Hi, Ideally one person shouldn't be racking a server. Actually round here we can't do this due to health and safety regulations, due to the servers being over a specific weight. Each generation of Dell Poweredge has a different racking mechanism and cable tidy mechanism, if you are going to experiment try a rack that is either not populated or only has a few servers, as the more populated the more difficult it is, or the more chance you will pull something else (usually a cable under tension anyway). When I first started I had to rack some test servers which were Poweredge 2650. These used screws to hold the rack rails in place, and the cable tidy mechanism hooks on the back of the rails. The whole process is a real pita, because you have to route the cables through the cable tidy mechanisms. You really need two people to actually place the servers in the rack, when you do this try and find out exactly where the holding screws are on the sides of the server in relation to the holes on the rack. The newer servers are a lot easier now, and apparently don't use screws. As the racks have become more populated I have bowed out of this one unfortunately. Patching cables is not as difficult unless people don't follow the rules (i.e., unpatch cables when not in use, keep the docs up to date). If you know the location on the patch panel where you need to plug in the cable, then it is just a case of plugging one end into the relevant port on the panel (in our case these are sequentially numbered), and the other end into the correct port on the switch. Take care to ensure you plug into the correct switch and correct port (due to Vlans etc). I use keystroke memory to get into the RAID bios and control it. I know the number of disks in the server, and the controls are using the arrow keys and enter, which is better than the mouse obviously. I am playing around with the replication features on the Dell build and update utility, although this seems to be very model specific, and lots of our servers round here have differing drive configurations anyway. There is no denying that you have picked for me some of the worst issues I faced, like most things if you are determined there will be ways round it, some of them probably involving getting team working in place. Thanks. Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Darragh.OHeiligh@Oireachtas.ie Sent: 20 April 2010 12:30 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Various accessibility questions and installing Windows 2008. Hello, I'm sorry for all the questions: Do any of you have a way of installing Windows 2008? A generic answer file or something like that would be fantastic. I kind of already know this is not going to be easy, but have you any way of accessing a SCSI controler? I need to set up RAID on two servers. At the moment, I really need to find a way of doing as much as possible without sighted assistance. Do you have any suggestions for me that would aid in the accessibility of racking a Dell 1U server into a dell rack? Do you have any tips that would make it easier to patch the server also? Even if these aren't quick fixes, if there's work involved in making the environment more accessible, I'm willing to put in the work. The only problem is there are a hell of a lot of server rooms with a lot of racks and servers. I'm having problems using Jaws in all VMWare ESX servers. The mirror driver won't install on any of them. Any suggestions as to how I can get around this? The VMWare VSphear application is reasonably accessible but the tab control for navigating around pages doesn't work with the keyboard. I have to mess around to access everything. Have any of you used it? If so, have you created scripts for Jaws to make it easier to access? I could do it if I had the time, but at the moment, I really don't. Racking these two servers,cabling them and setting up RAID independently is my major worry at the moment. The thing is, I have no choice but to do it independently as I'm being tested to make sure I can do the job that I've just been given. I'm really hoping you can help with these questions. If not, I'm going to have a bigger challange on my hands than I do already. Thanks Darragh _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-sysadmins -- 98% of our clients would recommend us Client Survey Jan 2010 Registered in England No. 02933191. UK VAT Reg. No. 666 9148 88. © 2009 - 2010 allpay Limited Fully compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Telephone: 0844 225 5729 Fax: 0844 557 8350 Website: www.allpay.net Email: enquiries@allpay.net This email, and any files transmitted with it, is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the allpay Information Security Manager at the number above