Every data center has a network of computing and storage resources, hence, in a data center, it is crucial to monitor all environmental variables for each piece of equipment.
This enables the technical team or the system to implement immediate preventive measures if something goes wrong. Data Center Environmental monitoring is key to maintaining the health of your data center or IT lab. Today, a wide variety of sensors are used to monitor and control temperature, humidity, airflow, differential air pressure, water, and contact closure.
Sanjay Motwani, VP – APAC, Legrand Data Center Solutions explains:
“These sensors can tell data center managers when a cabinet door is open, calculate the precise difference in pressure between two locations, reveal the presence of water, and much more. The right environment monitoring can help to maintain the optimum environment for consistently efficient operation of your data center.”
This is where the use of monitoring tools can help a data center. Here are some of the factors that require monitoring;
Temperature
Data centers run around the clock. Overheating/cooling failure is one of the main risks for servers in a data center, which can cripple its (data center’s) operation. Temperature control is necessary to check if the equipment is operating within the recommended temperature range.
A comprehensive approach to temperature monitoring uses many temperature sensors. They are strategically located to provide a holistic temperature reading. Monitoring temperature can also prevent the DC spending unnecessary money on cooling
Humidity
Humidity, along with temperature, needs to be monitored closely. Measuring humidity in a data center should be followed simultaneously with temperature monitoring. Both should be complimentary.
If humidity goes uncontrolled, it can cause corrosion in servers and other hardware. On the other hand if humidity is low, it can lead to static electricity generation and will destroy the electronic devices. Hence, monitoring your airflow is vital. Observing cooling fans ensures that proper airflow passes through your structure. Without these, moisture exists, and the temperature is erratic.
Devices to measure the presence of airflows can aid your monitoring controls. These sensors detect airflow to avoid safety errors. It prevents the rise of moisture levels by dissipating heat.
Also, where sensors are deployed assumes significance. Motwani explains: “If you use sensors at the room level, at the aisle or at the rack level. It should go at the rack level and even there it should sit at the top, middle and bottom (of the rack). Unfortunately most people do not do that.”
Power
Sudden bursts of static electricity are a choke point for data centers. Erratic volt discharge can ruin a data center’s performance. It is crucial to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to your facility. A consistent supply limits electrical failure.
Power monitoring will inhibit sudden electrical problems. Energy monitoring devices can spot irregular electricity flow. It can prevent power failure and decrease the risk of damage to equipment and also help in monitoring power consumption.
Benefits of Data Center Environmental Monitoring
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. By monitoring environmental conditions, data center managers can improve operations in a number of ways.
Cost Savings
Cooling costs are one of the biggest concerns of data center managers. It is estimated that almost half of the power used in a data center goes into keeping the equipment cool. By monitoring the temperature in a data center, decisions such as when to raise temperatures and prevent overcooling can be taken effectively. Using environmental sensors can lead to reduced operational costs, deferred capital expenses, and increased capacity for future growth.
Improve Uptime
Uptime is a top priority among data center professionals and equipment failure is one of the leading causes of downtime. Data centers need environmental monitoring to help prevent undercooling, electrostatic discharge, corrosion, short circuits, and other threats to valuable IT devices.
Proactively Identify Problems
Environmental monitoring is the key to being ahead of issues before they arise. A data center infrastructure management solution can enable to set up environmental thresholds on collected data from sensors and receive real-time alerts. Know when water, smoke, or open cabinet doors are present to address the issue before there is one.
Maintain Energy Efficiency
Being able to monitor and maintain the right temperature, humidity, air-flow, and all other conditions lets a data center save energy costs. Also, it protects and extends the lifespan of your equipment.
Get Actionable Insights
Data from temperature, humidity, contact closure, leak detection, smoke, air pressure, air flow, and other environmental sensors can be analyzed in real-time with zero-configuration dashboards and reports. A monitoring tool provides intelligent monitoring to maintain the health of a data center.
Ultimately it is not just about performance of the rack infrastructure in a data center. Temperature and cooling are mostly looked at in isolation. “Users should get out of the mindset of optimization of power, cooling etc. and think holistically about the overall performance. This is a step beyond monitoring. If the sensors are used with the power measurement tools, they can go a long way in optimizing your infrastructure”, opines Motwani.
Monitoring is one aspect. However, smartly tracking it is another and is the need of the hour or the minute.
For more information on Legrand Data Center Solutions, visit www.raritan.com/ap
