What is a Data Centre?
The data centre stack
Types of data centre
The Design Planning Process
Main design considerations
Developing a project plan
Scoping the Requirement
Identifying key stakeholders
Market and political drivers
National and international standards
Availability and resilience classifications
Introduction to Availability Models (Uptime Tier, TIA 942-B Rating, BICSI Classes & Syska Hennessy Critical Levels)
Recommendations for location, size, heights, floor loading, lighting and décor
Whitespace Floor
National and international standards
Structural and load requirements
Recommended floor heights
Airflow and sealing
Ramps and access
Seismic protection
Slab floor construction considerations
Cabinets
Requirements of a cabinet
Security, safety and stabilisation
Clearance, accessibility and ventilation
Cable management
Seismic stability considerations
Design specifications
Power
Regulations and codes
The meaning of N, N+1 2(N+1), etc
Power delivery and distribution losses
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) options
Generator considerations
Power distribution units
Power distribution to, and in a rack
Remote Power Panels (RPPs)
Emergency Power Off (EPO)
Estimating power requirements
Cooling
National and international standards
Basics of air conditioning principles
CRAHs and CRACs
ASHRAE Operational parameters
Under floor plenum approach
Hot aisle/cold aisle layout principle
Hot and cold aisle containment
Psychrometric charts
Min and max throw distances for under floor air
Bypass and recirculation
Airflow management
Chilled water racks, CO2, free air cooling
Earthing & Bonding
Applicable standards
The terminology of earthing, grounding & bonding
Equipotential bonding
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
Functional earths
The Signal Reference Grid (SRG)
Cable Containment, Management & Protection
Applicable standards
Separation of power and data cables
Administration and labelling
Types of conduit, trunking, tray, etc, available
Earthing and bonding
Containment fill ratio
Underfloor v overhead containment
Cable management, in and to a rack
Fire stopping
Delivering the IT Strategy
Data centre equipment
Functions and protocols, current and future
Data centre connections
Cabling requirements
Cabling standards
Cabling options
The impact of 40G and 100G
The impact of virtualisation
Copper and Optical Fibre Cabling Connectivity
Cabling standards
Cable standards, 10GBASE-T, CAT6A & Cat 7A & Cat 8
Screened vs unscreened cables
High density patching
Alien crosstalk
Copper test requirements
Design for growth management
Channel connections
Connection topologies
Optical connectors, past and present
Optical fibre management
Types of optical cable
Pre-terminated cabling
Advantages/disadvantages of pre-terminating cables
Optical component loss and link power budgets
Application link loss
Optical testing requirements
Pre-terminated cabling
Safety and Manageability
Local codes and regulations
Fire safety plan
ASD and detection systems
Fire suppression systems
Fire safety cable requirements
Security and access control
Commission and handover
Benefits of commissioning
Commission process and test sequence
Handover process and training
Lessons learned
Power Review
Power consumption trends
Energy availability, security and cost
Energy challenges facing the data centre
Power Regulations
Which regulations affect data centres?
Environmental regulations and pressures
Energy and environmental programs
Power Basics
Ohm’s law, Joule’s law, the Kirchhoff laws
Electrical parameters
AC and DC
Single phase and three phase
Residual currents
Harmonics
Power to the Data Centre
Where does the electricity come from?
Electrical supply options
Transformers
Surge suppression devices
Costs of electrical power
Types of tariff available
Alternate power supply options
Distribution in the Data Centre
Electrical circuit requirements
Switching devices
Power factor correction units
Automatic and static transfer switches
Main, feeder, sub-main circuits
Power distribution units
Remote power panels
Final circuits
Cable and fuse sizing
Power distribution and associated losses
TN-S systems
Energy efficiency
Standby Power
UPS components, batteries and redundant systems
UPS options and considerations
Static and maintenance bypasses
Standby generators
Cooling Review
Data Centre limiting factors
Sources of cooling inefficiencies
Cooling trends
Regulatory Climate
Which regulations affect data centres?
Environmental pressures
Cooling efficiency
Design considerations & planning redundancy
Overview of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Periodic review process
Environmental Parameters
Standards, NEBS, ETSI, ASHRAE
Operating environment ranges
Rate of change
ASHRAE psychrometric charts
Humidification systems
The need for sensors
Measuring and monitoring
Collecting the Heat
Cooling system overview
CRACs and CRAHs
Maximising existing investment
Rack v row options
Dynamics and problems of air flow
Liquid cooling
Comparison of high-density cooling
Available cooling options
Heat Rejection Or Reuse
Heat transfer considerations
DX systems
Chilled water CRAHs
Chiller options
Adiabatic cooling
CWS and CHWS plant
Design considerations
Free cooling and free – air cooling
Commissioning maintenance
Planned preventative maintenance
Energy Use Systems
Energy efficiency issues
Layers of inefficiency
Power system provision
Cooling system provision
Understanding areas of improvements
IT Infrastructure
Extending the operating envelope
Environment zones
Accurate IT calculations
Energy use in the IT equipment
Software and storage considerations
Transformation options
Energy efficient IT equipment
Power Systems
Energy use in the data centre
DC power train
Matching the support to the IT load
Transformer efficiencies
UPS & motor efficiencies
DCiE for modular provisioning
Maximising the power factor
Measuring and monitoring
Infrared inspections
Planned electrical safety inspections
Implementing data centre electrical efficiency
Cooling Efficiency
Cooling, a cascade system
Affinity laws and cooling equation
CRAC and CRAH efficiencies
Optimising air-side systems & water-side systems
DCiE for cooling options
Diagnostic and site specific monitoring
Design considerations
Data Centre Metrics
Where and what can we measure?
The metric stack
Metric characteristics
Current industry metrics (PUE, CUE, WUE, ERE, RCI & RTI)
Chained value metrics (CADE)
Proxy metrics (FVER, DPPE, DCeP)
Efficiency Models & Best Practices
Energy calculations
Levels of modelling
Modelling tools
Sources of guidance
Effective v Efficient
The DC language barrier
the multi-functional team
Design for efficiency, operability & flexibility
Industry recognised best practices
Design Management
Characteristics of project management
Key project processes
Identifying and engaging with key stakeholders
Setting goals
Prioritisation of activities
Cornerstones of project management
Managing the Design Process
What is to be delivered?
What constraints are there?
Managing dependencies
Managing the tribes
Managing conflict
Identifying risk
Risk and issue management
Change management
Reporting and communication
Managing the Design Implementation Process
Project charter and specification
Risk assessment and management
Scope management
Float and critical path
Human resource management
Project integration and work breakdown structure
Time and cost management
Handover and progressive acceptance
