I've been spending a lot of time at our datacenter recently. Unlike at WWU, we colo at one of the large providers so I'm getting to interact with a datacenter vastly larger than the ones I've played with in the past. This is cool in many ways (this is a multi megawatt facility!) but there are some downsides.
Sound.
I've known for years that datacenters can get very loud. When WWU picked up our first HP bladerack, the whine that produced was audible in the hallway outside the room. And this is with sound-proofing, mind. It was about then that I brought my shooting muffs to work for when I'd be in there for any length of time.
This facility? Worse. Two rows behind our racks are five racks full of dual power-supply servers with only one power cable each, which means five racks of servers doing their alarm beep continually for months (possibly years) on end. This is in addition to the usual hum of air-handlers and cooling fans in every rack.
It's loud in here. Loud enough that two people talking need to raise their voices, which puts it above 70dB. This is right close to the OSHA hearing-protection-required levels. And for a good reason.
I'm pretty sure my tinnitus has gotten a bit worse since I've been working here.
I haven't always been able to use my muffs when working, since talking to other people is problematic when I have them. The facility does offer softies for hearing protection, but they're only so useful. A couple of my recent 8 hour stints have been with help, so there was much shouting back and forth as we do things. There will be more, longer visits in the near future too, so I need to plan for that as well.
Hearing loss from long term exposure to loud white noise and blood-loss from sharp bits of equipment. Two hazards to what it is that we do.
Sound.
I've known for years that datacenters can get very loud. When WWU picked up our first HP bladerack, the whine that produced was audible in the hallway outside the room. And this is with sound-proofing, mind. It was about then that I brought my shooting muffs to work for when I'd be in there for any length of time.
This facility? Worse. Two rows behind our racks are five racks full of dual power-supply servers with only one power cable each, which means five racks of servers doing their alarm beep continually for months (possibly years) on end. This is in addition to the usual hum of air-handlers and cooling fans in every rack.
It's loud in here. Loud enough that two people talking need to raise their voices, which puts it above 70dB. This is right close to the OSHA hearing-protection-required levels. And for a good reason.
I'm pretty sure my tinnitus has gotten a bit worse since I've been working here.
I haven't always been able to use my muffs when working, since talking to other people is problematic when I have them. The facility does offer softies for hearing protection, but they're only so useful. A couple of my recent 8 hour stints have been with help, so there was much shouting back and forth as we do things. There will be more, longer visits in the near future too, so I need to plan for that as well.
Hearing loss from long term exposure to loud white noise and blood-loss from sharp bits of equipment. Two hazards to what it is that we do.