Data Center Design & Construction
Selecting Raised Floors, Panels for the Data Center
One major manufacturer prefers to specify "design load," which is essentially the concentrated load (multiplied by a safety factor) measured with the panel on its actual understructure rather than supported on four corner "test blocks," as is the usual standard testing method. Design load may relate better to real world use, but it makes comparisons with products rated on concentrated load more difficult. Either way, it is the concentrated load or design load, not the uniform load, we care about most, since cabinets usually sit on small leveling feet or casters, not solid full-size bases. Uniform load is meaningless in a data center.
One major manufacturer prefers to specify "design load," which is essentially the concentrated load (multiplied by a safety factor) measured with the panel on its actual understructure rather than supported on four corner "test blocks," as is the usual standard testing method. Design load may relate better to real world use, but it makes comparisons with products rated on concentrated load more difficult. Either way, it is the concentrated load or design load, not the uniform load, we care about most, since cabinets usually sit on small leveling feet or casters, not solid full-size bases. Uniform load is meaningless in a data center.
Raised Floor or Slab? Unpacking the Debate
For many years, the standard data center design employed a raised floor, with cool air flowing under the floor and up into the server area through perforated tiles. In recent years, many new facilities have opted for a hard floor or "slab" design in which cold air enters the server area from above. In this video, Uptime Institute Executive Director Pitt Turner addresses the raised floor versus slab floor debate in the data center, explaining the consequences, costs and outcomes of different decisions.
For many years, the standard data center design employed a raised floor, with cool air flowing under the floor and up into the server area through perforated tiles. In recent years, many new facilities have opted for a hard floor or "slab" design in which cold air enters the server area from above. In this video, Uptime Institute Executive Director Pitt Turner addresses the raised floor versus slab floor debate in the data center, explaining the consequences, costs and outcomes of different decisions.
Raised floor resiliency
Industry experts long ago predicated the demise of raised floor cooling. Today, there are viable cooling alternatives, but raised floor cooling continues to keep its hold in the data center. There are now simple solutions for many of the inherent problems with raised floor cooling such as Directional Grates, products that attempt to address dynamic power use and hotspots, and electronically controlled dampers.
Industry experts long ago predicated the demise of raised floor cooling. Today, there are viable cooling alternatives, but raised floor cooling continues to keep its hold in the data center. There are now simple solutions for many of the inherent problems with raised floor cooling such as Directional Grates, products that attempt to address dynamic power use and hotspots, and electronically controlled dampers.
Flexibility may be the cost of eliminating raised floor
Is eliminating a raised floor the right thing to do today, when data centers need to be ultra flexible?
Is eliminating a raised floor the right thing to do today, when data centers need to be ultra flexible?
The Case for Raised Floors in a Data Center
What’s new in raised floors for data center applications? I recently spoke with Daniel Kennedy, data center product manager at Jessup, MD-based Tate Access Floors about some of the new products the company rolled out at AFCOM, and the future of raised floors in increasingly dense data center environment.
What’s new in raised floors for data center applications? I recently spoke with Daniel Kennedy, data center product manager at Jessup, MD-based Tate Access Floors about some of the new products the company rolled out at AFCOM, and the future of raised floors in increasingly dense data center environment.
Data center hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment how-tos
Though data center hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment is not yet the status quo, it has quickly become a design option every facility should consider. Server and chip vendors packing more compute power into smaller envelopes has caused sharp rises in data center energy densities. Ten years ago, most data centers ran 500 watts to 1 kilowatt (kW) per rack or cabinet. Today densities can get to 20 kW per rack and beyond, and most expect the number to continue to increase. Data center hot-aisle cold aisle containment can better control where hot and cold air goes so that a data center's cooling system runs more efficiently.
Though data center hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment is not yet the status quo, it has quickly become a design option every facility should consider. Server and chip vendors packing more compute power into smaller envelopes has caused sharp rises in data center energy densities. Ten years ago, most data centers ran 500 watts to 1 kilowatt (kW) per rack or cabinet. Today densities can get to 20 kW per rack and beyond, and most expect the number to continue to increase. Data center hot-aisle cold aisle containment can better control where hot and cold air goes so that a data center's cooling system runs more efficiently.
Greenest Data Centers: What Works and What Doesn't
The newest green data centers share many features: They’re built using locally supplied and recycled materials; waste is minimized during construction; lots of windows provide extensive natural lighting; and fluorescent lighting with dimmers is used throughout. These buildings have occupancy sensors so that lights and temperature automatically adjust when no one is in the room. Another common feature is raised flooring with under-floor heating and cooling used throughout the buildings, not just in the computer rooms.
