Music Festival Site Computer Server Rooms.

With advances in technology and the increasing reliance on it, festival organisers are increasingly finding the need to erect a temporary computer server room on-site. What are these server rooms used for and how do organisers set up the ideal temporary solution that satisfies all the potential needs of the event’s various requirements.

A large-scale music festival in a remote location can present challenges for connectivity and organisers sometimes rent temporary Wi-Fi towers or mobile cell towers (COWs - Cell on Wheels). These can be expensive and are not always 100% reliable. A temporary server room (data centre) can provide more reliable network connectivity, data processing and real time control over numerous festival systems. A sophisticated temporary data centre helps to ensure smooth operations enhancing the experience for artists, vendors and festival-goers. 

Why The Need for On-site Server Rooms (Data Centres). 
A well-built server room can contain the equipment necessary to provide festival site-wide Wi-Fi and internet connectivity using routers, switches and network management systems to manage thousands of simultaneous connections. This connectivity is essential for the secure operation of RFID wristbands and mobile POS (Point of Sale) payment systems where remote scanners can connect in real time to server held systems. It is not unusual for a large festival to use an event management software solution where staff, vendors and artists require real time access and having a reliable network system to connect with will ensure that logistics are running smoothly. 

Other Uses. 
Where a festival site utilises a CCTV monitoring system the recording of data can be securely stored locally. In some cases this data can be used to monitor and analyse crowd movement data providing real time alerts for potential risks. A secure environmentally controlled server room can be ideal for festivals that are using lighting, sound and stage production control equipment that is sensitive to heat, moisture and dust. If organisers are live streaming their event a server room can provide an environment ideal for the equipment needed to steam high quality video feeds for onward distribution. 

How are Remote Server Rooms Set Up. 
A typical temporary server room can often be in a prepared portable tech hub or shipping container for example. They are delivered to a site early in the build-up phase to provide reliable connectivity during this key period. The interiors are usually equipped with air conditioning and other climate control equipment with empty racks ready for installation. In addition, most will come with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and backup generator separate from the site’s main power source. The temporary server room will usually be sited in a restricted access secure zone in the back stage area close to the organisers temporary office. The essential element of the server room is the infrastructure connectively which may be a combination of fibre-optics, satellite or mobile 5G so that data can be backed-up to a cloud server. In the set-up phase operators will need to ensure that the necessary firewalls and encrypted connections are present to prevent potential cyberattacks and provide secure data transfers. 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Field Engineer via Pexels

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