Comments on: Is it normal to want to assign every object you own a serial number, then keep a database? http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/ Sarah and Alaric Snell-Pym living in interesting times Tue, 22 May 2012 17:01:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: @ndy http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/comment-page-1/#comment-56404 @ndy Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:13:30 +0000 http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/#comment-56404 <p>...and one more thing... In the past I've used some sticky cable labels. They're half label and half clear. You write on the label part and then wrap it around the cable, starting with the labely end. As you wrap, the clear end covers over the labely end and stops the text from rubbing off.</p> <p>These look much prettier than the clippy ones in your picture but it's a case of form over function as your ones use the power of colour to make identification easier.</p> ...and one more thing... In the past I've used some sticky cable labels. They're half label and half clear. You write on the label part and then wrap it around the cable, starting with the labely end. As you wrap, the clear end covers over the labely end and stops the text from rubbing off.

These look much prettier than the clippy ones in your picture but it's a case of form over function as your ones use the power of colour to make identification easier.

]]> By: @ndy http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/comment-page-1/#comment-56403 @ndy Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:10:32 +0000 http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/#comment-56403 <p>"The cable spreadsheet" and "The patch spreadsheet" are never a good idea for anything except for maybe the most permenant of installations. It only takes one person once to forget to update it, or update it incorrectly and then you're into GIGO land.</p> <p>I'd get s switch that can tell you what it's got plugged into it, perhaps even via SNMP. Then, have different colour cable for each part of the redundancy. Then you plug all the "red" cables in one place, all the "white" ones in another and be happy that you have a "red" and a "white" connected to each server. You don't worry which port each one is in because it doesn't matter. You then write a script that works out which machine (MAC address?) is on the end of each port and changes the port settings appropriately.</p> <p>Your spreadsheet database will be troublesome because you will constantly be trying to keep two different copies of the same data in sync.... and we all know where that ends.</p> "The cable spreadsheet" and "The patch spreadsheet" are never a good idea for anything except for maybe the most permenant of installations. It only takes one person once to forget to update it, or update it incorrectly and then you're into GIGO land.

I'd get s switch that can tell you what it's got plugged into it, perhaps even via SNMP. Then, have different colour cable for each part of the redundancy. Then you plug all the "red" cables in one place, all the "white" ones in another and be happy that you have a "red" and a "white" connected to each server. You don't worry which port each one is in because it doesn't matter. You then write a script that works out which machine (MAC address?) is on the end of each port and changes the port settings appropriately.

Your spreadsheet database will be troublesome because you will constantly be trying to keep two different copies of the same data in sync.... and we all know where that ends.

]]> By: Ben http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/comment-page-1/#comment-56396 Ben Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:40:55 +0000 http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/archives/2007/10/18/is-it-normal-to-want-to-assign-every-object-you-own-a-serial-number-then-keep-a-database/#comment-56396 <p>What you want is to give every object an IPv6 address and have it expose status over http plus something like mDNS for discoverability.</p> What you want is to give every object an IPv6 address and have it expose status over http plus something like mDNS for discoverability.

]]>