How do you guys clean your servers?

[shitson]

Yes, these are production servers.

Are they in a DC? I would do a root cause analysis to determine why you need to clean them at all.

1. Is there dust or contaminants entering the data center?
2. Are the devices being used for longer than a typical maintenance period (3-5 years)
3. Do you regularly have the facility cleaned they live in?
4. If it's an office computer cupboard have you thought about modifying the room to hold the servers? i.e ripping up the carpet etc

Apart from that I would go with a compressor fitted with a moisture trap.

 

[brd@]

Compressed air really is better. The way to control the dust is to take everything outside. Or use a long air hose. An air tank works, but doesn't last long. Stay upwind.

If you have to use a vaccuum, use a HEPA filter or it'll just blow the ultrafine dust all over.

Alcohol on a cotton swab can clean fan blades of sticky dust, but takes a while to clean each blade. Avoid soap or solvent in the bearings, and replace seedy sleeve bearing fans with ball bearing fans when possible.

+1, this is what I do as well.

 

[peetaur]

Hi, my question is how do you guys clean your servers? Mine currently been dusty. I cleaned it via a vacuum and a paint brush. I still couldn't get some of the dust that stick well with the server fans. I was thinking to dip the fans in water but was told to not do that since it will destroy them or apply some damage to them. Is this true? what is a good way to really clean everything inside the server. Talking about the dust physically inside the server.

The best policy is prevention.

If you keep the windows and doors closed, keeping the dust out, and don't have organic things in there (pollen from the windows, plants, cat/dog hair, etc. and your own skin/hair if you spend long in there... maybe in the server room under your bed) then it doesn't get dusty. So they don't really need cleaning until they are obsolete and in the trash.

As previously said:

In the 9 years I have worked taking care of servers, I have never had to clean any major dust on any of them. The server room is always kept clean, with the door closed. However, home servers are a different story, due to them not being in a clean room (skin dust, dog hairs, etc).

(and similar statement by shitson)

When dust sticks to the fans, in my experience it is always because of cigarette smoke. The tar sticks to the fan, and the dust to the tar. I've never had this problem in a server room though, and don't know what else causes it. So just keep the door closed and don't smoke in there. [forgive me if this guess is way off]

When you need to avoid submerging something in water, you can most often ignore all warnings on the label and just use a slightly wet (not dripping, even if you squeeze it) cloth/brush instead, and hold the object so the dripping goes away from the electronics due to gravity, avoiding touching the electronics, then dry it off with a cloth then letting the insignificant remainder evaporate rather than shaking/spinning/blowing. But I never once did this professionally or to a computer... only a yellowish keyboard or something else coated in tar and nicotine.

 

[Kari]

Hi all!

I think you people working with expensive servers on production enviroment should consider ESD vacuum cleaners. If I remember right, such things exists. They might not be very cheap, but when thinking what those server parts and they breaking up cost, it doesn't seem expensive at all to me. They are needed tools after all. If using brush, then that should be ESD brush. I don't work with servers, but this came to mind.

Water washing that indyJones mentioned, really works with electronics. My friend told me, that when they were really drunk, one of his friends barfed on his keyboard. I mean now that musical instrument, not computer keyboard. He immediately disassembled it, washed all parts and circuit boards with tap water, dried them with hair dryer and it's still working. However, tap water is quite soft here and doesn't leave much residues.

I kept this on my mind and washed many corroded circuit boards from medical devices at work. First I brushed them with tap water and used deionized water for flushing, as we had deionizers available. It's quite same as distilled water and there was plenty of it. Then I flushed them with alcohol to remove water and then I removed alcohol with compressed air. Our repair shop was allowed to buy medical alcohol, but we used that sparingly or suspicions would have risen

Of course washing should be avoided when not really needed.

 

[drhowarddrfine]

Water washing that indyJones mentioned, really works with electronics.

I'm an electronic engineer though I've not done that in a number of years. Washing circuitry with water is something you can get away with but it's not something you can count on getting by on. Circuit boards made in a factory are never washed with plain water, not even on a technician's bench. We used alcohol and sometimes freon sprays in the lab.

fwiw, the one and only time I tried cleaning out a keyboard with water (just to try it), the keyboard never worked again.

 

[sossego]

When I was a prep chef in South Florida, the Maitre'd made the servers take a bath before they came in to work.

Either that or the dishwashers would spray them down.

 

[roddierod]

When I was a prep chef in South Florida, the Maitre'd made the servers take a bath before they came in to work.

Either that or the dishwashers would spray them down.

Worse joke, ever.

 

[Beeblebrox]

@ sossego
- Hi I'll be your server today, what would you like to start with?
- Please start by telling me your specifications: processor model and speed, total available memory, that sort of thing. Also give a detailed breakdown of your bus speed under conditions when your bus-boy is not around to help.

 

[jrd1]

I have worked with a couple of production servers and a lot of off-the-shelf machines. Generally, compressed air and wipes/Q-tips lightly soaked in methanol do the best work.

Note: always wear a static wrist band or ground yourself prior to cleaning any components of the server.