Top of Rack Temps
Bottom of Rack Temps
Humans are visual creatures. Our ability to identify patterns is a strength that should be used when analyzing data…which means – graph it! These simple line graphs showing all 149 rack top and rack bottom temperatures sum up all the data in a comprehensive manner. These visuals allow us to see every piece of data for the entire time period. Note that I left off the legend in these graphs to save space.
Takeaways
- The hottest and coldest racks in the data center can quickly be identified. Looking at the top temperature graph, it is interesting to note that the coldest rack is significantly cooler than the rest. I wonder why?
- Beginning on 12/26 a large portion of the temperatures drop for about a day then spike, then return to their previous position. Both the top and bottom graphs reflect this trend. Some racks do not follow this pattern. Perhaps they are in a separate room?
- The rack bottom temperatures have a much wider temperature disparity, ranging from 50°F – 89°F. The rack top temperatures range from 58°F – 87°F. In order to get 89°F at the rack bottom, I suspect there is some mixing going on in that location
- The graph makes it quick and easy to identify that certain racks are operating above the upper thermal limit of 80.6°F.
Issues
- Visuals provide a much friendlier way of looking at the data, but they can still be overwhelming. If the operator wants to quickly identify which are the hottest, and thus most critical locations, he has to inspect the graph and do some mental thinking. Tomorrow’s visual will leapfrog this step altogether.
Previous Posts
About the Data
Day 1 – From 10,000 Feet
Day 2 – Rack by Rack
Today – Learn to Love Graphs
Tomorrow – Wordle
