with remote teams
- Label and disconnect cables
- Perform hardware swap and reconnect
- Update ticket and facility documentation
Network Patching
- Review port mapping diagrams
- Confirm source and destination ports
- Execute patching using correct cable types and labeling standards
- Verify link lights and connectivity
Rack and Stack Deployment
- Prepare rack space and power distribution
- Mount equipment according to design specs
- Connect power and network threads
- Label all components and perform initial checks
- Formal handover to the engineering team