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View Full Version : An idiot's guide to saving the environment...


mechmike0034
05-31-2007, 06:56 AM
I suspect this to be a creative writing exercise rather than a tale of an actual event. That said; let us not underestimate the sheer destructive power of a combination of arrogance and stupidity…

http://community.livejournal.com/techsupport/1368038.html


I check my work email from home before I make my morning commute, so I can see what sort of maelstrom I'm about to walk into...

If you can guess by the subject of the post, this one is a doozy.


From: $user who for whatever reason came in on Monday when no one else was in the building.
To: IT Dept.
Re: A/C constantly running.

Hi Guys,

I came in today (Monday) to finish up a project I was working on before our big meeting with a potential client tomorrow, and I noticed that there were three or four large air conditioners running the entire time I was here. Since it's a three day weekend, no one is around, why do we need to have the A/C running 24/7? With all the power that all those big computers in that room use, I doubt it is really eco-friendly to run those big units at the same time. And all computers have cooling fans anyway, so why put the A/C for the building in that room? I got a keycard from $facilitiesmanager's desk and shut off the A/C units. I'm sure you guys can deal with it being warm for an hour or two when you come in tomorrow morning. In the future, let's try to be a little more conscientious of our energy usage. Thanks.


RESULT:

Fatalities: Exchange Server, Domain Controllers, a few Sun boxes that I'm not sure of the usage.
Near-Fatalities: Phone Switch, Apps Servers.

Temperature of server room 7AM Tuesday Morning: 90 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Status of Employee who sent the above e-mail: Terminated.
mcs328
05-31-2007, 07:11 AM
Wow...brilliant!!!
Maarchk
05-31-2007, 09:05 AM
you say creative writing, i say, tree hugger...
it doesn't seem that big a stretch from someone who might do that.
you think facilities would have stopped him.. that does make it questionable.
gwilks98
05-31-2007, 10:33 AM
AWESOME. I'm glad we're the only ones with keycard access to our server rooms.

It really pisses me off when someone makes a change to a system they're not accountable for, then doesn't tell anyone they're making changes to compound the problem.

...Like the last developer we had who decided it was ok to change group memberships in AD to correct a programmed flaw in his sharepoint app. I told him to quit doing that and he agreed. My boss told him to stop doing that. His boss told him to stop doing that. Then he did it again a week later. He "resigned" 2 days later.

By the way, the facilities manager should be written up or term'd for leaving his keycard accessible to anyone in the building.
Napoleon54
05-31-2007, 10:56 AM
Sounds like a tree-hugger in management.
Kevster
05-31-2007, 12:49 PM
:2far: :heh:

Ok while it sucks that this moron killed the exchange, domain and sun servers, this goes to show you that pointy-hair boss-like behavior is rampant EVERYWHERE.
Jeffbx
05-31-2007, 01:39 PM
I call BS because 90° certainly won't kill any servers - I've seen rooms run much hotter than that after an AC failure. Also no facilities guy would arbitrarily give access to the server room without risking his own job.

Good story, though. There's a reason those rooms are locked...
Paymaster
05-31-2007, 03:49 PM
no facilities guy would arbitrarily give access to the server room without risking his own job.


Actually it sounds like he just grabbed the key off the guy's desk. It wasn't given to him.

But yeah... the facilities guy risked his job just by leaving the key out like that.

As far as the BS call goes, I am far from being an IT expert, but if the cooling isn't so critical, why is it kept so damn cold in there?
gwilks98
05-31-2007, 09:07 PM
I call BS because 90° certainly won't kill any servers - I've seen rooms run much hotter than that after an AC failure. Also no facilities guy would arbitrarily give access to the server room without risking his own job.

Good story, though. There's a reason those rooms are locked...

That's the first thing I thought too...that and he mentioned exchange was down, yet was able to check email. (Though he could have had multiple exchange servers.)
I believe it was explained in the site's comment section that numerous machines had already shut down or crashed by Tuesday morning, bringing the temp back down to 90 degrees. Also, the poster mentioned that he had only been there 2 weeks, and couldn't explain why no high-temp alerts were sent to him; due to lack of knowledge.
gwilks98
05-31-2007, 09:12 PM
As far as the BS call goes, I am far from being an IT expert, but if the cooling isn't so critical, why is it kept so damn cold in there?

It is critical. JeffBX would also agree here. He's just saying that 90 degrees is not an absolute breaking point for machines. It's bad for them, but most can withstand it.

Also, you'll find in a lot of newer data centers that there's a wonderful airflow design, where cold air is pumped up or down near the intake of the cabinets and sucked out of holes in the floor or ceiling in the back. Makes the overall temp of the room much warmer, with one really warm spot and one really cold spot. Less energy used to keep things happy, too.
Jeffbx
06-01-2007, 08:56 AM
:stupid:

It doesn't have to be COLD, it just have to be a constant reasonable temp. I keep my rooms at 70-75°.