URC ISD SERVER ROOM TEMPERATURE

MONITORING SYSTEM WITH SMS NOTIFICATION

ISHMAEL REDZWAN ALEGATO

CAROL GIE LAGULAO

GENISIS ALONSABE

MITCHIE CABUROG

GERALYN RAFOLS
 CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Rationale of the Study

A server room is a room, usually devoted to the continuous operation of

computer servers. An entire building or station devoted to this purpose is a data center.

(https://en.wikipedia.org) Since Philippines belongs to a tropical region, all server rooms

are required to be cooled by air-conditioning systems. Therefore, several organizations

set their default temperature to be lower than 20ºC for a reason to prevent servers from

over-heating the highest load time. In other words, air-conditioner systems cannot

detect ‘real’ temperature at a server; therefore, setting very low temperature may

guarantee that every server is cold enough since it is air conditioned. However, the

American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

states that the appropriate temperature in a server room should be up to 27ºC.(

ASHRAE, “Gaseous and Particulate Contamination Guidelines for Data Centers,”

2009).

The DHT11 is a tool use in detecting and measuring temperature and humidity. It

detects water vapor by measuring the electrical resistance between two electrodes. The

humidity sensing component is a moisture holding substrate with electrodes applied to

the surface. When water vapor is absorbed by the substrate, ions are released by the

substrate which increases the conductivity between the electrodes. The change in

resistance between the two electrodes is proportional to the relative humidity. Higher

relative humidity decreases the resistance between the electrodes, while lower relative
humidity increases the resistance between the electrodes. The DHT11 measures

temperature with a surface mounted NTC temperature sensor (thermistor) built into the

unit. (www.circuitbasics.com/how-to-set-up-the-dht11-humidity-sensor-on-an-arduino/).

In the case of URC’s ISD, they are required by ISO (International Organization

for Standardization) to have their own server room temperature monitor in order to

qualify on the standards required by the said organization. ISO 9000 advocates that

product quality stems from controlling process deviations. Companies must document

their critical processes and implement continuous monitoring that reports when an

outcome slightly deviates from the norm. When a variation surfaces, actions include

either tightening the process or retraining the operator.(https://bizfluent.com, ISO

Methodology).

An organization seeking to become ISO 9000 certified contacts an

accreditation company that sends auditors, who observe the applicant's compliance

with the ISO requirements. Examiners interview management to ensure endorsement

from the leadership team and follow employees to measure how well they refer and

comply with the process documents. The auditors' report lists major and minor gaps.

The accreditation firm grants the certification in absence of any major

deviations.(Retrieved from, https://bizfluent.com, ISO Certification).

A study was proposed in the 1st International Computer Science and

Engineering Conference of 2010. The study was called SENVM which is used to

monitor and control air temperature in a server room to be in appropriate condition, not

too cold, where very unnecessary cooling leads to unnecessary extra electricity
expenses, and also inefficient in energy utilization. With implementing on an emerging

technology, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Green Data Center is feasible to every

small data center with no wiring installation, easy deployment, and low maintenance

fee. In addition, the prototype of the system has been tested, and the first phase of the

project is deployed in a real-world data center.

(https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f080/f2c2f9aad919e0f71c34b0b3f996a55d8029

.pdf)

Due to lack of server room temperature monitoring system, they used a hardware

temperature monitoring software in order to reinforce the lacking requirement and pass

the ISO accreditation process. This kind of software only read temperature coming from

the PC of the IT specialist. Technically, they are still using the manual way of monitoring

the temperature of their server room.

In line with this problem, this study aims to provide a solution towards the

automation of their server room temperature monitor. We will aim to develop a system

which can automatically read the temperature and humidity of the server room with a

system to record the temperature level of the server room from time to time. We also

think of adding a feature in which the temperature monitoring device will send a

message to the personnel in charge of monitoring the temperature of the server room

whenever it exceeds the temperature limit.

Statement of the Problem

This study seeks to reinforce the problems identified by URC regarding the

monitoring of the temperature inside their server room.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the current status of URC in monitoring their server room temperature?

