Why Thermal Audits of Data Centers should be a Standard Preventative Maintenance Activity
Data Centers come in various shapes and levels of Tier ratings. You may have a newly designed, constructed, and commissioned data center; that employs all the latest in energy efficient infrastructure products. Perhaps you have a legacy data center, to which you have applied best practices to keep it current to operational standards. Whether a new facility or legacy facility, the data center operator should do regular thermal audits of the data center as a form of preventative maintenance.
The Data Center Environment will change as soon as it becomes operational. As business opportunities change, or the life cycle management of devices are exceeded, we will continue to make changes to the infrastructure and layout of the Data Center. Each physical change can impact and change the environment. You need to confirm, with data, that these changes have not created any thermal issues via faulty engineering, or the sub-optimal performance of some infrastructure device.
The easiest way to verify that your Data Center environment is operating as designed is through regular thermal audits. Everyone is familiar with the adage “You cannot manage what you cannot measure.” If you visit your Doctor’s office for a routine check up, what is the first thing they do? They take your temperature and blood pressure. Those are the Key Performance Indicators of your overall health. So why not do the same for your Data Center and periodically take the temperature of all the racks in the data center?
Purkay Labs Static Heat Map
Every manufacturer of data center infrastructure equipment supplies a manual which contains recommended schedules for Preventative Maintenance tasks to be performed on the AHU/CRAC Units and the UPS Systems including recommendations for battery replacement. You perform thermal imaging of the Circuit Breakers in a PDU cabinet to detect potential issues. You perform these PM tasks because they are considered to be “Best Practices”. If you are committing the time and resources to perform those tasks, why not regularly check that there are no cold spots, or hot spots in the rows of racks that comprise the data center? Racks that are cooling deficient can lead to server issues. Racks that are overcooled are wasting energy.
Dynamic Heat Map
Thermal Audits do not need to be difficult. With Purkay Labs’ AUDIT-BUDDY™ system, you can easily create a thermal audit of an aisle in under 20 minutes. Thee system collects temperature and relative humidity at three different heights and can easily be moved from rack to rack. The complementary software allows you to generate a static heat map within minutes. Audits with Thermal Cameras are not very useful as the accuracy of the measurement depends on the surface color. You really need to measure inlet air temperatures. If you don’t have the time or staff, or simply want to conduct a thermal audit of the whole room, you can use Purkay Labs’ Assessment Service to generate a Dynamic Heat Map that shows how your room or aisle behave over time.
Remember, the data center was not designed by Ron Popeil where you just “Set it, and forget it” it is a dynamic entity; and as such, should have a routine PM of a Thermal Audit to assure you of the room’s health. Become a data center doctor and take your rack’s temperature.
About the Author
Gregg Haley is a data center and telecommunications executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience. Most recently served as the Senior Director of Data Center Operations - Global for Limelight Networks. Gregg provides data center assessment and optimization reviews showing businesses how to reduce operating expenses by identifying energy conservation opportunities. Through infrastructure optimization energy expenses can be reduced by 10% to 30%.
In addition to Gregg's data center efforts, he has a certification from the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) as Business Continuity Planner. In November of 2005, Gregg was a founding member and Treasurer of the Association of Contingency Planners - Greater Boston Chapter, a non-profit industry association dedicated to the promotion and education of Business Continuity Planning. Gregg had served on the chapter's Board of Directors for the first four years. Gregg is also a past member of the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS).
Gregg currently serves as the Principal Consultant for Purkay Labs.