build setup to support MDF/IDF deployment

[davidelang]

a box to hold switches (4-6) and bins for the various closets.

Owen and I have discussed options on the mailing list

2 options:

1. something that sits on the bottom of a flat cart to hold switches, bins stacked on top (up to 6 bins)

2. something that hooks to the bottom of a red dolly to hold the switches with a way for the bins to be stacked 2 wide on top of it (5-6 bins high will be too tall)

Owen suggested a box to hold the switches with pegs on the side to hold cables on the side. My thought is that there are too many cables to make this work well, but we can look at the number of cables at the work party

Along a similar line, we currently have a bin per closet, do we need this many? can we use smaller bins? (do smaller bins complicate storage too much?)

[owendelong]

I view item 1 as a likely tipping hazard when someone corners aggressively, etc. I'd like to make sure that everything is secured in place for movement somehow. (straps don't count as they are likely to go uninstalled)

My thinking on cable pegs is that there are a lot of cables deployed in the IDFs in the latter parts of the build-out, but during the IDF deployment (initial network backbone build phase 1 and 2), actually, very few as it's mostly just the uplinks back to the MDF and the router/switch interconnects.

I'm hoping we can get to a point where IDF deployment isn't a single-threaded process done by one person, but even if that remains the case, I don't think 6 bins are required (yes, we have 6 IDFs, but so little is deployed at each IDF...)

I do like the simplicity of a single bin size and the utility and durability of the particular type of bins we have chosen.

By bin per closet, are you talking bin per IDF? (Other than IDFs, I don't think we have "closets" per se). I do think it would be reasonable to consolidate two IDFs per bin (NE/NW, SE/Catwalk, Conf/MDF). Actually, I'd like to see if we can fit a switch and required cables into a 5 Gallon bucket for Catwalk, which would facilitate us hauling it up by line instead of carrying it up the ladder.

That bucket could subsequently be reused to haul up the long cables to the various catwalk rows for deployment down to the show switches.

[owendelong]

Given that each of the [MI]DFs require no more than 1 switch (and in some cases 1 or 2 small routers), perhaps come form of collapsable cart that can carry 2 switches and one bin would be adequate to the task.