How to Install a Server Into a Rack in 7 Steps
Do your data center employees know how to install a server into a rack? There’s little point in a lifting solution for your servers if they aren’t installed correctly. Improperly installing a server potentially risks damage to the server, and can endanger the safety of data center employees. There are multiple ways to install servers into various configurations. One way to do it is with slide rails. Here are the 7 steps for accomplishing that successfully: How to install a server into a rack: Check that your server is compatible with the rack. Before you begin with the installation, it’s important to make sure that your server will fit into […]
How ServerLIFT® Helps Data Centers Meet Facility Requirements
Data center managers must meet a wide variety of facility requirements that are dependent on the type of facility that they run, its size and its location. This is in addition to those requirements that are mandated by compliance standards and safety regulations among others. Handling data center equipment for changes, migrations or expansions touches on all of these and other requirements for DCMs. This is where server-handling equipment becomes critical to meeting those requirements. Moving, lifting and installing servers into data center racks via the use of data center lifts dictates the ability to quickly and efficiently configure software and deal with daily end-user demands. The first general requirement […]
Using Server Equipment to Increase OpEX Savings in the Data Center
While virtualization and monitoring technology has become the most effective way to increase data center efficiency and decrease operational costs, DCMs have to use every tool at their disposal to further increase OpEx saving margins. The ability to utilize server equipment to lower data center operational expenses has proven to be another way to provided various solutions that further that goal. Rack consolidation, high density patch panels and other high density solutions can increase operational efficiency exponentially, but when used in conjunction with server equipment they increase OpEx savings as well. For example, rack consolidation can reduce floor space while high-density patch panels can achieve double the port density in […]
Improving Data Center Efficiency with Advanced Server Equipment
Data center efficiency is a never-ending pursuit for DCMs where they must balance efficiency, availability, and flexibility to effectively manage the many data centers parts as well as the whole. These parts include a compilation of servers, storage, network systems, mechanical/electrical systems, applications and tools, governance procedures and staff. While DCIM and other monitoring tools are key to managing the physical space of the data center, advance server equipment such as technologically and mechanically advanced data center lifts are also foundational to that efficiency. One of the most common tasks in any data center facility is the physical handling of servers and other rack-mounted equipment. As equipment weight reaches dangerous […]
With Modular Data Centers on the Rise, DCMs Need Faster Server Equipment Setup to Keep Up… Here’s How.
While data center managers (DCM) certainly see the differing options for modular data centers as providing a means of faster deployment and space maximization at a lower cost, those attributes can come at a price all their own. Since these data center modules are typically removable, consideration needs to be given to installation and removal logistics. These logistics may include access for cranes, trucks, forklifts in many cases while data center lifts are often a part of every installation. This is particularly true where necessary free space and enough turning radius to bring a module in or take it out is a prime consideration. DCMs may have a number of […]
How DCM’s Can Improve Productivity by 200% or More
In order to vastly improve the productivity of data centers, DCMs are using application-based solutions as well as physical tools. On the application side, data center infrastructure management (DCIM) systems provide a unified, real-time picture of data center operations, enabling IT teams to match resources with demand. With hardware changes and servers a regular occurrence that can eat away at productivity, server-handling devices and server handling standards are crucial to enabling increased productivity. Today’s data centers are IT environments made up virtual machines, storage-area networks and cloud-based applications. While these approaches can streamline compute and monitoring operations, they still require a system that can enable overall management of all virtual […]
Data Center Space Efficiency – How to Fit More Servers in the Same Amount of Space
Managing data center density and growth is certainly something that can cause sleepless nights for DCMs. As a consequence, data center space efficiency is driving a lot of decisions with cooling and energy consumption being intertwined concerns. That’s a significant motivation that has led DCMs to incorporate a number of different approaches to fitting more servers in the same amount of space. High density blade servers are growing more efficient and with larger capacities, which has made them a staple in data centers around the world. As a tool in server consolidation that shrinks hardware within an overall data center footprint, this approach brings benefits in overall space efficiency. It […]
How to Help Data Center Customers Scale Faster During an On-Premise Relocation
As data center customers and their systems grow, server racks inevitably require changes in terms of hardware as well as on-premise relocation to accommodate that growth. Uptime is always a factor for these companies, so faster scaling is always a concern for DCMs. The goal is to enable faster, more efficient moves where data center relocation causes limited disruption to the center overall as well as the client’s compute needs. Relocating a client’s servers within a data center requires careful planning and execution. That all starts with creation of a detailed move plan that includes the equipment move sequence, back-up operations during the move, installation & testing, and ongoing operations. […]
Minimize Data Center Costs & Increase Worker Safety
There are few crossover points where DCMs can lower data center costs while increasing worker safety. Consolidation through virtualization can certainly increase efficiency as well as lowering data center costs, but it also can indirectly set the stage for worker safety via reduction in physical servers. Moving new technology to a high density environment enables the data center to increase cabinet space utilization and processing performance. The question is then, how can these measures increase worker safety? The act of moving IT hardware to minimize costs in this way often presents a complex physical challenge. The size and weight of servers, chassis, switches and routers in today’s environment can often […]
Trends in Adapting to Cloud
Challenges and Reasons for Switching to Cloud Is cloud computing the future of data centers? By taking a closer look at the past trends in the adaptation to cloud, it starts to become clear as to whether or not cloud computing is the way to go. The Trending Cloud Statistically, the biggest jump to cloud adaptation happened from 2011 to 2012. In 2011 only 2% of companies were utilizing the benefits of cloud computing, while in 2012 that numbered climbed to 25%. From 2012 to 2013, the number of IT related companies using cloud computing reached 36%. The numbers show that companies are continuing to switch to the cloud for […]
