October 1997 - Test - lists.nanog.org

INTERNIC charging for address space?
by Michael Gibson 06 Oct '97

06 Oct '97

Has anyone heard if the INTERNIC was going to charge for address space. If so, how much and when would it be starting? Michael Gibson Senior Network Administrator - NETCOM Canada tel 416-341-5754 fax. 416-341-5725 magibson(a)netcom.ca

6 5

[NOOP] 24x7 NOC..
by Joe Kawa 06 Oct '97

06 Oct '97

Sent again due word wrap. I apologize for the mistake. Thanks David. Jamie Rishaw & The Group, Scott and several others bring some important issues to the table. Among other things, you will have to base your decision on your controllers' level of experience, coverage during peak periods, number of personnel, and trying to avoid long hours (burnout). At SAVVIS, I have been able to meet these challenges with 9 controllers in a 24x7 Network Control Center. I am very fortunate to have exceptional people. They are a mature group and collectively span a wide range of experience. Also, the support given to me by the "World Class" group of SAVVIS engineers enables us tremendous flexibility. We have implemented a five day work week of 8 hour days. It consists of 3 people on permanent shifts. The shifts run from 0700 - 1500, 1500 - 2300, and 2300 - 0700 respectively. Since each shift operates in a similar fashion, so let me describe one of them in more detail. Person 1 works Monday through Friday. Person 2 works Tuesday through Saturday. Person 3 works Sunday through Thursday. This provides for two people covering Monday through Friday and negates the same person from having to work both weekend days. Additionally, to allow everyone the opportunity of working the Monday through Friday shift, we move at six week intervals. When moving, person 1 moves to person 3, person 2 moves to person 1, and person 3 moves to person 2. The effect is 5 days on, 1 off, then five days on for two of the movers and a 4 day weekend for the other. Effectively, a person loses a day off during two moves which is always made up in the form of a 4 day weekend on the third move. Even more incentive is provided by allowing my later shifts first crack at day shift openings as they present themselves. I try to only fill the later shifts with people intended for that requirement. Good luck in sorting things out, the NANOG group has been a terrific source of information and discussion for me, and I hope I've provided some additional ideas, Thanks, Joe Joseph B. Kawa Senior Consultant, Manager, SAVVIS Network Control Center joek(a)savvis.com

1 0

The Cidr Report
by Tony Bates 06 Oct '97

06 Oct '97

3 2

[NOOP] 24x7 NOC..
by Joe Kawa 06 Oct '97

06 Oct '97

Jamie Rishaw & The Group, Scott and several others bring some important issues to the table. Among other things, you will have to base your decision on your controllers' level of experience, coverage during peak periods, number of personnel, and trying to avoid long hours (burnout). At SAVVIS, I have been able to meet these challenges with 9 controllers in a 24x7 Network Control Center. I am very fortunate to have exceptional people. They are a mature group and collectively span a wide range of experience. Also, the support given to me by the "World Class" group of SAVVIS engineers enables us tremendous flexibility. We have implemented a five day work week of 8 hour days. It consists of 3 people on permanent shifts. The shifts run from 0700 - 1500, 1500 - 2300, and 2300 - 0700 respectively. Since each shift operates in a similar fashion, so let me describe one of them in more detail. Person 1 works Monday through Friday. Person 2 works Tuesday through Saturday. Person 3 works Sunday through Thursday. This provides for two people covering Monday through Friday and negates the same person from having to work both weekend days. Additionally, to allow everyone the opportunity of working the Monday through Friday shift, we move at six week intervals. When moving, person 1 moves to person 3, person 2 moves to person 1, and person 3 moves to person 2. The effect is 5 days on, 1 off, then five days on for two of the movers and a 4 day weekend for the other. Effectively, a person loses a day off during two moves which is always made up in the form of a 4 day weekend on the third move. Even more incentive is provided by allowing my later shifts first crack at day shift openings as they present themselves. I try to only fill the later shifts with people intended for that requirement. Good luck in sorting things out, the NANOG group has been a terrific source of information and discussion for me, and I hope I've provided some additional ideas, Thanks, Joe Joseph B. Kawa Senior Consultant, Manager, SAVVIS Network Control Center joek(a)savvis.com

1 0

971003:1520: Fiber-cut in Michigan
by Chris Layne 06 Oct '97

06 Oct '97

Just wanted to let everyone know: MCI/Sprint/WorldCom are experiencing a fiber-cut between Detroit MI, and Wayne MI. == Chris Layne ===================================== Network Administrator == == clayne(a)noc.netcom.net ======================= NETCOM Network Operations ==

2 1

The List
by CobraNet's Head Administrator 05 Oct '97

05 Oct '97

Does anyone on this list know who actually monitors this list. If so can you please email me the email address of the owner? Thank You, �� Thomas C. Edwards aka NiteHawk Head Administrator Cobra IRC Network Providence.RI.US.Cobra.Net WebSite: http://www.cobra.net ��

2 1

Re: Results of North American NOC contact information verification
by Sean Donelan 03 Oct '97

03 Oct '97

Well, we're slowly creeping upwards. Through e-mail I've resolved some more obsolete information, and now verified 36 telephone contacts through today before I heard about the fiber cut north of Chicago and stopped. I have about five more NOC's which sent me updated information overnight which I still need to verify. Several, many, people asked how their ISP did, and a two suggested a "hall of shame." I'm not ready to make a hall of shame, because its likely I can't contact some ISPs is because of my own faulty information. However, I have made a "Hall of Success." <http://dranet.dra.com/verify-contact.html> You should not draw any inferences because a NOC is not listed. Being listed means someone answered one of the telephone numbers and verified the information or returned a voicemail message before the end of the day and verified the information. -- Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO Affiliation given for identification not representation

