From b492240916586b3ea081da1d9c7835f5fba9c966 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Pim van Pelt Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2024 19:05:15 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Add Monday --- content/blog/wk12day1.md | 114 +++++++++++++++++- static/img/fullsize/2024-10-14/laussane.png | 3 + static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-14/laussane.png | 3 + 3 files changed, 117 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) create mode 100644 static/img/fullsize/2024-10-14/laussane.png create mode 100644 static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-14/laussane.png diff --git a/content/blog/wk12day1.md b/content/blog/wk12day1.md index 6c6ea8e..68684e5 100644 --- a/content/blog/wk12day1.md +++ b/content/blog/wk12day1.md @@ -1,7 +1,115 @@ --- -title: "Week 12, Monday:" +title: "Week 12, Monday: Brainserve, Lau-ss-ane" date: 2024-10-14T21:55:00+02:00 -draft: true --- -{{< image frame="true" width="17em" float="right" src="/img/headline/todo.png" alt="Credit: " >}} +{{< image frame="true" width="17em" float="right" src="/img/headline/noraenpure-10.png" alt="Credit: Nora en Pure, YouTube" >}} + +It's funny how when one is motivated, one can do ~anything. For me, today, this is getting up at an +invalid time of 07:30 so that I can beat traffic underway to Geneva. I wanted to take plenty of time +at Brainserve, which is in _Lausanne_ in the canton of _Vaud_. It's about two and a half hours +drive, and considering Quinn is already at work (getting up at 05:45, daa-doyyyy), and Marina is up +and about preparing to go to her weekly drawing class in _Oerlikon_, I decide that I'll also just +bite the bullet, and drink two strong espresso's, fill the belly with a leftover sandwich roll with +salami, and get going. + +Yesterday I already put all the stuff in the car, so all I have to do is punch in the datacenter +address and take off to _Laussane_. Wait, was that a typo, you say? The city name is _Lausanne_, +right? Well, there's a story here. In 2013, I had a datacenter tour in a former military bunker +called _Deltalis DK2_, built in a 20'000 m2 former military bunker. Before it was turned into a +datacenter though, I got the full scoop. One of the features of this installation was a staff +planning room with a large 6x3m map of Europe. The planners would make a layout of the (war) +theater and then push up the map to another floor where the generals would sit. That map is pretty +impressive, but it has one very embarassing typo: the map-maker misspelled the city and called it +_Laussane_. Hilarity ensued, but the (German speaking) staff of the bunker did not want to pay for a +new map, so they left it there. If you're curious about this type of facility, I have a beautiful +[[photo album](https://photos.app.goo.gl/QNUEbAFNTm5Lduoi8)]. + +My drive to _Crissier_ is pretty much _line rate_. No traffic, nothing like the Gottard tunnel on +[[Saturday]({{< ref wk11day6.md >}})], and just a very leisurely drive through Switzerland. I had +planned to be at the datacenter at 11:00 or so, but I beat traffic significantly and rocked up to +the place at 10:15. Perfect! I've never been to this place before, so I'll need to do a little bit +of a song-and-dance to get in for the first time, delivering pictures, badges, biometrics and so on. +You know what I find funny? On a _good day_, entering Equinix with a fully planned visit will easily +take ninety minutes. A visit, completely unannounced, entering Brainserve for the first time, the +whole entry was facilitated, including badge + biometrics + escorting me to the rack, was done in +about twenty minutes. Fortune 500, my ass. + +IP-Max rack is in the carrier room, and it's not hard to find. It's the one with the jet-engine +blowing refridgerator called an ASR9010, with dark fiber to Geneva and 2x10G to Luzern, the ones we +installed a few weeks ago in [[Stollen]({{< ref wk8day3.md >}})]. My stuff turns into a bit of a +bottom feeder, and I install it in the bottom of the rack. The Centec switch takes about 30W and the +Dell R630 takes about 80W (and 150W when it's fully loaded). For 2x25G router and about 60Mpps of +forwarding capacity, that's not bad at all! + +My stuff has been pre-configured, but I do need to spend a little bit of time remapping the circuits +from IP-Max. I move the existing one, which is from Geneva to Luzern, to become two ones: one of +them from Geneva to Lausanne, and the other from Lausanne to Luzern. I break these 10G circuits out +on two switchports, and hook them up to IPng's Site Local. Once I have access to the switch, the +rest can be done remotely, and I intend to do so. It's way much more fun to hang out with Fred and +the gang in Geneva, so I do a cursory glance to make sure all links are up and the fibers are +cleaned and without errors. Ready? Let's get out of here! + +As a _friend with benefits_, I get to park my car in the middle of Geneva on a private parking lot +at IP-Max head quarters. Nice one! In the back yard, Fred's neighbor and friend Fabrice and Fred +are having _Ricard_. I am partial to a nice pastis myself, and one is quicky made for me. Also, +another one is made for me after the first one, because (a) I am not driving anywhere tonight, and +(b) as the dutch might say _op één been kun je niet lopen_. + +We leave my car here and take Fred's to his parking garage, but what