The Importance of Mechanical Skills in the Data Center: HVAC

Knowledge of HVAC systems is essential for data center workers since heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are so integral to the data center. A good HVAC technician will be familiar with a wide range of HVAC systems, controls, and installation methods. The skills needed for a thorough knowledge of HVAC include: Knowledge of refrigeration Knowledge…

Read More

The Importance of Mechanical Skills in the Data Center: Lubrication

Another important skill a data center maintenance worker needs is an understanding of the fundamentals of lubrication. Although lubrication may seem simple, there is a good deal of skill behind knowing proper lubrication methods, quantities, and the difference between over and under lubrication. And because under or over lubrication can cause serious problems such as…

Read More

The Importance of Mechanical Skills in the Data Center: Precision Measurement

We have been privileged to both sell tools and shaft alignment, vibration testing, and precision maintenance training for several different data centers throughout the US.  Most of the maintenance technicians we encounter have solid electronics and computer skills, but some are less experienced with mechanical skills. Thus, some of the challenges faced by these maintenance…

Read More

Emergency Generators: Making it Possible for the Show to Go On

Just like for any plant, it is critical for the data center to sustain minimal to no interruptions to normal processes. The amount of (often sensitive) data housed in the data center servers makes it imperative that data centers continue to run, no matter the conditions. This is why backup generators are so important. In the…

Read More

Data Center Fans: Blowing More Than Hot Air

In this installment of our data center maintenance series, we will discuss fans. While HVAC chillers ensure cool water supplied to fans for cool air is pumped into the servers in a data center, fans ensure that the hot air from the servers is removed efficiently and redirected to the Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC)…

Read More

Cooling Towers: Moving the Heat Away from Where it Isn’t Wanted

Cooling towers and related components such as chilled water and condenser water pumps are another common type of data center equipment. On a basic level, cooling systems in data centers remove heat from one element and redirect it to another. A cooling tower is the depository for the excess heat given off by data center…

Read More

HVAC Chillers: Keeping Things Cool in the Data Center

This is the second installment of our series on data center equipment and maintenance. Among the types of equipment that require mechanical maintenance in a data center are HVAC chillers. HVAC chillers are widely used in data centers to cool the water used for heating, ventilation, and AC units. Since these chillers often run nonstop,…

Read More

Precision Maintenance in Data Centers

  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…

Read More