Hello, Habr! My name is Denis Semin, I am the head of the department of implementation of client and network solutions of Orange Business Services in Samara. Last time, my colleague Anton Kislyakov talked about how we implement projects in extreme conditions, for example, at temperatures of minus 40 with closed supply routes and a pandemic.
I remembered a few more cases where there is no extreme, but there is a description of a simple solution to complex problems. There are no special revelations in the new article, but rather a story about interesting moments in routine tasks when replacing and / or installing equipment.
Project # 1. Re-equipment of a chain of stores
The essence of the project. We needed to completely re-equip the IT infrastructure in 20+ stores of the partner company. The shops differed from each other in terms of equipment and layout. There were three categories of stores in total, so to speak: very old, with outdated equipment, just old, with more or less modern equipment, and modern, where the equipment was purchased recently.
The pool of tasks included replacing the “zoo” of equipment from different vendors with Cisco equipment, launching a wireless network (that is, it was necessary to connect and hang access points), connect all the necessary communications and power. It took 9 hours to migrate one store. Preparatory work was carried out before migration, in different stores it was required to perform different tasks. They had to work at night, since during the day the shops had to fulfill their task - to sell goods to customers.
Main tasks:
- Offer an optimized wireless coverage map as recommended by Orange.
- Placement of access points.
- Reuse existing cables or lay new ones.
- Monitoring the general condition of the distribution panel and switch cabinets.
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Problems. There were several of them:
Everything had to be done from scratch. The difficulty was that six months before the start of the joint work, the partner disbanded his own department of engineers. We had to do everything with our own hands, practically from scratch. Therefore, starting to work, we did not have a clear understanding of the current infrastructure. It was required to study everything (conduct an audit), mark patchcords, communication channels, then re-equip and start the entire system again. There were a lot of connected equipment - touchpads, receipt printers, cash registers, work PCs and printers, Customer's servers (managed by the contractor), IP phones in new stores, and visitor counters.
We sorted it out, since the engineers were experienced, they knew what to look for and what to do.
The server rooms were very small. There were no particular problems in the new stores, but in the old ones the server rooms were small. And in the conditions, practically, of a pantry, it was necessary to dismantle racks 600 * 600, replacing them with racks 1000 * 1000. Then it was required to install the equipment of the new vendor and connect everything. On top of that, all patchcords and communication lines had to be numbered, embroidered and reassembled, and along the way it was necessary to move from category 5 to category 6. The cores of this category are thicker, so there was a problem with the connection, since the connectors did not fit well to the ports.
Here, too, everything was decided, although I had to tinker. Replacing the racks is not a trivial task, but we used a number of non-standard solutions, which helped.
Work at high altitudes.Here we are talking about placing access points at a height of about 6 meters. Using the floor plan, a layout was developed for the access points so that the entire space was covered by a wireless network. To test the operation of each access point, it was necessary to raise it a few meters and check its operability, plus a visual inspection of the cabinets with equipment, literally suspended from the ceiling, was needed. They were placed so as to prevent the possibility of physical access to the cabinets by strangers.
Perhaps this was one of the most difficult moments. At the start of the project, it was planned to use lifts, with which stores place goods on their shelves. But then it turned out that the operator of such a lift must have a special document - a driver's license. It turned out to be impossible to find relevant specialists on the side. Moscow companies had lifts, but they did not provide operators. Therefore, we agreed with local shops.
As for testing access points, the problem was resolved unexpectedly - colleagues from Spain told how they use telescopic multi-meter handles from mops to clean the pool. Access points were attached to these handles after which the engineers tested the coverage.
In the conditions of the Russian Federation, it was not possible to find such mops, so we chose special telescopic masts with a length of up to 12 meters. These masts were attached to carts from the store and the entire system was moved around the store to test equipment. The equipment cabinets mentioned above were also studied with the help of masts.
In general, the resourcefulness of the engineers, their professionalism, experience and knowledge helped to solve problems and difficulties, so that the migration was carried out on the appointed day and hour, the customer was completely satisfied. The project was completed 100%.
Project number 2. Assembly and testing of equipment in Kazan
The essence of the project. It was required to supply network equipment to the client, connect it to internal services and establish the operation of the entire infrastructure. This had to be done for a new plant under construction in the Republic of Tatarstan.
Problems. There were fewer of them than in the previous case, but they were more serious.
COVID-19. Under the contract, the partner company was supposed to get a working network infrastructure that just works. This work includes business trips of engineers, site visits with equipment by the host party and everything else that is required in such cases.
But due to the coronavirus pandemic and the self-isolation regime, the business trip had to be canceled. Therefore, a "box" solution was proposed with the assembly of equipment in one of the offices of our company, with connection, testing and shipping to the customer. The assembled equipment had to be packed and sent to the customer so that the customer could independently unload everything, unpack it according to the accompanying documentation, and when connected to the power line and communications, everything had to work. No unnecessary gestures - everything is simplified to a minimum.
And so they did. After assembling the equipment, they began to test it, showing the entire process via video communication to customers.
Problems with the premises.The equipment first had to be transported to the testing site and unloaded. As it turned out, it is not oversized and in the usual way, through the door, it would be difficult to deliver it. Therefore, we found a workaround - through the window. But the window was standard with two separate halves and had to be changed. As a result, when the window was replaced with another one with swinging sashes, the unloading was carried out.
As a conclusion, I will say that any, the most thoughtful plan can be violated by unexpectedly changed circumstances. This usually happens, so you need to be prepared for this and solve problems as they arise. Teamwork, timely communication and peer advice are vital.