Where is the best place to label a server? [closed]

There isn't much room on server chassis and I'm wondering where a label with the servers name should go. Is there any other information in addition to the name that should go on the label? Does it make sense to label each hard drive in a server or is that not necessary?

There certainly is overkill. When I worked at Big Blue, labeling was a huge source of bureaucracy; even a projector needed to be labelled and have its whereabouts routinely reported.

Solution 1:

HP ProLiant servers, Supermicro servers and surely any non-Dell systems don't have a convenient LCD on the front.

If I do label, the location depends on the server model/type... But this is really a common-sense, do-what-works-for-you question.

For instance, on the 1U rack mount systems pictured below, I'd likely add a label on the CD/DVD drive.

For the systems here, I may use the CD/DVD slot/blank or place labels on the rack mount ears.

For situations where the CD slot doesn't exist, or there isn't enough vertical height on the server, I end up placing labels on the hard disk drive slots.

Solution 2:

I seen this a while back and thought it was a good idea. Granted it only works with dell servers.

Replacing the dell logo with a bottle cap

http://blog.gtuhl.com/2007/05/25/server-naming-conventions/

Solution 3:

Servers vary so much that it's hard to standardize on locations unless you're only buying from one manufacturer; that said, I feel it's very important to label both the front and the back. When you're staring at a bunch of identical chassis backs, it's nice to have another way to double-check that you're about to pull the right power cord.

In deciding where on the front & back to actually stick the labels, I favor locations that are more permanently associated with the chassis itself. I avoid sticking computer labels on removable modules in general & hard-disk carriers in particular because I don't want people thinking I've labelled the disk itself or getting confused if the carrier's pulled out and moved around.

Our minimal label is our institution's name & the server's property number, but if there's space, I'll add the hostname & IP addresses to save a trip back to look it up. On a few systems I've also stuck labels above individual ports to note their purpose, but it's not something I do for most servers.

Solution 4:

I label them whereever the label will fit. Most of my servers have room on the front where it doesn't cover anything important. These ones just have the server name.

In addition (or if there really is no room on the server itself) they get a label on the rack, both front and back. There is plenty of room for a large label here, so they include the server name, IP of its management interface, and a QR code that links to our documentation wiki, so I can pull up all the server's details from my phone instead of heading back to my desk.