by Andrew, Director of Facilities

The servers must always have power, and they must always be kept cool. It’s simple, really…

A well designed data center can handle a multitude of issues, from an interruption in power by the utility company, to a broken air conditioning unit, to a major storm. Proper maintenance practices are crucial for the data center to run smoothly and without interruption.

There are many pieces of equipment that keep a data center up and running; the main switchgear where the power enters the building, the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), the Power Distribution Units (PDUs), Chillers, Air Handlers, Generators, Fire Suppression System, building management software, the list goes on and on. Each piece of equipment must be maintained so that in the event of an emergency the system can perform as designed, and the servers don’t go down.

The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is the backbone of the facility. The UPS conditions the power from the utility and will bridge the gap in the event of an interruption in electrical service until the backup generators can take over and power the site. Depending on the size of the data center, there can be literally hundreds of batteries that will keep those servers online in the event of a utility interruption. Those batteries must be checked and maintained on a regular basis in order to be sure they are up to the task should they be needed. At NationalNet we perform quarterly maintenance on UPS batteries, and twice annual inspection of the UPS circuitry.

Dear Subscriber,

NationalNet has leaped into the Spring season with a ton of energy over the past few weeks. The excitement of some recent projects, such as the Show Us Your Love campaign, beginning the SSAE 16 process and starting the round of 2011 trade shows is almost overwhelming. Don't worry though, we can handle it ;-)

With so much to look forward to this year, and already off to a great start, we'd love to hear what you are up to. You can always connect with us through Facebook, Twitter, or in an email.

A question we get on a regular basis is "How can I assure that my site will never go down no matter what?"  The answer is always the same "There are a number of options available to you depending on your budget and your application".   I have provided a few options below.  As always, there are a number of ways to accomplish a task. The list below is by no means complete but will give you some ideas on what can be done to ensure that your site is less vulnerable to hardware and/or networking issues.

In every case, setting up high availability is going to require duplicating some hardware and may require changing the basic architecture of your site.

To read more of this article, click here.