Maintaining Your IT System

2. The Office Environment

The environment can have a dramatic effect on the performance and reliability of IT systems.

But you can avoid most of the pitfalls simply by using a little common sense.

2.1 Do not place equipment near radiators, water or dust.

2.2 All cables should be as short as possible.

• Use cable ties for a tidy and safe office.
• Connectors that are pulled loose are the most common cause of hardware failure. Check that all connector screws are tight, but not over-tightened.
• The connectors linking PCs to a network are especially important. In some circumstances, a bad connection here could cause your whole network to fail.