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Choosing the Right Server Room
Dedicating a single room for server organization gives you with a safe and secure environment for your critical information systems. As well, centralizing your equipment to one location allows you to efficiently monitor operation and troubleshoot problems. When selecting a suitable server room, you should take into account several guiding factors: Size, Location, Power, and Ventilation.

	Room size is the principle concern. A good server room will house all your equipment with adequate space for cabling and easy access to all sides of equipment. The server room should be large enough to accommodate much more equipment than required by your current setup to allow for future expandability. Moving an established server room at a later date greatly disrupts office productivity, and should be avoided whenever possible.
	The server room's location should be central to all computers on the network in order to minimize cabling lengths and costs. The server room should also be located in a low-traffic area. Glass windows should be avoided since they present a security risk and cause variable heat loss or heat gain. As well, plumbing presents a leaking water hazard and should remain far away from your server room. After selecting a server room that meets your size and location requirements, power and ventilation concerns should be addressed.
	The electrical power demanded by equipment concentrated in a single room is usually much more than a conventional office circuit will support. After you determine out how many power outlets are needed to connect your computer hardware and accessories, and adding enough extra outlets to account for future expansion, you should contact a qualified electrician to inspect your server room and perform the necessary upgrades.
	Cooling and ventilation is more important in a server room than other rooms because of the extra heat generated by the computer equipment. Additional air-conditioning or ventilation ducts may be required to keep the server room environment comfortable, not only for human operators, but also for temperature sensitive equipment. A wise strategy in server room HVAC design is to build some redundancy into the system. For example, if two air conditioners are installed instead of one -- each being able to cool the room on its own -- then both units can operate at lower loads. As well, if one A/C unit needs to be repaired, it can be removed from service, and the other can compensate by temporarily operating at full load. Click here for equipment monitoring devices.

Choosing the Right Server Rack Solution
Combining server racks (also known as LAN racks, computer racks, relay racks, network work centers) with a dedicated server room offers many advantages. Computer server racks minimize used floor space while maximizing vertical space utilization, and provide a safe and stable platform for all your computing equipment. Mounting all your computer and network equipment in a customized server rack makes sense in the same way as centralizing all your server equipment to a single room.

There are two main types of server rack furniture: open server racks and enclosed rackmount cabinets.

Open bay server racks are easy to customize, expandable for all types of equipment storage applications, and provide easy access to your computer hardware for maintenance and troubleshooting tasks. These computer racks are more appropriate for secured server rooms, and are generally more affordable since they do not have side panels or lockable doors. Computer Structures modular network furniture offers complete LAN rack systems featuring heavy gauge steel construction and numerous shelving, monitor and rack mount options to suit virtually any equipment storage application. Click here for more info on network racks.

Enclosed computer cabinets offer better local security than open frame server racks. These attractive metal rackmount cabinets provide a enclosed, dust-reduced environment to better protect your computer equipment from foreign airborne particles. All computer cabinets feature lockable front doors, a ventilation system, and a full line of cabinet accessories such as blanking panels, fixed mount shelves, and sliding drawers. Click here for info on Network Enclosures

Computer Structure's complete line of Server Racks and Computer Cabinets provide a versatile equipment shelving and storage solution. They are perfect for giving a clean, organized, professional home to all your mission-critical computer hardware. Besides being used in computer server rooms, Computer Structures server rack furniture and enclosed computer cabinets are also beneficial in such diverse environments as:

	Hospitals
	Research Laboratories
	Design Workstations
	Manufacturing
	Network Centers
	Security Control Rooms

Server Room Organization and Security

	Server Room Layout A well-designed server room has enough space for all the rack furniture and computer equipment in current and future use. Easy access to cables and cable connections is a key factor in server room design, so some space should be left around all equipment. Basic structured wiring (network cables) should be stored either overhead or in the space under a raised floor to prevent tangles and provide a safe working area. Utility storage space (such as shelves to store instruction manuals, test equipment, software, etc.) and a smooth desktop workspace provide extra convenience to server room operators. Instead of using multiple workstation consoles (keyboards, monitors, mice) in your server room, why not centralize your computer control? Try using a KVM switch. KVM switches (also called server switches) allow one monitor, keyboard and mouse to act as a single console capable of controlling many other computers simultaneously. KVM switches provide a great way to save money, save space, and improve operating efficiency in the server room. Click here for info. on KVM Switches
	Cable Management Tidy and easily identified cables help to simplify troubleshooting. If you label or color-code your cables during installation, it makes later cable identification and troubleshooting much easier. Most computer server racks provide some method of cable management, either through use of cable raceways, metal loops, or closed cable channels. Nylon cable ties are also an effective way to gather loose cables and differentiate between different wiring segments in your network.
	Security Controlled access to a server room is as important as an secure engine lid on a car. Just as an unattended car with an exposed engine might draw some unwanted "mechanics", an easily accessible server room might attract unwanted "network administrators". By implementing passwords on all systems, and having locked or card-access entry to all server rooms, you can reduce the risk of unauthorized intrusion. Lockable computer cabinets are an effective deterrent as well.

How to Organize Your Server Room

Here are a few IT reference books:

Strategic Enterprise Management:  An IT Manager's Desk Reference	IS Management Handbook, Seventh Edition