What is Data Centre Maintenance?
A data centre is part of an organisation’s IT infrastructure where they store mission-critical data and applications. To ensure it’s functioning to its maximum efficiency, regular data centre maintenance checks are essential. Data centre maintenance involves keeping the components and environment of the data centre well preserved and in excellent health. This keeps the hardware, building, and hosted equipment functioning and operating in its best condition. The checklist below gives an idea of what staff should be monitoring:
Maintenance Checks
- Service the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and Conduct impedance tests on batteries
- Service Generators & Fuel Checks
- Service Fire Suppression Systems twice a year
- Service Air Conditioning four times a year
- Maintain Chillers and Condensers
- Support Downflow Units
- Service Access Control and CCTV systems
- Quarterly Testing
- Thermal Imaging
- Emergency Lighting
If you’re part of an organisation who relies on a data centre, it’s vital to how pivotal preventative maintenance is. When a data centre isn’t well maintained, its performance will decrease and issues like unplanned downtime will become more common. Click below to receive a fast free quotation for competitive data centre maintenance.
Maintenance Fast Quote
The Importance of Data Centre Maintenance
Poor data centre maintenance is one of the main causes of unplanned downtime for businesses. If a business cannot operate for an extended time, this can lead to a significant financial loss as well as damage to their reputation. But it’s estimated around 40% of system failures could have been avoided with regular preventative maintenance. Regular data centre maintenance is a crucial part of a data centre’s operations. It’s essential for improving data centre design and enhancing an organisation’s IT infrastructure. Carefully planned and proactive data centre maintenance keeps the centre operating efficiently and effectively.
The purpose of this maintenance is to catch small problems early and avoid them escalating into a bigger issue. Unfortunately, there are many issues, like the two mentioned, that can damage an organisation. However, regular data centre maintenance can reduce the risk of this occurring dramatically. There are many issues preventative data centre maintenance will catch and this can benefit an organisation massively. Here are some examples of how data centre maintenance can optimise how a centre functions:
Improve Security: An issue can occur at any time, day or night. They are not always obvious either, often, they’re small problems that have the potential to escalate and damage an organisation. Regular data centre maintenance seeks out these issues before they have a chance to grow. This enables IT engineers to manage the risks posed by a problem and ultimately implement a solution.
Keep Up to Date With The Latest Technology: Staff need the opportunity to check up on a data centre’s hardware and software. This allows them to monitor the centre’s performance and find any weaknesses that they can improve upon. By being proactive and searching for problem areas, issues are less likely to escalate and impact an organisation. One thing IT engineers will look out for during maintenance checks is how effective the hardware and software is. A data centre design relies on a range of different technology, such as routers, storage systems, servers, and security systems like firewalls. If any of this equipment is now up to date or functioning incorrectly, a data centre cannot provide the best service possible. Preventative data centre maintenance checks also ensure equipment is optimal. This allows organisations to get the most out of a data centre. The latest technology allows a data centre to operate fast, smoothly, and effectively.
Save Money & Time: Even a small data issue can lead to a loss in profits and time. Critical systems, like data centres, are what a business relies on. Instead of waiting for an issue to cause damage before noticing it, maintenance checks seek out any potential problems. Once one has been identified, it’s crucial staff implement a solution and measures to ensure the issues don't arise again. By seeking out problems before they’re able to escalate, a data centre avoids the financial loss that comes from forced downtime. Avoidable disturbances are a leading cause downtime and maintenance is the ideal solution to ensuring this doesn’t happen.
Key Components of Data Centre Maintenance - Always follow the 4 P’s:
Preventive
The first step to take when conducting data centre maintenance is to create a plan. All staff should follow this plan and understand it completely. There are universal checks to include, but some will vary between data centres. Ensure everything is covered, so a strong foundation is created to support staff conducting preventive maintenance. The best form of maintenance will help to prevent an issue from occurring at all. Using data analysis and other measurements from their daily tests, staff can predict where an issue is likely to arise. The data centre team needs to recognise any unusual trends before they lead to a critical incident. If a potential incident is identified, preventative maintenance will implement measures to stop the issue. For equipment, a preventative measure could include regular oil changes and cleaning mission-critical electrical systems.
Procedures
A data centre maintenance plan informs all staff what maintenance is required and how often. Whether it’s a service, cleaning, or upgrade, following the right procedures will both extend the data centre’s life and lower the chances of downtime. The most important part of data centre maintenance is regular inspections. Without checks on equipment and computer systems, there isn’t a guarantee that everything is working correctly. Important hardware and software may not be working to optimum capacity, which could lead to a crisis to critical infrastructure. Daily inspections of the data centre building is essential. This includes monitoring fuel levels, electricity generators, and operating systems every day.
Regular inspections should include daily tests of mission-critical systems. These tests should confirm if the critical infrastructure is working correctly and should include both hardware and software. Once the staff conducts a test, they should store the data collected and analyse it to locate any possible future problems.
Protection
Make sure all staff understand and are trained in health and safety procedures. It’s also any dangers that are removed, such as cables which could be a tripping hazard or any damaged floor tiles. Maintenance checks should seek out any potential risks to the staff’s safety and implement a solution.
Purity
Studies have shown that 75% of hardware failures are caused by dust and dirt. These issues are difficult to notice unless you look for them but can cause damage and disrupt a data centre. It’s essential to keep the data centre clean!
Data Centre Maintenance Services
At Infiniti IT, we’re a data centre services provider that focuses on details and delivers excellent customer service. Our team has years of experience and expertise, which allows us to provide efficient and effective data centre maintenance.
We also provide 24/7 support, 365 days a year to companies with all aspects of their mission-critical IT systems. 24/7 maintenance support ensures issues can’t interrupt the time staff working in an organisation have.
Data centres offer a crucial service for businesses, but without regular maintenance support, data centres can experience massive issues. Every centre is different and will require unique checks. That’s why our team offers bespoke maintenance packages tailored to what your data centre needs.