DCI Assignment Sample 2
DCI Assignment Sample 2
DCI Assignment Sample 2
Prepared by
NAME TP NUMBER
Contents
1.0 Data Center .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction to Data Center ............................................................................................. 1
1.2 Data Center Requirements ............................................................................................... 1
2.0 Data Centre Technology and Physical Design Overview .................................................... 3
2.1 IT Hardware ..................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.1 Data Center Standards............................................................................................... 3
2.1.2 Tier 3 Network Architecture Design for Panadox Data Center ................................ 5
2.1.3 Data Center Storage System for Panadox ................................................................. 7
2.1.4 Server Type for Panadox Data Center ...................................................................... 9
2.2 IT Space ......................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Types of cabling ...................................................................................................... 13
2.2.2 Space distribution.................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Power ............................................................................................................................. 14
2.3.1 Transformer............................................................................................................. 15
2.3.2 Automatic Transfer Switch ..................................................................................... 16
2.3.3 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS): .................................................................... 16
2.3.4 Power Distribution Unit .......................................................................................... 17
2.4 Fire Suppression............................................................................................................. 19
2.4.1 Water Fire Suppression System .............................................................................. 19
2.4.2 Clean Agent systems ............................................................................................... 21
2.5 Cooling........................................................................................................................... 26
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 26
Purpose of cooling ........................................................................................................... 26
Cooling methods .............................................................................................................. 27
Chosen system and Justification ...................................................................................... 31
2.6 Raised Floor ................................................................................................................... 32
Purpose............................................................................................................................. 32
Specifications ................................................................................................................... 33
Types of Raised floor ....................................................................................................... 33
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Chosen raised floor and justification ............................................................................... 34
2.7 Energy Management System and Green Computing ..................................................... 35
3.0 Data Center – A Complete Picture..................................................................................... 37
4.0 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 39
Work break down structure ...................................................................................................... 40
5.0 References .......................................................................................................................... 41
6.0 Appendix ............................................................................................................................ 46
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1.0 Data Center
1.1 Introduction to Data Center
A data center is a physical facility that is used to house the business-critical applications and
information of the enterprises to maintain their reliability and security. Data centers consists of
several technical elements such as routers, switches, security devices, storage systems, servers
and more. These elements are used to store and manage the critical systems that are vital for
the continuous operating of the company.
Moreover, a data center also requires a significant amount of facilities infrastructure to keep
the hardware and software up and running. The facilities include power subsystems,
uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), ventilation and cooling systems, backup generators and
cabling to connect to external network operators (Kerravala, 2017).
• Site selection
The place where the data center will be located should be chosen carefully to get the
best mix of ideal features. The site should be in a safe area that is not subject to any
natural environmental dangers such as flood or landslides. Earthquakes are possible in
most every part of the country so make sure the structure is hardened accordingly (Nye,
2002).
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main computer equipment and the critical screens cannot be viewed by passers-by or
through windows (Nye, 2002).
• Power Systems
The power should automatically switch over to generators during an outage. The critical
systems would then be attached to dual Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) systems
to ensure that they are unaffected during the generator start-up period (Nye, 2002).
• Reliability
Data Center infrastructure must have depth, standby power supplies to take over when
commercial electricity fails, and redundant network stations to handle the
communication needs if a networking device malfunction. The infrastructure must be
configured so there is no single component or feature that makes it vulnerable. It does
little good to have multiple standby power systems if they are all wired through a single
circuit, or to have redundant data connections if their cable runs all enter the building
at one location. In both examples, a malfunction at a single point can bring the entire
Data Center offline (Kuruvikulam, 2019).
• Flexibility
The infrastructure systems of a Data Center should be built using components that are
easily changed or moved as routers, switches, servers, and data storage devices will
advance and change in the coming years. Inflexible infrastructure leads to more expense
down the road. Data Center's flexibility also comes from whether it has enough
infrastructure to handle an increased need in the future (Kuruvikulam, 2019).
• Modularity
The room should be designed in interchangeable segments. Stock server cabinet
locations with identical infrastructure and then arrange those locations in identical rows.
Modularity keeps the Data Center infrastructure simple and scalable. It also provides
redundancy on a smaller scale. If a component fails in one section of the Data Center,
users can simply plug in to the same infrastructure in another area and immediately be
operational again (Kuruvikulam, 2019).
