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Server Room Monitoring Systems

When it comes to critical environments like server rooms and datacentres you need the right monitoring solution and one that allows both local and remote management and control of your IT and associated hardware. Our monitoring solutions can alert for temperature, humidity, water, tamper, cooling, power, intrusion and security issues that could disrupt operations. Our room monitoring solutions include room and rack level solutions and remote site 24/7 system monitoring.

Monitoring section(s)

Datacentre Temperature Monitoring

One of the principle aspects of any critical IT environment to monitor is the temperature and humidity. Server rooms and datacentres typically house many thousands of pounds of IT hardware, processing and storing data. Whether this is within an enterprise-type datacentre or Co-location (Colo) datacentre, it is imperative to monitor the temperature within the room.

A rise in air temperature can indicate a failure within the HVAC cooling system or a hot-spot within a server cabinet or in-row server cabinets which could lead to server failure or a potential fire hazard. Early indication of a temperature rise allows early intervention and diagnostics which can lead to the saving expensive equipment (shutdown to prevent damage) and the continuous operation of the IT facility. High humidity can also indicate potential failures in the HVAC system leading to corrosion, rusting of metal surfaces and contacts and damage from water leaks in the cooling/sprinkler system. High server room humidity can also lead to static electricity build-up which can result in hardware damage.

A monitoring system from Server Room Environments will consist of a set of sensors, a monitoring platform and software package including the following elements:

  • Door contact sensors (entry doors and server racks)
  • Air movement, sound, temperature and humidity sensors
  • Server room temperature alarm
  • Fuel and leak detection with extra-length sensor cables to reach other rooms and voids
  • Rack temperature sensor
  • Installation formats including rack mount, wall mount and server cabinet pole mount
  • Sensor powering via Power over Ethernet (PoE), USB or DC power cables (12/24/48Vdc)
  • A central monitoring platform with built-in dry signal contacts, front panel LCD (OLED) and interface options including: electrical power, lighting, security and fire alarms. The central monitoring platform may have its own built-in battery backup or be protected by a UPS system and may store data locally on drive/memory set or upload on a regular basis to a Cloud-based platform. The data should also be available in real-time for an instant overview.
  • A software package that can be configured for use with tri-band GSM modems and SNMP TCP/IP or Modbus TCP network interfaces (hardwired or WiFi) for remote alerts (via text message, telephone call or email) and Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) packages including Schneider, Emerson, IO, Nlyte, iTracs, HP OpenView, IBM Tivoli, CA, BMC, IO, Modius, MRTG, Cacti, Nagios, Zenoss, ManageEngine, Ipswitch WhatsUp, Paessler PRTG, Solarwinds and many more.

When an alarm condition occurs it is important to get a quick overview in order to assess the situation and decide on a course of action. For this, Server Room Environments can also provide a visual link via a web-cam or IP-camera video connection into the room.

Typical applications for an environment monitoring system include:

  • Server rooms
  • Datacentres
  • Telecoms switch rooms
  • Security/CCTV equipment rooms
  • HVAC closets
  • Stand -alone server racks
  • Industrial cabinets

The Internet of Things and rise of Edge computing places a greater reliance on localised IT systems whether coupled to Cloud computing or not. Server Room Environments can provide local and remote monitoring at the room, rack and critical system levels to ensure system uptime and connectivity.

For a free site survey or project discussion, contact us today.

Useful Blog Posts

  • Best Practice For Cooling Server Room and Datacentre Racks

    Many computer room and server closets start out with a single server and quickly grow as more capacity is added. New servers and routers are typically added to an existing server racks or new rack cabinets brought into the facility to extend the capabilities. This can also happen within existing server rooms and datacentres. Sometimes the extra capacity was designed in from day-one or is engineered into the space available as part of an additional requirement rather than as part of a refurbishment program.

  • Wireless Environment Monitoring At The Edge

    Over the last 30 years we have seen data processing move from centralised datacentre locations with plug-in terminals to decentralised on-site server rooms operating standalone IT networks. The latest trend is to push the decentralised concept even further using Edge computing and connection to hyperscale datacentres via Cloud-based applications.

  • How Server Rack Temperature Monitoring Prevents Downtime

    Server rooms and data centres try to maintain a comfortable ambient temperature and this in the main is for the people working within the IT rooms and to protect the lead acid batteries within any associated uninterruptible power supplies. Servers and electronic IT devices can work at higher ambient temperatures. So why is it important to monitor the ambient temperature?

Related FAQs

  • Do you provide DCIM software and Interfaces?

    We can supply and install complete Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software packages and the proprietary monitoring software for the systems we supply and install. For some of these bespoke alterations or custom interfaces can be requested. We also supply a wide range of interface cards and plug-in modules for remote software integration including SNMP and MODBUS/JBUS, RS232 and USB2.0.

  • Do you monitor humidity in a server room?

    An increase in humidity is a sign that the air conditioning system is not optimised or failing. Monitoring humidity is therefore important. Rising humidity can also lead to corrosion and for electrical/electronic equipment can lead to potential short-circuits and fire risks.

  • Why is it important to monitor temperatures in a server room?

    IT equipment gives off heat, even when idle or lowly loaded. High-end computing relies on powerful servers and in a server rack the amount of power drawn can be from 5-15kW or even higher. Even if the overall efficiency is 90%, that can still lead to 1.5kW of heat to clear through the rack via the cooling system. If the temperature rises too high, IT servers can fail and there is the potential for a fire to break-out in an un-cooled server cabinet.