WHAT DOES A DATA CENTER TECHNICIAN DO?

Published: October 2, 2024 - The Data Center Technician swiftly resolves hardware issues, including hard drives and motherboard malfunctions, across diverse systems. Ensures HIPAA compliance through meticulous management of physical hardware and follows strict protocols for shipping, receiving, and vendor interactions. Effectively communicates across organizational levels, managing workflows and incident escalations to maintain optimal operational continuity.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Data Center Technician

1. Data Center Technician Duties

  • Backup Tape Rotations: Massive scale daily backup tape rotations.
  • Hardware Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot and repair common hardware components such as hard drives, memory errors, motherboard issues, etc. across a wide variety of manufacturers.
  • Logistics Support: Provide shipping and receiving support and assist other team members.
  • Vendor Management: Vendor management at the site escalations, escort, assistance in troubleshooting.
  • Incident Escalation: Escalation of incidents and problems to management.
  • HIPPA Compliance: Ensure that always remain HIPPA compliant from a physical hardware perspective.
  • Hardware Installation: Adhere to departmental practices, policies, and operating procedures in regard to proper cabling, installation, and removal of hardware.
  • Effective Communication: Understands effective communication across all levels of the organization (both upward and downward) with the appropriate message, the right tone, and the appropriate level of impact.
  • Problem Recognition: Recognizes problems and can make recommendations/decisions on the best course of action to remediate.
  • Workflow Management: Manage assigned workflow tasks in order to provide timely turnaround to customers.

2. Data Center Technician Details

  • Hardware Installation: Physically perform the installation, removal, and relocation of server, storage, and networking hardware across all client data centers, server rooms, and clinics.
  • Documentation Maintenance: Maintain departmental documentation, backup tape rotations, and stored inventory.
  • Inventory Documentation: Maintain accurate documentation of equipment in stored inventory and production hardware.
  • Hardware Relocation: Perform physical installation, removal, and relocation of hardware both within and across multiple locations.
  • Backup Tape Rotations: Perform massive scale daily backup tape rotations.
  • Hardware Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot and repair common hardware components such as hard drives, memory errors, motherboard issues, etc. across a wide variety of manufacturers.
  • Logistics Support: Provide shipping and receiving support and assist other team members.
  • Vendor Management: Perform vendor management duties at the site including escalations, escort, and assistance in troubleshooting.
  • HIPPA Compliance: Ensure that the team remains HIPPA compliant from a physical hardware perspective at all times.
  • Hardware Installation Standards: Adhere to departmental practices, policies, and operating procedures regarding proper cabling, installation, and removal of hardware.

3. Data Center Technician Responsibilities

  • Team Collaboration: Collaborate with the Data Center Operations and Cloud Operations teams to provide on-site physical support for all implementation projects.
  • Inventory Monitoring: Monitor and track on-hand inventory (optics, cabling, etc.) at data center locations.
  • Asset Inventory Maintenance: Assist and maintain physical asset inventory of all local data center infrastructure equipment, components, peripherals, and spare components.
  • Local Support: Assist with all efforts requiring local presence within the data center including equipment shipping & receiving, packaging, installations, and servicing.
  • Vendor Coordination: Acting local point of contact for all vendor service activities on existing infrastructure assets.
  • Capacity Management: Participate and collaborate in capacity management efforts for both infrastructure and facilities planning.
  • Project Implementation: Follow infrastructure project planning and implementation processes and suggest improvements.
  • Support Coordination: Assist the Director of Datacenter Operations and Infrastructure Deployment Engineers as an additional point of contact for other departments for datacenter issues and projects.
  • Documentation Updates: Update all relevant and required documentation.
  • Problem Recognition: Recognize problems and make recommendations/decisions on the best course of action to remediate.
  • Effective Communication: Understand effective communication across all levels of the organization (both upward and downward) with the appropriate message, the right tone, and the appropriate level of impact.

4. Data Center Technician Accountabilities

  • Platform Building: Build new platforms when delivered.
  • Hardware Setup: Set up hardware in the racks and perform hardware rework.
  • System Upgrades: Perform BIOS & FW upgrades to get systems back up and running.
  • Cluster Hardware Configuration: Build out cluster hardware (set up CPUs, install SSDs & HDDs, set BIOS settings, configure RAID).
  • Network Configuration: Configure network switches (ports active, jumbo frames, port speed, etc).
  • Cable Management: Maintain tidiness of network cabling.
  • Lab Coordination: Manage lab downtimes and coordinate with IT.
  • Lab Upgrades Management: Manage lab upgrades (switches, power distribution).
  • Contractor Coordination: Get quotes from contractors for lab changes and submit POs.
  • Inventory Management: Lab inventory & asset management (HVI tracking).
  • IT Collaboration: Work with IT to make changes to open the SED line to targeted customers/IP addresses.

5. Data Center Technician Functions

  • Equipment Maintenance: Maintaining the technical and safety equipment.
  • Fault Resolution: Detecting and fixing faults.
  • Independent Operations: Plan and carry out switching and switching operations independently.
  • Technical Documentation: Computer-technical documentation of the activities carried out.
  • Defect Management: Notification and prosecution of identified defects, elimination and other special incidents.
  • Service Level Compliance: Comply with customer-specific service levels.
  • Quality Assurance: Ensuring quality and performance standards.
  • Performance Evaluations: Assist Facilities Manager in evaluations of all personnel in the review and performance process.
  • Safety Training: Provide training to maintenance team in the areas of Electrical Safety, Lockout/Tag out, Safe Operating Procedures (SOP), and other Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) regulations.
  • Customer Relations: Customer relationship management to identify, plan and deliver effective maintenance solutions.
  • Vendor Coordination: Vendor liaison management to develop, coordinate and maintain effective relationships with suppliers and coordinate activities with staff.