Cloud Data Center Physical and Environmental Protection
monitor ambient conditions inside data center
temperature and humidity
important for optimizing operations and performance
capture average measurements across several thermometric devices throughout the airflow process
for realistic measurement
target metric standards are created by Technical Committee 9.9 of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating an Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
offers detailed recommendations for various data center aspects
e.g., IT equipment, power supply, battery backups
General ASHRAE recommendations:
Temperature: 64º – 81º F (18º – 27º C)
Humidity: Dew point of 15º – 59º F (-9º – 15º C), relative humidity of 60%
Effects of Ambient Temperature and Ambient Humidity
ambient temperature that is too high can allow hardware to overheat
high-capacity electrical components generate a lot of waste heat
devices can be sensitive to conditions that exceed their operating parameters
ambient temperature that is too low can be a risk to health and human safety
touching bare metal at the freezing point can burn or remove skin