Water and Computer Equipment Don't Mix

It’s pure common sense—water and computer equipment don’t mix. So if you ever find yourself designing a space to house anything from a single switch to an enterprise datacenter, you better be certain that you get the water out! IT Departments go to great lengths and great expense to keep the data quickly flowing, and the water as far away as possible.

During a recent plumbing related incident, I experienced an unanticipated water flow that was coming up from the floor… something we often do not consider when installing a condensate drain for specialized cooling equipment. Proper placement and isolation of equipment in datacenter areas is critical, but only part of the solution.

Thankfully in this particular incident there were no datacenter causalities reported. As you can imagine response time is key to avoiding any costly damage. In this case we have to pay tribute to an inexpensive self-contained monitoring unit. Noticing a problem, this unit quickly emailed an alert to the appropriate resources so a mop and repair could be immediately dispatched. The value of this monitoring device was so evident that an order for a few more was placed shortly thereafter.

Most of the monitoring devices available today are easy to install and configure. They can provide alerts for fluids, temperature, humidity, airflow, and noise levels. They also have the added benefit of integrated cameras that can snap a series of pictures and send them along with any alerts. These picture alerts can even be emailed when motion is detected or when a door is opened. This allows companies to quickly and inexpensively track access to equipment areas.

This type of monitoring is a must for equipment and server rooms of any size. You, too, will probably order more after receiving just one alert to an issue that may have led to an outage.