The first thing you need to do is get rid of all the unused cables beneath the suspended computer room floor. This is one of the oldest and greatest problems for computer rooms. The unused cables have not just been collecting dust under your floor – they’ve also been creating an effective air-block that doesn’t let the air flow down there. Plus they also make for very messy server rooms, because usually you’ve also got a significant amount of power and other communications cabling down there too. You might even need a computer room raised floor smoke detector installation.

The next thing you need to do is properly arrange your equipment into hot and cold isles. This will help significantly. The containment of hot isles will also help in areas where blade servers or other “very hot” equipment is in use. Also ensure that you have data center cooling rack enclosures and blanking panels in place in all empty cabinets so that you’re not wasting the energy to cool nothing. By properly managing the air flow in your server room, you will save a significant amount of energy, which turns into money.

You may also want to seriously consider virtualization, which will give you another boost in savings. If you take a look at the power consumption of a chip, from 0-50% utilization, power use is almost linear. But when you go up to 50-75%, there is small incremental power consumption. Over the past couple of years virtualization has gotten quite advanced and mature, which makes it a very viable solution to server consolidation.

And finally, properly provisioning your power can have a huge effect. If you add up the tags on the back of the power supplies to do this, you are probably working in overkill mode. The numbers on the tags are always the worst case and vary depending on the manufacturer. Chances are, you’re really only using about 1/3-1/2 that amount.

Power is expensive! That’s why some companies are really going the extra mile (pun intended) and moving their entire data centers to areas where power is the cheapest. That must tell us something about power costs!

With today’s economic crisis, it’s becoming more important than ever for computer rooms and data centers to run more efficiently this year. But, as I’m sure you know, this isn’t a new issue. Raising energy efficiency in the last few years has been a major point of focus in both the public and private sectors, and this year is no exception. If you can successfully raise your energy efficiency, you will help to not only produce much greater energy savings and enhance your company’s data reliability, but you’ll also be cutting down on carbon emissions in the environment by minimizing the load on the electric grid.

To obtain these goals, equipment suppliers are inventing more energy-efficient equipment and technology every year, and computer rooms are decreasing their energy consumption in their buildings. The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have also focused on this issue by creating a national energy efficiency information program for data centers.

With the economic crisis in full effect right now, the financial impact of high energy use in server rooms is becoming an ever increasingly important issue for most companies. Because of today’s energy situation, you should read an article from Wall Street & Technology, titled “5 Tips to Cut Data Center Energy Use.” In the article, there are 11 server room ideas for practices recommended for cooling that can help dramatically improve computer room energy efficiency. Here are the top five from the article:

1. Plug Holes in the Suspended Computer Room Floor
2. Install Blanking Panels
3. Coordinate CRAC Units
4. Improve Underfloor Airflow
5. Implement Hot Aisles and Cold Aisles

A regular cleaning of your computer room is an extremely important part of caring for your data center.  You need to schedule regular site cleanings to keep it free of dust, dirt and other harmful substances that can damage your systems and create risks for personnel. Dust and other particles that circulate within the room can accumulate and severely interfere with equipment by causing difficult or even tragic problems; problems that could lead to media errors and data loss.

A good rule of thumb that you should follow is to schedule certified cleanings throughout the year on a quarterly basis. You may even need to schedule one more often if your particulate count exceeds the standards set by ISO 14644-8 or ISO 14644-9. By following this regular cleaning schedule, you’ll be able to optimize the performance of your server room hardware, while at the same time cut down on the cost of repairs or data recovery from damage that could have occurred. If you compare the cost of a regular cleaning to the overall financial investment that was put into your data center, it’s a smart buy.

How To Choose a Cleaning Service for Your Computer Room

Don’t grab your broom and dustpan yet. You might use these two items to clean your home, but data centers are very different. The only thing your home and your server room have in common is that you should clean them both regularly. Cleaning an entire server room is a very delicate process that requires the specific services and expertise of professionals who are highly-trained at it and who will carefully and safely clean your critical equipment.

Here’s some advice to help you choose the right cleaning service:

• Check the company’s references, especially their quality of service. Find a reference or two that have facilities similar to yours. Be sure the company you’re looking at knows how to deal with the type of equipment in your server room.
• They should also be insured for damages they might cause during their cleaning.
• Evaluate the cleaning crew’s experience and training and ask for their official credentials. They need to know exactly how to clean server room. They should be trained and certified for specific standards and server room specifications.
• Review their methods. Make sure they use HEPA filtration vacuums and that their chemicals are safe for your electronic equipment and other hardware and that they will be able to work with your computer room layout.
• Tell them up front what you expect. Who will move the equipment? Does the service including cleaning beneath the suspended computer room floor or above the server racks? Perhaps there are certain data-sensitive areas of your server room. Will those areas be off-limits? What else is included or not included in their cleaning service?
• You’ll want to look for a company who will be available to clean according to your needs. Perhaps in addition to your regular cleanings, will they be available in the event of a last-minute emergency?