I think my colleague Jason wrote something about this in his own blog….well, I am no less of a music freak. I am, after all, the proud owner of close to 15,000 vinyl records (you read that right, no extra zeros there). 10,000 of those are catalogued on Discogs, by the way (check it out). Ok: as I am starting to look like a blowhard show off here, my sincere apologies.
Anyways, I had to write my own musical tribute to all of us geeks blessed with the unique exercise of documenting our network. While you create beautiful IT diagrams, and map your network in netTerrain, you want to be inspired — right?
Whichever network documentation universe you inhabit, be it the eclectic landscapes of logical diagrams, the precise confines of rack diagrams and cable paths in a DCIM project or the outhere terrains of fiber plant views in an OSP project, you deserve good music.
Note for the ‘mp3 generation’: what follows is a list of ‘albums’. No individual tracks here, mkey?
Also, I needed to set some limits for myself by choosing just a couple of genres and 5 or 6 albums tops per type of documentation task (otherwise this would end up as a ‘short list’ of 357 titles).
Without further ado…here’s my completely biased take on the subject…
Even keelness in the face of dark fiber OSP
Organizing and documenting a fiber plant infrastructure and keeping all those thousands of strands in check requires experience and a certain calmness. Classic and progressive rock is exactly the acoustic remedy to keep it all in check and I peg you as that type of soul.
If that’s the case, then I have to include some classic British and American bands alongside a couple of contemporary acts.
OSP Classic / Progressive
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Metallica – Master of Puppets
The Police – Zenyatta Mondatta
Queen – News of the world
Keeping your gears (and ears) sharp to reach DCIM nirvana
Managing your Data Center and then keeping things in check with a solid DCIM software (insert link) is not for the faint of heart.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that if you’re the rare type of jock who looks forward to a Monday of walking down rack aisles and untangling copper cable
Spaghetti, you like alternative and grunge. I am not suggesting that you are ‘only happy when it rains’…. but let’s ‘give it away now’: DCIM and Grunge sing like an ‘interstate love song’ and the 90’s is, afterall, ‘Where It’s At’.
DCIM Alternative & Grunge
STP – Purple
Garbage – Garbage
RHCP – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Beck – Odelay
PJ – Yield
No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom
Mind-bending rhythms for network mapping
Network mapping has so many variants: automation, discovery, aesthetics, novelty, eclectic approaches. Nothing better suited to tackle these issues than music that is rhythmic yet unpredictable. I like to tune in to electronica and mix it up with some hip hop to get those visual overrides and bend points going.
Network Mapping Hip Hop / Electronica
The Prodigy – Fat of Land
Eric B & Rakim – Paid in Full
NAS – Illmatic
Moodyman – Silentintroduction
Gotan Project – La revancha del Tango
Depeche Mode – Playing the angel
…and if you don’t agree, well too bad, it’s my blog.