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2.0 Data Centre Technology and Physical Design Overview
2.1 IT Hardware
One of the Information Technology (IT) Hardware consultant from ZiPro Company has
prepared an effective data center design solution for Panadox Health Care organization to
construct a data center. In this section, the consultant has designed and recommended the most
suitable server type, storage system, data center standard and network architecture design
for Panadox.
Typically, when it comes to larger business operation, either Tier 3 or Tier 4 is highly
recommended for a data center. Since Panadox can be considered as a large-scale business
provider for their partners and customers (patients), it is important to justify and recommend
the best tier design to achieve Uptime Institute qualification. Both Tier 3 and Tier 4 have
different purposes and solutions when considering for data center. The justifications and
recommendation for both tiers have been suggested as follows:
Tier 3 – N+1
Tier 4 – 2N+1
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Tier 4 is more efficient compared to Tier 3 especially when it comes to achieve the highest
availability of 0.8 hours compared to 1.6 hours with a Tier 3 facility. Moreover, redundancy in
data center is more reliable than Tier 3 redundancy such as multiple redundancy for power
feeds, diverse network paths, multiple Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Alternatively
known as 2N+1 which means backup for all backups.
However, the power source for Tier 4 is required parallel power source to run the data center
such as 2N+1. This is due to achieve the redundancy in power source. As a recommendation,
when it comes to construct data center for Panadox, Tier 3 is the recommended solution and
qualified to achieve the Uptime Tier 3 certification. For example, it provides save cost and
redundancy (N+1) for data center. In addition, Malaysia has only one power source utility
called Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). The requirement to achieve Tier 3 for power utility
is one source, therefore Tier 3 is recommended and qualified for Panadox’s data center.
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2.1.2 Tier 3 Network Architecture Design for Panadox Data Center
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Figure 2: Legend for Tier 3 Design Components
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2.1.3 Data Center Storage System for Panadox
Storage system is required especially when it comes to large scale enterprise that required to
store their application storage to access internally or externally of an organization. Sometimes
storage system recommended for some enterprise to back up their data or manage their data for
third-party. There are three types of storage networking technologies that enable to run storage
system for organization such as Direct Attached Storage (DAS), Network Attached Storage
and Storage Area Network (SAN). To recommend the most suitable storage system technology
for Panadox Health Care, a comparison between these three technologies have been made in
the following Table.
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Purpose DAS NAS SAN
Cheaper than NAS and SAN. Expensive than DAS. Most expensive solution
Cost
compared to DAS and
Effective
NAS.
Resources can be shared
through network since it’s
connected directly to a Shareable resource
Data Only shareable within the server
network switch (Ethernet through a large network
Sharing that DAS directly attached to
network) rather than directly or multiple virtual
Capability such as “ad-hoc” services
connect to server (CT109-3-2 servers.
Data Center Infrastructure ,
n.d., p. 17).
Not scalable due to limited in size NAS is scalable in terms of
such as storage capacity. capacity and performance such SAN is scalable due to
Scalability Connectivity into server is limited as RAID and swappable drives virtualization (Evans,
and rely on expansion slots (Evans, 2009). 2009).
(Evans, 2009).
Slow due to throughput affects The performance for
such as “bottlenecks” (Evans, SAN is rapid due to fiber
2009). optic transmission in a
Slow due to technology it uses
Performance network (CT109-3-2
such as cooper as transmission.
Data Center
Infrastructure , n.d., p.
18).
Not suitable for data Allows snapshots for Disaster recovery
Advanced virtualization (Evans, 2009). virtualization (Evans, 2009). strategy such as data will
Features keep on synchronous
(Evans, 2009).
SAN is best for block-
level data sharing of
Best Use Small business which required mission- critical files or
For small business that has non-
Case a minimal-maintenance applications at data
growth budget (Paulsen, 2018).
Scenario (Paulsen, 2018). centers or large-scale
enterprise (Paulsen,
2018).
Table 2: Comparison of DAS, NAS and SAN
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Based on the analysis made from Table 2, SAN technology is strongly recommended for
Panadox’ Data Center. For example, data can be shared widely using virtual large network or
virtual server and this will be useful because ZiPro Company’s aim is to provide a cloud
computing technology for their customers’ data center designs. SAN is faster in data processing
because it uses fiber optic as transmission media at access point layer. This is important when
it comes to monitor or manage patients’ records in a rapid way. Apart from that, SAN is
scalable due to virtualization capability. Since Panadox Health Care maintaining more than 10
million records, the probabilities of their business growth is significantly higher. Therefore,
SAN can provide virtualization to extend the storage capabilities at any time. In the meantime,
Panadox maintaining patients’ records from different hospitals, this is crucial to have some
backup plan for their data. SAN provides data recovery if any of the data lost due to any
disaster. Since, SAN is recognized for a large-scale enterprise, SAN is recommended for
Panadox Data Center.
