Data is central to business and other types of enterprises. As a result, it’s essential to keep this data protected. While many businesses and enterprises may be moving some of their infrastructure to the cloud, others continue to rely on and benefit from the existence of data centers.
Data centers need to be maintained at a specific temperature for IT equipment to function optimally. A recent report showed that more than 65% of IT equipment failures were due to the adverse conditions within server rooms. More specifically, these rooms had inadequate, poorly maintained, and/or failed air conditioning systems.
When considering the importance of air conditioning for data centers, it’s important to note that a single data center has a much greater power density than a large commercial office building or nine small shopping malls the approximate size of a Wal-Mart. The power density of a single data center has been determined to be 100 times more than these other buildings.
In order to provide an average server room with sufficient air conditioning, it can cost $23,000pa and produce 243 tons of green-house gas. This is taking into consideration that the server room has 30 KWs of air conditioning that operates at a 70% capacity. Given current electricity price increases, the cost of maintaining optimum cool temperatures may raise to 67% within the next three years. This cost can potentially be reduced up to 35%, however, if high-efficient air conditioning systems are used.
In order to improve data center conditions and prevent IT equipment malfunctions and failures, data centers have been exploring their options. A survey indicated that 80% of these data centers already have, or are planning to install, hot or cold aisle containment systems. These systems are designed to maintain the correct server temperatures as well as reduce energy consumption.
Another important aspect of maintaining servers and other IT equipment is to make sure that it’s well-housed. Whether these servers are in large cabinets, wall-mounted, or can slide under a workstation, they need to use the right type of server racks. When the appropriate type of server racks are used, this can prevent equipment from becoming dusty or damaged. Server racks are also available in a variety of sizes and styles, which can assist with placement.
Green Computing norms indicate that many data centers are becoming outdated. Those that are currently over seven years old, for example, are believed to be out-of-date. On average, a well-maintained data center usually has a nine-year lifespan. When these centers are updated with high-efficiency air conditioning systems and/or cold and hot aisle containment systems, it’s more likely that they will have an extended lifespan and keep essential data protected.
Many companies are choosing to move their data to the cloud, and 82% of these companies also reported that they saved money as a result of doing so. The survey participants also indicated that if they could only move one application to the cloud, 25% indicated that it would be storage. Since data is vital to business operations, and many data storage centers require updating, it makes sense for businesses to store their data in the cloud. Businesses can benefit by the combined efforts of well-maintained data centers and cloud storage access. Helpful research also found here.