The emergence of portable computers, the internet, and the ubiquity of portable smart devices has given rise to a new type of industry–the data center. A data center is simply a building used to house computer servers. While these servers may be used for many different types of data storage, their requirements for in-house maintenance are much the same and include:
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- Adequate, clean, stable electricity, including back-up generators
- Removing heat generated by electronics
- Maintaining the servers themselves
As our customers who work in data centers know, a data center’s product is electronic data storage and retrieval, so maintaining servers is of the utmost importance. Without proper cooling, servers can overheat, reducing the capacity to store data. Not only do maintenance personnel at a data center need good electrical, electronic, and computer skills, they should also possess good mechanical maintenance skills.
From a mechanical maintenance standpoint, maintaining a data center requires much the same skill sets as many modern manufacturing facilities. In the following series of blog posts we will go over the types of equipment in data centers and how to maintain them. We will also cover the essential maintenance skills that are needed to work in data centers, such as precision measurement and HVAC skills. We’d also like to hear from you–our followers and customers–on these topics.
These posts will help you better understand the total picture of what goes into maintaining a data center at optimal efficiency and how competency in general maintenance skills is essential for data center personnel.
Look for our next post in this series titled “HVAC Chillers: Keeping Things Cool in the Data Center.”
Photo courtesy: iStock.com/Vladimir_Timofeev
