Managing a computer room environment

Management of a computer room environment falls under a larger category, "Management of Computer Operations". Management of an institutions computer operations includes not only management of the computer room environment, but also management of scheduling and batch processing, help desk, service level agreements, back up processing and system recovery procedures.

We have decided to focus on management of a computer room environment as it is usually the most neglected area of management consideration. Controls should be implemented to ensure that the equipment in a computer room (e.g servers) are protected from environmental hazards, as such, the following should be considered:

There should be an automatic fire detection system installed in and around the computer room;

There should be an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS);

Emergency power-off switches should be installed;

There should be software that test the computer room environment for deviations in recommended levels of heat, cold, humidity etc.;

An Air Conditioning unit should be installed for the Computer Room that should separate from the general air conditioning for the institutions building;

Redundant power lines should be implemented; and

Equipment should be kept in an enclosed room that helps to keep out dust. Equipment should also be cleaned regularly.