Imagine losing everything in your server room and the danger that presents to your business, and even if you have a complete back-up off-site imagine the inconvenience to your business which is bound to have negative financial consequences.
For any business, this doesn’t bare thinking about. A fully functional server room has normally cost a business many thousands, and sometimes tens or hundreds of thousands to install and maintain. It’s a big investment for a business, and being unaware of the dangers could cost you a fortune in time, and renewing equipment if your insurance is deemed invalid because of a lack of protection. Business continuity plans are an essential part of any business, and protecting your server room and its technology is an absolute must.
A simple answer to a potential big problem
Utilising a remote terminal unit (RTU), allows you to monitor all of the factors that could damage your expensive equipment. The main threats are:
Power – Losing power in the server room is very often a quick fix, but highly inconvenient if not detected quick enough, especially if your servers are generating revenue for the business.
Temperature – If the temperature of your server room is too high, your equipment will most likely shut down due to overheating – your whole network will be crippled. Live sensors can monitor the precise temperature, immediately informing you of a problem.
Humidity – Often forgotten, and fortunately in the UK the good old British weather is rarely condusive to a problem of this nature. However, if your humidity levels are too high, your equipment could be susceptible to static electricity, and this causes serious damage.
Motion Detection – Probably one of the biggest fears of a business is equipment getting into the wrong hands. There have been many cases documented around theft. The server room contains expensive equipment, but also sensitive business information. A thief or indeed a vandal can cause a lot of damage to your business.
Water Damage – It’s rarely a big leak that causes the most damage. A small water leak that builds up is highly damaging and can go undetected for a very long time until it is too late. Damaged equipment, or at the very least some short circuiting of mission-critical equipment. Subsequent downtime and revenue lost can easily be avoided by installing water detectors.
Changes in Air Flow – Certainly one of the simplest to avoid, and using air flow management systems to properly monitor air circulation is a very cost effective installation. A change in air flow can disrupt cooling systems and subsequent server shutdown. Air flow sensors will recognise in an instant when the air isn’t being properly circulated.
So why risk it?
'It’s actually quite amazing how many server rooms we visit which lack in protection, and when you make the customer aware of the dangers, or ask about their contingency plans, the realism of this danger sets in.'
At 7TECH we have installed, and maintained some very large and valuable server rooms, and although protecting a server room properly isn’t small money, in comparison to the equipment it is there to protect, it really is very small money, and a small price to pay.
So installing a range of sensors, and the software needed to monitor your precious asset should be considered as a must for all businesses.
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