subject: What Are The Benefits Of Data Centre Air Flow Management [print this page] To open a new data centre - or to make any existing one operational again after an overhaul - without performing stringent tests there first, could prove catastrophic; extremely expensive equipment could be irreparably damaged once the data centre 'goes live'. This is why many UK businesses rigorously test their DC's before making them fully functional. Hired heaters can play an important role at this testing stage.
Businesses that wisely embark upon testing are usually seeking to:
Building Data Centres to Boost Efficiency
Open a brand-new data centre (in tandem with launching themselves as a company)
Increase their general capacity
Consolidate their existing server rooms (physical space), or
Consolidate server capacity (employing fewer larger servers)
Being aware that their DC needs to work efficiently from day one, some businesses even build a replica centre (at a separate premises) to simulate conditions and monitor equipment performance.
About 'Mega' Data Centres
One of the greatest threats to data centre IT equipment is heat, which is usually generated by servers. Rather than using actual servers during testing, hired heaters are employed, supplied by a heater hire company with experience in providing the most suitable mobile heaters for this kind of application.
The good news for DC managers, and independent design consultants, is that heater rental from a proven firm can be fast and affordable.
Why Heaters Are Used Instead of Actual Servers
Testing in itself costs money: overheads, paying staff, the outlay involved in constructing a replica DC remotely... For this to be a worthwhile investment, accurately imitating the characteristics and expected performance of IT equipment in a DC is essential. One would assume, therefore, that servers must be used (as opposed to employing hired heaters to create the heat that servers would generate in situ), but this is not so.
Servers Are Not Included In The Testing Because of The:
1. Cost involved in purchasing and transporting them to the site
2. Potential damage to them that could occur, in transit and on site
3. Complexity of workload management involved, to drive the servers
4. Time that would be required in resetting the servers after each test
Hired heaters are therefore used instead, allowing the DC's air conditioning units (RACU) and cooling racks to be put through their paces. Tests are set up to monitor equipment performance and resilience, with data logging software being used to record test results.
Examples of Data Centre Failures
In August 2011, a major Primary Care software provider in the UK apologised "profusely" and launched a formal investigation after its DC failed. The failure had a knock-on effect; a further 446 GP practices experienced system issues, according to the website ehealthinsider..
In perhaps the most widely reported DC failure 'case' in recent years, millions of Blackberry users across Europe were unable to access their e-mail, instant messages or the internet in October 2011 due to a data centre problem that lasted at least six hours. The problems in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) were traced to a failure at a data centre in Slough.
In February this year (2012), a data centre in Erding, Germany, used by over 100 airlines experienced a failure that lasted three hours. Passengers were unable to self check-in online and reservation systems, agency bookings as well as airport counter systems were also affected.
These are just three examples of data centre failures that have suddenly occurred in recent years. Such failures can be costly both in monetary terms and also to a business's reputation. Developing a customer-base can take years. Customers going elsewhere, due to losing faith in a service provider, can be disastrous, and can even result in business closure.
All this makes pre-operational testing of data centres cost-effective indeed. Important questions can be answered; not through utilising software solutions that generate advanced theoretical models on how air flow and heat output will be managed in a data centre, but through physical simulation using hired heaters: a truer substitute, without a doubt.