Energy
Consumption Low power density High power density
(Power Usage)
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Features Rack Server Blade Server
According to Table 1, Rack server is more suitable for Panadox Data Center. For example, the
main objectives of ZiPro is taking aims at cloud computing data centers using advanced
environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technologies. Since, rack server is considered as
energy saving equipment amongst blade servers which have a high-power density. Rack server
is recommended and suitable server for Panadox. Moreover, server flexibility in rack sever can
be extended in terms of hard disk storage and supports RAID technology for storage
virtualization especially when it comes cloud services and redundant data backup in RAID.
Although rack server type has some cons but overall, it’s aligned with objectives of ZiPro’s
aims to construct data centers based on cloud technology and environmentally friendly.
Conclusion to IT Hardware
To conclude the recommendations on IT hardware for Panadox data center that have been
mentioned previously, the consultant can be certified as Tier 3 Design that accredited by
Uptime Institute. Tier 3 always ensures the redundant of achieving N+1 for every single IT
components in Panadox Data Center to avoid data loss such as Figure 1 showing the
redundancy for each component except for end devices. Moreover, the chosen rack server may
give more efficiency in terms of data processing for Panadox Health Care and able to run
Electronic Health Record (EHR) applications globally. Besides, SAN network can provide best
virtualization when Panadox decide to extend their data/services or planning for storage
backups. As for future enhancement, Blade server is recommended if Panadox Data Center
decided to upgrade their server storage. For example, upgrading Rack server required more
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chassis. Therefore, it will consume more space in the facility of rack server. Blade server
technology can help in overcome this problem. Furthermore, blade server is easier in
maintenance and provide large data processing storage.
2.2 IT Space
Designing the physical space of the data center is a very essential part of the overall
construction of the data center. To design the physical space certain standards must be
maintained to ensure the designed has been built according to globally accepted standards and
still able to be flexible according to the business requirements. ANSI/TIA 942 is the standard
used to design the physical infrastructure including but not limited to site location,
architectural, electrical, mechanical, fire safely, telecommunication, security and other
requirements. Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) accredited by American
National Standard Institute (ANSI) provides the standard, ANSI/TIA-942 which is provides a
standard by a non-profit organization. There are no certifications provided which makes the
requirements and the constraints very transparent and aids whomever wants to build a reliable
and efficient data center. Below in figure 3 shows a standard physical arrangement of a data
center (Tia-942.org, 2014).
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https://www.fiberoptics4sale.com/blogs/archive-posts/95042182-ansi-tia-eia-942-data-center-design-guidelines-and-
structured-cabling-standards
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2.2.1 Types of cabling
• Horizontal cabling
This type of cabling extends from user work station in equipment distribution area to
either the horizontal distribution area or the main distribution area.
Figure 4
• Backbone cabling
This type of cabling is mainly used to interconnect
Figure 5
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Zone Distribution Area (ZDA), and
2.3 Power
Nowadays, Data centers have engineered a comprehensive and advanced power distribution
system, conversion and backup devices to maintain a reliable and high-efficiency electrical
energy supply for the I.T equipment’s or other electronic components. (Wang, 2014). Panadox
Data center will be having A 380V DC power Distribution System which will deliver reliable,
high transmission efficiency power supply to the data center. DC power distribution has been
chosen as it provides higher efficiency as it has high-efficiency centralized power conversion
equipment. The DC power distribution will provide supply to transformer.
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Figure 6: electrical distribution system in a data center
2.3.1 Transformer
In a modern data centers having an advanced data distribution system transformer are must for
the transmission and distribution of electricity. It basically transforms the primary voltage into
a less secondary voltage. Transformers are basically sized in Kva. The size of transformer is
directly related to the amount of power available in the data center. (EDI, 2017). In Panadox
data center Transformer will be used in order to increase and decrease an electrical voltage to
the switchgear and provide a reliable and high-efficiency electrical energy supply.
