nanog mailing list archives

Re: Never push the Big Red Button


From: Billy Croan <BCroan () unrealservers net>
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2021 18:49:10 -0500

Indeed. Few sounds in the data center haunt me quite as much as a sensation
that the decibel level has just decreased significantly.

On Wed, Sep 15, 2021, 4:14 PM Keith Stokes <keiths () salonbiz com> wrote:

The bigger thing to notice is the *lack* of noise as every server, switch
and storage system spins down.

---

Keith Stokes



On Sep 15, 2021, at 3:50 PM, Stephen Satchell <list () satchell net> wrote:

In the data centers I've worked in over the decades, those Big Red Buttons
would activate a normally-closed contactor in a breaker panel. When pushed,
the contactor would open, and turn off all the circults in said breaker
panel.  Not affected are lights, convenience outlets, door locks, and other
non-data loads.  Resetting the contactor to the working position was done
after throwing all the breakers to the off position, and then turn on each
breaker, one at a time.

The only noise that I have ever heard when the Big Red Button was pushed
was the loud BANG as the contactor operated.  You hear a similar bang in
movies in scenes where lights in a large area are turned on and off.

Nothing like the BANG of a 600-amp 3-phase breaker tripping -- experienced
that at University of Illinois Center for Advanced Computation.  You
immediately look for the person holding a gun.




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