1.1 Manual 1.2 Partially Automated

1.3Automated

2. What are the system requirements needed in the development of server room

temperature monitoring system in terms of:

1.1 Hardware; 1.2 Software;

1.3 ISO standards for server room temperature?

3. What are the problems encountered by the URC employees in monitoring the

temperature of the server room in terms of:

1.1 Identifying the temperature of the server; 1.2 Adjusting the temperature?

4. What is the acceptability level of the proposed system?

1.1 Perceived ease of use 1.2 Perceived usefulness

Significance of the Study

This study seeks to solve problems about the monitoring of the

temperature of the server room of URC and to reinforce its manual way of monitoring

the temperature by making a server room temperature monitor which automatically

sends temperature data on the system log and warns the personnel in charge of

monitoring the temperature of the server room whenever it exceeds the standard

temperature. The result of the study was deemed useful to the following:

To the URC IT Department They are the main benefactor of this study. The

study will ensure the accuracy, efficiency and usability level of the system.

To the University, the study will be beneficial because it is under the name of

the school. Just like all the studies, any awards and accomplishments of the study will

be credited to the school and also in CAS especially the Thesis advisers. Also, the

study can be implemented in the university especially to the CSIT facility.

To the Personal users, this study has a completely user-friendly interface.

Automatically it can warn the users if ever the temperature of the server room

increases. This will be applicable to personal users since it is easy to install and

convenient due to its user-friendly features.

To CSIT students, the study will give them future ideas that they can build and

contribute to the university.

Scope and limitations

Scope

 It can monitor the temperature of the server room automatically.

 It reinforces the manual checking of the temperature of the server room.

 It can send SMS notification whenever the system exceeds the standard

temperature.

 It logs the temperature of the server room on a system from time to time.

 The temperature is measured accurately by the device.

 It provides efficiency to the employees in monitoring the temperature of the

server room.

Limitations

 It is operated offline.

 It can only send SMS notification when the SIM card of the device has a load.

 It can only monitor temperature and humidity.

 The adjustments in the temperature of the air conditioner will be done manually.
Definition of terms

Data Center. A data center or data centre is a building, dedicated space within a

building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated

components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.

ASHRAE. American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers

DHT11. is a basic, ultra-low-cost digital temperature and humidity sensor. It uses a

capacitive humidity sensor and a thermistor to measure the surrounding air and spits

out a digital signal on the data pin (no analog input pins needed). It’s fairly simple to use

but requires careful timing to grab data.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization).ISO certification certifies that a

management system, manufacturing process, service, or documentation procedure has

all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance. ISO (International

Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental, international

organization that develops standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of

products, services, and systems.

Theoretical Framework

The study was anchored on Waterfall Model By Winston W. Royce which was
developed in 1970.

Requirements Product requirements document

Design Software Architecture

Implementation Software

Verification

Maintenance

Figure1. Waterfall Model by Winston W. Royce (1970)

Phase 1. The requirements phase is the very first phase in the waterfall model. We start

with gathering the requirements which can check whether the project is feasible with the

present technologies or not. The summary purpose of the phrase is to develop all the

possible requirements of the system. Requirements will be gathered, analyzed, and

then proper documentation will be prepared with help further in the development

process. Requirements are a set of function and constraints that the end- user expects

from the system. The requirements will be gathered from the users and will be analyzed
for their validity and the possibility of incorporating them. Finally, a requirement

specification document will be created which servers as a guideline for the next raceof

the model. In this study, the researchers will conduct a detailed research about the

server room of URC, analyzing the problem if there is in fact a need of solving it, and

also gather the initial requirements recognized for the development.

Phase 2. The design is highly essential t understand the requirements on the end-user

and also have the idea of how the end-user product should look like. The requirements

specification from the first phase will be studied here, and system design contains

details and specification of the whole system and explains how each component, and

the system design specification serves as an input for the nest phase of the model. In

this study, the researchers assured that the system can provide convenience and ease

of use for the users, without ambiguity, so the design will be concise and clear. The

scope of work was specified, including the features of the system, and its workflows

represented by flowcharts.

Phase 3. The next phase is the implementation phase which is the actual assembly and

coding of the system. This phase belongs to the programmer in the waterfall method, as

they take the project requirements and specifications and the code applications. (Royce

1970) On receiving system design documents, the work is divided into modules/units,

and actual coding starts. The system is first elaborated into small programs called units,

which are integrated into the next phase. Each unit testing mainly verifies if the

modules/units meet their specification. In this study, with the specifications of

requirements and system design, the system is concerned with the user interface or the

layout, installing equipment and bringing the said system into completion. Activities in

this phase include the testing and final installment of the software.

