About Smart Hands

PurposeEquinix Smart Hands is an around-the-clock, on-site operational support service for the management, installation, and troubleshooting of your data center equipment.

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With Smart Hands, you have access to our trained IBX technicians, who can:

  • Provide on-site technical assistance and troubleshooting.
  • Perform equipment installations.
  • Remove and install interface cards.
  • Test carrier circuits.
  • Take inventory of equipment, take digital photos, and record serial numbers.
  • Perform a power cycle on a router, server, or switch; soft-boot a server.
  • Move equipment within your space and cabinets.
  • Install ladder racking, pre-wire patch panels and equipment.
  • Assemble, install, and maintain cabling.
  • Verify cable integrity on installed media.
  • Provide visual verifications.
  • Install, replace, or remove equipment (router, switch card, disk drive, memory, etc.).
  • Assist with conference room and AV equipment setup.
  • Add, remove, or verify a demarcation.
  • Assist with unboxing of equipment or shipment of equipment.
  • Extend patch cables from the patch panel to the equipment.
Note: Service requests can be:

  • submitted on an ad hoc basis, or scheduled in advance

  • set to occur one time, or on a recurring schedule

Tip: For a full list of services, see Smart Hands Order Types.

Standard Turnaround Times

The normal turnaround time for Smart Hands services varies by IBX:

  • For 24/7 IBX sites, the turnaround time is 24 clock hours.

  • For non-24/7 IBX sites, the turnaround time is 3 days.

Important: There are exceptions that might affect the turnaround time, such as when a physical or power audit is being performed, or during large rack-and-stack installations.

Tip: To see the normal operation times for a specific IBX, refer to IBX List / Smart Hands Availability.

COVID-19 Impact on Turnaround Times

Many IBX data centers are currently operating under regional COVID-19 policies. These policies might affect the turnaround time for Smart Hands requests:

  • For 24/7 IBX sites, the turnaround time is 36 clock hours.

  • For non-24/7 IBX sites, the turnaround time is 4.5 business days.

Expedited Services

Most services can be expedited for an additional fee. An expedite fee is added to your order if you:

  • Choose the Expedited option when scheduling your request.

    or

  • Schedule your request earlier than the current turnaround time for the IBX.

  • You can communicate directly with the on-site technician, via video conferencing (if available at your IBX) or via messaging.

  • You can view various reports about your equipment (cage access logs, order history, maintenance notifications, and more).

  • Support plans are available, to help you save money over ad hoc services.