Inside the Data Center: A Practical Guide to Facilities Infrastructure Assessments

These proactive evaluations establish a baseline for understanding your data center's capacity, reliability and vulnerabilities. They are essential for audit readiness, capacity planning, operational efficiency and supporting emerging workloads like AI. 

Assessments lay the foundation for smarter growth and resilience by identifying infrastructure risks, layout inefficiencies and operational improvement opportunities.

Our Data Center Assessments offer end users a tailored, expert-driven review that informs IT growth planning, highlights system weaknesses and establishes a foundation for deeper technical analysis.

Assessments range from quick visual inspections to in-depth technical evaluations. This article focuses on the steps of a high-level visual assessment.

The purpose of a high-level visual assessment

A high-level visual assessment offers a non-invasive yet insightful overview of your infrastructure. It is typically the first step in identifying issues before investing in detailed technical audits.

• Establishes a baseline for future technical audits
• Helps identify vulnerabilities, inefficiencies, and operational gaps
• Supports IT capacity and growth planning
• Tailored to an organization's size, budget, and unique risks

Step 1: Pre-assessment preparation

Before the site visit, gather and review available documentation:

• Floor plans with dimensions
• One-line electrical distribution diagrams
• HVAC/cooling design overviews
• Rack elevations or space planning layouts
• Cable mapping and labeling scheme
• Site photos (if permitted)
• Identify any restricted-access areas or special safety requirements.

Step 2: On-site workshop

Facilitate a kickoff workshop with key stakeholders to align goals, risks and logistics.

• IT
• Facilities
• Operations
• Other relevant departments

Workshop activities:

• Confirm the assessment scope and expectations
• Understand business drivers, uptime requirements, and known issues
• Establish communication protocols for the assessment day and follow-up
• Obtain permission to take photos and move freely around the data hall

Step 3: Facility walkthrough: Visual inspection of focus areas

Conduct a visual inspection of:

• White space: Server and network rooms
• Gray space: Electrical and mechanical infrastructure

Key focus areas

1. Floor Plan & Space Management

• Rack layout optimization
• Space for future expansion
• Floor load distribution
• Airflow and cable pathways

Why it matters

Inefficient floor layouts and limited U-space can lead to cooling challenges, cable congestion, constrained growth potential and possible equipment failure.

Checklist

• Is the space well organized?
• Is there a tech area for hardware setup?
• Is there a raised floor or vented tiles?

2. Rack enclosures

Hardware arrangement and airflow direction
Blanking panel usage
Equipment alignment with heat zones
General housekeeping and condition

Why it matters

Improper rack setup and poor airflow management can lead to thermal hotspots, impacting system reliability and energy efficiency.

Checklist

• Is space used efficiently?
• Are any racks overprovisioned or obstructed?
• Is there clear access to critical equipment?

3. Power infrastructure

UPS systems and redundancy (N+1, 2N)
Generator capacity, fuel availability and test logs
Power distribution clarity (PDUs, breakers, labeling)
Manufacture, model and serial numbers

Why it matters

Unclear power paths, untested generators or insufficient redundancy can result in avoidable downtime or safety risks during power events.

Checklist

• Are all critical systems UPS-protected?
• Are UPS batteries tested regularly?
• Are generator tests up to date with sufficient runtime?

4. Cooling systems

CRAC/CRAH, in-row, overhead or underfloor cooling
Hot aisle / cold aisle containment strategies
Airflow management and ducting
Vented floor tile capacity
Environmental sensors for temperature and humidity
Manufacture – model and serial numbers

Why it matters

Inadequate or aging cooling systems can't keep up with modern workloads, increasing the risk of overheating and equipment failure.

Checklist

• Is cooling adequate for current and future loads?
• Are filters and coils regularly maintained?
• Are there hot/cold spots present?
• Misaligned tiles, recirculation zones or bypass airflow
• Sealed cable penetrations
• Aging or degraded cooling units

5. Cabling & network layout

Structured cabling (labeled, documented, color-coded)
Patch panel organization
Redundant network paths
Fiber vs. copper utilization
Cable tray and fiber runner

Why it matters

Disorganized or undocumented cabling makes troubleshooting difficult, increases the risk of human error and slows down scaling or recovery efforts.

Checklist

• Is there excessive or disorganized cabling?
• Is a cable management system in place?
• Are spare ports and cables available?

6. Fire detection & suppression

Fire suppression (FM-200, Novec 1230 etc.)
Smoke detection (VESDA)
Fire zone configurations
Manual suppression options
Override/abort buttons

Why it matters

Outdated or poorly maintained fire protection systems can delay incident response, putting people, equipment and data at risk.

Checklist

• Are all systems tested and certified annually?
• Is evacuation signage clear and visible?
• Are racks protected and isolated from water-based suppression?

7. Physical security

Access control (badges, biometrics)
CCTV surveillance coverage
Security barriers (man traps, locked cages)
Visitor logs and audit trails

Why it matters

Weak access controls or poor surveillance coverage leave critical infrastructure vulnerable to unauthorized access or tampering.

Checklist

• Who has physical access to critical areas?
• Are access zones clearly defined and enforced?
• Is camera footage stored as per compliance needs?

8. Monitoring & management tools

DCIM (data center infrastructure management) systems
Environmental and power monitoring sensors
Alerts and reporting dashboards
Automated asset tracking

Why it matters

Without proper monitoring and alerts, issues like thermal spikes, power loss or equipment failure can go unnoticed until it's too late.

Checklist

• Are thresholds configured for alerts?
• Is historical data used for trend analysis?
• Is there remote access for management?

Optional add-on: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis

A simple CFD analysis may be conducted to model airflow and thermal performance.

Scope includes

3D modeling of:

• Rack and equipment layout
• Cooling unit placement (CRACs, CRAHs, in-row)
• Airflow paths and vented tile placement
• Containment strategies

Simulation objectives

• Identify airflow inefficiencies
• Detect thermal blind spots, recirculation zones and bypass airflow

CFD deliverables

• Heatmaps and airflow visualizations
• Data-driven recommendations for thermal optimization

Step 4: Final report & deliverables

Findings & recommendations report includes

• Executive summary of key observations
• Annotated site photos
• CFD visualizations (if conducted)
• Written narrative of current conditions
• High-level actionable recommendations
• Suggested next steps (e.g. thermal imaging, full CFD, deeper technical audits)
• Conduct a debrief session to clarify findings, answer questions and align on next steps

Extended scope options: deeper technical evaluations

Depending on goals and budget, the assessment can be expanded to include:

• Electrical systems: UPS topology, single points of failure, redundancy pitfalls
• Mechanical systems: Cooling redundancy, failover scenarios, water system risks
• Architectural/structural: Construction resilience, adjacency to hazard zones
• Site conditions: Environmental risks, ingress/egress challenges
• Communications infrastructure: Backbone design, cable routing, scalability

Outcome

A high-level visual assessment is more than just a walk-through; it's a strategic tool for understanding the present and planning for the future. It uncovers hidden vulnerabilities, validates assumptions, and equips stakeholders with data-driven insight to support growth, reliability, and risk mitigation. Whether you're preparing for a major upgrade, troubleshooting persistent issues, or simply seeking peace of mind, an assessment is the critical first step toward more innovative data center management.

Would you be ready to take the next step? Here's how to get started:

Request our Facilities Infrastructure Workshop to take a deeper look at your data center strategy, whether you're building new, upgrading, or consolidating.

Next steps

• Schedule an initial consultation
• Review our WWT FIT Platform
• Begin with a free assessment scope definition workshop