Data Center
Operational and
Services
Data Center Components
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Characteristic of an Outstanding
Design
1. Design must be simple
2. Design must be scalable
3. Design must be modular
4. Design must be flexible
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Guideline for Planning a Data Center
1. Plan in advance
2. Plan for worst
3. Plan for growth
4. Simplify your design
5. Plan for changes
6. Label all equipment, especially cables and ports
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Data Center Structure
No raised or raised floor
Raised floor has about 2 feet of space (called plenum)
below the tiles.
Provides a good mechanism for network cabling, power
distribution and air conditioning.
Link to raised floor images:
http://www.google.com.my/search?q=data+center+raised+floor&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=
f2u&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=np&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=iOZiU
fvUJcP_rAf_joCADQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1680&bih=912
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Data Center Structure
Aisles
The space between 2 rows of racks
Aisles and open space around corners and walls must be wide
enough for moving racks and large, heavy equipment
(movement that involves a forklift and few people)
Link to aisles images:
http://www.google.com.my/search?q=data+center+aisles&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozill
a:en-US:official&channel=np&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=-OdiUZOpCca_rge49YG4
Aw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1680&bih=912
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Data Center Structure
Ramp
The ramp must support the weight of equipment,
people, and mechanical devices used to lift the
equipment (such as electrical-powered pallet jacks)
Ramps that must support heavy weight are made of
poured concrete.
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Plenum
Pronounced ‘PLEH-num’ means full in Latin.
Plenum = the space between the data center subfloor
and the floor tiles and is usually between 1 ½ to 2
feet in height.
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Raised Floor Design and
Deployment
Floor tiles
The raised floor consists of tiles or floor panel that provide a
supporting base for racks and equipment
Generally 2-feet squares
Usually tiles made of metal such as cast aluminium.
Must choose tiles whose maximum load specifications exceed
your requirements. (Figure 4-3 pg43)
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Raised Floor Design and
Deployment
Equipment weight and tile strength
It is important to assess the present and future load
on the raised floor.
Knowing the approximate weight of equipment is a
prerequisite to a good design stretcher system in the
subfloor plenum and quality of tiles.
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Raised Floor Design and
Deployment
Equipment weight and tile strength
Two types of load:
Point load
Most equipment or racks sit on four rollers, casters or
feet.
Static load
The sum of all point loads on the tile.
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Raised Floor Design and
Deployment
Cable trays
Cable tray help reduce the cable mess
They are U-shaped wire baskets that usually run
parallel to the wire ways and contain the length of
the cables.
The cable tray should be places very close to the
bottom of the raised floor tile.
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Raised Floor Design and
Deployment
Electrical wire ways
wire way = is a long metal box containing electrical
wiring and power outlets for equipment.
Usually located below the tiles or panels.
Electrical wire ways help centralize power
distribution to few areas.
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Raised Floor Advantages
1. A place for equipment to sit
2. Grounding for the equipment
3. A means to channel cold air from HVAC units throughout
the plenum in an optimal manner and direct it up to the data
center to cool the equipment.
4. A place to route network cables and power cables for
equipment on the tiles. To look less congested.
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Raised Floor Advantages
5. They allow the cold air to be distributed under the floor and
perforated tiles allow it to be delivered exactly where it is
needed (compared with the difficulty of directing the flow of
cold air from overhead ducts).
6. The space under the floor is very convenient for distribution of
power and data cables.
7. In the event of a water leak, a raised floor would put additional
distance between the computer equipment and the water.
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Raised Floor Disadvantages
1. Higher cost.
2. With wires and cables running under the floor (and under
equipment) it can be more difficult to locate, install and
troubleshoot wiring problems.
3. A flood situation has increased risk of immediate exposure to
electrical wires.
4. Equipment on a raised floor is not as well “anchored” and
could suffer much grater damage in an earthquake.
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Raised Floor Disadvantages
5. Cables and wires under the floor could obstruct air flow.
Raising the height of the raised floor to compensate
compromised structural integrity and presents problems with
ensuring sufficient head room in the data center.
6. The danger of someone hurting themselves because of a floor
tile inadvertently left open.
7. Wasted space needed for the ramp.
8. Dust, dirt that can collect below a raised floor that is rarely
ever cleaned.
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Data Center Components
Physical space
Raised flooring
In-room electrical
Standby power
Cabling
Cooling
Fire suppression
Other infrastructure components
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Best Practices
1. When designing a data center, plan ahead.
2. The design must be modular
3. Label everything
4. Document everything
5. Isolate cables
6. Use cast aluminum tiles
