subject: Why It Server Room Policies And Contingencies Are Essential [print this page] During the busy Christmas week last year the IT server room at a large UK hospital was at serious risk of overheating. Despite already having fixed air conditioning in place, the hospital was unhappy with the systems quality and reliability. In accordance with their server room policy (which had contingencies built-in), the hospitals Director of Systems and Operations contacted an air conditioning hire specialist with whom he had formulated a contingency plan. His urgent request for portable air con units was responded to immediately, and any concerns over the server room overheating were swiftly allayed.
The hospital was able to source the air con they required from an air con rental specialist that offers a full 24-hour 365-day nationwide service within the hour. Because a free site survey had already been performed by the specialist team, they knew which mobile air con units would be most appropriate for the room. The temperature was quickly lowered, with no disruption to normal server operations.
Summer temperature threats
Server rooms are not just found in hospitals, of course; most business premises, educational establishments, and public buildings, etc. that use networked computers will have a server room. Wherever the room is located, the temperature there can on average be 10C higher than the rest of the building. This means the room can overheat quickly in summer.
In the UK, the hottest temperature ever recorded was 37C (in Kent), which would make the temperature at server rooms there a dangerous 47C inevitably leading to server malfunction. But even during a typical UK summer, when the temperature is usually 20C, it would still mean a server room temperature of at least 30C.
About controlled server room access
Very few server rooms house a single server (a server node). Normally, a number of connected nodes will be housed in racks, along with routers and switches, in a room with controlled access.
At larger facilities where there is a server room controlled access policy in place, only server engineers will have right of entry to the room, working there under the direction of the Director of Systems and Operations, or the Production Operations Manager.
Controlled access is essential as an unauthorised employee could compromise the rooms temperature accidentally, e.g. by switching off air con units. Some businesses and organisations even have CCTV cameras in place, to protect their server room equipment and the information stored on it.
Access will be provided through use of a code number, swipe card, through signing-in or having an access request accepted. All employees will be made aware of the facilitys server room access policy, in which it is made clear:
1. Who is allowed admittance?
2. Who is responsible for checking temperatures regularly?
3. What the protocol is if the temperature rises?
In fact, such is the potential hazard of high temperatures at some facilities, if a server room temperature climbs to a dangerous level at night or over the weekend, authorised staff can receive an automatic e-mail or text message, alerting them to the problem.
How server rooms are kept cool
Servers are kept cool by internal fans and by carefully-managed external temperature control. The most appropriate temperature will be governed by the rooms size and the number of servers housed there; although, generally speaking, if people have to work in the server room it is best to aim for a comfortable temperature of around 20C.
When server cooling fans and / or the rooms built-in ambient air con system and rack cooling solutions fail to keep equipment cool, servers (and their internal components, such as motherboards, memory cards, wiring, etc.) can melt and simply become unsalvageable. Even if they partly work, or are only mildly affected, serious problems, which may not be immediately apparent, can come to light weeks later.
Combined policies can make a server room failsafe
As we have seen with the aforementioned UK hospital example, the key to responding quickly, in the event of an overheating emergency at a server room, is to already have a contingency plan in place. This, coupled with a server room controlled access policy and a clear crisis management plan, can provide peace of mind for a Director of Systems and Operations, or a Production Operations Manager expensive equipment can be protected from overheating, with little or no disruption to normal IT operations.
