Server rooms are at the heart of any business and their efficiency is vital if a business is to run at their full capacity. For this reason, having a neat and efficient server room is an important consideration for all businesses that choose to host their IT services on their premises. In this article, we explore five tips that business owners looking to get the most out of their server room should consider.
Use the Right Equipment for Your Needs
One of the first tips for a neat and efficient server room is ensuring that the right equipment is being used. Using the right-sized rack for your server equipment is the first step in ensuring that the hub of your business stays neat and efficient.
When choosing the type of rack for your server room, things you need to consider include what your current business needs are, as well as what impact the growth of your business will have on your requirements. While it may be tempting to go big with your server rack, when it comes to neatness and efficiency, smaller racks that can be stacked when an expansion is required are more efficient and far easier to move should a business be forced to change their location in the future.
When choosing your server rack, it is important to take note of the size of the server components, as trying to fit a 23” component on a 19” may well result in a disaster while the converse will result in a server rack that looks disorganised right from the start.
PDUs, or Power Distribution Units, are specially designed pieces of equipment that are fitted with multiple outputs to distribute power evenly throughout server racks. PDUs play an essential role in larger server settings as they not only guarantee that the right amount of amperage is delivered from an uninterruptible power supply, generator or utility source to each component in the rack, but they also collect valuable data regarding power consumption and usage. This data can be used to understand the efficiency rating of each component and allow IT staff the ability to make educated decisions regarding improvements.
There is a range of different PDU options available for purchase, including basic and metered PDUs. So, when choosing a PDU, business owners must consult with power experts before making a purchase. Companies such as Critical Power Supplies, who specialise in being at the forefront of emergency power and energy solution provision in the UK, have a team of experts on hand to provide 24/7 support and can recommend the right PDU systems for any business’s needs.
In a large server room, good cable management can mean the difference between a job taking two hours to complete and an IT technician taking an entire weekend to sort out an issue. Rack cable managers, which are also called horizontal lacing bars, take a lot of hassle out of managing cables and can be used either horizontally or vertically. These units take up minimal space in the rack and allow for more efficient use of space, which helps to reduce the overall footprint of a server. Having a rack cable manager in place also gives server installers and maintenance staff space to work within the rack, ensuring that any work that needs to be done can be done quickly and more efficiently.
Colour Coding and Labelling Can Save Time and Money
Having a rack cable manager in place is only the first step in ensuring that maintenance of a server rack can be done quickly and efficiently. Having a labelling protocol in place in a server room also goes a long way in ensuring that the server room stays neat and efficient.
To simplify things, large data centres typically adhere to the ANSI TIA 606-B voluntary labelling standard which requires labels to be consistent, easy to read, durable, that they identify which physical location the cable is running to, and that records are kept regarding labelling protocols and physical locations.
Good Planning Prevents Poor Performance
Whether it’s planning where in the building a server room will be located, to how big the server needs to be, good planning is an essential step in preventing poor server performance in the future. Planning for the future will ensure that when a business inevitably expands, a server room expansion does not cause undue disruption. Planning how you position a server rack is almost as important as what server equipment you buy, as placing a server rack in an area with bad airflow or heat retention will only shorten the lifespan of the equipment. Correcting a bad installation is not impossible; however, with the right amount of planning before the first piece of equipment is even installed, businesses can ensure the long-term health and efficiency of their server room.
Ensuring that your server room is as neat and efficient as it was on the first day that it was installed may be no small task but, with the right amount of planning and know-how, businesses can get the most out of their server room.
