Server Room Security Measures

The other day I was reading a news story about hollow coins being used for espionage and it inadvertently got me thinking about server room security issues. While I’m still not 100% sure of the best way to protect your facility against Canadian spy coins, I am aware of a number of techniques for guarding against unauthorized server room access.To reduce downtime from accidents or sabotage due to the...

Data Center Power Solutions

I receive a lot of questions from clients seeking solutions to their problems with data center power consumption. It seems that the higher energy costs rise, the more power the average data center needs. Overall costs for data center power may be skyrocketing, but there are ways to mitigate the expense. Here are some interesting suggestions I’ve come across lately:- Utilize virtualization softwareVirtualization...

New Year’s Resolutions for Data Center Solutions

Happy holidays, everyone!Each year, millions of people form New Year’s Resolutions in the hopes of making a change for the better. I encourage data center managers and other IT professionals to use this annual tradition as an opportunity to reflect on the data center solutions you want – or need – to adopt in order to keep your data center in top condition. Here are a few ideas to get you started:1....

Puzzling Over Effective Server Room Design

Creating an effective server room design is a bit like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. Unless you’re a glutton for punishment (which, I admit, some of us probably are), you wouldn’t get started on a puzzle without making sure you had all the right pieces or without looking at the picture on the box to see how the finished puzzle is supposed to look. In order to get the project done as efficiently...

Data Center Construction Made Easier

Based on first-hand experience, I can tell you that there’s plenty of stress involved and detail required in even a minor data center construction project. Compound this with a 24x7 availability requirement, and the quantity and complexity of systems required in today’s mission critical facilities and what you have is today’s typical data center construction project.Data center construction project...

Eco-Friendly Solutions: Build a Green Data Center

Recycled goods, alternative power sources and energy-saving technology are becoming commonplace in many homes and businesses. It’s a sign of the times as energy costs continue to climb and public concern over environmental issues grows. Data centers are not immune to this eco-friendly trend and, in fact, are reaping great benefits from going green.For companies looking to build a data center, the...

The Pros and Cons of Data Center Colocation

Data center colocation plays a strategic role in modern IT operations. For many companies, it presents an attractive alternative to building and maintaining a sizeable data center. Housing servers and network equipment off-site does offer companies a number of benefits, but the picture isn’t as simple as black and white. Before you commit to colocation, here are a few things to consider: Data center...

Datacenter Solution: Server Virtualization

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Does this folksy wisdom hold true when it comes to server virtualization? Virtualization is an increasingly popular datacenter solution that divides the resources of your physical server into multiple isolated virtual environments. Instead of maintaining one application per physical server, virtualization enables dominant workloads...

Tips for Handling Your Data Center Relocation

Nobody ever said data center relocation was easy. Although moving mission critical computer and communications equipment from one site to another is no simple task, it needn’t be an overwhelming one. With careful planning, any company can organize its people, manage the communications, implement a sophisticated design for the new site and move its data center equipment with confidence and ease.Months...

DC-power Sparks Interest among Data Center Designers

Rising data center power and cooling costs have renewed industry interest in DC-power, but is DC really a cure-all or just more snake oil?Up until this point, DC-power hasn’t been very attractive for a number of reasons. The large amount of copper wiring required for DC-power distribution is expensive and takes up valuable space in the data center. DC-engineered facilities are also more complicated...