Collocation Access

Thu Dec 28 20:03:48 UTC 2006

Here is a true story. Pardon me for being a little vague about details.

Client in argument about (large) expense payments with former  
employee (FE) (not me, BTW).
FE wants payment, client says
money is not owed. I am in no position to judge correctness of either  
argument.

FE used to have collation access in remote location (at least, remote  
from the client, but close to the FE).

One fine Friday evening of a long weekend, quite late, FE goes to colo
(where he has been removed from the access list). Shows ID to guards,  
who knew him well, and
is let in, list or no list. FE goes to cage and
removes router from colo, leaving a note, saying he will exchange  
router for money's owed. Takes router
to a "secure location."

Alarms go off at client HQ. People puzzle over dropped circuits,  
spend time trouble-shooting, other people are woken up. Eventually,  
as no progress is being made, "warm hands" are desired. With all this  
confusion and the late night weekend, it takes a number of hours  
before the warm hands reach the colo. When they open the rack door,  
they are asked to read off some status lights.

What lights ?, they say.

On the router.

What router ?, they say. [long silence] There is an envelope with a  
note, though, report the warm hands.

The FE got the money he wanted. The client got their router back.  I  
am not sure if the guards were
reprimanded or not.

Regards
Marshall

On Dec 28, 2006, at 1:47 PM, Gaurab Raj Upadhaya wrote:

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> On Dec 28, 2006, at 3:49 PM, Joe Abley wrote:
>
>> I gave my Ontario drivers licence to Equinix security in LA, once,  
>> and they refused to accept it as proof of ID since it wasn't  
>> government issued. I said it was; they disagreed. I tried to  
>> explain that there was more than one government in the world, but  
>> I got blank looks, and had to head out back past building security  
>> and up to the roof in the adjacent parking garage to get my passport.
>
> Hmm!!  may be folks in San francisco don't care so much. last time  
> i went to a San Francisco facility, i handed them my Nepalese  
> driving license (no, wasn't carrying my passport), and they didn't  
> blink at all. though when i came back, they did ask me what the  
> hell an 'auto rickshaw' was :-).
>
> Generally, as long as i had a pre-authorized ticket open for access  
> to equipment, any form of ID with a picture has worked.
>
> thanks
>
>
>
>> For some reason it seemed a good idea to get all my various  
>> passports while I was there (I have three), and when I made it  
>> back inside I handed them all over together. I realised about two  
>> seconds after handing them over that I was probably doing a stupid  
>> thing. A whole group of them appeared, and huddled around my  
>> passports with their backs to me. They seemed on the verge of  
>> calling the FBI.
>>
>> They gave the passports back, eventually, and I didn't go to jail.  
>> So it could have been worse. :-)
>>
>>
>> Joe
>
>            -- gaurab
>
>
> /////////////////////////////////////////////////////+9779851038080
> gaurab at lahai dot com
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