Paul Shadwell RTFM

I'm no longer a Mac virgin!

Yes it’s true, I’ve been toying with the idea for a few weeks now and I finally took the plunge and bought a Mac Mini. I absolutely love it. For too long I’ve been suffering my “Power” PC running Vista and getting slower and slower.

With the Mac Mini it is quite refreshing to see a totally new aspect on what else is out there. The last time I touched a Mac was when I was working for Perot Systems back in 1992 when they were purely a Mac and Unix house and I had to try and support this environment. Back then the Mac-books were clunky and full of problems and incompatibilities and I have to say it put me off for a long time ever wanting to own one myself.

These days however It’s a different story and with the new releases recently with the dual core Intel processors and the range of options I was sorely tempted. However, I wasn’t totally convinced enough to fork out a large wad of money on an iMac or a Mac Book Pro, at least not yet.

The Mac Mini seemed ideally suited with it’s diminutive size and the fact I could use my existing PC keyboard, screen and mouse with it. I ordered the full spec from the Apple store in Zurich, 2Gb Ram, 120Gb hard drive and English OS X (actually it come with multi-lingual OS X). When I picked it up I also got the ultra thin keyboard and a Mighty Mouse (yes I know I was going to use my PC KB and Mouse but couldn’t help myself)

I’ll tell you what happened next later.

How (not) to install a new UPS in an already populated rack. On your own.

Wed 03/10/2007 02:43 One of the existing servers removed from the bottom of the rack. It was too heavy to lift into place alone so made up this 'rack installer rig'. Made up of two filing cabinets a spare rack tray and a couple of sturdy boxes.

Wed 03/10/2007 02:44 Lifting the server and sitting it carefully on top of the rig was easy.

Wed 03/10/2007 02:47 The server was then easily mounted onto the rails.

Wed 03/10/2007 03:52 Now the 2nd server is out and on the floor in the foreground. The existing UPS is in the bottom of the rack and the new UPS is on the floor to the left of the rack.

Wed 03/10/2007 04:06 here is the new UPS mounted in the rack above the first.

Wed 03/10/2007 04:16 After reinstalling the rails into their new location, the server is ready to install.

Wed 03/10/2007 04:19 This time I used a chair to help with the installation.

Wed 03/10/2007 04:27 All done. Now just the cabling to do.

I do not recommend this approach to rack installation to anyone. You need at least a 2nd pair of hands. Luckily I had space around the rack otherwise it would have been impossible. To make sure that all the systems were up and running and ready for business the next morning I worked though the night. I have just woken up after a good days sleep.