69 / 100

Business Information Technology (IT) systems require specific care to remain reliable throughout its use. The volume of data storage demands on hardware continues to grow at a rapid speed. IT hardware Maintenance is imperative for securing all sensitive business data and hardware performance.

IT Hardware Maintenance

Dust, electrical fields, and extreme temperatures are dangerous to an IT  hardware device, as they interfere with the performance of any hardware utilized for business processes. Heat, extreme cold, and humidity cause components to overheat or acquire moisture. Electrical fields from items such as magnets should be kept away from all devices. Damaged cables prevent hardware from communicating with other devices. Dust gets into the storage mechanism and other components, directly affecting the cooling fans’ ability to keep internal parts at the appropriate temperature.

All of the mentioned elements can be devastating to business systems running important daily processes. Basic IT hardware maintenance entails removing dust from all devices, keeping them in a temperature-controlled room, checking connections, and ensuring no items with magnetic fields are near the equipment.

IBM Storage: Equipment Preservation Practice

Caring for IBM storage devices is not difficult if the time is taken to learn appropriate maintenance procedures. Cleaning is required to keep a storage device properly maintained, and basic cleaning of all system parts should always be a priority. Defragmentation applications consolidate data files in one space to improve the speed and reliability of data. Windows operating systems provide this tool; however, others are also available to suit varying needs. Disk scanning may also be performed to fix any problems residing on the storage medium.

Every business needs to have a firewall installed to ensure all data is secure and not penetrable from outside sources. Virus applications prevent malicious programs from gaining access to sensitive business data. These applications are tools any business can use to increase the dependability of their most pertinent storage hardware. Many equipment providers also offer their own maintenance contract, leaving all critical servicing to the experts.

IBM storage comes in many forms, including traditional disk, NAS, SAN, and tape storage. Data may be stored on disk, either magnetically or optically. This is typically in the form of an external or internal hard drive. It is the most traditional method for saving data from various sources throughout a company.

Network Attached Storage, or NAS, allows data access over a network and operates much like a file server. A Storage Area Network or SAN operates as a dedicated access point for information consolidation. SAN setups make it easier for servers to access devices, such as disk arrays and tape libraries. A business may choose tapes for backups or other data storage processes, as tape drives perform all writing and reading functionality to the storing mechanism, and are a less expensive way to store huge amounts of data. Every device requires the same basic IT hardware maintenance.

The manufacturer may make additional recommendations to ensure proper care. If these guidelines are not followed in combination with basic computer maintenance procedures, performance may decrease, or the component will quit functioning altogether.