Power Equipment Warning Signs at the Data Center

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Dec. 8, 2014 - PRLog -- The Ponemon Institute study in September 2013 revealed that unplanned data center outages are a significant threat to business and revenue. 83% of those surveyed knew the cause of the outage. The most frequent outages were caused by UPS battery failures, human error and exceeding UPS capacity. (UPS equipment failure itself was low.) Even cyber attacks were an issues for some as 34% of power failures resulted in such attacks. Most of these outages could have been prevented.

As complex as data centers are, there are some components that are or should be considered as some of the most important to the daily operations of any data center; power equipment. Without properly functioning power equipment, the data center and every dedicated server inside becomes completely inoperable.  It is therefore, essential that proper maintenance and routine checkups are made on all power equipment and that backup power is also adequate and in 100% working order should any catastrophic power failures occur on the main power equipment.

Dealing with a power issue once it has already occurred is too late.

Data center technicians should be on the lookout and able to spot any potential power issues with any equipment, from either a dedicated server on a rack, to a switch, or even battery powered backups, they should have the know-how to address the issue and/or forward their concern to more specialized personnel, even if it is from an outside third-party **service**. Most onsite techs should be familiar with any equipment they are used to dealing with since they have the most hands-on experience. Preventing a problem from happening in the future can go a long way in preventing something more serious from happening. This way, techs can schedule maintenance windows for clients at their convenience instead of being forced into resolving issues with long downtimes, and in some cases even longer if the part is not in stock. Onsite techs can spot issues in several ways; visually, audibly and even by smell.

Many times, manufacturers will simply have regular service schedules and observation  guidelines to prolong life of the equipment and prevent premature power failure. This can be on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. This will depend on the hardware use and amount of strain it may be under. Some data centers will even perform infrared scans to detect heat issues. Inspecting all dedicated server fans, (PSU’s!), switches and routers etc. for dust and even dirt should be carried out at least monthly. This also includes cabling, racks, floors and walls and ensuring there is still plenty of space for proper airflow. Keeping a log updated on what was done, when and what if anything, needs further inspection or review. Adhering to a maintenance schedule is a must-do.

Noisy fans are at least one good indicator that things are not running smoothly the way they should be.

Equipment that is always running at 100% 24/7 will definitely put a lot more stress on power equipment and shorten the life of that hardware (http://www.hostinganddesigns.com/Blog/?p=1765). Being familiar with equipment load values will help substantially in prolonging the life of the equipment and in many cases any servers that may be plugged into that same “power chain”. Incorrectly using power equipment to begin with can cause problems. The instruction manual is provided for a reason. Failing equipment should in most cases be replaced if it cannot be completely fixed, otherwise it may just be prolonging the inevitable.