Developing FM
Business Continuity and the Data Centre PDF Print E-mail
Written by Annie Johnson, July 2004   
Whether working in health, pharmaceuticals, financial or any other organisation, facilities managers are increasingly required to have strategies in place for business continuity. And it's no surprise that IT and telecommunications failure, as the blood flow and nerves of a business, remain the top cause of disruption to business continuity, according to a survey of UK business managers by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Things are changing though. 51% of businesses now having a business continuity strategy in place, a proportion that looks to rise rapidly in the future. So what practical steps can facilities managers take to minimise such risks of disruption to computer rooms and data centres?

The answer is installing effective monitoring of environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and wetness, together with alerting systems. Such monitoring will not only keep IT departments and machines running at an optimum, thus extending life and reducing intermittent faults, but will avoid failure and shutdown which can occur rapidly if problems go undetected.

Temperature

High temperatures shorten component life whilst low temperatures are uncomfortable for operators. The optimum range for both is normally between 21 to 23 degrees Celsius (70 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit) allowing a buffer zone in case of air conditioning or cooling failures. In the event of failure, equipment will continue to work long enough outside this range for engineers to effect repairs or install a temporary cooling solution.

Measuring temperatures between equipment racks and entering and leaving components such as Servers, Routers, Switches is vital to provide early warning of approaching problems and temperature can vary significantly in differing parts of the data center. If the temperature gradient in the room should exceed more than a few degrees you also risk overheating the devices higher in the racks.

Humidity

Maintaining relative humidity levels that are too low can cause static. Static does not leak away readily in very dry conditions. If humidity levels are around 35%, static discharge becomes a serious problem and build up is likely but if levels fall below 30% the room has reached a critical point.

High humidity and computer equipment don't mix well either. Not only are electrical failures possible, but corrosion may appear over time. As the load on Servers, Switches, and Routers varies so does the heat output. Maintaining both temperature and humidity within acceptable limits is vitally important. Relative humidity levels between 45% and 60% are best for safe server operation. As with the recommended temperatures, this range allows a safe buffer zone in case of air conditioning or cooling failures.

Wetness

Air conditioning system failure can result in leakage. Using wetness detectors on floors, near air conditioning or cooling systems or interflow will avoid damage to equipment.

Conclusion

Poor control and monitoring of the conditions in data centres will at the very least shorten the life of IT equipment. Episodes of overheating can cause intermittent faults, but in extreme cases such overheating particularly prolonged can cause equipment to fail catastrophically. Cost in time, money and lost business productivity can be considerable and needs to be protected against.

Either at installation or at a later stage for legacy equipment, using independent environmental monitoring coupled with alerting systems such as the Sensatronics Environmental Monitors from OPENXTRA will mean that for a small budget outlay, facilities managers can now reassure even SMB business directors that they are doing all they can to reduce risk of business disruption from IT failure at the very heart of the system.

For more information contact:
Annie Johnson
OPENXTRA Limited
+44 (0)1943 465918
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www.openxtra.co.uk
 
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