[sudo-discuss] [Mesh] Fwd: Re: Server Room Status

Matthew Senate mattsenate at gmail.com
Mon Jul 7 16:01:13 PDT 2014 

Don't micro-manage creativity.
Be pleased that folks want to solve communal (omni-wide) problems right
now; this will not always be true.
Assume good faith.

This being said, arguments exist on all sides. To me the questions are:

What are the problems? Need a place to put network utilities very soon.
What are the constraints? Only certain kinds of places work for network
devices, without intractable costs.
What are the opportunities? Two branches (a) places that are convenient and
already appropriate for setting up network devices (fast, easy) and (b)
places that allow for integrating network devices into the heating/cooling
systems (potential energy/cost-savings, require coordination, approval, and
implementation with potential extra costs).
What are the priorities? To me: speed, simplicity.

In my opinion, we should put devices in the simplest place as soon as
possible and move on to the many other, more complex problems.

// Matt


On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 3:08 PM, David Keenan <dkeenan44 at gmail.com> wrote:

> (Also I am thinking, low-power solar fans for mellow airflow into the
> basement venting, like the kind had on boats, would be cool.)
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 3:06 PM, David Keenan <dkeenan44 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Also, re: ventilation in the basement - we have to recconnect the blower
>> from the room (the 1'x3' venting) on the east side asap. On the west side,
>> there is active cooling on the west side already (2x fans, plus windows
>> above the sidewalk. There is also a large lightwell above the barr-room
>> bathroom that could probably be easily gotten to. So, re: cool air (without
>> a/c) to the servers if they are in the basement, we could pull cool air
>> from the street or roof to the cold side of the rack, and vent heat from
>> the hot side/top to the existing exhaust venting the furnaces use, or vent
>> heat directlty to the basement in the winter, or vent perhaps to that
>> lightwell... we can use thermostats in the room to trigger A/C from the
>> compressor to the rack only if needed, and use ambient the rest of the time.
>>
>> In general, the ventilation setup in the basement - what needs to exhaust
>> separately, what venting is shared and whence does it come/go - needs to be
>> coordinated with the FNB, La Commune, Black Hole, and OOC. It's a
>> logistical issue that Sudoers I think would be really good at help sorting
>> out, and I would really love it if we could.
>>
>> As others have stated, we need a working group just for the basement and
>> space there to hash out this stuff - plumbing is another equally pressing
>> aspect. It's enough work and discussion I think it may be a good idea to
>> set up its own email list perhaps on riseup or google, but I am open to
>> suggestions about how best to comprise this.
>>
>> Love
>> David
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 2:30 PM, David Keenan <dkeenan44 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Again I am *super* psyched that we are tackling where to rack servers
>>> and very grateful to all who are putting energy and effort into this.
>>>
>>> Whether it be for servers or any other ideas about how to use others'
>>> space and shared space, I feel the only real missing piece in the
>>> discussion here, and actually to various degrees within pretty much
>>> *every* member collective actually, is not keeping in mind any other
>>> group's plans or ideas for a given space in the building - especially for
>>> their very own space which they have already been promised are technically
>>> in possession of.
>>>
>>> *For sure*, by all means, lets brainstorm about every possible place
>>> things like servers could go. If we are imagining the rack should *not*
>>> go into sudo/ccl's room (why not?), but rather elsewhere in the building, I
>>> think that's a conversation that should include others in the building too,
>>> not just sudoers, because it affects others' planning and use of space.
>>>
>>> The same I feel is true for anyone else's plans to do any build-out, and
>>> all buildout really should be discussed within the OOC as a whole. This
>>> doesn't have to be a nightmare of endless meetings - its simply a way to
>>> try to act in a coordinated and thoughtful manner in concert with other
>>> groups in the space.
>>>
>>> For example, in the hypothetical of Sudo putting a server rack into what
>>> is presently another group's dedicated space (Backspace), that particular
>>> conversation should be had with that *group* from the get-go. For sure,
>>> hash out pros & cons on sudo-discuss, walk the building with other sudoers
>>> - yes! - but that discussion should not take place *only* on
>>> sudo-discuss (or sudo-mesh), or *only* with other sudoers (me and
>>> Andrew). Also, the Backspace area presently needs a lot of work -
>>> apparently, many people can only envision as a place for garbage, or to get
>>> to utility panels.
>>>
>>> Just because the Backspace area has not been fixed up yet, does not mean
