Environmental Monitoring Channel Feature
What is Environmental Monitoring?
From temperature, to relative humidity, to power to water, there seems to be a multitude of environmental factors that ought to be monitored in a server room or a data center. Environmental factors such as heat, water or pressure can wreak havoc on these places and the results can be catastrophic both financially and operationally.
Environmental monitoring refers to overseeing environmental pressures, often by employing environmental monitoring products, to ensure uptime and minimize infrastructure loss.
There are several environmental factors that can spell trouble for data centers and servers, most notably heat. Because servers generate high levels of heat, the facility that houses the server must be properly cooled so that the machine can perform correctly. As the temperature increases, the likelihood that the equipment will overheat and malfunction burgeons as well. In fact, a change from 68°F (20°C) to 86°F (30°C) can reduce the long-term reliability of electronic equipment by as much as 50 percent, according to a recent study published by ITWatchdogs. Increased heat can weaken electronic components like power supplies, motherboards and memory chips.
With data centers growing increasingly complex, the list of what environmental factors to monitor in a data center has grown exponentially. Aside from temperature, humidity and dew point should be monitored as well. High humidity and sudden temperature drops can result in the accumulation of condensation on data center hardware, which commonly leads to hardware corrosion and general equipment failure. Similarly, low humidity can pose a problem as well. For example, when humidity levels are below 35 percent, high-voltage electrostatic discharges will often occur. These occurrences can lead to dire equipment-related consequences.
In addition, airflow should also be brought under the spotlight when using environmental monitoring products. Measuring airflow can help detect fans or units that are failing, and may help prevent catastrophic events well before they occur. If a fan breaks down or other issues arise, a server room's temperature can increase 10 degrees in less than 30 minutes.
Water leaks can also be extremely problematic in a data center. Environmental monitoring solutions can alert IT managers of the presence of water before the damage is exacerbated. Water leaks can corrode machinery or cause them to malfunction.
Power failures are another thing to consider when monitoring a data center or server room as power-related issues such as blackouts, brownouts, power surges and breaker trips can disrupt the flow of work.
Other environmental factors to monitor include smoke, door position and light and sound.
Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
Server Room Climate & Power Monitoring
