New Server Room

[torledo]

Spring for aircon now rather than later... ambient aircooling is insufficient... fresh air cooling adds further risks over winter, especially if you shut servers down over Christmas hols etc, unless you can completely close the vents to outdoors...

 

If SMT are against this, there is plenty of research out there online to back up the need. Find a way to hint to them that they're being blatantly ignorant by skimping on it, without being as blunt as I tend to be when I deal with them

 

Enviro monitoring on the cheap: mCubed Information Technology GmbH

Analog sensors can be positioned to monitor and record to CSV files ambient temps, internal case temps etc etc. Can also be used to trigger 12v devices on / off (eg: additional case fans, or solenoids to additional 240v rack fans) - can report all back to MBM5 or similar free mobo monitoring software, and can be used to trigger shutdowns based on temps of any sensor attached to it that you specify.

 

what do you mean by ambient aircooling ? by that do you mean opening a door or a window ?

 

am curious as to the risks of fresh air cooling, how cold does a room get with fresh air vents where it effects the health of machines which are in an off state. the fresh air system we have has pretty basic controls to regulate flow at the supply and return vent ends....presumably you can get systems with more advanced controls ?

[SYNACK]

what do you mean by ambient aircooling ? by that do you mean opening a door or a window ?

 

am curious as to the risks of fresh air cooling, how cold does a room get with fresh air vents where it effects the health of machines which are in an off state. the fresh air system we have has pretty basic controls to regulate flow at the supply and return vent ends....presumably you can get systems with more advanced controls ?

 

Ambient aircooling just means using air of an uncontroled temperature from the surrounding environment so yes an open door or a fan duct system.

 

Humidity and contaminants (bugs, dirt, stray bears depending on vent size , etc) are the big concerns, when the gear is left off moisture can easily build up inside the machines which causes huge messes when the power is pushed back through. Experiments have been carried out by the big box manufacturers and MS notibly with MS's server rack in a tent experiment but this puts extra strain on the equipment and is still not recommended practice. Additionally the extra contaminants can increase the rate of oxidisation of the metals inside the server which can lead to other issues.

[Butuz]

If I turn my air con off the server room goes from 20 to 30 degrees in 20 mins

 

Butuz

[torledo]

Ambient aircooling just means using air of an uncontroled temperature from the surrounding environment so yes an open door or a fan duct system.

 

Humidity and contaminants (bugs, dirt, stray bears depending on vent size , etc) are the big concerns, when the gear is left off moisture can easily build up inside the machines which causes huge messes when the power is pushed back through. Experiments have been carried out by the big box manufacturers and MS notibly with MS's server rack in a tent experiment but this puts extra strain on the equipment and is still not recommended practice. Additionally the extra contaminants can increase the rate of oxidisation of the metals inside the server which can lead to other issues.

 

with the contamainents issue, would server floor carpets be one of the biggest culprits for machines which are left off ? what's the best way to deal with the dust issue clogging components ?

[SYNACK]

with the contamainents issue, would server floor carpets be one of the biggest culprits for machines which are left off ? what's the best way to deal with the dust issue clogging components ?

 

Dust is easy, just open it up and hit it with compressed air every so often. Compressed air in a can is the safest as an air compressor will codence a lot of water vapor into the air stream. You need at least one moisture trap in the line to minimize this, check out my blog posting on here for more details.

 

Oh and carpets are a bad idea, they host dust moisture and static quite effectivly, linolium is the answer or tile or painted concrete, these are also less or a fire hazard.

 

The more pressing concern is the moisture, as the servers and components contain semi enclosed pockets of air that are insulated a bit and so heat and cool at a differing rate condensation can form inside the systems. This in turn can rain down on components along with contaminants and can even form inside hard drives and under cpus. This is made more dangerous if you are in an enviroment which can have sub zero temperatures as when water freezes it expands and if lodged under or in components can do damage.

 

Living things also like the slightly warmer indoor environment and so you need to be careful that your equipment does not become an impromptu nest for a wayward colony of insects or worse.

Edited April 29, 2009 by SYNACK

[Soulfish]

Well it appears that we are now getting air-con for the new server room. Had a lovely visit from the bursar and someone quoting for air con this morning and was told "we're getting air con for your new server room, what's your heat loading requirements" Edited May 20, 2009 by Soulfish

[Marci]

Calculate current heatload, times it by 1.3, then add 50-60% again on top to cover future devices...

 

Have they said whether they want the heatload requirement in BTUs, or Watts?

[TNE]

Hello Soulfish,

 

If you are still unsure which racks to go for id be happy to provide details and a quote for the range we supply.

 

We do sponsor these forums so hopefully you dont consider this as spam.

[Soulfish]

I should have been clearer earlier - I'd already previously calculated our heat load when trying to justify our need for aircon .