Server room survival kit?

Things that I always carry on my person, so would be present:

• cell phone
• iPod
• pen/notepad
• thumb drive
• multitool

Things that I keep in my laptop bag so I don't have to think about it:

• "carb bars" (I don't know what these are, but they last forever. My wife made me start carrying them after I had to sleep in a data center during a blizard.)
• quarters for snack/pop machines
• a baggy of splenda (nothing worse than being stuck with people who only drink their coffee black)
• notepad
• Post-it notes
• recovery disks (live CDs)
• USB/serial/RS-232 cables and adapters (the 5-in-1 cable kit specifically, though I;ve tweaked it to have things like T1 loopbacks)
• penlight
• electrical tape
• CO scissors (the kind that central office guys always carry around that you can cut and strip wires with)
• screwdriver (the kind with 6 ends)
• a small hand mirror for looking behind/around things

Things I keep in my toolbag - not guaranteed to have with me always, but I usually know if I'll need it:

• a second 5-in-1 kit and some more cables
• crimpers with RJ45 and RJ11 ends
• labels (like, mailing labels - very sticky and handy for rapid labeling until a professional job can be done with a label maker
• screwdrivers/plyers/end cutters/small socket set - basic tools
• a huge screwdriver that can either be used as a crow bar or to reach the mounting screws on devices that stick out of the rack (like mid-mounting a 40-inch server in a 2-post telco rack)
• velcro wraps and wax string (never used wax string? Try it, it's awesome)
• a collection of writing utensils including sharpies and wax pencils to write on racks
• a collection of screw driver heads - flat, phillips, hex, torx(sp?), and some other specialty ones
• spare heavy-duty power extension cords and a three-plug expander
• a decent digital mutilmeter
• duct tape

I think I have more, but that's the basics. Everything on that list addresses a specific need I've had in my career. The laptop bag is heavy but well worth the bulk in saved trouble. The tool bag I'm rather proud of, it's not big (it's one of those "big mouth" bags that opens like a doctor's black bag), maybe 18 inches long and 12 wide. I spent a great deal of time customizing the contents to maximize the value for the volume. For instance, I threw away the bulky plastic container the socket kit came in; I built a much smaller organizer for it. Same with the screw heads - I built a cloth with elastic on it that the heads slide into. It's also modular - all the screw drivers are in a large pencil case, so I can find them easily and, if I know I will only need them, I can just grab them out of my car and carry them into the DC instead of the whole tool bag.

• A workspace with enough room to work comfortably on a broken 19" server, with screen, keyboard, mouse. Separate from the racks.
• An old PC. Optimally with controllers and slots to fit every piece of hardware you may have to analyze. Mine speaks SCSI wide & narrow, IDE, SATA, PCI, USB, Firewire 400. Keep a small stash of old computers, if you can. They will come and ask if you can rescue the data from this 5.25" disk one day.
• A notebook on the side. The rescue PC has no internet connection, to make sure it cant be infected.
• A big enough disk to put data on that you may have to rescue.
• Room for spare parts and cables. Room for a museum of old stuff you might need for old systems.
• Cart. In case you have heavy servers, a lift of some sort.
• A selection of tools you know you will need. You can keep this small, if you have a complete set elsewhere.
• Telephone with outside access, if your mobile doesnt allow that.
• Pen and Paper.
• Spare parts for your most important servers. If you have several identical machines, keep one spare. It is the organ donor. It may be used for testing new setups, but be prepared to rip it apart.
• A few switches, network converters, cables of all kinds.

Generally make the server room your fortress of solitude, where you can retreat when the brown stuff hits the rotating thing. Nothing like coming out smiling after one hour of hacking, and the broken server is back up, with all data.