Datacom Contamination: Stopping It Before It Starts

While particle and gaseous contamination resulting from dust and dirt can lead to unexpected shutdowns of critical IT equipment, the connection between contamination and hardware failures is often overlooked. A new book from ASHRAE provides basic information essential to the control and prevention of particulate and gaseous contamination in datacom facilities. Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments identifies datacom equipment susceptibility and operational impact, strategies for prevention and control, as well as contamination testing and analysis.

“Any installation planning checklist for datacom environments typically includes power, cooling, and structural criteria,” said the author Joe Prisco, a member of ASHRAE’s technical committee on mission control facilities, technology spaces, and electronic equipment. “Contamination criteria can now be added. The guidance in this book is crucial for maintaining a high level of IT equipment dependability and availability.”

Prisco noted that as IT equipment shrinks in size, resulting in smaller components and less physical space between them, the risk of contamination grows.

The book is part of the ASHRAE Datacom Series, developed to provide a more comprehensive treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects. The cost of Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments is $54 (ASHRAE members, $46). It is available from the ASHRAE bookstore.