Is Your Data Center Protected From All Environmental Elements?

You’ve probably thought about how to keep your data safe from hackers, but what about the naturally occurring environmental elements that could cause massive equipment failures?

The extent to which you must worry about those things varies depending on where the data center is located and what the weather’s usually like there, but, no matter what, environmental elements can wreak havoc before you know it.

Let’s look at some of the most common environmental threats for a data center. We’ll also examine things you can do to minimize the adverse impact of those elements.

Monitoring Temperature

The temperature level of your data center is a crucial environmental element to watch. Luckily, it’s quite easy to ensure you’re within the recommended ranges for data center temperature best practices.

Guidance about temperature is constantly evolving, but current advice suggests keeping the temperature between 64.4-80.4 Fahrenheit. There are also classes of allowable temperatures intended to give data center personnel some flexibility.

Besides staying abreast about recommended temperature ranges, monitor your data center carefully with advanced temperature sensors placed on the top, middle and bottom of server racks. Handheld thermometers are useful for determining hot spots in a room. An alarm system can alert data center personnel if the temperature has become too hot or cold.

Moisture/Humidity Concerns

If your data center becomes too moist or humid due to an environmental disaster, you may come into the facility thinking everything is okay, only to notice disaster has struck overnight. Safeguard against emergencies by installing water sensors near pipes, cooling equipment and anywhere water is likely to pool during a flood.

Also, put water detectors on the overflow trays of the facility’s air conditioners so they can detect excessive moisture. It’s not enough to simply measure relative humidity. You need to keep track of temperature while gauging humidity levels. If the humidity is too high, your equipment could get moist and sticky. If it’s too low, static charge buildup increases.

Electromagnetic Compatibility/Electromagnetic Interference

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are often referred to during regulatory testing of electrical components and consumer devices. However, these two factors also come into play within your data center, and you need to know how they differ.

EMC refers to a device’s ability to operate correctly in an environment shared with other devices without affecting the normal operation of the surrounding equipment. EMI is electromagnetic energy that interferes with a device’s functionality. Sometimes it’s driven by weather-related events, but, more frequently, it’s caused by nearby devices or systems.

All devices can generate EMI, but some are more likely to than others. That’s why it’s necessary to anticipate levels of EMC and EMI through emissions tests and immunity tests to know how much EMI is put out by a device and how well surrounding devices can tolerate it. Scientists are working on protective coatings to shield equipment from EMI.

Airflow Helps Keep Things Cool

Issues with airflow are similar to those mentioned with regard to temperature. If airflow is not consistent and at the proper level within your data center, pockets of hot air could form. They may then damage temperature-sensitive equipment components. On the other hand, if you go overboard and create an unnecessarily high level of airflow within the data center, you’ll pay far too much in cooling costs.

Some analysts say high-density server racks are what’s needed to tackle airflow levels and note that hot aisle/cold aisle cabinets are also useful. If you use the latter solution in your data center, it means configuring cabinets so the fronts and backs of cabinets never face each other. Through that arrangement, you naturally create cold supply and hot return air.

Don’t Forget About Surge Protection

Be mindful of concerns related to electrical power and surge protection. Consider that severe lightning storms could permanently damage your equipment. That’s why it’s smart to equip your data center with surge protection management components, such as transient voltage surge suppression accessories that shift power surges away from fragile equipment. You can use flywheels to balance power as it enters the data center.

Plan for power outages by relying on independent power and networking sources in case your primary ones fail. Examine individual components, including power cords, to ensure they won’t stop functioning and cause unexpected outages. Also, keep staff trained so they know what to do when a power failure happens.

By working through this list and accounting for the environmental elements listed on it, you’ll make substantial progress in keeping your data center protected. Then, you could keep costs low and enjoy more peace of mind.