Data center maintenance companies and contracts are rarely considered by those working in BAU IT roles – not least because so few of such teams actually work behind the scenes in a data center environment and such expertise can be rare. Yet most businesses are entirely reliant for their IT infrastructure to operate as standard on a data center; and so will only benefit from regular and thorough data center maintenance. So when organizations do opt to work with a data center maintenance specialist, exactly what should they be looking for? Let Procurri, data center maintenance experts in our own right, explain…
Exactly what is Data Center Maintenance?
Data center maintenance refers to the ongoing process of monitoring, inspecting, repairing, upgrading and updating assets within a data center – both hardware and software. Regular data center maintenance allows for organizations to ensure that their IT infrastructure is working to the best of its capability and capacity, so that performance remains good and systems reliable for all.
While data center maintenance practices and processes vary dependent on an organization’s individual needs and configuration, they will usually involve:
- Physical equipment inspection
- Remote equipment monitoring
- Testing of equipment
- Training of staff on equipment
- Controlling environmental factors
- Repair of equipment
- Replacement of equipment
- Upgrading/updating of equipment.
Data Center Maintenance Best Practices
There are several ‘best practices’ in the industry of data center maintenance that should be followed to ensure the best possible function of the infrastructure. While these aren’t enforceable by an industry body or accrediting organization as such, they should be followed to the benefit of the data center owner/user – as a failure to do so will likely result in malfunction or failure.
Generally speaking, data center maintenance should include:
- Regular inspections and monitoring (both physically and remote) to ensure that any potential issues are resolved before they escalate
- Routine updates to hardware and software to maintain compatibility and performance across configurations
- Regular data backups to ensure any data loss is minimized in the case of system malfunction or failute
- Regular environmental controls to maintain temperature and humidity levels to ensure hardware is functioning as it should.
If a business outsources its data center maintenance to a specialist firm such as Procurri, they usually have all of these areas covered by an all-encompassing service plan. However, such services may be segmented dependent on the requirements of the customer. This sees data center maintenance responsibilities split between:
- Hardware maintenance – the inspections, repairs and upgrades/updates of servers, storage devices and networking hardware
- Security management – maintaining routine security checks and installing security and data protection measures
- Environmental monitoring – the monitoring and adjustment of the physical environmental conditions within the data center such as heating and humidity control.
The Types of Data Center Maintenance
Procurri specialise in a comprehensive approach to data center maintenance that ensures maximum performance of data center equipment at all times. However, service offerings differ by provider. There are generally three main types of data center maintenance. These are:
Preventative Maintenance
The most common service package for data center maintenance is preventative maintenance. This approach schedules in regular tasks for inspections, tests, hardware spare part replacements and updates/upgrades. The routine nature of this maintenance helps prevent issues before they occur and extend the lifespan of assets. However, preventative maintenance does involve the servicing and replacement of components that otherwise are still functioning – which can incur costs that may not be considered ‘necessary’.
Reliability-centered Maintenance
A slightly less comprehensive method, reliability-centered maintenance identifies the highest priority hardware elements and operational processes, and creates a regular maintenance plan for these systems only. How the maintenance of the rest of the data center is addressed is to the discretion of the organization and can be managed separately from this service package.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance analyses data center performance to predict potential failures and work on them proactively, to help combat the occurrence or escalation of any issues. While such monitoring tools can be financially costly short-term, they save money long-term compared to expenses that would be incurred if disruption were to occur.
Procurri offers a Global Maintenance package that includes preventative and predictive maintenance to offer the most comprehensive service possible, as well as providing the option for customizable SLAs to meet the exact needs of customers.
Data Center Maintenance Tasks
While the exact process of data center maintenance will differ dependent on the business’ individual needs, there are several tasks that should be conducted as ‘standard’. These include:
- Regular hardware inspections – to reduce the risk of disruption or faults
- Run firmware updates – to ensure the optimum performance and minimize the risk of data loss or system failure
- Backup systems – the regular backup of data helps minimize data loss if an issue should occur
- Conduct security audits – both physically and remotely, security audits should identify any weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the data center and allow for their reparation
- Monitor environmental factors – ensure the temperature and humidity levels of the data center are appropriate for the best possible performance of hardware, as well as regular cleaning to remove dust or residue
- Check network performance – regular testing and monitoring of performance provides a picture of functionality and allows for businesses to ensure all is working as it should
- Disaster recovery and business continuity planning – ensuring that a plan is in place and is regularly reviewed and tested so that if a disaster event occurs, service is able to continue with minimal disruption
- Training staff – ensuring that all employees who will work on roles involving the data center are up-to-date and fully versed in their roles
- Keep thorough records – detailed records of all systems, process, protocols, installations, decommissions and components should be kept so that if issues occur the root cause can be identified.
If you have any questions about data center maintenance tasks, feel free to get in touch with the Procurri team for expert advice.
The Benefits of working with a Third Party Maintenance Provider
Opting to work with a third party maintenance provider rather than managing it in-house or choosing OEM support can present a myriad of benefits, including:
- Cost savings – working with a third party maintenance provider is usually considerably cheaper than using an OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturer) services
- Extended lifespan of assets – third party maintenance providers offer maintenance services even past EOSL and warranty dates, allowing for the extension and ‘sweating’ of assets; whereas OEM support ends at a certain point, with regular re-purchase of hardware encouraged
- Flexibility – with customizable SLAs, third party maintenance firms offer a tailored approach for comprehensive maintenance and management
- Expertise – specialist firms such as Procurri hire expert technicians and engineers, so no matter how complex the configuration or rare the hardware, organizations can rest assured that it will be well managed.
What are common Data Center Maintenance issues?
Of course, no data center is perfect, but there are some issues that are fairly common. Such concerns can be avoided with thorough and expert data center maintenance services. The most common issues occurring with data centers not subject to routine maintenance include:
- Overheating of equipment
- Connectivity issues
- Lack of updates on firmware/software, leading to lagging performance
- Requirement for expensive spare parts
- Security vulnerabilities.
The best way to negate these issues is to hire and work with a comprehensive specialist firm to manage all data center maintenance.
What to look for in a Data Center Maintenance Company
When selecting a partner company to work with for data center maintenance, it is imperative that an informed decision is made to ensure a seamless and appropriate service can be provided. Questions to be asked should include:
- What SLAs are available? Can these be tailored to the needs of the business?
- Is support available globally?
- Is support available 24/7/365, or is it limited?
- What expertise does the company have related to the specific hardware the business uses?
- Does support continue past EOSL dates?
- Does the company have access to the relevant or appropriate spare parts, if needed?
Of course, at Procurri, we’re proud to work on this basis – with flexible SLAs, global around-the-clock support and a whole host of specialist staff.
Get in touch to learn more on how we can maximize your uptime and keep your data center up, running, and performing well at all times.
