Over the past 5 years, we have spent more money on testing the effectiveness of our tools than our budgeting committee would care to admit. We have tried 5 or 6 different brands of drill/driver combinations, different length bit extenders, toolboxes, screw types, clip nuts, cage nuts, ... ... ... the list goes on and on. What we have today, the "standard issue gorilla toolkit" is a compilation of the knowledge we have gained over the last several years. Feel free to click on the name of each tool for more information!

Most companies do not need an entire standard issue kit, but here are a few things no datacenter cage should be without:

1. Milwaukee 12v Compact Driver - pound for pound the best datacenter screw gun available. It is very lightweight, quite powerful, has 15 torque settings, and my favorite parts; an LED that comes on when the trigger is pulled, and a battery life indicator. Retail price: approximately $120.00USD

2. "Flush Cut" Nippers - an absolute requirement for cutting the ends off of zip ties. Many companies have banned zip ties from their facilities due to poorly cut zip ties that end up hurting people. Flush Cut Nippers allow you to cut the zip ties exactly flush, reducing the possibility of injury . Retail Price: under $10.00USD

3. Rubber Mallet - I can see the raised eyebrows from here. Yes, a rubber mallet. Properly used, a rubber mallet can assist in an assortment of datacenter tasks. Adjusting vertical rails for example. There are a few "not to be spoken" uses for them as well, but we won't mention those. Retail Price: under $20.00 USD

4. #2 Phillips Screwdriver Bits - Quality over quantity. #2 Phillips head screwdriver bits are one of the most important tool you will use. If you use the wrong size bit (#1 bits for example) you will strip or mushroom screws when you first install a device, and it will be nearly impossible to remove that device later. We recommend Milwaukee or Bosch brand screwdriver bits. Retail Price: Approximately $1.00USD per bit (sold in multi packs)

5. Broken Screw Extractor - See #4. We use Gator Bits. They work well in most situations. On a side note, the Milwaukee 12v Compact Driver is powerful enough to drill through mushroomed screws using the Gator Bits. Retail Price: Approximately $20.00USD

We will bring you more items from our "toolbox" as
well as helpful datacenter tips in our next issue!

Photo courtesy of Vacacion per the flickr Creative Commons license.