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Figure 7: Transformer
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negative consequences of short power failure UPS provides enough battery power for the files
to be saved and for the whole system to be shut down in an orderly manner. In Panadox Data
center it will give power supply to Power Distribution Unit (PDU). The size of UPS depends
on the energy consumption sites. Modern data centers have a UPS for each I.T equipment. The
two types of UPS system are:
Figure 9: UPS
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Figure 10: Power Distribution Unit
As discussed above Panadox is a modular high-density data center and power distribution
system in Panadox is according to the standard and need of the modern data center. A modular
PDU has been chosen as it much more convenient than traditional data center. Moreover, most
of the things can be added to the Power distribution Unit overtime as to meet the challenge
with the latest technology I.e. Transformer less PDU, power capacity management software
etc. (Rasmussen, 2009). Power Distribution Unit (PDU) has multiple sources of integrated
power outputs and each output sockets are connected directly to I.T equipment’s present in the
rack system. There are mainly two types of PDUs named as Floor mounted PDU and Rack
mounted PDU. The main reason of choosing a modular PDU was that power conversion
happens in PDU where AC input is transferred to multiple I.T equipment’s which is in low
voltage DC server power. Distribute power simply with a basic power strip with no internal
intelligence or boost it up with a more advanced model including outlet level power monitoring
to remotely monitor, control, and report the status of every outlet within the unit (Wang, 2014).
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2.4 Fire Suppression
Fire Suppression Systems are for the most part utilized in situations with substantial power
hardware (apexfire, 2018). Fire suppression system for data centers is essential. On the off
chance that the data center encounters any sort of fiasco it generally conveys at downtime. In
this way, data center must have a legitimate fire concealment measure to limit the danger of
harm and downtime. Fire suppression must be a piece of any data center calamity recuperation
plan, it's fundamental to think about what sort of fire the data center danger of, and the measure
of the data center additionally plays a move to decide the appropriate fire suppression for
debacle recuperation plan (titanpower,2017) .There are two types of data centre fire
suppression agents that you may consider using, water fire suppression systems, and clean
agent fire suppression systems.
Water systems used to mitigate fires, there are also a few different fire mitigation systems that
rely on water as opposed to gases. The most common of these water systems is a sprinkler
system, which can vary depending upon the type of head and how the water is stored within
the pipes. Of the sprinkler systems, there are a unit two kinds of pipes: wet pipes, that store
water within the pipe to dump overhead once a fire is detected; and dry pipes, within which
water is control back by a secondary or pre-action sprinkler valve till a heat and/or smoke signal
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causes it to release. Pre-action pipes are the IT industry standard because of they keep dry, and
thus cannot collect condensation to drip on its equipment. The tow commonest action pipe
systems are single interlocked systems and double interlocked systems (Tsohost2018).
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❖ Advantages and disadvantages of water fire suppression systems;
Advantages:
Disadvantages
a) FM-200 System.
FM-200 systems suppress fire by removing heat from the room. They can be used with people
in the room with few adverse effects. FM-200 systems are quicker than Intergern systems to
reach full fire suppression levels. FM-200 has better potential for having a global warming
effect than the other two systems (Fireline2018).
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b) Novec 1230, System.
It is also called Sapphire. Novec 1320 systems suppress fires by removing heat from the room.
Novec 1320 is a synthetic fire suppression agent that is stored as a liquid but is used to suppress
a fire by converting to a gas form. It does not require as much pressure to store as Intergern
does, and has a much simpler piping system (Fireline2018).
c) Intergern System.
Uses inert gases- nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide- to reduce the oxygen level and suppress
the fire. Once the Intergern concentration is discharged, it returns to the atmosphere in its
natural state. Intergern is a breathable gas comprised of 52% Nitrogen, 40%Argon and 8%
Carbon Dioxide. The release time for Intergern is 60 seconds, which is the longest release time
of these three options. Intergern systems require more intricate pipe systems that also require
more pressure to be maintained within the system (Tsohost, 2018).
Table 4
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Advantages
➢ Environment-friendly
➢ Quick Fire Deployment
➢ Clean and Effective
➢ Save to use around people
➢ Space saving
Disadvantages
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Recommendation for Fire Suppression System:
To choose the best fire suppressions comparison between the types and how they work and
operate as well which one is the most needed is done. Both clean agent systems and water
systems have their advantages and disadvantages. Clean agent systems prevent water from
entering the server room. However, they cost much more than sprinkler systems and take up
much more floor space, as sprinkler systems are installed overhead. On the other hand, clean
agent systems leave water out of the server room. They leave no chemical residue on
equipment and pose no electrical hazard. Which is the better fire mitigation solution come
down to the individual data centre.
