Expert voice network: eliminate gaps in data center management

For enterprises, data centers are the hub of networks, the gathering of various types of information, and the important place for enterprises. Therefore, one of the main tasks of enterprise IT personnel is to manage and maintain data centers. As you know, regular data centers have strict specifications and standards, mandatory requirements for temperature, humidity, cleanliness, electromagnetic field strength, shielding, leakage prevention, power quality, vibration, grounding and security. However, in my work practice, I found that many data center managers pay attention to some hard indicators, but often ignore some details, leaving blank space in the management and maintenance of the data center. In fact, these Neglected things often bring us unexpected troubles. Next, I will share my experience with you.

1. Be cautious about the impact of harmonic waves on network devices.

Harmonic is a term in electrical dynamics and should be said to be irrelevant to IT. However, it is a serious problem for network engineers to face for various types of equipment driven by electric power in the data room. The impact of harmonic waves on the Stability of network equipment must have been experienced by network administrators. What makes it terrible is that it is concealed, and the network failure caused by it is basically powerless. As the manager and maintainer of the IDC room, what we can do is reasonable cabling and regular inspection.

I would like to share with you a related case: a data center may experience unstable network operation during peak network operation periods, as the data transmission errors between servers and terminals occur frequently, and the data update speed occasionally slows down, sometimes intermittent occurs. Similar to this, the routing switch device sometimes suddenly "oscillates", and the data transmission is temporarily blank, it seems that the network has been interrupted. After investigation, the culprit behind the scenes is the harmonic wave. The root cause is that the power supply system layout of the enterprise data center is not reasonable.

In order to prevent such faults, the author's experience is: first, we need to regularly test the harmonic power content and network error rate of the power supply. Do not take it lightly when an error frame is found. In addition, it is recommended that no more than 30 workstations can be driven by one power supply; otherwise, the power supply area should be re-defined as the network segment. To avoid excessive harmonic power accumulation and exceeding the allowable range of the device. If you have high requirements on network reliability or have critical network requirements, we recommend that you use the primary network devices, such as servers and routers, during network planning and design, select a separate UPS power supply to eliminate the impact of harmonic waves on other power supplies.

2. The impact of air on the link cannot be ignored.

Network links are exposed to the air. If the temperature, humidity, and wind speed of the IDC do not meet the requirements, the link may be vulnerable. For example, optical fiber links are often ignored. Due to a long time leak in the air, they are very vulnerable to water vapor, dust, and other erosion and pollution in the air. Generally, such network faults are difficult to judge and locate, and are greatly affected by environmental factors.

I have experienced such a case: the network connectivity is not very stable due to the erosion of the optical fiber connector. The symptoms are good and bad, and are wonderfully related to the weather. Based on the characteristics of optical fiber, if it is immersed, the signal between the end and the end is often reflected in large quantities. In this case, if only the physical performance of the optical fiber link is tested, the data communication is always unstable. Such problems pose a major obstacle to network troubleshooting, and it is difficult to locate engineers without such experience.

To prevent such faults, we must first improve the cabling of the data center and isolate the link from the air. Pay special attention to the joints of the link, which is the most vulnerable to erosion. Second, we need to improve the IDC environment. In fact, network equipment has strict requirements on the environment. If conditions permit, the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and other parameters of the data center are monitored and adjusted as needed. The final regular overhaul is also essential. At least two such inspections should be conducted a year to replace the link damaged by the erosion. (Figure 1)

3. records to be recorded

Some data center management personnel have good technical skills but lack good habits. They are too random in the data center management and maintenance process. Not only do you not know enough about the number, running status, and network layout of devices in the IDC, but you do not have the habit of recording the network configuration. The gaps in these management processes expose their drawbacks in the case of network faults. In general, administrators are eager to locate faults and their work efficiency is very low.

I believe that the manager of the data center should first record the equipment and classify the equipment in the data center. These records should be detailed. It is best to archive records in the form of tables, including the following content: installation time, repair record, running status, shelf life, etc. The second is the configuration record, which records the corresponding configuration information of the device. Such as the connection port, account, and password. It is best to draw a picture of the network topology of the entire data center and then change it according to the layout adjustment. There are also some records that are also necessary, that is, the maintenance records of network faults in the data center. These records should be detailed, including fault time, symptoms, troubleshooting methods, and error causes. In actual work, these records are often ignored by some managers. In fact, these records are very helpful for the subsequent network troubleshooting.

4. IDC lighting systems worth noting

Lighting system is an indispensable part of computer room construction. The lighting system of the computer room is different from that of the general factory, and from that of the general office, meeting room, and home. In addition to the performance of general lighting, the lighting in the computer room also has its own special requirements. In particular, some computer rooms adopt a fully enclosed structure, and only human light sources are used in the data rooms without natural light sources. In this case, the good environment of the lighting system in the data room is very important. The environment with good lighting quality affects not only the efficiency and physical and mental health of computer operators and maintenance personnel, but also the reliable operation of computers.

I believe that a standard data center should be equipped with at least two sets of lighting systems. The first is general lighting, which comes from the natural light source of the external celestial body and one is artificial lighting, that is, various lighting devices. The requirements for general lighting should be: soft light, suitable for the physiological needs of the human body, and cannot affect computer interference caused by the interference of the light source. In addition, emergency lighting must be prepared. In some special circumstances, when normal lighting goes off due to a fault, the lighting accident can facilitate the staff to handle faults and transfer equipment in a timely manner. (Figure 2)

5. IDC cabling cannot be underestimated

I have visited many data centers, many of which have messy cabling. Generally, the manager of the data center is convenient or does not recognize the importance of wiring, so most of them will not spend a lot of energy on it. The general situation is that the tangle of dozens of lines is like a mess, and it takes a lot of trouble to find one. This wiring is not only not beautiful, but also has obvious drawbacks. The efficiency of network maintenance is low, and the electromagnetic interference between lines causes the performance and stability of network equipment to decrease, which brings a huge security risk. (Figure 3)

How can we make good network cabling for the IDC room? First of all, make reasonable planning and design before wiring, make full investigation and research, visit the data center to collect relevant wiring materials, it is best to draw drawings and then wiring. Second, purchase appropriate wiring tools and auxiliary tools. If conditions permit, purchase cable trough, galvanized pipe and so on to regulate the network cable. In addition, we strongly recommend that you re-plan and implement the IDC Rooms with unreasonable cabling. In this case, the cabling of the IDC room is very neat and reasonable when it is set up. due to poor management and maintenance, the IDC room is messy. All the good habits at ordinary times are very important.

Summary: The Management and Maintenance of data centers are complex and difficult, and of course they are also very important tasks. Starting from the details, there is no dead space. In fact, it can also be done once and for all to some extent. I hope my experience will help you.

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