It seems Facilities Managers like to leave data centres, server rooms and the like to IT professionals when it comes to issues like air conditioning,UPS and BMS etc.
I can't say I blame them.
I was pondering this when talking to a colleague about a recent project we undertook to replace 2 large 180kw intelligent free cooling chillers for a global IT provider. How do you do that without the data centre needing downtime. You can understand why an FM might not relish this task, knowing that the temperature has to be consistently maintained regardless of whatever maintenance is required. We are not talking about an office of grumpy people, too hot because the aircon is awaiting repair.
In this case, the R22 chillers were decommissioned and replaced (you can see our R22 blog if you want further info on this restricted refrigerant) and the data centre in question was supported the entire time and therefore did not need downtime, so no clients were impacted.
I am curious to hear from Facility Managers whose remit covers data centres and computer/server rooms on how they handle this kind of issue or if they rely on their IT experts to find the best solution. Conversely IT professionals, what do you look for when faced with the possiblity of killing the patient whilst performing the transplant?