The recommendation for the data centre is the clean agent system. The clean agent system can
help protect a specific room or area in the building, as well as the subfloor in a data centre and
the electrical and mechanical rooms. The clean agent is released from nozzles in the ceiling,
allowing the suppression product to "flood" the room. Because clean agents are discharged as
gaseous materials, they penetrate equipment, floors, and obstructions to extinguish the fire.
They also work extremely quickly; clean agents can reach extinguishing levels in 10 seconds
or less after deployment, helping to minimize the fire's damage to the data centre. Additionally,
the solution does not affect hardware operations or damage the information stored in hard
drives or servers. Finally, a clean agent will not leave any residue to clean up after it is
deployed. At every stage, a clean agent system operates efficiently and effectively to help
protect the data centre.
To ensure reliable, early detection of fire, it is important to be familiar with the different fire
phenomena, fire propagation and possible deceptive phenomena.
Data centres should even have fire detection systems that may recognize the difference
between a gas leak and smoke from a fire. Air-sampling smoke detection systems are an
excellent choice, as they these systems will notice fire in its earliest stages, alerting personnel
and avoiding overpriced suppression system discharges. There are basically three types of fire
detecting mechanisms: smoke detection, fire detection, and flame detection. For obvious
reasons, data centres opt for smoke detectors. There are two types of smoke detectors: Optical
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fire detectors, and ionization fire detectors. By increasing the sensitivity of fire detector, they
can be made to detect fire in its initial stages.
In a room full of electronics, it’s crucial to have an emergency power button to shut down all
devices quickly. Also, within the unlikely event of a warning by the suppression system, it’s
important to possess an emergency suppression system cancel-switch to show off the system
safely. data centre groups United Nations agency do install associate EPO button should
clearly mark the button's presence, and install it under a clear, lift-cover box, preferably with
associate integrated alarm, to avoid the danger of someone touching it accidentally, and
inflicting unintentional period. This has historically been a major cause of data centre outages,
usually when the button was mistaken for a door release. (SearchDataCenter2018)
The purpose of a fire alarm is to warn people about the presence of a fire within the premises.
In a data centre context these people may be divided into 3 target groups:
• General alarms
• Staged alarms
. (Downloadssiemens2018)
The primary goal is to minimize any operational interruptions even in case of a fire and to
protect people and property effectively. Fire safety is therefore a long-term investment that
must be carefully planned to ensure the business continuity of a data centre. If a damaging fire
can no longer be prevented, the effects of the fire must be limited as efficiently as possible.
Typical protection objectives are:
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• No business interruptions.
(SearchDataCenter2018)
2.5 Cooling
Introduction
Data center cooling is one of the main components in a data center which has a major role when
comes to build a data center. Cooling is an integral part of data centres ecosystem. Devices in
data centres works continuously with a very high rates that gets extremely hot (Isberto, 2018).
For our case, serving more than 10 million patients which their data is stored in servers which
reflects a huge load on servers which can overheat. So, cooling must be there to avoid any
overheating and to ensure that the data center is environmentally friendly. Cooling system is
different among years and there are many methods and options based on the requirements of
each case (Isberto, 2018).
Purpose of cooling
According to cisco, the power that is consumed by the IT equipment and severs in the data
center is converted to heat. Though power is reported in units of watts (W) and heat is reported
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in units of British Thermal Units (BTUs) per hour (BTU/hr). thus, the conversion from watts
to BTU/hr is 1W = 3.412 BTU/hr (Cisco.com, 2017). For instance, a server that consumes
100W produces approximately 341.2 BTU/hr of heat energy which produces a huge amount of
heat that needs to be optimized. As a result, cooling technologies needed to optimize the heat
generated by the devices (Cisco.com, 2017). In figure 2 below, it shows how the heat generated
is optimized by cooling as the heat and hot air is exchanged by cold air.
Cooling methods
There are two main methods for data center cooling which are air-based cooling and liquid
based cooling. The air-based cooling is the cold Aisle/Hot aisle system which simply separates
cold air from the hot air (Green Revolution Cooling, 2018). While the liquid-based cooling is
reducing the heat of the data center devices through exploiting properties of liquids (Rouse,
2014).
Layout
Either hot or aisle way needs to be arranged on hot/cold aisle layout. Simply, position racks to
face each other’s which is resting on a raised floor on a series of rows which every rack face
the other. Refer to the below figure to see the hot aisle/cold aisle layout (42U, 2009).
