Keeping Your Server Room Cooled for Performance
by admin
This is a guest article by Stephanie Schoch. Stephanie is an associate at an e-commerce company specializing in heating and cooling appliances. Air-n-Water.com is located in Orange County, California.
Company growth is usually accompanied increasingly high IT requirements; many rapidly expanding companies find that they need to invest in a dedicated server room. A server room is a room with the sole purpose of housing computer servers. Server rooms are essentially the heart of IT operations. The enclosed nature of a server room causes the equipment to generate heat, which can quickly increase the ambient temperature beyond safe operating temperatures. The life and reliability of machines is compromised, and worse results can follow, including system crashes, random reboots, and overall poor performance. A proper server room setup is crucial to prevent hardware malfunction, system failure, and security breaches.
Environmental Conditions of Server Rooms
Computer equipment ages more quickly when it’s hot. For individual personal computers, the internal fans and cooling mechanisms are generally adequate at maintaining a safe operating temperature. However, in data centers and server rooms the abundance of electronic equipment is concentrated. The mass of modern server equipment generates enormous amounts of heat, and today’s machines run faster and hotter. The proximity of the machines creates more heat than the cooling mechanisms of the computers can handle. Moreover, server rooms can be prone to “hot spots” which can build up behind equipment racks or near larger machines.
Increased humidity levels also have an effect on server rooms. High humidity levels can damage equipment by causing corrosion and rust. Keeping the humidity stable is imperative in order to avoid excess condensation. The optimal humidity range for a server room or data center is from 40 to 55 percent relative humidity.
Lastly, another problem that can plague server rooms is insufficient airflow often due to the server room’s design. Lack of airflow perpetuates the problem of equipment overheating. A professional server room designer or architect can help optimize the placement of the racks to enhance airflow. As such, all of these environmental temperature considerations call for the installation of supplemental cooling systems.
What Do I Need to Create the Perfect Server Room Environment?
Server rooms require a controlled environment twenty four hours a day because they constantly generate heat. Relying on central air conditioning systems is not possible due to the fact that most systems are prone to shutoffs during weekends. Window air conditioners aren’t an option either as most server rooms are usually in unused, interior rooms. Window air conditioners can’t be used because of the security risk presented by an open window.
Portable air conditioners are ideal for keeping server rooms at the right temperatures. Freestanding air conditioning units have the ability to cool office spaces and computer rooms that house heat-generating electronics. This prevents computer networks, communications, and office equipment from shutting down when temperatures rise. As self-contained units, one of the biggest benefits of a portable AC is the fact that permanent installation is not necessary.
In fact, almost all models include rolling casters that allowing for easy mobility.
An ideal server room air conditioner must have the following features:
- Automatic Restart Function
- Ventilation System to Displace Hot Air
- Condensation Tank
Automatic Restart Function
An automatic restart function is imperative in a server room portable air conditioner because it will keep the unit running continuously, even in the event of power failure. The server room equipment will remain cool even at night or on the weekends when central cooling is not available.
Ventilation System to Displace Hot Air
Server rooms must have a means to expel heat from the server room. As mentioned above, many server rooms are located within the interior of a building. The best option is a portable air conditioner that uses a vent hose to push air out through a drop ceiling or wall, away from the servers.
Condensation Tank
A server room’s atmosphere requires low humidity levels because too much moisture will cause damage to machinery. Air conditioners act as dehumidifiers and whisk moisture away from the air, this condensate is collected into a condensation tank or bucket.
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