[SAGE] System Administrator Tool chest..

Fri Feb 3 16:47:47 PST 2006

Hot Diggety! Jennifer Davis was rumored to have written:
> 
> You want to put together a set of tools for your new team member who is 
> coming on board.  What do you put together?  What tools do you assume that 
> she will be borrowing from you (so it's not needed in duplication)? I'm 
> talking about physical hardware here, and not anything software wise 
> unless it's a floppy that you have copied over essential scripts.

The most popular tools -- and the ones that often tries to walk away on
their own (*cough*):

	- Leatherman Wave or Gerber utility multi-tool
	- If no multi-tool, then two pliers: one needlenose and one not
	- T-10 Torx screwdriver
	- Philips and flat-blade screwdrivers in various sizes
	- DB-9/RJ-45 adapter
	- DB-25/RJ-45 adapter
	- DB-9 cable (both ends)
	- DB-25 cable (both ends)
	- DB-9 gender adapter
	- DB-25 gender adapter
	- DB-9-to-DB-25 cable
	- Spare Cat5e Ethernet cable
	- Spare Cat5e crossover Ethernet cable
	- Spare RJ-11 telephone cable
	- USB-to-DB9 adapter
	- *Good* ratcheting crimper like the Ideal for RJ-45
	- Bag of 10-32 clip-nuts
	- Bag of 10-32 screws
	- Bag of RJ-45 ends
	- Little cable stripper tool
	- Several OS CDROMs that can be used to boot or do installs
	- Laptop with a CD or DVD burner, and wireless + ethernet + modem
	- Extra laptop battery
	- Spare 110V 15A AC U.S. power cord (NEMA 5P-15)
	- Laptop AC adapter
	- 5+ spare CD-R blanks (or DVD-R blanks)
	- Sharpie felt-tip ink pen
	- Post-It sticky notes
	- A small spool of tape (for impromptu labelling)
	- Simple 110V AC @ 15A voltmeter/ammeter like the Kill-A-Watt

That's what I tend to have in my laptop bag, and can resolve pretty much
anything given that, except for the more estoteric problems.

The stuff above should run about USD $300, not including the laptop. One
can share utility tool and crimper, but they often seem to walk away.

*ESPECIALLY* the Leatherman... I'm sorry to say that it would seem
someone at a past conference was too enamored with someone else's
Leatherman and took it in under sixty seconds. Ever since then, the
owner has kept his replacement firmly chained to his belt and refuses to
loan it out. The Gerber is often just as much liked, too. :) (For the
record, I have both.)

A label printer + AC adapter is often handy, too. But this can usually
be kept on-site and shared.

There's others... pager, cell/mobile phone, Blackberry, spare batteries,
etc. A digital camera (or in a pinch, a mobile phone with a built-in
camera, though the resolution is usually crappy) is sometimes handy, for
troubleshooting problems or showing to management specific layout
issues, or for documenting rack layout for colleagues at other sites.

If you exclude the utility tool and crimper + screws + nuts + RJ-45 ends
+ laptop + 'misc others' stuff, what's left is perhaps around USD
$50-60, give or take a bit?

It's probably ok to keep utility tool + crimper + Kill-A-Watt related
stuff on-site, perhaps in a padlocked toolbox or closet, as a compromise
between accessibility and expense (and is also a reasonable anti-theft
action).

Though, I would definitely make sure there's at least two or three sets
of screwdrivers so that multiple people can do things like racking a
system easily. They're cheap enough, anyway; can get a nice Sears
Craftsman or Black & Decker set for anywhere between USD $10 to $80.

Occasionally, raw DB-9 or DB-25 adapters, not wired, is useful for
making custom adapters with a particular pinout... but I don't really
find the need to do that very often at all, so it's not in my bag.
On-site, though.

In a big hurry, my bare bones laptop bag list would have:

	- Leatherman Wave or Gerber utility multi-tool
	- T-10 Torx screwdriver
	- Philips and flat-blade screwdrivers in a few common sizes
	- DB-9/RJ-45 adapter
	- DB-9 cable (both ends)
	- Spare Cat5e Ethernet cable
	- Spare Cat5e crossover Ethernet cable
	- USB-to-DB9 adapter (if laptop doesn't have a DB9 serial port)
	- Several OS CDROMs that can be used to boot or do installs
	- Laptop with a CD or DVD burner, and wireless + ethernet + modem
	- Laptop AC adapter

One last thing... regarding screwdrivers, definitely go for *good*
quality screwdrivers because it can sometimes be a lot of agony
otherwise. Sears Craftsman is a pretty decent line, and there's several
other good ones but names escapes me at the moment.

I also like to have a good grip-type handle and is ratcheting (in either
direction) for extra leverage in certain situations.

(Then I go and have a little talk with whomever played 'Popeye' [the
sailor] by overtightening screws in the first place!)

-Dan