Cooling is often a lower priority than other concerns when server rooms and small to mid-size data centers are initially built. As equipment is added to accommodate growing computing needs, increased heat production can compromise equipment performance, causing costly shutdowns. Quick,...
February 1, 2022
January 5, 2021
If you’re designing a new or upgrading an existing data center or server room, power consumption, distribution and protection are among the most important factors to consider.
Planning your data center power capacity and efficiency is a vital step in any network consolidation, expansion or...
September 1, 2020
Controlling servers and other IT rack equipment remotely is not only part of an IT administrator’s job, but has become essential to ensure networks and data are available 24/7 without having to be physically in the office. There are several options available to remotely control servers such as...
In these challenging times, more employees are working remotely than ever before. In order to support remote tasks such as network access, emails and messaging, the reliability of network systems is more crucial than ever. For those working in IT departments, this means your job is critical to...
Internet connectivity has become an invaluable resource for businesses large and small. Even short-term disruptions can have a significant impact on productivity and revenue. The need to quickly restore interrupted Internet service is imperative, yet the ability to fulfill that need varies...
If you’re upgrading your existing 3-phase network, switching from single-phase to 3-phase power or overseeing a co-location network, the ability to monitor and control the power consumption of individual devices is crucial to network performance. Monitoring power consumption of individually...
April 1, 2020
From the desktop to the data center, IT networks need to move more data than ever before, and they need to move it quickly. The right infrastructure cabling will facilitate maximum speed and performance. IT managers who are designing or upgrading a network have a number of cable options to...
March 16, 2020
Redundancy is the duplication of critical components (or functions) within a system to increase its reliability. If a critical component fails, the presence of a redundant component will prevent the failure of the system. 2N and N+1 are two common approaches to redundancy in data centers.
March 16, 2020
We discussed how redundancy works and what types are possible in Part One. Now let’s apply that knowledge to IT infrastructure.
2N Redundancy – The Gold Standard
2N redundancy (and above) is the gold standard, but it is also expensive and wasteful. At least half your costly equipment is...
September 21, 2017
When shopping for Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat6a Ethernet cables, you may notice an AWG specification printed on the cable jacket, like 24 AWG. What does AWG mean, you ask? It stands for American Wire Gauge (also known as the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge), a standardized system for describing the diameter of...