THE EDGE
Jo-Anne Garvie , Director at Secure I . T . Environments
over time , can lead to inefficient cooling . So , take the time today to check there is clear airflow to all thermostats , they are well placed , settings are correct and locked . This can make a huge difference to how efficiently your system is working , energy efficiency and costs . 6 . What ’ s moved around ? – Team members may have moved servers or whole cabinets around in the data centre . We ’ ve seen examples of empty cabinets being cooled or a row of cabinets containing a single piece of hardware each . While sometimes there are valid reasons for dividing equipment up in this way , it should only be done when necessary . Undertake a cabinet-bycabinet review of how your servers and cooling are being distributed . Adding blanking panels to cabinets can also maximise the efficiency of air flow .
7 . Strategy drift – When was the last time the cooling component of your data centre or IT strategy was reviewed ? And how has the business or its sustainability goals changed since then ? It is important to make sure these are working in parallel towards a common goal and have not drifted apart . While you can ’ t fix it in a day , you will be able to check when it was last reviewed and consider whether to make this a more regular feature . Even if the business is still well aligned , equipment evolves year on year in terms of efficiency and output , and modern systems are sized to cope with ‘ new ’ extreme summer conditions that we face today . It ’ s important to keep your finger on the pulse and a data centre audit can be a great way to assess where you are .
As reliance on our data centre infrastructure increases , so do the risks associated with any failure . Keeping the environmental conditions of that estate under control is critical , but with good planning , controls and maintenance regimes in place , they can be mitigated and ensure that cooling equipment works well across its lifetime .
Supply chains for cooling equipment remain stretched , with long lead times for components , so it is important to keep cooling front of mind and avoid any unexpected surprises . �
76 www . intelligentdatacentres . com