Any firm with a web presence runs the risk of having a server crash interrupt the overall data flow and impair the effectiveness of several activities that depend on efficient data transfer. Server room monitoring may be a difficult chore at the same time.
But with IoT, the process becomes much easier since IoT-enabled server room monitoring tools can provide you real-time notifications about environmental conditions like temperature and humidity using sensors.
IoT-enabled server room monitoring solutions assist you in keeping a careful eye on the environment in your server room so you can safeguard your valuable server room assets.
With the use of strategically positioned sensors in the various server room equipment, many environmental conditions, including temperature and humidity monitoring in the server room, power surges, water leaks, floods, fire and smoke, and chemical substance leakages, may be monitored.
Thanks to IoT-based server room monitoring solutions, you can feel secure knowing that your important server room assets are safe and that data flows are uninterrupted.
All of these factors are monitored using sensors, which are connected through a Low Power Wide Area Network to the central unit (Gateway) and deliver data. The Gateway serves as a conduit between the cloud and the wireless sensor network.
The sensor data is saved in the cloud, where it may be accessed through a mobile application or a web dashboard.
Different types of Server room environment monitoring:
- Rack level monitoring
- Ambient conditions monitoring
- Water and flood monitoring
SERVER RACK LEVEL MONITORING
According to a Gartner survey, the average annual cost of a server rack is above $70,000.00 USD. Due to the unavailability of your online systems and the ensuing interruption in operation, any damage to the rack due to ambient environmental conditions can result in a substantial economic loss for the organisation.
Simple monitoring of ambient conditions at the rack level as opposed to the room level might be a costly error. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) advises that each rack should have a minimum of 6 temperature sensors to safeguard equipment.
These ought to be put at the front, rear, centre, and top of the rack. Monitoring the temperature of the server rack is essential for maintaining a server’s health. Room temperature and rack temperatures can differ significantly.
Merely when the air conditioning systems fail to maintain the required room-level temperature will an alarm be sounded by the sensors when we only monitor the temperature in the room. In this case, the rack temperature can rise to a point where it is hard to maintain it without causing long-term harm to the rack’s machinery.
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON YOUR SYSTEMS
Although modern server systems have the ability to automatically shut down to prevent failures caused by excessive heat, high temperatures are also known to create processing mistakes in computer systems, which may have an impact on the performance output as a whole. These mistakes might not be preventable.
Additionally, excessive heat corrodes fan equipment and shortens its lifespan. All of this not only jeopardises the accessibility of your internet systems but also your company’s reputation in the marketplace.
For small rooms, it is advised to use wired sensors. Given the size of the area that needs to be monitored, large server rooms and data centres may require wireless sensors. Since one base device can communicate with roughly 30 temperature sensors, you’ll want a lot fewer IP addresses.
MONITORING OF OCCUPANT CONDITIONS IN THE SERVER ROOM
This entails keeping an eye on variables like humidity, temperature, and others that are necessary for the server to operate effectively in the space.
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE MONITORING
An essential factor to take into account to enhance server room performance is the temperature. If the room temperature rises above a specific point, an IoT-based temperature monitoring system alerts IT managers. Making ensuring that severe temperatures don’t have an impact on the equipment’s functioning is essential.
AMBIENT HUMIDITY MONITORING
The significance of server room humidity monitoring. Almost all electrical components, as well as entire pieces of equipment, are made to operate within a specific humidity range. High ambient humidity levels can cause disc drives to fail, resulting in data loss and the inaccessibility of the server system.
On the other side, low humidity levels can lead to electrostatic discharge, which can cause electrical components to fail instantly and completely.
In order to ensure safety and excellent performance, it is crucial to monitor humidity levels in the server room.
SERVER ROOM MOTION DETECTION
Motion sensors are required to control and monitor entry and exit from server rooms. Many server rooms have been seen to be unattended after hours or even during the day. IT managers may keep track of every activity in the server room by installing motion detectors.
SMOKE DETECTION IN THE SERVER ROOM
Smoke detectors have been installed in the server room to make sure that IT staff is informed if there is a fire there. This can guarantee that corrective action is made as soon as possible to avoid any harm to the server room and its equipment.
FLOOD AND WATER MONITORING
Even while server rooms are less at risk from water leaks, today’s raised-floor building designs make these rooms extremely vulnerable.
Generally speaking, spot and water snake cable-based sensors for water leakage are the two most frequent varieties. When water contacts the device, spot sensors send out a warning.
Different working mechanisms are used by water rope and water snake cable sensors. They employ a conductive cable that may be touched at any point and cause an alert. Due to its greater accuracy and range, the second kind is favoured over the first.
Since water will flow to the lowest spot if the server room has a raised floor, it is preferable to place the sensor there.
To upgrade the IoT devices’ code wirelessly, the majority of IoT implementations use FOTA updates.
This article was originally posted here: IOT BASED SERVER ROOM MONITORING SYSTEM
