In today’s world, there’s lots of threats to your company’s data. Power failures, hackers and cyber attacks are just a few that come to mind. There’s almost never a day where there isn’t some sort of organization in the news because of a data breach.
However, while these are certainly front of mind for many businesses these days, they’re not the actual, largest threat to data loss. The biggest threat is environmental factors affecting your server room – specifically high temperatures and humidity. And that’s a lot to think about, right? In these times where we have so many ways to hurt each other, infiltrate and threaten each other’s personal data and security – it’s still mother nature who is the biggest threat.
So how do you keep your server room cool and create a healthier environment for your data? That’s what we’re here to discuss today. Here are some of the things you do to keep your data safe, cool and secure.
Airflow
Simply plopping an AC unit in the room the turning it on is not actual temperature control. Not only do you need to keep the room cool, but you’ll have to make sure that air circulates appropriately so that you don’t end up with hot spots. A lot of how your server room is designed – will dictate this. Speaking of which…
Design
Well designed server rooms take advantage of hot and cold aisles. Randomly placing equipment all around the room won’t work. Believe it or not, there is a science to properly installing server racks – and that comes with a sense of temperature and how it impacts the overall airflow of the room. Don’t merely push hot air to different spaces in your server room; but rather balance it out. A good IT company should be able to tell you how to accomplish this.
Socially distance your server
Make sure your server room is as self-isolated as possible. You really want to make sure it’s in it’s own area so that there isn’t any kind of imbalance leaking in from elsewhere in your establishment. While it’s pricey, you might even want to see about making sure the room has it’s own HVAC if you want to have optimum performance.
There’s also a cleanliness reason for this, too – as dust and grime can quickly accumulate in your server room if it’s too close to the rest of the rabble in your workspace. Keeping it separate will make sure this doesn’t happen.
Keep your server room as a server room only
That means – it’s not temporary (nothing is) storage for other miscellaneous debris in your office. That means it’s not an occasional workspace. That means that it’s free from the threat of any potential misadventure you or your employees might have once inside.
Cooling equipment for server applications
As tempting as it is to go to Home Depot and buy a $30 AC unit, the reality is, it’s not going to get the job done. Like Bob Vila used to say – ‘you need the right tool for the right job.’ In that vein, there are applications that are designed specifically to monitor and cool server areas. Are they a little pricey? Sure. Are they worth it? Well, think of it this way. These applications make it so that you can spend as little time thinking about us and server rooms as possible – and focus more on the other, more important things you need to do in order to grow your business.
If you’d like to learn more about cooling your server room, then feel free to give us a call and we’ll be happy to offer up a free consultation. Hopefully these tips help give you a roadmap so that a solution can come into a little bit clearer focus. Good luck!