Curious Question: What does your NOC look like (Or could you describe it any)? For some companies, it looks like NASA Mission Control (http://www.pihana.com/corporate/nocpictures-EN.htm) and for others it is like a closet with 2 guys inside with one watching DivX rips and the other running DOS ping. - James
On 10/18/01, Kath <kath@kathweb.net> wrote:
Curious Question: What does your NOC look like (Or could you describe it any)? For some companies, it looks like NASA Mission Control (http://www.pihana.com/corporate/nocpictures-EN.htm) and for others it is like a closet with 2 guys inside with one watching DivX rips and the other running DOS ping.
Most I've worked with/in were somewhere in between, but always wishing it looked more like Mission Control. (Mission Control feels important, which is good for NOC morale.) -- J.D. Falk "you can bomb the world to pieces, <jdfalk@cybernothing.org> but you can't bomb it into peace" -- Michael Franti
On Thu, 18 Oct 2001 16:47:40 -0700 J.D. Falk <jdfalk@cybernothing.org> wrote:
Most I've worked with/in were somewhere in between, but always wishing it looked more like Mission Control.
(Mission Control feels important, which is good for NOC morale.)
mission control is also good if you feel a need to make an impression on visitors, however, mission control nocs can be very non-functional. it's important to make sure that the flash doesn't interfere with the utility. richard (built two nocs, hope to get one right someday...)
Does anyone know of a good program that I can run on my linux server that will monitor the ping response time between routers on my network? So far I have found Net Matrix, but it wants to use rcmd, and I would rather use snmp. Thanks Mike Hyde MTS
Here is the link to Net Matrix for an idea what I am trying to do: http://www.adotout.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Hyde" <mhyde@escape.ca> To: <nanog@nanog.org> Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2001 8:24 PM Subject: Network Tools
Does anyone know of a good program that I can run on my linux server that will monitor the ping response time between routers on my network? So far
I
have found Net Matrix, but it wants to use rcmd, and I would rather use snmp.
Thanks Mike Hyde MTS
On Thu, 18 Oct 2001, Richard Welty wrote:
On Thu, 18 Oct 2001 16:47:40 -0700 J.D. Falk <jdfalk@cybernothing.org> wrote:
Most I've worked with/in were somewhere in between, but always wishing it looked more like Mission Control.
(Mission Control feels important, which is good for NOC morale.)
mission control is also good if you feel a need to make an impression on visitors, however, mission control nocs can be very non-functional. it's important to make sure that the flash doesn't interfere with the utility.
richard (built two nocs, hope to get one right someday...)
I'd like to see how many folks have the top-end functional NOCs as opposed to fishbowls for customers to gawk at like a zoo. Low, indirect lighting. Sound and light absorbing materials everywhere. Quiet fans in the ceiling. Enough space between NOC techs so that phone conversations don't interfere with each other. etc. That's opposed to NOCs with white, hard, sound and light reflecting materials, bright flourscent lighting, closely packed people and the clear window to look in from the outside creating the fishbowl effect. It's hard to tell, but the AT&T NOC in the link given earlier seems to have the characteristics of the first kind, but the picture's not too detailed. Any good, detailed pictures of a top-end functional NOC with said characteristics? scott
Of course when it looks like mission control, customers are always being paraded through, and nocsters generally dont like that. I once worked in a NOC where they had a conference room next to it with quick open and close shutters. So you'd be workin, then on display all of a sudden without warning. I really loathed that. Brian "Sonic" Whalen Success = Preparation + Opportunity On Thu, 18 Oct 2001, J.D. Falk wrote:
On 10/18/01, Kath <kath@kathweb.net> wrote:
Curious Question: What does your NOC look like (Or could you describe it any)? For some companies, it looks like NASA Mission Control (http://www.pihana.com/corporate/nocpictures-EN.htm) and for others it is like a closet with 2 guys inside with one watching DivX rips and the other running DOS ping.
Most I've worked with/in were somewhere in between, but always wishing it looked more like Mission Control.
(Mission Control feels important, which is good for NOC morale.)
-- J.D. Falk "you can bomb the world to pieces, <jdfalk@cybernothing.org> but you can't bomb it into peace" -- Michael Franti
On Fri, Oct 19, 2001 at 02:27:01PM -0700, Brian Whalen wrote:
Of course when it looks like mission control, customers are always being paraded through, and nocsters generally dont like that. I once worked in a NOC where they had a conference room next to it with quick open and close shutters. So you'd be workin, then on display all of a sudden without warning. I really loathed that.
