If you are looking for a few ways to better manage your data center, you can do so by being creative with the space and equipment that you have. You might also benefit by adding equipment like server racks and taking advantage of elevated mounting positions. Follow the data center management advice below to cool servers, maximize space and optimize power consumption.
1. Server Racks And Cabinets
One of the best ways to maximize space and maintain server cooling is to use server racks. There’s a wide variety of racks on the market. They’re available in a plethora of sizes and styles. Some are even portable. Consider a wall mount rack so that you can affix a server against the wall. It’ll clear out floor space for wider pathways for walking and the storage of other machines.
If server cooling is a primary concern, consider an open frame server rack. It is compatible with the majority of servers and computing equipment and is actually specifically created with data centers in mind. It is quite wide and has panels for cables to pass through with ease. Or go with a server cabinet like the 42u server cabinet for an efficient and secure way to store your servers.
2. Identify Capacity
Figure out exactly how much space your data center has and how much it is currently handling. Most data centers aren’t being utilized as efficiently as they could because they are either over filled or because resources aren’t consolidated and spaced out properly. Consider drawing a diagram of your data center and play around with ideas of where to store equipment for maximum space efficiency.
3. Catalog Your Equipment
Perform a thorough inventory of all of your data center’s equipment and establish relationship maps to determine exactly which devices are used in unison with others and particular services. This way, you’ll know exactly which ones are over-utilized and under-utilized. During your cataloging, take note of the life cycle of your equipment. This will help you pinpoint and eventually replace devices that are nearing their end dates.
4. Determine How To Conserve Energy
The majority of data centers use far too much energy. This not only increases the utility bill but it also causes devices to overheat and work harder than they have to. Identify hardware temperature problems so that you don’t have to spend a good chunk of money on powering cooling devices. You should do everything possible to spend your money on the actual computing devices like servers instead of those that are designed to keep them cool. This might mean utilizing more racks and PDUs.
5. Mind The Cords
Data center cords should be labeled, properly grouped and spaced. Under floor power cables should be put in the hot aisle that is next to the airflow from the computer room’s air conditioning unit. This will help to maximize efficiency. Don’t run anything but data cables in this hot aisle so that you can easily identify them and keep them cool. Also, make use of vertical and horizontal cable guides to boost airflow and prevent hot spots from forming.
+Katrina is a leader in the IT industry with innovative ideas and custom solution as a product specialist for Racksolutions.com