is that he sees? There's a +local tobacco shop, completely random, operated by a buddy of Fred's called Sidney. We find a +parking spot in front of it, and go in. Here, I am explained a marvel of local culture. As soon as +one walks into this store, one is henceforth addressed as _Christian_ and the ladies are +_Christianne_. This is so bizarre, but it's true! Fred walked it and this guy says "Eeeeey! +Christian!" and hands him a beer. Later, some woman rocks up and is greeted by three people "Heeeey! +Christianne!". I myself am greeted as Christian, and even an actually real life named Christian, a +trader, joins us. Here we are, a small _kiosk_ shop with ten people happily having a pint and +chatting about our day, and I find the symbolism of everybody being a _Christian(ne)_ both +hilarious as well as somewhat touching. + +Anyway, Christian and I still haven't had lunch, and it's now 17:30, but Christian says we should go +to _Le Petit Raphaäl_ and if we do, he'll arrange for the food to be 50% off. Christian is a +wonderfully delightful character, with Dutch roots (Amsterdam and Haarlem), but also traveled in the +African continent, speaking Frech, English and German and saying 'Dankuwel' a lot. There's also +Christian, who is a half-britton-half-swiss, and speaks a really nice southern-english accent. +Christian is really nice to get to know as well. + +After about an hour or so, Christian and I leave and pick up the car. Since I've only had one pint, +Fred (as he is immediately called after leaving the door), hands me the keys. Smart move, Fred! You +know I can parallel park better than you :-) 🥰 I yeet the BMW into the parking garage across from +Fred's place and we make our way on foot to Raphaël. The food here is honest, pretty good, but +the resto has a bit of a weird vibe to it. It smells a bit fatty (like a belgian friture), but the +steak is good. Actually, the steak got even better when, much to my surprise, the bill comes and it +is, in actual fact, 50% off. Haleluja! + +As we walk back after this early dinner / very late lunch (Fred) / super late breakfast (me), we +bump into the very same crew of Christians, and two of them are happy to join us for drinks. +Amedée and Rob are game for a drink and a smoke. Fred bought me cigars, so I finally get to +scratch that itch that I've had for weeks now. At Fred's place, we are jolly, Amedée is +friendly and wants me to talk Dutch to him, and he is also deeply impressed with my Swiss German, +which I call _Schwyyzer-Dutch_. I can get away with it, but only in places that don't speak the +dialect themselves. Here in French-town Geneva, it's very convincing indeed. + +At about 01:00, Rob decides from one second to the next that he's done. He grabs Amedée and +the electric scooter, and they both bounce. But I'm still completely in love with the Dazzling +Saphire cat, who is a sixteen year old [[Turkish +Angora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Angora)]. The fun thing about him, is that he is +running Dog Operating System in a Cat Chassis. Very clingy, very chatty and super super soft +friendly. I try to convince _Dazzling_ to come and snuggle with me in my bed, tonight. + +My head hits the pillow, and a mere few minutes later I hear a faint _mrrrrwow_ and detect a feline +jumping onto my bed and curling up into a ball against my legs. 💎 + +## Pictures of the Day + +{{< gallery-category >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-14/laussane.png" caption="The map from Deltalis DK2 bunker with the misspelled Laussane" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-14/IMG_2078.JPG" caption="IP-Max's point of presence in Brainserve is a beefy ASR9010 with dark fiber to Geneva and 2x10G waves to Lucerne. It is yummy, and IPng's AS8298 is now here too!" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-14/IMG_2081.JPG" caption="IPng's Centec and Dell R630 chcri0.ipng.ch, ready to be configured and put into service. " >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-14/IMG_2085.JPG" caption="May I introduce to you: Christian, Christian, Christian and me. In the background, you can see Christianne and Christianne." >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-14/IMG_2088.JPG" caption="The Petit Raphaël, with a steak on a hot stone. It's good, and at a very affordable price." >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-14/IMG_2096.JPG" caption="Dazzling Saphire, my best buddy in the GVA03 point of presence." >}} +{{< /gallery-category >}} + +{{< gallery-modal >}} +{{< gallery-script >}} diff --git a/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-14/laussane.png b/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-14/laussane.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dba951c --- /dev/null +++ b/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-14/laussane.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:4cbf0907cc56ad6d748dd27ec9d676dad920eaa3eb0e1ce67b6a94119ae9a854 +size 5033809 diff --git a/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-14/laussane.png b/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-14/laussane.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c43a677 --- /dev/null +++ b/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-14/laussane.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:f5c9bcda76b552e734f2bf623fea16e7ac7da544cda337d8786c31fa160e76f0 +size 233867