A Day in the Life of an IT Contractor
Friday - Get as much sleep as you can. Wake around 9.30pm. Shower, get dressed. Grab the tool satchel, which was packed & checked earlier. It contains all the tools of the trade. Be out the door by 10.30pm, no later.
Friday 11.30pm - Arrive at the data center. Intercom the security office to lower the barrier. Pull in, and find a place to park. Check in with security, and get your site ID. Head to the pantry, eat breakfast, and take care of any other personal stuff. Wait for the first van load of servers to come in.
Friday Midnight - Head to the server rooms and do as much prep work as you can based on the paperwork you have. Remove blanking panels, Put in rail kits as needed, etc...
Saturday 1am - Hear the radio announce the arrival of the first van. Grab your crap and head to the loading dock. Press the big green OPEN button on the roll door control, and wave the van in. With the aid of your coworkers, unload the van, sorting servers onto carts according to destination room.
Saturday 1.20am - Grab a cart, and a few coworkers. Swipe back into the secure area, and begin taking servers off the cart, and racking them in their predetermined positions. Invent some new colorful swear words when someone sets a 4U server down on your toe.
Saturday 4am - Install the last server of the evening. This one will always give you problems, and take three times longer than it should to install. Perform all your QA work, such as ensuring that all blanking panels are in place, unused panels go back to storage, and nothing is left on the floor. Say good morning to the new security shift, sign out, and go home; pull out of the parking lot by 5am.
Saturday 6am - Arrive home. Stumble up the stairs. Go to bed.
Saturday 9am - Wake up. Breakfast. Shower. Out the door by 10.
Saturday 11am - Arrive back at the bitfarm. Check back in with security.
Saturday 12am - Several of your coworkers have gotten bored, and gone across the street for better coffee. Buy a packet of Pop Taarts from the Vend-o, then curse the lack of a toaster in the pantry.
Saturday 2pm - The van with the servers on it finally arrives. Radio your coworkers (who are across the street at the Dunks) to high tail it back to work. Go to the loading dock, and repeat the offloading and sorting procedure. Swipe in to the secure area, and start racking servers.
Saturday 7pm - Leave the data center.
Saturday 8pm - Arrive home. Eat. Shower. Bed.
Friday - Get as much sleep as you can. Wake around 9.30pm. Shower, get dressed. Grab the tool satchel, which was packed & checked earlier. It contains all the tools of the trade. Be out the door by 10.30pm, no later.
Friday 11.30pm - Arrive at the data center. Intercom the security office to lower the barrier. Pull in, and find a place to park. Check in with security, and get your site ID. Head to the pantry, eat breakfast, and take care of any other personal stuff. Wait for the first van load of servers to come in.
Friday Midnight - Head to the server rooms and do as much prep work as you can based on the paperwork you have. Remove blanking panels, Put in rail kits as needed, etc...
Saturday 1am - Hear the radio announce the arrival of the first van. Grab your crap and head to the loading dock. Press the big green OPEN button on the roll door control, and wave the van in. With the aid of your coworkers, unload the van, sorting servers onto carts according to destination room.
Saturday 1.20am - Grab a cart, and a few coworkers. Swipe back into the secure area, and begin taking servers off the cart, and racking them in their predetermined positions. Invent some new colorful swear words when someone sets a 4U server down on your toe.
Saturday 4am - Install the last server of the evening. This one will always give you problems, and take three times longer than it should to install. Perform all your QA work, such as ensuring that all blanking panels are in place, unused panels go back to storage, and nothing is left on the floor. Say good morning to the new security shift, sign out, and go home; pull out of the parking lot by 5am.
Saturday 6am - Arrive home. Stumble up the stairs. Go to bed.
Saturday 9am - Wake up. Breakfast. Shower. Out the door by 10.
Saturday 11am - Arrive back at the bitfarm. Check back in with security.
Saturday 12am - Several of your coworkers have gotten bored, and gone across the street for better coffee. Buy a packet of Pop Taarts from the Vend-o, then curse the lack of a toaster in the pantry.
Saturday 2pm - The van with the servers on it finally arrives. Radio your coworkers (who are across the street at the Dunks) to high tail it back to work. Go to the loading dock, and repeat the offloading and sorting procedure. Swipe in to the secure area, and start racking servers.
Saturday 7pm - Leave the data center.
Saturday 8pm - Arrive home. Eat. Shower. Bed.
Comment