fiza Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 What should the temperature in a server room be at? I have read that it can be anywhere between 18C and 28C but shouldnt drop below 10C. The AC unit is set to 18C and I can feel the cold air it is blowing out. Thermometer in the server room tells me the ambient temperate is 26C.
MrFrostmaul Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 Our aircon is set to 21c, but the sensors reading 24.8-25c . They used to say anything between 20-25 ish is fine. 1
fiza Posted April 10, 2015 Author Posted April 10, 2015 How much kit do you have in your server rooms?
DavePa Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 I always aim for 18c in a server room and although the ambient temperature in the room will usually be more than that the servers are typically directly in the airflow. We did once have a temporary building that had no server room and no A/C, ended up with the server in a locked cupboard under the stairs with no airflow - that must have been 35c or more as opening the door was similar to opening an oven door to take your Sunday roast out (but without the smell of roast beef!). Was only a temporary situation but it actually lasted about 2 years and although the server fans were always going full blast the server only fell over a couple of times in the summer when the ambient temperature was 25c or more to start with 1
psydii Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) I am for low twenties. Currently I have the AC set for 20C. The UPS reports ambient temperature on the floor is 19C. I'm probably going to raise it as the summer starts. If ambient temperature is significantly above what your AC is set to then your AC isn't sized appr to the load being asked of it. http://partnerdirect.dell.com/sites/channel/en-us/documents/data_center_operating_temperature_white_paper.pdf makes for interesting reading. We have two AC units in the server room. One on its own cannot keep the room below 40C. Edited April 10, 2015 by psydii 1
Geoff Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 Air Con is at 21. Enviromental sensor says 21.0. I have expensive Air Con units. 1
fairm010 Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 Ours stays at 21. I read somewhere it's not the cold that servers necessarily want it's a consistent temperature. If you go too cold you risk moisture buildup in your racks if the air con fails. 1
Geoff Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 It's humidity. To dry and you risk a static discharge. To damp and you get condensation forming. Both are terrible for electrical equipment. Ideally you want between 45% and 55% humidity.
fiza Posted April 10, 2015 Author Posted April 10, 2015 Does anyone use a humidity monitor to check their server room? If so can you recommend one.
Geoff Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) I have the predecessor to this, also check if your UPS can do it (mines wired into the door control too, so it tells me when someone opens the server room door + racks). NetBotz 200 – Data Center Environmental & Humidity Monitoring | APC Edited April 10, 2015 by Geoff
kearton Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 Does anyone use a humidity monitor to check their server room? If so can you recommend one. I've got a Geist monitor in each of my 2 server rooms. If you search these forums for Geist there are more details and also some similar alternatives. 1
MartinT Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 Aircon is set to 22C, temperature reads 28C. Aircon is useless and I get all the excuses from the engineers but not the cool air that we need. 1
Carter Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 We keep ours at 19C. As @Geoff was saying you also need to keep an eye on humidity. To dry can harm servers. Our room will send email alerts if humidly dip below or above our set limits. They say running a room at high temperatures will shorten the lifespan. Dell has some kind of calculation that if a server hits a certain temperature that it's life is shorten by a percentage. For us I don't see it. We've had a handful of issues regulating our AC over the past few years and we've hit hot temps and in the end the suggested lifespans have lasted about expected times. Anyways still keeping a good temperature and humidly makes for a cleaner smoother running server. 1
PotNoodleTech Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Air con 20, Temp 20. I don't think there's really any need for SUB 20 temps - it's just wasting electricity. 1
fiza Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 Air con 20, Temp 20. I don't think there's really any need for SUB 20 temps - it's just wasting electricity. If our AC is pumping out at 18C but the ambient is showing as 28C then I guess the AC is not powerful enough? Can I leave it at 28C or should I push for a more powerful AC bearing in mind we have no extra funds available?
Sagima Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Where I used to work they server rooms were kept at 16C - once the aircon failed in one of the rooms and I walked in to find condensation dripping from everything metal or glass in the room, opened the windows to let some outside air in and somehow nothing broke. I keep ours at 22C but I think I'd be happy with anything under 25C but I want to make sure that it is always cooling and never heating
Andrew_C Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 If your target temperature is 18C and the actual is 28C, then you are correct that the A/C isn't capable. That said, there is no need to even try to hit 18. Have a look at the environment tables of your kit. Aim for the temperature you need to achieve*. You will save oodles of cash. *alowing for some kit being in warmer parts of racks etc.
PotNoodleTech Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 If our AC is pumping out at 18C but the ambient is showing as 28C then I guess the AC is not powerful enough? Can I leave it at 28C or should I push for a more powerful AC bearing in mind we have no extra funds available? Hi do you mean that it's set to 18C on the display or that you've used a thermometer to measure that the air it is pumping it is at 18C? If the room temp is 10C higher than the air con is set to then yes, you're air con is no where near powerful enough. I would suggest doubling it.
FragglePete Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 I have mine set to 21c - I remember reading sometime ago that this is the same temp that Google have their datacentres running at so followed suit. Pete
fiza Posted April 13, 2015 Author Posted April 13, 2015 If your target temperature is 18C and the actual is 28C, then you are correct that the A/C isn't capable. That said, there is no need to even try to hit 18. Have a look at the environment tables of your kit. Aim for the temperature you need to achieve*. You will save oodles of cash. *alowing for some kit being in warmer parts of racks etc. All the kit in there states that it can operate between 10C and 35C with the core switch stating 0C to 40C. Hi do you mean that it's set to 18C on the display or that you've used a thermometer to measure that the air it is pumping it is at 18C? If the room temp is 10C higher than the air con is set to then yes, you're air con is no where near powerful enough. I would suggest doubling it. The display on the unit states 18C. The thermometer in the room states 28C. 1
PotNoodleTech Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Yeh the AC is running out of steam in that case.
localzuk Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Weirdly, our AC is set to 24 degrees, but our room sensor reads at 19.5 degrees.
Grey-gear Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Got Air con so it's around 19C, means I'm wearing a jump most of the year though
kevin_lane Posted April 14, 2015 Posted April 14, 2015 Ours is set to 16c however the servers are more like 21c for there internal temp
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now