Phase 4. This phase is the verification and validation which process fir checking that a

software solution meets the original requirements and specifications and that t

accomplishes its intended purpose. In fact, verification is the process of evaluating the

software to determine whether the products of a given development phase satisfy the

conditions imposed at the start of the phase; while validation is the process of

evaluating software during or at the end of the development process to determine

whether it satisfies specified requirements. Moreover, the verification phase is the outlet

to perform debugging in which bugs and system glitches are found, corrected and

refined accordingly. After successfully verifying the software, it is delivered to the

customer (Royce 1970). In the verification phase, the Technology Acceptance Model

(TAM) will be used in determining the level of acceptance of the developed system.

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) must design specially to explain usage

behavior. It is the adaption of fish bin and Azjen’s(1975) Theory of Reason Action

(TRA), which has been successfully in predicting and explaining the behavior in

general(Mlahotra&Galletta, 1999; Yi & Hwang, 2003). Here are two central determinants

of TAM; perceived usefulness is defined as the degree to which a person believes that

using a system will enhance his/ her job performance. This follows from the definition of

the word useful; capable of being used advantageously; and perceived ease of use, on

contrast refers to the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system

would be free to effort. This follows from the definition of ease; freedom form difficulty or
great effort (Davis 1889). In this study, after the device will be deployed it will undergo

a series of tests to analyze and fix the problems of the system in terms of hardware and

software credibility. This was intended to test the device if ever the device needs

updates.

Phase 5. The final phase of the waterfall method is the maintenance. During the

maintenance phase, the customer is using the developed system. It is the process of

modifying a software solution after delivery and deployment to refine output, correct

errors and improve performance and quality. Additional maintenance activities can be

performed in this phase including adapting software to its environment, accommodating

new user requirements and increasing software reliability. In this study, the system will

be installed at the server room of the IT department of URC. We will orient the user in

how to use the system. Maintenance takes place in this phase and is carried routinely

throughout the life of the system as well as its program updates.

Conceptual Framework

For the development of a server room temperature monitoring system, the researchers

followed the phases of the following Conceptual Model to ensure success in the process

of software development.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

•Arduino Uno •Development of Server Room •Server Room

•Temperature and Humidity Temperature Monitoring System Temperature
Sensor using the Waterfall Model Monitoring System
•GSM Module (Royce, 1970) as guide
•Universal Bread Board •Implementation of Server Room
Temperature Monitoring System
•Solid Wire
at the IT Department of URC
•Arduino Codes
•Observing the device's
performance in terms of the
accuracy of its temperature
meter, the accuracy of its
temperature pinger and the
number of times it sended an
SMS notification to the personel
in charge.

Figure 2. Conceptual Model

The first phase of conceptual framework is the input phase. The input phase shows the

materials used in developing the Server Room Temperature Monitoring System,

namely: Arduino Uno, Temperature and Humidity Sensor (DHT11), Universal Bread

Board, solid wire / jumper wires, and Arduino codes.

Next to the input is the process phase. This focuses on the theoretical framework

used in this study, the Waterfall Model by Davis (1889). The different phases of the

Waterfall Model are requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification and Validation,

and Operation and Maintenance which were followed by the researchers to come up
with a system. Thereafter, is the implementation of SRTMS at the IT Department of

URC? The researchers will observe the device’s performance in terms of of the

accuracy of its temperature meter, the accuracy of its temperature log and the number

of times it sent an SMS notification to the personnel in charge.

The last phase of the conceptual model is the output phase. After the requirements

gathering and system development, the researchers came up with the output entitled

Server Room Temperature Monitoring System with SMS Notification.

Review of Related Literature

A study by the U.S. General Services Administration (2013) recommended a

temperature of 72°F – 80°F be used in a data center environment, claiming that a 4-5%

saving in energy costs results from every 1° of temperature increase. A further study in

2014 published by ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air

Conditioning Engineers) dictated that the highest temperature a data center facility

could go is 89.6°F. So there is no hard and fast rule, but it can be safely said that most

data centers employ the tactic of overcooling, with no detailed level of monitoring or

control over the environment. This results in a very in-efficient data center with high

PUE numbers, high energy costs and a large carbon footprint. In this present study,

the temperature required by the respondents matched the required temperature limit of

ASHRAE. But, instead of Fahrenheit they told us to use Celsius as the temperature unit

of measurement. The respondents required us to set the maximum temperature of the

device before it alarms to 22°C.

