Smart Hands in Chicago

Smart hands is the part of data center support that goes beyond following a script. A reboot or a cable check can be done from a written instruction. A fault that needs diagnosis, a configuration change on a server or switch, or a decision about which component to swap needs an engineer who understands the equipment and can judge what the symptoms mean. That is the work Reboot Monkey assigns to smart hands in Chicago. Equinix CH1/CH2/CH4 - Chicago stands on E Cermak Rd in Chicago. Reboot Monkey does not own or operate any building in the city. It is a third-party datacenter services operator that sells rack space, IP transit, leased IP addresses, network and data-centre hardware, together with the services that deliver, install and support them, inside facilities that other companies own and run.

Data centres in Chicago, ordered by the number of networks present:

A smart hands request starts with the customer describing the problem or the change. Reboot Monkey assigns an engineer who is briefed on the equipment and the site before arrival, and a second, briefed Reboot Monkey engineer is named as backup for every customer site. The engineer then works in the customer's rack, diagnoses the fault or applies the configuration change, and reports back on what was found and what was done, so the customer has a written record of the work.

Smart hands differs from remote hands in where the judgement sits. Remote hands covers physical tasks carried out on the customer's instruction, such as reboots, cable checks, component swaps and visual checks. Smart hands covers technical work that needs diagnostic judgement and configuration knowledge. The scope for Chicago includes:

Reboot Monkey sells the network for the rack as well as the hands that work in it. It orders cross connects and carrier circuits from the facility operator and the carriers present in the facility, and its engineers install and patch the cabling in the customer's rack. For a CTO or IT director this means one supplier handles the connectivity order and the on-site work that follows it, instead of the customer coordinating a carrier, an operator and a separate technician. Coverage matters when a company runs equipment in more than one region. A customer with a rack in Chicago can use the same way of working for equipment elsewhere. Prices are quoted on request and depend on the customer and the size of the job, so a procurement manager can ask for a quote against a defined scope. The same engineers can follow a job through from installation to support. Smart hands sits alongside rack and stack, server migration and hardware monitoring by the Reboot Monkey NOC, so a fault found during routine monitoring can lead to a diagnosis visit without handing the case to another supplier.

These terms apply in every facility in Chicago where Reboot Monkey engineers work.

The data centres we work in hold their own certifications, such as ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 9001. Ask us for the certificate of your site.

Customers with equipment in several American data center markets can use the same service in other cities. Reboot Monkey engineers also provide [Smart Hands in Ashburn](/en/smart-hands/united-states/ashburn/), [Smart Hands in Dallas](/en/smart-hands/united-states/dallas/), [Smart Hands in Denver](/en/smart-hands/united-states/denver/) and [Smart Hands in Los Angeles](/en/smart-hands/united-states/los-angeles/). Each request is scoped for the facility in question, because every operator sets its own access rules and Reboot Monkey engineers work within them.

Smart hands is often one step in a larger project. A new deployment may begin with [Colocation in Chicago](/en/colocation/united-states/chicago/) and continue with [Rack and Stack in Chicago](/en/rack-and-stack/united-states/chicago/) to install and cable the hardware. When the task is a physical action that follows a clear instruction, [Remote Hands in Chicago](/en/remote-hands/united-states/chicago/) is the better fit. Moving equipment between racks, rooms or facilities falls under [Server Migration in Chicago](/en/server-migration/united-states/chicago/), and retiring hardware at the end of its life is handled through [Data Center Decommissioning in Chicago](/en/data-center-decommissioning/united-states/chicago/).