Data centers involve many different components that all need maintenance, making organization a necessity. It can seem tricky, but the best way to start is by planning. By creating a plan and sticking to it, you can implement organization and maintain the servers and equipment much easier.
Check out these essential tips on organizing a data center.
Table of Contents
Create Hot and Cold Aisles
Hot and cold aisle containment is a great way to organize your cooling system. You’ll set up your server racks to block cold air from flowing into the hot aisles. You’ll do the same for hot air, preventing it from flowing into cold aisles. Even if you choose another cooling method initially, you can always set up your server racks in this manner. And if you do make the switch, you can easily implement this strategy.
Consolidate Hardware
Consolidation can make any data center organization much easier and can save you space and energy costs. Consolidating hardware also involves searching and removing zombie servers—servers that are no longer useful but still suck up power. Removing equipment that isn’t serving a purpose will make maintenance easier and save money.
Cable Management Strategy
You’ll also need a cable management strategy, which will do more for your center than staying organized. By managing the many cables any data center needs, you’re improving the airflow and making cooling more efficient, making scalability easier for future growth.
Create a Map
Every data center should have a topography of all the equipment, and it’s most beneficial to map out where you want everything to go while you’re in the design phase. If you’re past that, you’ll still want to have a map of where servers and corresponding equipment are to make maintenance easier and training new staff faster.
By implementing these essential tips on organizing a data center, you can correct problems, perform routine maintenance, and install new equipment with ease.
