Unix® System Management Primer Plus

Controlling the Data Center Environment

Maintaining a stable, proper environment in the data center is critical to maintaining a stable operation, but it's often one of the most overlooked factors in new deployments. A network's physical environment incorporates a number of qualities, including the following:

• Temperature

• Humidity

• Air quality

• Fire suppression

• Noise

A poor environment can cause hardware to perform unreliably or even fail completely. Taking the time to maintain your facility's environment can save hours of downtime and thousands of dollars in equipment replacement costs.

Controlling Temperature

If you do nothing else for your data center's environment, maintain it at a constant temperature. All pieces of hardware, from electric shavers ...