Building an Environmentally Conscious Data Center

Server enclosures

If you’re managing a hub for online data with used server racks, it is important to be aware of the limitations of your equipment and the related health and environmental concerns that go hand in hand.

When you really think about it, the Internet as we know it has existed for a long time. The exact size of the internet, including the number of websites and users, is unclear. That said, we do know that Symbolics.com is the oldest active URL online,was registered on March 15, 1985. This puts things in perspective when you realize that some computer facilities may not have been updated or brought to code for nearly 20 years.

When building or updating your data center, you must have proper air conditioning and fire protection for your Dell server racks, server rack enclosures, and server cabinets. Halon gas was commonly used for fireproofing early computer server rooms,but since then it has been shown that Halon is harmful to humans and depletes the ozone layer.

You may not immediately think of computer rooms that house server enclosures and server rack shelves as potentially detrimental to the environment. However, bigger data centers with used server racks may use enough electricity to rival the amount used by a small town. These industrial scale operations can emit diesel exhaust, a major contributor to air pollution.

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