Excess heat is a huge problem for all of the equipment in your server room (it is also bad for laptops and desktops). If proper attention isn’t given to your server and network equipment, heat can cause serious damage to your server and fry your system– literally!
Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that your server equipment and network don’t overheat:
- Tidy Up the Server Room; an uncluttered space will increase air flow. Also, a clean server room is easier to work in. If you have cables everywhere it’s easy to unplug the wrong one and cause an outage.
- Arrange Servers in a Row all facing the same direction. Cold air comes from the front and is expelled out the back.
- Use Redundant A/C that is specifically designed for computers.
- Built in Cooling; consider a rack enclosure with a built in cooling system.
- Install a Temperature Monitor that can automatically e-mail you when your server room gets too hot; we like to use the one by APC.
- Keep the Temperature Below 77° F
- Keep the Doors Closed; the seal prevents dust from entering the space and building up. Dust contributes to electronic equipment overheating by clogging up and slowing down fans.
- Install Blanking Panels if you have any empty spaces on your server rack. Empty spaces in your rack reduce air flow.
- Consider The Cloud as a tool to reduce the amount of heat in your server room. Ask us about fitCloud!
The average lifespan of a server is approximately 3-5 years. Dell’s standard warranty is 3 years, and you void that warranty if the server overheats for reasons besides the internal fan failing. Follow the above guidelines to squeeze more life out of your hardware investment!
