Our team spends most of their time in data centre environments implementing solutions for customers, and we’ve been taking notes. We’ve picked up on some clear trends in how, and why, racks are deviating from best-practice standards.
Cabling
The most common issue, which will be familiar to anyone who has spent time in a data centre or comms room, is poor cable installation standards. This goes by many names, such as: “rat’s nest”, “spaghetti”, “huge mess”, “how did this happen”, “this is going to take bloody ages to fix”.
As IT deployments become more remote, organisations rely on third-party providers to follow best practices — but these can vary, leading to hidden risks. Change control processes typically focus on approving physical modifications, leaving key details unchecked.
The close visual inspection of racks on a regular basis is vital. We often find that cables are installed haphazardly and their bend radii aren’t considered, leading to unnecessary risk.
Power
We find that devices aren’t hooked up to resilient power infrastructure. This is most often manifest in the use of single-powered devices without ATSs, but can equally be the absence of UPSs. Data Centres are frequently cycling power or working on their power infrastructure, producing a knock-on effect that impacts your devices.
The issue is self-explanatory, and the solution is usually simple: A detailed audit of power infrastructure within a rack, using structured methodologies, can reveal these issues and nudge you in the right direction for a redesign.
Cleanliness
A concerning trend is issues in rack cleanliness, including the build-up of dust, debris and carboard/packaging. This is especially common in cages where only a handful of eyeballs get on your environment.
The issues this causes are obvious: inefficiencies in exhausting, cooling issues, device failure, even risk of fire. Regular specialist cleaning is rarely a priority in data centres, but it’s essential to mitigate the risk of outage.
Reacting to the re-occurrence of the same raft of issues in our customer environments, we designed a solution built to identify these issues, the Rack Vulnerability Assessment. We examine all the key aspects of your racks, including: design & installation, patching & cabling, power infrastructure and general environment.
We provide you with a comprehensive report highlighting issues for immediate rectification, as-well as advisories to support you for any ongoing-remediation work. Our team can also work with you to provide the design & physical management support you need to re-align your environment with best practices.
Get in touch today.