Will your computing facilities survive a heatwave?

A sudden spike in temperatures can cause serious downtime problems in computer rooms and data centres. This article provides a simple checklist of actions which can reduce the risk of heat-induced downtime.

Most computer rooms and data centres are built with cooling systems to keep internal temperatures safely below 22 degrees centigrade. However, a sudden spike of summer heat can put an extraordinary strain on these systems and for every 10 centigrade increase in external temperature above the average, the risk of a data centre ‘melt down’ will increase by about 5 percent. These percentages soon stack up against the unprepared data centre manager and many could find themselves having to take quick action to keep their computer rooms and data centres functioning. However, with some simple planning, steps can be taken in advance which minimise the impact of a sudden heat spike.

Migration Solutions, a company that specialises in computer room and data centre build, consultancy and design, has prepared the following checklist to help you plan:

Know what you have

• Is your cooling sufficient for the heat produced by your equipment?
• Will it be sufficient even in the most extreme hot weather possible in your area?
• Do you have more that one cooling unit?
• If one unit fails can the other/remaining units cope with the demand?

Can portable air conditioning units be used?

• How many would you need?
• Can you pre-arrange for the supply of cooling equipment?
• Is your computer room on an outside wall?
• Are there windows available for the pipes to expel the wasted heat?
• Are there sufficient power sockets for the air conditioners?
• How will security be compromised with doors and windows left open?

Are there any non-critical servers that can be turned off?

• Is dev/test equipment actually being used?
• Can the dev/test work be put on hold during extreme outside temperatures?
• Could blinds or reflective film be fitted to windows to reduce heat from the sun?

www.migrationsolutions.com

•Date: 3rd August 2007• Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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