Transforming Server Room Management with Real - time Temperature & Humidity Monitoring
Introduction
In today’s fast growing digitized world, the importance of server rooms and data centers in organizations cannot be overemphasized. They are at the heart of businesses that are highly dependent on data in a global world that has gone digital. Sri Lanka’s prominent and branded retail companies which were largely based on these servers was one such industry sector. In the process downtime occurred, data was lost and there were severe financial implications from the impacts. It was here that SenzMate’s POLAR platform provided an IoT solution to prevent similar incidents and ensure smooth running of the IT Backbone of the company
Business Case
Expensive and sensitive equipment essential for data processing, storage, and network operations were stored in server rooms and data centers which were the backbone of the company’s operations noted above. On a broader scale, these environments had a significant effect on overall efficiency and productivity of the organization. They knew that this room had to be kept within specific temperature and humidity ranges. This was done to ensure optimal performance.
Lack of real-time monitoring implies that damage will have been done by then, resulting in reactive rather than proactive maintenance procedures, often causing long downtime periods.
However, such systems are usually inadequate as they do not provide the required real-time data or full coverage for effective management of these facilities. For example there were many manual checks available where major issues can go unnoticed leaving out some noticeable gaps between important data points that might lead to such critical problems.
Solution
In order to deal with such challenges, the company has introduced SenzMate’s POLAR platform in their server rooms. This POLAR system was developed specifically for an all-added and real-time system of monitoring the various environmental parameters mainly temperature and humidity that may have effects on it thereby ensuring that server rooms are kept within optimal operating environments.
The components of the Polar system included,
The sensors were carefully positioned at the front and back of every server rack. This guaranteed that any deviations from ideal range were detected by unstoppable supervising temperatures and humidity. Thus, they prevented equipment overheating, condensation, moistness among other issues associated with humidity.
2. Room Entry Sensors/ Door Status Sensors
These sensors were installed across the main entry point of the server room and at every server rack. They initiated doors getting opened; this was in addition to security of doors as it gave out an alarm when management was still expecting another such event. Particularly, this feature was very useful in maintaining the accuracy of the access details of those people who were to be allowed into the restricted parts since the areas were well protected.
3. Motion Sensors?
To further enhance security, motion sensors were deployed within the server rooms. These sensors monitored movement and alert management to any unauthorized presence, especially during off-hours. This added security measure helped to protect the equipment from potential physical threats and ensured that the environment remained secure at all times.
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Actions Taken
The following actions were taken in order to apply POLAR in a successful way to protect these valuable and expensive server rooms.?
SenzMate's POLAR team collaborated with the company’s IT department to identify the critical monitoring points and customize the Polar system accordingly.
2. Installation
The Polar sensors were installed at key locations within the server rooms, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all critical environmental factors.
3. Configuration
The system was configured to send real-time alerts to the management team, allowing for immediate response to any issues.
4. Training
SenzMate’s POLAR team? provided the necessary training to the company’s technical team, ensuring that they could manage the system effectively.
Results
Having this idea when applying the Polar platform from SenzMate to manage the server rooms, it became possible to fundamentally change the company’s activities. These controls of temperature and humidity have had a very positive impact on decreasing the number of times that the organization experiences equipment failure and hence any downtime affecting the IT health status is keenly monitored.?
The real-time capacity of alerting and notifications reduced the time that it would have taken to react to possible issues thus preventing the growth of minor issues into large crises. This was a very responsive strategy, not only improving the safety and efficiency of the company’s server rooms, but also relieving a large number of their IT staff so that they could be engaged in other tasks, which ultimately increased productivity in this organization. In addition to that, there were additional advantages of decreasing the frequency of equipment failures and downtimes which also led to lowering the insurance expense as the risk was clearly managed.
Reach POLAR at [email protected] !!
Written by: Naduni Ranatunga