Your data center is mission-critical, and a remodel or renovation can increase efficiency, provide for easier management, and allow greater room for future growth. Before you begin your remodel project, take the time to review this list of things to keep in mind when planning and executing a data center renovation.
How Do You Want to Handle Airflow?
Heat is the enemy of data infrastructure. Maintaining adequate ventilation and air supply is essential to ensure that your hardware runs efficiently and reliably and that you enjoy the longest service possible from your servers, drives, and other data technologies.
Use thermometers to monitor temperatures on both the hot and cold sides of your racks; monitor temperatures close to and far away from existing HVAC registers and returns. Your data center contractor can use this data to determine how to structure your facility to maximize cooling and minimize wear on your expensive IT hardware.
How Can You Control Humidity and Air Quality?
Maintaining proper humidity is another way to improve your data center’s performance and efficiency dramatically. Keeping humidity at the correct levels reduces thermal load on your equipment’s cooling systems, increasing efficiency and longevity. Air filtration is another consideration since keeping dust and other particulate contaminants out of your data center will also improve overall performance.
Work with your contractor to determine which humidity control and air quality solutions suit your needs.
How Will You Allow for Future Growth?
As your business expands, so will your data center needs. Planning ahead when you start a data center remodel will save you time, cost, and effort when that growth occurs. Look at your data center’s space and consider where new or larger racks would fit and how they will affect your airflow management.
Cable management is another concern – poor cable management increases maintenance difficulty, affects airflow, and hurts your bottom line.
If you don’t already have one in place, a raised floor may be the best option. Routing cables and ductwork in an easily-accessible location under your data center’s floor dramatically simplifies expansion and maintenance; repairs and updates are safer since the work is performed at ground level instead of on a ladder, and operating costs will consequently go down.
By considering all of these aspects of data center design now, you can confidently begin your facility’s remodel, knowing that your investment will pay off sooner rather than later.
Is it time to improve your commercial building? Talk to the construction experts at Jerry L. Johnson & Associates.
Our team understands the unique challenges of data center construction and renovation. We’re the area’s leading experts in raised floor access installations. With 40+ years of experience, we can bring your facility up to date and prepare them for your future growth. Call us today at 770-961-7600
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