Server Room Temperature
Danny Robinson
here.
What is the average/best temperature a Server Room should be at?
Danny
John John
humidity at approximately 50%. More important than ambient temperature
are hot spots that might be caused by poorly designed racks and
enclosures, high density blade servers or poor placement in the room.
Lots of information on the net for server room design considerations,
example:
http://docs.sun.com/source/816-1613-13/Chapter2.html
APC suggests "Design conditions should be 72-75°F (22-24°C) and 35-50%
relative humidity (R.H.)."
http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/VAVR-5UDSLG_R2_EN.pdf
One IT guy for our local phone company once told me that you should be
comfortable in short sleeves in a server room. If you need long sleeves
or a sweater to be comfortable, or if you find it a bit warm in short
sleeves the room is too cold or too hot.
John
Rob Stow
> 20 to 23°C with about 22° (72°F) being optimal to maintain relative
> humidity at approximately 50%. More important than ambient temperature
> are hot spots that might be caused by poorly designed racks and
> enclosures, high density blade servers or poor placement in the room.
> Lots of information on the net for server room design considerations,
> example:
>
> http://docs.sun.com/source/816-1613-13/Chapter2.html
>
> APC suggests "Design conditions should be 72-75°F (22-24°C) and 35-50%
> relative humidity (R.H.)."
>
> http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/VAVR-5UDSLG_R2_EN.pdf
>
> One IT guy for our local phone company once told me that you should be
> comfortable in short sleeves in a server room. If you need long sleeves
> or a sweater to be comfortable, or if you find it a bit warm in short
> sleeves the room is too cold or too hot.
The cautions against "too cold" are invariably because so many
server rooms do not have the proper kind of air conditioning. A
server room air conditioner needs to also maintain the correct
relative humidity - not letting it get so high that condensation
can occur anywhere and not letting it get so low that static
becomes a problem. The kinds of air conditioner used for a house
or a typical business are *not* suitable for use in a server room
because the do not have the capability to regulate the humidity.
And far too many PHBs will try to save a few dollars by buying
cheaper kinds of air conditioners instead of getting ones
specifically designed for things like server rooms that their IT
staff (should have) recommended.
The Sun link above makes the humidity point as well:
"While most computer equipment can operate within a rather
broad range, a temperature level near 22 oC (72 oF) is desirable
because it is easier to maintain a safe associated relative
humidity level at this temperature."
In my part of the world (Canadian prairies, a couple hundred
miles north of YankeeLand) the average temperatures are sub-zero
for six months every winter. A few places simply let mother
nature cool the server rooms - and they never have problems with
server rooms at temperatures /well/ below room temperature
because they don't let the humidity become a problem.
As well, what constitutes "too hot" depends on your servers and
the other equipment in the room. A typical 2.x GHz dual-Opteron
2U box will be quite happy if the ambient air is 30'C, but if you
work for an idiot who buys 3.x GHz Xeon boxes, then even 25'C
ambient air will often result in processors that spend a lot of
time throttled back to prevent overheating.
And the point is well made by John John that the average temp in
the server room counts for little - it is the temps in the little
nooks and crannies and other potential hot spots that you need to
worry about.