The newest green data centers share many features: They’re built using locally supplied and recycled materials; waste is minimized during construction; lots of windows provide extensive natural lighting; and fluorescent lighting with dimmers is used throughout. These buildings have occupancy sensors so that lights and temperature automatically adjust when no one is in the room. Another common feature is raised flooring with under-floor heating and cooling used throughout the buildings, not just in the computer rooms.
Tackling data center airflow, network switch conflicts
A hot-aisle/cold aisle setup for data center design is all well and good for servers, because they transfer air from front to back. But Alex Carroll found that lining up network switches side-by-side can cause all hell to break loose. And by hell, he means heat.
A hot-aisle/cold aisle setup for data center design is all well and good for servers, because they transfer air from front to back. But Alex Carroll found that lining up network switches side-by-side can cause all hell to break loose. And by hell, he means heat.
5 Tips To Cut Data Center Energy Usage
Most data centers waste enormous amounts of electricity using inefficient cooling designs and systems. "Even in a small data center, this wasted electricity amounts to more than 1 million kilowatt hours annually that could be saved with the implementation of some best practices," Paul McGuckin, research VP at Gartner, said in a release.
Most data centers waste enormous amounts of electricity using inefficient cooling designs and systems. "Even in a small data center, this wasted electricity amounts to more than 1 million kilowatt hours annually that could be saved with the implementation of some best practices," Paul McGuckin, research VP at Gartner, said in a release.
27 Tips for Good Data Center Design
Last month, Techtarget held its Data Center Decisions conference in Chicago, and the second-day keynote was given by Ken Brill, the executive director and founder of The Uptime Institute. One of the things Brill said was that there are 27 points to a good hot/cold aisle design, and that most data centers only implement a handful of them.
Last month, Techtarget held its Data Center Decisions conference in Chicago, and the second-day keynote was given by Ken Brill, the executive director and founder of The Uptime Institute. One of the things Brill said was that there are 27 points to a good hot/cold aisle design, and that most data centers only implement a handful of them.
Cool
Rules for Hot Computing
Designing a new data center or retrofitting an old one to be greener is a complex process, but our six ideas will get you started in the right direction....Think About the Floor Tiles: It's the Little Stuff that Matters.
Designing a new data center or retrofitting an old one to be greener is a complex process, but our six ideas will get you started in the right direction....Think About the Floor Tiles: It's the Little Stuff that Matters.
Africa:
Apc-Mge Addresses Cooling Problems
High-density servers present a significant cooling challenge, with vendors now designing servers that can demand over 20 kW of cooling per rack. APC-MGE has put together ten steps that address the root causes of cooling inefficiency and under-capacity, listed in rank order, with the simplest and most cost effective presented first.
High-density servers present a significant cooling challenge, with vendors now designing servers that can demand over 20 kW of cooling per rack. APC-MGE has put together ten steps that address the root causes of cooling inefficiency and under-capacity, listed in rank order, with the simplest and most cost effective presented first.
Raised
floor Bests Overhead Cooling
Ditching your raised floor in favor of newer overhead cooling technologies might not be such a good idea, according to a study by two researchers at IBM.
Ditching your raised floor in favor of newer overhead cooling technologies might not be such a good idea, according to a study by two researchers at IBM.
Underneath
Your Feet In The Data Center: Don’t
Take Your Flooring System Lightly
Flooring seems like a fairly prosaic item, but savvy data center administrators understand its importance. The raised floor in a data center is critical to ensure good airflow—and thus cooling—and is also the main path for routing the miles of cabling any good-sized data center is likely to have.
Flooring seems like a fairly prosaic item, but savvy data center administrators understand its importance. The raised floor in a data center is critical to ensure good airflow—and thus cooling—and is also the main path for routing the miles of cabling any good-sized data center is likely to have.
Managing
The Data Center Subfloor: Sometimes It's
What You Don't See That Matters Most
Today's data centers require flexibility in the distribution of power, voice, data, and HVAC resources. In many cases, the old method of drilling through walls, concrete floors, or ceilings and running cables to fixed locations is no longer viable or cost-effective. The most cost-effective means to support changing demands and flexibility in cabling, services, and access requirements in the workspace is a configurable raised floor.
Today's data centers require flexibility in the distribution of power, voice, data, and HVAC resources. In many cases, the old method of drilling through walls, concrete floors, or ceilings and running cables to fixed locations is no longer viable or cost-effective. The most cost-effective means to support changing demands and flexibility in cabling, services, and access requirements in the workspace is a configurable raised floor.