>>> it won't soon be. Backspace area is at a real disadvantage here compared to
>>> nearly every other group, and I feel we all must be understanding of this,
>>> as Backspace clearly needs more work (and *time* to do that) than
>>> pretty much anywhere else in the building. I mean, Backspace has far more
>>> intense permitting and structural issues to address - we're getting
>>> architectural drawings (I had the architect over yesterday partly for this
>>> reason), and planning it out thoughtfully - this is not going to happen in
>>> one week or even one month. Also, Backspacers are a much smaller, newer
>>> group than Sudo, in which almost everyone has day jobs and simply can't be
>>> there alla the time - they are not on sudo-discuss, nor necessarily should
>>> they be, at least any more than all of sudo should be on backspace's list.
>>>
>>> For those that don't know - Backspace Wellness Collective is a
>>> regularly-meeting group presently comprised of four healers / bodyworkers,
>>> in addition to Andrew and myself: Samantha, Margaretha, Athena, and Sarah.
>>> So, the notion of building Sudo stuff into Backspace needs to be discussed
>>> extensively with Backspace as a group. I see this model as applying to any
>>> group wanting to build out in another group's space.
>>>
>>> As you can imagine Backspace is having their own internal discussions
>>> about how articulate their model, including how best to build out,
>>> refinish, and make use of that physical area. Consider that if you blow
>>> away part of Backspace's area or an entire room for a different use, you
>>> are also potentially actually talking about removing an individual from
>>> Backspace, who would have used that room for their practice. I think it
>>> might be best to think about the pro's of putting servers into backspace in
>>> that way: Do you really feel that strongly about having servers there that
>>> you are willing to do ask that of another group? So you see what I mean
>>> here.
>>>
>>> Anyhow, to a less intensive extent that conversation should also be had
>>> with the Omni Oakland Commons as a whole (in the omnilogistics list),
>>> especially if you see the servers as serving the entire building, not just
>>> sudo (which would need to be explained to everyone else too - easily enough
>>> done, but the common use of these servers should be clarified.)
>>>
>>> Regarding server racks specifically and knowing sudo frankly I am
>>> somewhat doubtful that racks would be simply be left alone in a
>>> set-and-forget mode as much as has been inferred. Rather, I imagine sudo
>>> will actually need not-infrequent physical access.. to hack on things,
>>> install and upgrade new donated equipment, etc. Therefore they should be in
>>> a space where physical access is not an issue, and probably for permitting
>>> issues alone not infringe on the area for electrical panels. The electrical
>>> panel area should be closeted off no matter what and really never entered
>>> unless a breaker is flipped which, with 200A (or is it 240A?) of power and
>>> solid distribution throughout the building, and thoughtful planning re:
>>> circuit load, I see as being rare. Yes, a number of the circuits are
>>> powered off presently throughout the space - we will address that, and then
>>> the electrical closet should be rarely entered, if only for safety's sake
>>> if nothing else. My 2c.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> David
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jul 6, 2014 at 6:51 PM, Luis Murillo <
>>> luis.murillo.plos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey guys sorry I've been MIA today, been running some errands/TCB will
>>>> swing by sudo later tonight and monday night :-)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Jul 6, 2014 at 6:08 PM, Somebody <somebody at riseup.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Excuse me for resending this email treat, but the Sudo-mesh list was
>>>>> not
>>>>> linked from the first email that I sent out.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thx!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>>>> Subject:        Re: [sudo-discuss] Server Room Status
>>>>> Date:   Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:12:03 -0700
>>>>> From:   hol at gaskill.com
>>>>> To:     David Keenan <dkeenan44 at gmail.com>
>>>>> CC:     sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  >the compressor for that could also provide cooling for the servers.
>>>>> i think doing experiments on heat recovery and regenerative hx are good
>>>>> for longterm - using a compressor and refrigerant to cool hot things
>>>>> may
>>>>> be less green than using fans and just circulating fresh cool air and
>>>>> letting convection do the work.  if there's no objection, we could set
>>>>> up temp racks where daniel and others propose until we can run coax to
>>>>> a
>>>>> more optimal area.  i finally have some time this week so i'll be
>>>>> around
>>>>> to assist with low-level tasks in support of setting up basic
>>>>> infrastructure
>>>>>
>>>>> cheers
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 2014-07-06 10:00, David Keenan wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> > hey guys,
