Network Tidy-Up 2017

At the end of January 2017, new fibre is being installed for HUBS point of presence at Hacklab.

We need to:

• rearrange our hardware to make space at the top of the rack for fibre termination.
• upgrade our router to handle the increased bandwidth that will be made available to us.

We should also take the opportunity to:

• spread our power usage across a second circuit
• tidy-up the power distribution to avoid chains of power strips
• rearrange the shelving for non-rackmount equipment
• consolidate the power connections for the Raspberry Pis to reduce 13A socket usage

• top-front is reserved for HUBS and fibre termination
• top-rear is needed for Hacklab primary switch, router shelf and cable management
• Hacklab secondary switch can move to mid-rack and be used for servers
• Replacement Hacklab router (assuming a 1U full-depth) can go mid-rack
• fit two high-capacity PDUs, attached to different circuits
  • e.g. 2x 12x IEC http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272338067146
  • e.g. 2x 12x IEC http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121997934909

• Tower PCs should have the same front-to-back airflow as the rack
• Take the top-half or bottom-half of two shelf units, instead of top and bottom of one unit
• Tower PCs can go on front shelf, Raspberry Pis and console can go on back-shelf
• More power strips
• Use a single Anker power supply or 2-3 Ikea USB chargers to reduce cabling for Pis
• Use a dumb gigabit switch to reduce network cabling (Server LAN only, special cases can keep connecting to the rack switch)

• Fit an extra twin 13A socket next to the rack on circuit #1
• Fit two twin 13A sockets next to the rack on circuit #2

Need to:

• Identify suitable back-boxes for cable conduit: cmsplc.com
• Purchase back-boxes, twin sockets, additional cable
  • 3x twin backboxes (plus 2x twin and 1x single spares for future projects)
  • 3x http://cpc.farnell.com/crabtree/4306-d/2g-dp-switched-skt-13a/dp/PL11953
  • 2.5mm multipack: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6491X-1-5mm-2-5mm-4mm-Single-Core-Conduit-Cable-Wire-Green-Yellow-Earth-/262253607970
• Arrange access to plant room to switch-off power
• Schedule downtime (can be mitigated by running essential systems from another circuit)

Ideal configuration would be a Dell R610 with two power supplies. RAM requirement is modest (1G).

Software is likely to be BSDRP.