Organizing Your Server Room and Why It’s Important

Server rooms are a key part of your business and the organization of the rooms is essential. Many business owners don’t have a dedicated room for your equipment let alone organize it well. The businesses that do have a dedicated room don’t put organizing their server room at the top of their to-do list. This is a more important task than many deem it to be. The lack of organization with your server room and the equipment in them can lead to longer repair times, slower ability to find and fix any errors, and frustration.

The first step in organizing your server room is understanding what your needs are currently and what they could grow to become. This can be difficult to plan for initially, but this step is crucial in keeping everything organized while you plan for potential growth. Is the room or area you are setting up your server room in big enough to grow with you? Is your room temperature controlled? Does the room have any problems with temperature or humidity? These are all important factors in your server room’s function and performance. Your server room typically doesn’t need to be that large depending on your needs. The more important factor tends to be the temperature and humidity of the server room. Without reliable control of these factors, you risk shortening the lifespan of your equipment as well as the protection of your data.

Shelves and Racking

Another factor in organizing your server room will be having racking and shelves for your equipment. You may think racks and shelving aren’t necessary for your business because you aren’t big enough or they just aren’t necessary. Having the right racks and shelves will help your equipment last longer. These will also help keep your equipment secured and off the floor if a natural disaster strikes. If you are in an area that gets hit with floods, earthquakes, tornados, or more a rack or shelving unit might save your system. Shelving and racks keep your equipment secure, organized, spaced properly, and out of harm’s reach (for the most part). A simple rack system can do a lot more than organize your equipment for ease of repair or maintenance. They will keep your equipment spaced so dust does not collect as fast and the equipment can have the appropriate space to keep cool and not overheat. The racks will also keep your equipment secured and off the ground. This will help if your business is hit by a natural disaster.

Cable Management 

Everyone has seen the great pictures of a server room full of perfectly laid-out cables. These are beautiful and things you should try to emulate. They are great for a multitude of different reasons. When your work environment is clean, clutter-free, and organized you will work more efficiently and be more productive. This is something that you should aim for in your server room as well as your everyday life. It is a great rule of thumb to be more productive and more efficient. Laying out the cables so they aren’t crossed or tangled will help you when you need to replace or repair equipment. Having things laid out properly will make the work less stressful and easier to manage.

Organization

Now that you have your equipment on racks and your cables are easily laid out you can focus on making sure your server room is labeled properly. Even if everything is in the right place and organized perfectly for you that doesn’t mean everyone is going to understand your system. You will need to go through and label the cables and equipment. This will be a lifesaver when you need to remember how you laid everything out all those years or months ago. Label both ends of your cables and all the equipment as well. It may seem unnecessary or like it won’t matter but the extra time you spend labeling things properly will save you tenfold in the future.

Following these simple steps for setting up and organizing your server room will save you time and many headaches in the future. Doing these things will also extend the life of your equipment and save you money. The only downfall to this is the work and time it takes to set it up properly. If you have questions or would like to learn more about our services, please feel free to contact us. We are always happy to help.