1 0

Re: [NOOP] 24x7 NOC.. (fwd)
by Matthew R. Meyer 03 Oct '97

03 Oct '97

On Fri, 3 Oct 1997, Selina F. Priestley wrote: > > Something that worked pretty well in our NOC back in the day was a > 10 hour work day, three week schedule that went something like this: > > 6 days of work > 2 days off > 2 days of work > 1 day off > 4 days of work > 6 days off > Selina, I came in shortly after you went to eng. At that point the schedule must have changed and was: (CAPS on, lowercase off) WTFSsMTwTFsSMTWtfssmt o first 4 dats were a breeze (you just got back from 6days off) o then take off a weekend day for a rest o next Monday & Tuesday (the busiest phone days of the wk) o then take a Wednesday off o and coast through a less busy Thursday & Friday o followed by a weekend day off o the uphill 4 starts with a lazy Sunday (you've started loosing momentum, luckily it's Sun) Followed by Mon, Tue, Wed - each which are only bearable because you are looking forward to your... o 6 days off. Seriously, the psychological advantages were unmistakable. And yes, people did not want to leave the NOC. After we changed the schedule to it's current rotation, work seemed to never end and the days you seemed to get off were always lame t-w or w-th blocks. It is not just how many days, but which days you get off when you are in the thick. I never minded the 10 hours - I would have ended up putting it in 5 days a week anyway :-). There were a few sticking points: 1. Students - we got around their schedules with employee managed shift swaps. People were always taking mini vacations and happy to trade. We also had a floater and if all else failed, shift managers or OT. 2. Weekend coverage was half staffed - if you need more weekend staff you'll need a less desirable rotation or OT. I'd give this rotation a thumbs up as well. That's about it. Matthew R. Meyer ANS Network Engineering

1 0

[NOOP] 24x7 NOC..
by Jamie Rishaw 03 Oct '97

03 Oct '97

We're in the process of developing a 24x7 NOC, and can agree upon about everything except scheduling. We have a few ideas, all of which have really bad downsides: - 4day, 10hour rotation. 2-hour overlap. - Downside is overlap, and the fact that nobody will have a regular schedule.. they'll be M-Th, then T-Fr, W-Sa, Th-Su, Fr-Mo.. bleh. - M-F 9-hour shifts, Sa-Su 2x12-hour shifts - Downside is the Sa-Su people are just "extras". - Su-We, We-Sa 10-hour shifts. Alleviates "skewing" schedules one day every week, but creates a 14.5% labor increase on Wednesday when you have a complete overlap. Anyhow,, we're looking for information on how other NOCs around the world do it. We're trying to give good coverage without killing/burning out the NOC team members. TIA. Jamie Rishaw

14 15

Re: [NOOP] 24x7 NOC..
by Selina F. Priestley 03 Oct '97

03 Oct '97

> > Having tried the 12hr model in a stressful environment like a NOC, it did > not work well as people were burned out by the end of the day and those > that did the 12hr shifts were not content with their positions and looked > to leave the group sooner than those that had more normal shift hours. The > 4-day work week was found to be the best model by giving people 3 days off. > > At 08:02 PM 10/2/97 -0400, Perry E. Metzger wrote: > > > >Steve Miller writes: > >> We work 4/10hr days, Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed or Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat. People get thre >e > >> days off in a row, including one weekend day. > > > >One of the more successful 24x7 operations I've seen did 12 hour > >days, four days on, four days off, two shifts. People had to get used > >to it, but for many of the staffers who were used to putting in 12 > >hour days anyway the prospect of a four day "weekend" every week was > >pretty good, though it appealed the most to the single operations > >staffers and to the ones who had non-working spouses. It had a lot of > >advantages in terms of operational continuity and it actually kept > >morale pretty high because people got enough days away not to fry from > >the stress of dealing with users constantly every day. > > > >Perry > > > > Something that worked pretty well in our NOC back in the day was a 10 hour work day, three week schedule that went something like this: 6 days of work 2 days off 2 days of work 1 day off 4 days of work 6 days off There were 3 shifts during the day, which were staggered like so: morning afternoon night 6am - 4pm 1pm - 11pm 10pm - 8am 8am - 6pm 3pm - 1am 12am - 10am This gave us plenty of overlap. I don't think this is the schedule the NOC follows today, but it worked pretty well at the time. I think it suffers a bit when you really need to stack on the staff, which is probably why we changed it. Many times I thought I was an idiot for moving to engineering. Those 6 days off would have probably kept me indefinitely if I was getting paid then what our NOC guys are getting paid now. :-) Every 3 weeks I took a 6 day vacation. Traveled places, read, etc. When I took my scheduled vacation I'd stack it after a 6 day off run if I could... Make sure you've got plenty of documentation and training for your NOC, so your staff have a hope of getting on top of things enough that the stress disappears after a while. Also give them paths inside your own company when they want to leave. It's a bear to have turnover in your NOC, but it's great to have experienced people in your management or engineering roles. If you're cheap and try to understaff your NOC, you're not going to keep anyone in there and no one's going to have any time to learn anything. The few that do aren't going to stick around because they've no reason to owe you any loyalty. Give your people care & feeding and somewhere to grow and they'll bust their asses for you and be happy doing it. Selina

1 0