Emma Radebaugh
Whether your business features a massive data room or a closet with a few servers, the performance of your information center is imperative or the success of your company. Knowing how to maintain efficiency in your data center ensures your business is productive, reputable, and guarded. Even with a competent IT department, an owner must understand the proper care techniques required of these computers and housing rooms.
Tweak the Environment
Unless you’re Amazon or Google, chances are your data center occupies a room of modest stature and technology. In truth, you don’t need the funds of a massive corporation to ensure efficiency within servers. Instead, providing a proper environment for your equipment is the best way to encourage proficient performance and cyber protection.
For starters, place your equipment in an insulated room. This reduces the power needs of air conditioners. Servers produce a lot of heat, so ensuring cold air stays within the housing room is imperative. Furthermore, ergonomically arrange your servers to encourage streamlined airflow.
Consider implementing air economizers that optimize temperature, ventilation, and air quality. Dedicate this space solely to your data center by removing unnecessary, power-consuming devices.
Routine Zombie Checks
Yes, there may be “zombie servers” in your data center—don’t panic! Zombie servers are devices that no longer have a use but continue to drain electricity and power. As your business and technology evolve, so do the needs of your data center. Over time, certain pieces of equipment no longer fill a purpose and ultimately hinder the performance of your servers.
Many people fear hitting the killswitch on these zombies, as it’s hard to detect which servers are no longer needed—they don’t have a paper trail of what and how much they do. Counteract this by implementing proper monitoring tools and educating your employees to prevent human errors.
Watch the Temperature
The temperature of your housing room and your servers is of the utmost importance when maintaining data center efficiency. Initially, servers produce lots of heat and therefore demand a consistent flow of cool air.
While most devices contain fans, a proper HVAC system is usually required to keep internal temperatures down. Don’t be afraid to run the A/C on the lower side when cooling your server room—the cost of underperforming servers outweighs the costs of a high A/C bill in the long run.
By understanding how to maintain efficiency in your data center, you can watch your business’s reputation, performance, and protection skyrocket. In the age of advanced technology, knowing how your equipment functions and succeeds is imperative for any small to medium company.
