Snookered Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 We are currently having a couple of new classrooms built on to the side of the existing building. Until the halfterm break all was going well. Last week though existing walls were taken down and the builders didn't bother to seal the area off, big investigation now kicked off. We had to have a major deep clean over the last few days in order for the school to remain open. I've just checked my Server room and everything is covered in brick dust, server grilles are coated in the stuff, so I expect it's got inside all of the equipment. I know dust is a pc enemy at the best of times, and if it was my own pc I'd shut it down and give it a thorough clean, but this is a pig of a job. Any suggestions? Many thanks!
fairm010 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 If it was me? I'd shut down all servers and clean them. Any damages are to be paid for by the contractor.
3s-gtech Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 We got specialists in when it happened to us (similar issue), they had the proper kit like anti-static vacuum cleaners etc, did a good job but not cheap. Caused some issues - mainly dead hard disks. We didn't lose any other equipment thankfully. You need to record what has happened, take photos, check the paperwork that shows that they agreed to seal it (or wait until it was sealed) then push them to pay for the clean up (even if you do it yourself) and any resulting damage.
win Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 This might sound like advice after the horse has bolted, but i recommend closing the front door of your server rack and locking it. Most of the heat goes out the back so that could be left open. Only thing i can say is to get a special vacuum cleaner attachment, then open up the servers and get the dust out. Better to remove it now rather than wait for it to crash - blame the downtime on the builders not sealing the area
sllorep Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 We got specialists in when it happened to us (similar issue), they had the proper kit like anti-static vacuum cleaners etc, did a good job but not cheap. Caused some issues - mainly dead hard disks. We didn't lose any other equipment thankfully. You need to record what has happened, take photos, check the paperwork that shows that they agreed to seal it (or wait until it was sealed) then push them to pay for the clean up (even if you do it yourself) and any resulting damage. Who were the specialists? Any recommendations? - Not that I have this issue.... yet... but with a new build starting within the next few months...
hallb15 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Have to agree with the above. Not cleaning them now is only going to lead to trouble later when they do overheat. Its not just the servers either as most switches have fans in them too. Plan an emergency shutdown with SLT so that it is at an agreed time when people can be warned that it is going to happen. Once you've got everything shutdown, open up the servers and you'll get a better idea of how extensive the damage is. It would be a good idea to ring a specialist cleaning company too so you have an idea what the cost is likely to be. You may be bringing SLT some bad news, but its far better to get it sorted now than pay the price later...
Linfit Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Although it may be a pig of a job, its worth spending the time now, although the damage may already have been done. We had a newbuild/refurb four years ago and the new and very expensive EMC SAN was installed and commissioned, (by a well known large IT services company heavily involved in BSF projects) while the building work was going on around it. Although we did our best to clean up when we finally got control of the server room, by then the dust had got into the drives and we had regular failures for the next three years. When we decommissioned the SAN I removed some of the drives and opened the lids of a couple of known failures - full of cement and plaster dust. I amazed things lasted as long as they did.
Snookered Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) Many thanks for the replies, all common sense really. I'm waiting for a specialist cleaning company called Servicemaster to call. At first I thought I recognised the name as a ripoff company that certain High Street stores get people to sign up with for extortionate amounts, but they aren't the same. Looks like the builders insurance will cover all costs. Edited February 23, 2015 by Snookered
Snookered Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 Service master couldn't help in the end, they wanted to use another company who could only take equipment off site, that was a big no no...
sllorep Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Service master couldn't help in the end, they wanted to use another company who could only take equipment off site, that was a big no no... Oooh, yeah - don't let them take them off site! Have you found someone else to come in and cleaned up?
CyberDrac Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) We had a similar issue with our builders and an incredibly high attrition rate on our SAN HDDs as a result ... the builder tried to send in a bloke with a Henry hoover to clean and we sent them away, we then arranged our own with IT Cleaning . Note : ours included cleaning the internals of the equipment. Edited February 25, 2015 by CyberDrac
Snookered Posted February 25, 2015 Author Posted February 25, 2015 That is spooky....I've just come off the phone with them and one of their guys will call me back shortly. I then saw I had a Edugeek notification in my email about your reply.....
CyberDrac Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Very thorough, very paperwork heavy, but very satisfied with the results (especially as the builder paid for them)
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