The modern business depends on its data, so maintaining your infrastructure and keeping it healthy should be imperative to your success. Businesses generally host their data on servers, and keeping these complex pieces of technology safe, secure, and sound will take more effort than managing your average workstation. Follow these best practices and your job will be made much easier, though!
Environment is Key
Server units are just like other complex pieces of equipment in that they tend to create a lot of heat. If you put many of them in one place, you can expect the temperature to rise, putting them at risk of overheating or degradation over time. This is why we don’t recommend you keep your servers in a closet; you want your servers in an air-conditioned environment where you have the ability to control temperature and humidity. This helps to keep them in operation for as long as possible with minimal risk of hardware failure. We also like to recommend that you keep the environment free of dust and debris, as dust can accumulate around things that don’t move, like server units.
Protect Your Server Room, Too
When we say “protect” your server room, we mean it in two different senses. One of these is that you should only have authorized personnel accessing your server room, as the average employee has no good reason to be in there and could accidentally tamper with your configurations or setup. The other sense is that you need to be using uninterruptible power supplies, or UPSes, to make sure that your servers are protected against power surges that could render them inoperable.
Keep Things Tidy
You want your server room to be kept clean so that your IT workers can move around it without stumbling over loose wires or units. Make sure that your cables are labeled as well, making it easy for any team member to know what is connected to what and how. You should also ensure that there is enough space for your IT workers to properly maintain and manage these devices. Ideally, you want a server room with plenty of open space for maintenance and device setup, not a server closet.
Let Us Help You Design Your Server Room
We know this might be a little difficult to manage, especially if you are not necessarily trained or well-versed in the complex pieces of machinery that servers are. Managing a server room is best left to professionals who have had years of experience taking care of technology. If you want to outsource this responsibility and take one more task off your plate, we highly recommend that you do so. It’s a great way to save time and resources for your business.
SRS Networks is happy to help you manage your servers, whether it’s on-site or on our own infrastructure. Furthermore, we can closely monitor your server infrastructure for any issues that might arise. To learn more, reach out to us at (831) 758-3636.