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > I applaud the effort to find a good, secure server space! I
>>>>> definitely
>>>>> > wanna help.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > The main issue with using this particular room is, as you can see by
>>>>> > looking at the floorplan, the Backspace wellness collective is
>>>>> > already paying rent on that particular area (NW groundfloor
>>>>> > corner) and will be making their own changes to that space. Backspace
>>>>> > is myself, Andrew of course, Margaretha, Athena, and Sarah.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > The wellness collective needs quiet - thats partly an attraction for
>>>>> > that corner of the building - and, a cabinet full of fans plus almost
>>>>> > certainly AC for the cabinet, is loud. Also, it takes up Backspace,
>>>>> > and to be honest, i have hard time inamagining Sudo wont need to get
>>>>> > into it alla the time, so it seems nonideal to me.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > In general I would think, before using other essentially non-shared
>>>>> > areas of the building for Sudo's servers, we would have to
>>>>> > actually rule out why building the room in other locations, like Sudo
>>>>> > room, wouldnt work, and why we think actually that particular
>>>>> location
>>>>> > in someone else's area is really the only place it could work.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Regardless of Bsckspace, having racked & stacked for going on 20
>>>>> years
>>>>> > that would not be my first location in the entire building for a lot
>>>>> > of reasons.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Also, a server cabinet / closet does not need to be near the main
>>>>> > electrical panel. Nor does it does not need to be near the street.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > We could find a room in the basement. There is excellent ventilation
>>>>> > to the basement, that just needs a small fix. Also the furnaces are
>>>>> in
>>>>> > the basement, and heat from the servers could tap into that venting
>>>>> to
>>>>> > actually help heat the building, which could save on energy. Also,
>>>>> > there is a plan to build a walk-in in the basement - the compressor
>>>>> > for that could also provide cooling for the servers.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > In other words, in my view, we should attempt a green solution that
>>>>> > ties the serbers into the infrastructure for the building.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > :)
>>>>> > d
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On Saturday, July 5, 2014, Somebody <somebody at riseup.net> wrote:
>>>>> >
>>>>> > === SERVER ROOM UPDATES ===
>>>>> > 2014/07/05:
>>>>> > Today Luis, Matt, and I did the walk in the building, and so far the
>>>>> > only place that seems the
>>>>> > most appropriate to have the server room is the room by the bar.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > This area is the most ideal in the whole building because the air
>>>>> > flow,
>>>>> > temperature, electricity proximity, and also because it is where the
>>>>> > Internet access enters the building.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Since this area is not is not part of the SudoRoom space, we will
>>>>> have
>>>>> > to talk about it with the rest of the Sudo-Mesh group and the group
>>>>> > approves it, then we would have to present the idea at our
>>>>> > Omni Collective meeting for approval.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > If approved by the Omni Collective, we would need to build:
>>>>> >
>>>>> > * A 2" or so high floor (two by fours and plywood would do, I
>>>>> believe.
>>>>> > * A 55" x 65" cage with chicken wire walls and a door.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > If this place is NOT approved by the OOC then perhaps we should
>>>>> > consider
>>>>> > building the Server Room in the SudoRoom Space. High temperature and
>>>>> > noise levels are the main issues.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > If others have ideas/comments/or want to be part of this process
>>>>> > please
>>>>> > jump in. You may contact Matt, Luis, or myself (Daniel).
>>>>> >
>>>>> > This update and all other Network/Reboot project is found at:
>>>>> > https://sudoroom.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Network/Reboot
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > This update and all other Network/Reboot project is found at:
>>>>> > https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Network/Reboot
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Thx!
>>>>> >
>>>>> >     _______________________________________________
>>>>> >     sudo-discuss mailing list
>>>>> >     sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>>>>> >     https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > _______________________________________________
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>>>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>>>>> > https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>
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