In recent years technology has evolved, data centers have also undergone a fundamental change. In the early days, they were largely used storage facilities. Now, Data Center support a wide range of activities-basic business operations, analytics, Internet of Things (loT) devices and cloud computing,
to name a few. To maintain data centers and ensure optimal performance, Data Center owner and managers must have a keen understanding of what’s happening physically in these facilities. The IT team must therefore monitor, maintain and protect the tangible equipment, such as servers, cooling units, main and backup power supplies, and the physical space they
all occupy .
DATA CENTER AUDITING
An audit is a planned and documented activity performed by qualified personnel to determine by investigation, examination, or evaluation of
objective evidence, the adequacy and compliance with established procedures, or applicable documents, and the effectiveness of implementation.
WHY AUDITING
*There are many reasons for data center audit like internal procedures, legal requirements, insurance purposes, customer requests, etc.
*The need to verify that the Data Centre is fit for purpose and continues to meet the business needs
*Ensure system reliability to implement the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Provide business and customer confidence
*Ensure compliance to local and government legislative requirements
*Maximize capacity capability and extend the longevity of the Data Centre
*Confirm processes, procedures and working practices Verification of regulatory requirements
*Confirm availability and redundancy levels
*Identify areas of inefficiency and deficiency
*Identify areas for improvement
*Reduction of carbon emissions
*Opportunity to adopt best practices:
Applicable Standards and Regulation for Data Center Audit:
Building Regulations & Construction (Local and National Building Regulations, Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Local Fire
Regulations, Local and National Electrical Regulations)
Health & Safety (Health & Safety at Work Act Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Confined Spaces, Working at Heights)
information & Physical Security (Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), ISO
27000 and 27001, Data Protection and Data
Retention Acts, Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (HIPAA), ISO 15408)
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (NPA 1600, ISO 22399, Iso 22301, BS 25999, ISO 24762)
Energy Efficiency (SO 50001, IS014001, ISO 14064, ISO 30133, Energy Star Certification)
Data Center Design & Oerations (TIA 942, BS 600, BS EI9& Operations (TIA 942, BS 24764, ASHRAE TC9.9) E9.-5, BICSI 002, ISO/IEC I3-5, BICSI 0 C
WHEN SHOULD CONDUCT AUDIT?
-After an emergency
– Before prime time
– During scheduled maintenance
-Suggested audit schedules
-Data Centre 12-24 months
-Individual racks/rows/servers-2 to 24 months
-Large networks 12-24 months
-Network 12 months
-Firewall 6 months
-Physical security-6 months
WHAT TO AUDIT?
The audit will vary from data center to data center, it should be planned in a logical sequence and without affecting operational capabilities.
-Mechanical (power and cooling)
-IT infrastructure
-Security (IT and physical)
-Building and support services
-Service providers
-Asset management
-Processes, procedures and working practices
-Documentation
Facilities Audit
Facilities Audit service allow us to determine deficiencies and problems in any facility and to recommend proactive measures and facility upgrading before major disruptions happen. A detailed health check to the infrastructure will be performed to determine system availability and reliability.
We will also provide a comprehensive analysis of complete building electrical distribution system.
Audit for Existing Data Centers
- Site inspection and survey
- Technical review of the existing electrical distribution system
- Reliability and availability analysis
- Single point of failure analysis
- Summary report
- Proposed Solution
Power Audit
Power Audit Service allows for early detection and analysis of potential or existing power problems.
We use the high quality LEM TOPAS 1000 Power Analyser for power audit of the UPS and electrical system. This sensitive equipment is able to analyse the condition and quality of the input and output power and to detect even minor existing or potential problems within the electrical system. These problems can be rectified at the early stages before they trigger major faults so as to minimize potential damages. This Power Audit service enables a safe and optimum power condition for the smooth running of mission critical equipment. The protection of expensive mission critical equipment will lower the cost of operation and increase system availability.
