Joe Powell and Associates Blog
dozens of blue cables labeled and organized to manage IDF rooms

What Every IDF Room Needs

3 Tips for Managing Remote IT Sites

In a recent Vertiv survey, 42% of respondents said the strategic importance of small IT spaces has risen in the past two years, and 48% said small spaces are now driving revenue within their companies. As technology moves closer to customers and employees, it may be housed in closets, branch offices, and remote sites across town and across the county.

Managing small, remote IDF (intermediate distribution frame) rooms is a challenge. New installations and service requests take staff away from other IT priorities, so selecting the right equipment and support for your IDF room is essential. Here are three tips to help you manage remote sites efficiently.

1. Organization

The rack plays an important role in keeping your IDF room neat and organized and helps protect equipment from harmful elements like dust. With the appropriate rack, field installation and service is easier. Equipment that is racked is less likely to be moved or unplugged in error.

Today’s IDF room also needs rack PDU’s that accommodate higher power densities and are resistant to higher temperatures. Learn more about racks and rack PDU options and check out our helpful rack PDU selector tool.

2. Power Protection

UPS system failure is the number one cause of unplanned outages, accounting for one-quarter of all events. Protect the equipment in your IDF room with a UPS designed for small spaces and scalable to meet future needs.

To safeguard critical applications we recommend a UPS with online double conversion technology. Double conversion isolates your equipment from raw utility power and protects sensitive equipment from a variety of power anomalies. The Liebert GXT M+ is a great fit for small spaces and makes maintenance fast and easy with user-replaceable hot-swappable batteries.

3. Uptime Assurance

Small and remote IDF sites house business critical equipment and applications including servers, networking equipment, and phone switches, but it may not be efficient to send IT staff to manage installation and maintenance.

Our Power Assurance package delivers convenient, cost-effective support to safeguard your small IT sites. We can install your rack, UPS, and other equipment, perform preventive maintenance, and monitor availability.

Having an effective plan to manage small spaces, including remote IDF rooms, will help you condense the timeline for new projects and keep your IT staff focused on higher priorities. If you’re planning a remote installation or need help managing or monitoring remote sites, contact us to schedule a call with one of our engineers.

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