A study from, Meijer, Smart Sensor Systems, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. U.K

(2008), a sensor is a small chip that is capable of converting a physical phenomenon

such as heat, light, sound, or motion into electrical or other signals by detecting and

identifying the surroundings environment (physical property); the objects within that

environment (to a certain degree of accuracy) and communicate that information with

other systems which can manipulate the information differently. There are many

different types of sensors such as optical (radiant) sensors, magnetic sensors, thermal

sensors, mechanical sensors, chemical (biochemical) sensors, and acoustic sensors. In

this present study, the kind of sensor which we will use is a thermal sensor type

because it measures the temperature and humidity from the server room.

A study from Baird, E., Mohseni, K., (2008), The use of sensors and SBIS in data

centers can be classified into built-in sensors (e.g., sensors that are embedded in

hardware, such as CPU sensors,) and, facility management sensors (e.g., stand-alone

sensors such smock detectors, occupancy sensors), and equipment-based sensors

(e.g., sensors that are placed on racks, CRAC units).. The built-in sensors are

standardized by computing manufacturers to monitor the temperature and humidity of

internal servers’ components, such as in monitoring CPU performance. In this present

study, the sensor we will be using is DHT11 which is a Digital Humidity and

Temperature sensor which is capable of measuring the temperature and humidity of a

certain area and converts it into digital information.

A study from Greenberg, S., Mill, E.,(2008), & Alaraifi, A., Molla, A., (2012),

Facility management sensors are standardized by building management systems to

monitor and control the temperature and humidity of a facility, to control lighting, and to

support the security and safety of an entire data centre facility [13]. Equipment-based

sensors are an advanced method of utilizing sensors by placing them in the most critical

areas that need better monitoring or efficiency. In this present study, the most critical

area of our target environment is their server room which don’t have a temperature

monitor yet, in this case, they are required by ISO (International Organization for

Standardization to install a temperature monitoring system in their server rooms in order

to qualify the ISO standards.

 A study from F. Akyildiz, W. Su, Y (2002), a wireless sensor network consists of

distributed tiny wireless sensing devices with some computational, storage and

communication capability. These devices cooperatively form a network and

communicate with each other to monitor and gather physical data from their

surroundings, such as temperature, humidity, light intensity, pressure and vibration. In

this present study, the wireless sensor which we will use measures temperature and

humidity. We will develop a temperature and humidity sensor for the server room of our

target environment which will send an SMS notification whenever the temperature of the

server exceeds the maximum limit.

A studyfrom,
 Research Methodology

This section is about how the system was planned and designed. It also includes the

research design, research environment, and data gathering procedure.

Research Design

Based on application, this present study is an applied research because it intends

to apply the output (which is an interactive system) to address specific issues and

problems thereby making a positive change in the lives of people. Based on the type of

data, this study is quantitative which requires numerical data; survey is the method used

in data gathering. As to research approach, this presenr study utilizes a scientific

approach because it discovers and measures information as well as observes and

controls variables objectively.

Research Environment
This study will be conducted in the IT Department of URC where the server is located.

Whenever the temperature of the server increases and exceeds the normal temperature

limit, the employees of the IT department of URC adjust the air conditioner’s

temperature, but they are reading the temperature manually.

Below is the map showing the location of the IT department of URC where the

research was conducted.

MAP

Research Respondents

The main respondent of this research is the is the IT department of URC.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers will write a letter regarding the proposed development of Server Room

Temperature Monitoring System addressed to the IT Department Head of URC asking

permission to conduct implementation of the device developed and observation of its

performance at the URC IT department. After gaining the approval from the office head,

the researchers directly set the schedule for actual observation. The researchers

observed the device if it accurately measures the temperature of he server room and

sends an SMS notification whenever the room exceeds the maximum limit of

temperature. The estimated time of observation should be at least 2 weeks after the

implementation date.