Brian "Sonic" Whalen Success = Preparation + Opportunity
Our own NOC has a glass wall on the side where people can see in. this bothered the engineers, so we added privacy filters to their workstation displays. It's a display NOC, but if anyone wants to come in, they have to set up an appointment and even that isn't final; the network operations center manager has to give final approval. If there's an operations situation going on, then no distractions are allowed. Customers respect us more knowing a) we have a NOC and they can see the engineers inside and b) we care about our service enough not to allow distractions to our operations folks. There are ways to balance "mission control" and "functional" environments, but that goes without saying. Tim
On Fri, 19 Oct 2001 14:27:01 PDT, you said:
paraded through, and nocsters generally dont like that. I once worked in a NOC where they had a conference room next to it with quick open and close shutters. So you'd be workin, then on display all of a sudden without warning. I really loathed that.
I heard a story (probably apocryphal) about some NOC monkeys that got fed up with the shutter routine - so they cobbled up some little X programs to start putting BIG FLASHING RED BOXES with ominous-looking text, and launched it when the Big Boss was showing off the zoo animals - they then feigned panic, screamed, and ran out of the room, leaving all the flashing red boxes on the screens. They only had to do it a few times before the Big Boss clued in... ;) -- Valdis Kletnieks Operating Systems Analyst Virginia Tech
On 10/19/01, Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu wrote:
I heard a story (probably apocryphal) about some NOC monkeys that got fed up with the shutter routine - so they cobbled up some little X programs to start putting BIG FLASHING RED BOXES with ominous-looking text, and launched it when the Big Boss was showing off the zoo animals - they then feigned panic, screamed, and ran out of the room, leaving all the flashing red boxes on the screens.
They only had to do it a few times before the Big Boss clued in... ;)
The Violent Femmes' "Dance, Mother Fucker, Dance" (for those who don't know, it's a song) is a good deterrent too. I sure am glad I'm not a monkey anymore. *grin* -- J.D. Falk "you can bomb the world to pieces, <jdfalk@cybernothing.org> but you can't bomb it into peace" -- Michael Franti
On Fri, 19 Oct 2001, Mike Lewinski wrote:
for others it is like a closet with 2 guys inside with one watching DivX rips and the other running DOS ping.
Wow. Do you know how we can fit *two* NOC employees into just _one_ of these?
Please share the secret, that could double our savings on rent!
Why would someone ever hire more then one NOC tech? ;P
Why would someone ever hire more then one NOC tech?
Big NOC, lots of Winders machines to reboot. We moved out of our 'noc' room to make room for more racks/cabinets and have thought about building a 'fishbowl showplace', but what we have now is a little more like a geeks living room, complete with couches, DirectTV (CNN most of the time, Sci-Fi and BattleBots other times..) and a large meeting table/chairs with just enough partitions and space to cut the noise between people. It's normally a 3 person setup...(1 call screener/wannabe) in about 800sqft. of course.. we also have dual-head Linux/Windows systems, Aeron chairs... We like it, and the quietly comfortable productive atmosphere. But then, we have no VC or prospective investors to impress with fancy 'mission control' style stuff, or want them. Having a big (10ksqft) old (1888) converted building is a pain, but having some space to waste is priceless.
--- Greg Maxwell <gmaxwell@martin.fl.us> wrote:
Why would someone ever hire more then one NOC tech?
Have you ever seen an interesting aquarium with just one fish? ;) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com
Why would someone ever hire more then one NOC tech?
Have you ever seen an interesting aquarium with just one fish? ;)
yes. it was a big piranha. it was big because it had eaten all the other fish. :P -- |-----< "CODE WARRIOR" >-----| codewarrior@daemon.org * "ah! i see you have the internet twofsonet@graffiti.com (Andrew Brown) that goes *ping*!" andrew@crossbar.com * "information is power -- share the wealth."
Please share the secret, that could double our savings on rent!
Why would someone ever hire more then one NOC tech?
Hot spare. If you look at the photo x1000 magnification you'll see by the reflection in his pupils the one on the left is playing Everquest. I'd say that the PFY is the most critical piece of network infrastructure to maintain a hot spare. They are prone to chewing off their limbs above the shackles and escaping to find alcohol. (if anyone's sucessfully implemented Beer-over-IP, please let me know. Once I get that in place I can weld those doors shut and stop these little 'escapades').
Whoops, somehow I dropped the link in my last post, here it is again....
for others it is like a closet with 2 guys inside with one watching DivX rips and the other running DOS ping.
Wow. Do you know how we can fit *two* NOC employees into just _one_ of these? http://www.rockynet.com/noc.jpg Please share the secret, that could double our savings on rent! <weg> (It's a joke boss, honest).
participants (13)
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Andrew Brown -
Brian Whalen -
Greg Maxwell -
J.D. Falk -
Jim Popovitch -
Kath -
mike harrison -
Mike Hyde -
Mike Lewinski -
Richard Welty -
scott w -
Timothy Brown -
Valdis.Kletnieks＠vt.edu