Make data center cleaning part of your risk management

1. DATA CENTER DECONTAMINATION
MAKE IT PART OF RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Author:
Date:
©2014 Premier Solutions Co.
Bill Montgomery
January 2014

2. Introduction:
The service of data center cleaning has been a major focus of
late for data centers, service companies and end users. This
renewed focus on cleaning services is prompted by ASHRAE
and manufacturers such as IBM, Dell and HP. None of these
well-respected entities would recommend that the service be
performed in-house. DCM is a risk management service ,
critical to the continuation of critical operations.
Our service called, Data Center Maintenance (DCM) and
Premier Solutions Co. was formed in 1998. To date, we have
cleaned over 9500 data centers, encompassing 27 (M) million
square feet (SF) of data center flooring, over one hundred
thousand server cabinets and over one million servers and
systems.
Our service began with little direction from the industry. Very few
firms were specializing in offering data center cleaning. We used
our knowledge from years of selling IT infrastructure solutions
such as UPS, enclosures, power and cooling products, and
disaster recovery services, to erect a service geared towards
protection of the environment and the equipment housed within.
With industry guidelines set forth, risk management and data
center tier status via Uptime institute, a clear direction can be
implemented in keeping the data center free of risk via
contaminates by incorporating a "tier 3" approach and improve
indoor air quality (IAQ).
Risk "is a function of the likelihood of a given threat-source’s
exercising a particular potential vulnerability, and the resulting
impact of that adverse event on the organization"
Risk management is the process that allows IT to balance the operational and economic costs of
protective measures and achieve gains in mission capability, availability by protecting the IT systems and
data that support their organizations’ missions-NIST
©2014 Premier Solutions Co.

3. Risk management processes:
1. Assessment: includes identification and evaluation of risks and risk impacts, and
recommendation of risk-reducing measures (Premier Solutions Co. rates the center on a PM
(particulate matter) scale of 1-5 . 5 being the high risk
2.
Mitigation: which refers to prioritizing, implementing, and maintaining the appropriate riskreducing measures recommended from the risk assessment process.
3. Implementation: proven action of a successful risk management program, controlled methods
4. Confirmation: "Check and balance" in place for confirmation of tier 3 program is adhered to
Data Center tier status defined:
TIER 1: Reactionary, when needed, no formal process, low bid. IAQ could be moderate to severe
Tier 2: unstructured maintenance: no formal process in place, no vendor diligence, not for mission critical
centers
TIER 3: structured to eliminate human unintentional error, discretion. Defines controlled processes
•
•
•
•
Service Orientation :designed to collaborate with client on a structured tier 3 assumption
Data gathering” :document process: questionnaire-onsite eval-orientation- approved MOP-post
service feedback –
MOP: structured method of process: precise management of processes of how and when work is
performed
SOP: Standard operations Procedures: "best practices"
As IT equipment shrinks in size, resulting in smaller components and less
physical space between them, the risk of contamination grows. Increased heat
loads per unit volume of air necessitates the need for more airflow, thus,
increasing the exposure of electronics to detrimental effects of accumulated
dust.
–ASHRAE TC9
©2014 Premier Solutions Co.

4. Frequency of Service Recommendations:
•
HP recommends weekly dry mop and monthly damp
mop
•
SUN recommends quarterly floor surface and hardware
decontamination
In today’s high-density, virtualized centers, it is extremely
important to keep the facility within “clean specifications” at all
times. To achieve this, it may be required to have a top floor
Inside An IBM Server
service done monthly, especially for sites located near freeways,
centers using outside air for cooling, continuous, personnel traffic
that bring contaminates into the room
Service
Top floor cleaning
Sub-floor service
Hardware and servers
Minimum Recommended Frequency
Once Quarterly
Once or Twice Annually
Twice Annually
Common service Fallacies/deficiencies in service:
X
Improper Sub-Floor Cleaning: Creating
Bypass Air Flow
©2014 Premier Solutions Co.
•
Use of “proprietary” cleaning solutions
•
ISO compliant
•
Using water to clean sub-floor (water and 480V don’t mix)
•
Bringing water source onto computer room floor
•
Floor tiles stripped and waxed
•
Improper sub-floor process

5. Caring For The Data Center
•
Utilize clean step-mats at doorways
•
Clean/replace CRAC unit filters regularly
•
consider air filter media to capture gases
•
conduct a semi annual IAQ corrosive analysis
•
Use particle testing as a gauge of environment condition
•
Close off server cabinet cut outs
•
Have delaminated or trip tiles replaced
•
Place perforated tiles in cold aisle/front of cabinet
•
Inspect water cooling units regularly
•
Disallow cardboard and pallets in center
•
Removal and repair of sub floor corrosives
•
Insert blanking panels in unused U SPACE of cabinets
•
Clean cabinets and hardware twice annually. Dust can create an
“insulating layer” that will lead to heat related failures
•
Clean sub floor twice annually minimum
•
seal off bottom of server cabinets. allows cool air to bypass server,
and traps dust under cabinets
Summary
A regularly scheduled service with Tier 3 parameters in place and the
identification of particulates will allow your data center to stay in optional
health.
This document is copyright © 2014 Premier Solutions Co. No part of this
publication may be reproduced by any method whatsoever without the prior
consent of Premier Solutions Co.
Due to the nature of this material, numerous hardware and software products
have been mentioned by name. In the majority, if not all, of the cases, these
product names are claimed as trademarks by the companies that manufacture
the products. It is not Premier Solutions Co.’s intent to claim these names or
trademarks as our own. Likewise, company logos, graphics or screen shots
have been reproduced with the consent of the owner and are subject to that
owner’s copyright.
Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this document to ensure
that the information is correct, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for
any errors or omissions.
©2014 Premier Solutions Co.