Logs

Have you ever got to a new job where the person before you kept absolutely no record or log of any kind? You feel like you’re simply starting from scratch, right? And what if there’s a problem, but no log of the changes or fixes that have been attempted? Again, starting from scratch… Keep a log that records all software and hardware changes. The log should include operating system updates or installations, configuration changes, hot-fixes, application updates and fixes, and hardware changes like swap-outs and additions. It may be quite tedious to do so, but this record will provide you (or your predecessor) with a log you can use to fix errors and other problems.

Security

Security may be one of the most important steps of the planning process. If your equipment and information is not safe, why should you even bother having a server room? You need to protect your organization’s large investment and information by limiting physical access to your computer room and taking the appropriate cyber-security measures. Bring in both physical and cyber-security professionals to work with you to secure your facility from unauthorized entry and cyber attacks. Buy cabinets with locking doors. Minimize personnel access to the room. Use security monitoring at all times. Ensure that elements that are out of your control won’t damage your equipment: temperature changes, water leaks, electrical issues, etc.

Power

You’ll need to plan for an increased requirement for power in the server room. Because power technology is constantly being improved, you’ll have a variety of choices. When it comes down to it, your choice will depend on a few different factors: space in your room, number of required outlets, each plug’s demands, and redundancy requirements. Obviously you’ll want to install an adequate power distribution system, and you’ll like want a redundancy system too. One that works great is a scalable Uninterrupted Power Source (UPS).

Cooling

Each piece of hardware in your server room will give off a varied amount of heat, making the cooling demands of your computer room somewhat difficult to deal with. But you’ll still need to provide sufficient cooling to handle your requirements. Nothing will impact the availability and efficiency of your server room more than the cooling you have implemented. Even if all you have is small servers, they give off plenty of heat and can easily overheat. Just because they’re small, doesn’t mean they are cooler. You’ll just need to evaluate all your total requirements along with the available cooling methods to ensure the overall safety of your equipment, environment, and personnel.

Introduction

Whether you’re re-designing your current server room or designing and planning to construct one from scratch, the bottom line is when you are done, your computer room should operate as a carefully-controlled environment. The design of the room should focus on the required space, computing power needed, and related power demands. This blog was created to give you an introduction to these aspects of computer room design and help you out along the path to designing a better and more-efficient server room.