Cooling is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects in running a cost- and energy-efficient data center. But experts agree most companies could be doing a better job in any number of facets relating to cooling, including airflow. The following advice can help you better understand, visualize, and identify cooling and airflow issues in your data center and take steps to remedy them.
Know Your Environment
For enterprises committed to making cooling and airflow conditions a priority, begin by having a comprehensive understanding of the data center environment. “You can’t properly manage what you haven’t measured,” says Jenna Maertz, research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group.
Maertz says that separating out the data center power bill can provide a company with a baseline it can use to compare improvements against later. “This can help make the case when justifying future efficiency initiatives,” she says. “If you compare the amount of power that is consumed monthly to the data center’s total power capacity, you will have a proper baseline to determine how efficient your data center is, and from there you can begin to search out options for improvement.” Not doing this, she says, lessens the perceived impact of any future improvements you make.