DATA CENTERS
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Natheer Khasawneh
Goal…
• How Data Centers are critical environments for
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companies.
Aspects of a Data Center's physical component.
Use best design, manage, support, or work in data center.
Data Center infrastructure (power, data cabling, cooling,
fire suppression, and so on)
Strategy guide for creating a server environment that
meets the specific needs of your company.
Motivation
• Businesses want to learn about (and implement) best practices for
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their Data Centers.
The need for comprehensive description about how effectively to
design, manage, support, and work in Data Centers.
The increase number of inexpensive high-density servers that require
more power, data connections, and cooling in Data Centers than in
the past. Older rooms lack the infrastructure to support these
machines and often require retrofitting or expansion.
An increased awareness of natural disasters and vulnerability.
Businesses looking to save operational costs by shedding real estate,
leading to the consolidation of servers into new and larger Data
Centers.
Companies that have experienced explosive growth are discovering
their server environments are inadequate in capacity or infrastructure
and require upgrades or wholesale replacement.
More?
Road Map
• Design of a Data Center
Approaching the Data Center Project
• Data Center functions
• Communication and cooperation among key personnel for
successful design and construction.
• Principles of good Data Center design.
• Traditional server environment infrastructure, including
options for redundancy.
• People and documents that are normally involved when
designing a Data Center, and offers tips for a winning
project.
Choosing an Optimal Site
• Choosing an appropriate location for your Data Center
• The hazards you should avoid
• The physical attributes you want.
• The risks that can jeopardize a Data Center site
• How to safeguard your server environment
• What agency to go to learn if a specific parcel of land is
susceptible.
• What seemingly minor building elements can make or
break a property's suitability to house a Data Center.
Quantifying Data Center Space
• Data center size.
• Good configuration.
• Where to locate a server environment within a
multipurpose building.
• How to make it adaptable for the future needs of your
business.
• How to construct the Data Center to protect the valuable
equipment inside effectively.
• What additional dedicated areas are necessary to make
your Data Center function effectively.
Laying Out the Data Center
• How to efficiently arrange all elements of a Data Center
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during the design phase.
How various server layouts affect the amount of floor
space that rows occupy.
What's the best way to lay out a room when dealing with
super heavy equipment.
How to accommodate unavoidable obstacles.
Where to place essential Data Center infrastructure
controls.
What layout-related problems to watch for and avoid.
Overhead or Under-Floor Installation?
• 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.
• The components involved during the installation
• Shows sample illustrations for both overhead and underfloor systems as well as provides common problems to
watch out for and avoid.
Creating a Robust Electrical System
• The key elements for creating a reliable Data Center
electrical system to power your company's critical servers
and insulate them against surges, utility power failures,
and other potential electrical problems.
• Design strategies for both in-room and standby electrical
infrastructure
• Best practices for labeling and monitoring electrical
system
• End-to-end testing procedures to ensure that when your
standby infrastructure is called upon it performs as
intended.
Designing a Scalable Network
Infrastructure
• Data Center's structured cabling and outlines the
importance of a well-organized physical hierarchy.
• The differences between common cabling media (copper
and fiber)
• Suggests which cabling media most appropriate in
various scenarios
• Best practices for installation and testing.
Keeping It Cool
• Features of a Data Center's environmental control and
protection systems—cooling and fire suppression.
• Tips to promote good airflow within a server environment
and outlines the advantages and disadvantages of
various fire suppression technologies.
Upgrading Current Data Center
• Guidance on how to upgrade an existing Data Center that
is lacking in space or infrastructure, has been poorly
maintained, or can no longer meet your company's
hosting needs because of changes in the types of
equipment that are to be installed.
• Addresses the special challenges of retrofitting a lessthan-perfect server environment with the least impact to
devices that are already on line.
Road Map Cont.
• Managing Data Centers
Organizing Your Way to An Easier Job
• How to manage incoming servers and networking devices
so that they integrate seamlessly within a Data Center
• Making individual machines easier to support and the
server environment as a whole more productive for your
company.
• Strategies for allocating floor space and arranging
equipment as well as recommends processes and
standards for reviewing equipment for suitability in your
Data Center.
Labeling and Signage
• The role of clear and instructive Data Center labeling in
promoting best use of the room's infrastructure,
simplifying troubleshooting, and avoiding accidental
downtime
• Different numbering schemes for a server environment
and provides examples of essential Data Center signage.
Safeguarding the Servers
• Access control options for a Data Center and
recommends standards of operations for people working
in the room.
• Best practices for equipment installations and suggested
guidelines when touring visitors through a server
environment.
Mapping, Monitoring, and Metrics
• What Data Center-related information should be
documented and maintained.
• How such data is helpful for managing rooms,
troubleshooting during emergencies, and planning future
Data Center expansions.
• Tools that can be used to monitor a server environment
and recognize problems before they affect servers.
Maintaining a World-Class Environment
• Maintaining Data Center in a pristine state
• Diligently removing unwanted materials and professionally
cleaned on a regular basis
• Instructions for contracting with a professional cleaning
company and outlines common mishaps that can occur.