Evaluating Cooling and Power Services for Data Centers
It is always a good idea to work proactively as opposed to reactively – especially when it comes managing and maintaining your data center. That proactive work should include a periodic evaluation of the cooling and power services for data centers under your management. This evaluation should help to determine if you are utilizing the best possible technology and systems for your center.
Assessing Cooling and Power Services for Data Centers
There are many different ways you can assess the cooling capabilities and power services for data centers. By evaluating your center’s infrastructure, you can do a better job assessing and supporting your business’ long-term needs. It is also a good idea to collect historical data so you can develop a clear picture of your data center’s needs. This way you can distinguish between an anomaly and a long-term trend or issue.
IT staff members today face a variety of different challenges that include staying up to date on emerging technologies, increased workloads, smaller staff, and of course, keeping aging data centers online and functioning properly. It is also important to note that rising energy costs and power services for data centers also add to the IT professional’s stressors. It is safe to say the majority of energy-related costs for a business today lie right within the data center or server room.
Often, power considerations are last on an IT professional’s list when considering upgrading a data center’s infrastructure. It is likely safe to assume that the hardware and software within the data center is kept more up to date than making changes to cooling and power services for data centers.
There are a number of different ways you can assess and evaluate your data center’s cooling and power services. It makes sense to begin with a simple inventory of cooling and power services for data centers in use. Make sure to note operating conditions of each part of the infrastructure, how long equipment has been in place, and if it is due (or even overdue) for service, maintenance, or replacement.
Next, consider using airflow measurement tools and thermographic imaging to help locate “hot spots” or areas that aren’t getting the full ventilation needed to keep equipment running at peak performance. It is also worth considering using “rack-level cooling” to help with data center airflow. It is a good idea to do this of assessment during normal work hours so you can get a “real world” view of the health of your data center. This is where understanding the HVAC system in use in your data center is key. If you aren’t sure about the HVAC system in use, contact building management or hire an HVAC professional to come in and do an assessment. Without HVAC data on hand, you won’t be able to have a complete assessment of the data center and any proposed changes will be assumed on fault data.
Armed with this information, you should be able to make informed decisions related to plans for cooling and power services for data centers.