Control
Strategies for Plenum Optimization in Raised
Floor Data Centers
This paper studies the flow domain of the underfloor plenum in a raised-floor data center. Based on the analysis, flow control strategies were proposed and implemented in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The results demonstrate the possibility of optimizing airflow distribution in raised floor data centers.
This paper studies the flow domain of the underfloor plenum in a raised-floor data center. Based on the analysis, flow control strategies were proposed and implemented in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The results demonstrate the possibility of optimizing airflow distribution in raised floor data centers.
High-Density
vs. Low-Density Data Centers
One common belief is that the TCO of a new DC is lower with a low-density design because it doesn't require as advanced of a design, nor as elaborate of power delivery and cooling systems.
One common belief is that the TCO of a new DC is lower with a low-density design because it doesn't require as advanced of a design, nor as elaborate of power delivery and cooling systems.
Thinking
Green: Data Center Aims for LEED Certification
The data center hosting company 365 Main Inc. has committed to building all future data centers under U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) guidelines for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification.
The data center hosting company 365 Main Inc. has committed to building all future data centers under U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) guidelines for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification.
Cooling
Planning: Tools To Improve Your Data Center
Air Flow
Using CFD software, data center administrators can model airflow and temperatures within a data center. The result of this software-enabled CFD modeling is usually a graphical depiction of air flows and temperature differences across different portions of a data center.
Using CFD software, data center administrators can model airflow and temperatures within a data center. The result of this software-enabled CFD modeling is usually a graphical depiction of air flows and temperature differences across different portions of a data center.
Revamping
Your Data Center? It’s Time To Think
About Raised Floors, Racks & More
Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to build a new center rather than spend budget money trying to make do with an older center is the flooring. During construction, you can install a raised floor that has plenty of space for electrical and network cables and can be air-conditioned to prevent shortages. Raised flooring also reduces static.
Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to build a new center rather than spend budget money trying to make do with an older center is the flooring. During construction, you can install a raised floor that has plenty of space for electrical and network cables and can be air-conditioned to prevent shortages. Raised flooring also reduces static.
Raised
Flooring: When Is It Time To Repair, Replace,
or Resurface?
Although it might be tempting to start fresh with a new floor, repair and refurbishing services can easily return your existing floor to like-new status, even if most of your floor is showing its age.
Although it might be tempting to start fresh with a new floor, repair and refurbishing services can easily return your existing floor to like-new status, even if most of your floor is showing its age.
Maintaining
Flooring, Racks & Furniture: Don’t
Neglect The Basics In Your Data Center
When most data center experts think of doing maintenance to the data center, their thoughts usually gravitate toward server updates and patching.... Underneath it all, though, is the item that is most likely to see wear—the flooring.
When most data center experts think of doing maintenance to the data center, their thoughts usually gravitate toward server updates and patching.... Underneath it all, though, is the item that is most likely to see wear—the flooring.
Ask
The Data Management Expert: Questions &
Answers
Raised access flooring is generally used to provide both a place for the quantity of power and communications cable necessary to a data center, and a plenum to convey cool air to the cabinets.
Raised access flooring is generally used to provide both a place for the quantity of power and communications cable necessary to a data center, and a plenum to convey cool air to the cabinets.
Data
Center Floor Plans
A broad spectrum of technical and strategic concerns must be taken into account when drafting a data center floor plan. The biggest factor to be considered when creating an effective data center floor plan is the power and cooling density to which the equipment is deployed.
A broad spectrum of technical and strategic concerns must be taken into account when drafting a data center floor plan. The biggest factor to be considered when creating an effective data center floor plan is the power and cooling density to which the equipment is deployed.
Green
Data Centers Tackle LEED Certification
With the completion of two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified data centers in recent years, IT professionals are beginning to see the green building's movement adopted by their sector. These types of projects provide a blueprint for environmentally responsible buildings that may save companies money in the long run.
With the completion of two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified data centers in recent years, IT professionals are beginning to see the green building's movement adopted by their sector. These types of projects provide a blueprint for environmentally responsible buildings that may save companies money in the long run.
Overhead
or Underfloor Installation?
This chapter outlines the benefits and drawbacks of running power, data connections and cooling into the Data Center by way of the ceiling versus installing a raised floor system and routing it underneath.
This chapter outlines the benefits and drawbacks of running power, data connections and cooling into the Data Center by way of the ceiling versus installing a raised floor system and routing it underneath.
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