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Hot and cold Aisle
The two methods provide a huge savings regarding energy and power. Also, they are both can
be used for data center, but it varies on the usage and requirements. Briefly, will discuss the
methods and choose the best that fits our specific scenario.
Cold Aisle
Horizontal panels form a flat roof across the cold aisle to block out the cold air in elevated floor
surroundings, where cooling is provided throughout the floor. The cold isle is extended by
vertical panels to the ceiling for use with cooling duct systems (Peterson, 2015).
In figure 18, the cold aisle will be going inside through the raised floor after separated by the
CRAC while the hot air will be outside and will increase the average temperature of the room
which is non-recommended.
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Pros and cons of cold aisle
Pros Cons
Doesn’t require additional parts for Creates a hot spot in the room which is not
returning or exhausting Air which makes it human friendly.
easier than hot aisle.
Doesn’t require much in case of space Increases the mix of air which lowers the
which Only requires doors and a partition at difference of the temperature.
the end.
In case of failure, enables cold sink area. An obstacle for fire detection systems in the
data center space
Figure 19:Pros and cons of cold aisle (Ahdoot and Ahdoot, 2014)
Hot aisle
In HAC, there is a physical barrier and heated exhaust air from the back of the hot aisle of the
cabinets. The result is horizontal panels forming a flat ceiling over the warm aisle or vertical
panels extending over the hot aisle to the ceiling. In combination with in-row cooling systems
horizontal panels are usually used to maintain the cool environment outside the contained area.
The main purpose of vertically-mounted panels is to direct the hot return air to the full overhead
reverse air with a perimeter CRAC units. Also, the Hot Aisle follows the TIA-942 standard
which makes the average temperature varies between 21-24 degrees (Peterson,2015).
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Pros and cons of Hot aisle
Pros Cons
Used in the most data centres and let the Requires contained path for the air flow from
standard fire detection system works normally. AC.
Figure 21:Pros and cons of Hot aisle (Ahdoot and Ahdoot, 2014)
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Chosen system and Justification
After comparing both containment systems, Hot Aisle containment system is the chosen system
for panadox data center. Hot aisle was chosen for many different reasons which gives the
advantage over the cold aisle. Maintaining the temperature in the data centre is one of the main
aspects to consider for panadox data center as to be following the standard data center
temperature which varies between 21-24 degrees. Thus, the chosen aisle containment system
will achieve a cold environment across the room which will be human friendly. In contrast, the
cold aisle containment system will create a hot spot across the room which will be so difficult
for humans by time to stay on it and this will be not human friendly. In addition, it won’t follow
the standard of TIA-942 which the temperature will exceeds the norm temperature. Hot aisle
containment system is used in most of the modern data centres which is more efficient and
reliable. Moreover, this will increase the delta T which is the differences of the temperature
which will make the space extremely hot. In addition, the cold Aisle will obstruct the fire
detection which will be inefficient, and it won't follow the standard. However, Hot Aisle will
be following the standard fire detection systems. Regardless upfront costs, the chosen system
will be more cost saving compared to the hot Aisle as the hot aisle will require too much of
maintenance and won't be efficient for panadox data center. To achieve green computing on
the data center heat should be reduced and even should be eliminated. For achieving green
computing, the hot aisle will be used because it will reduce the heat by blocking it inside as it
won't be affecting the room environment. In conclusion, the hot Aisle will be more efficient
which will be eliminating heat and separating it from humans and it will achieve
environmentally friendly data center. Moreover, this method will be following the TIA- 942
standard which the room temperature will be varying between 21-24 degrees. Also, it will be
easy for standard fire detection system to work without any obstacles. Furthermore, after a visit
to HDC data center identified that they are using this type which confirms our analysis and
choice. In the figure below, the cooling system of panadox which will block the hot aisle
inside, this will be more effective, cost saving, and environmentally friendly
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2.6 Raised Floor
Purpose
Data center raised floors are mainly installed to provide the following functionalities:
The advanced IT equipment used in data centers today require effective cooling as to the
massive workload being processed and thus the high temperatures. The use of raised floors
allows for better use of space and well-defined airflows, leading to a higher equipment density
and energy efficiency.
Access to change cables is a common requirement. Raised floors allows for efficient support
of data center cabling and ease of tracking.
Apart from IT equipment cabling, raised floors allow for a well-suited power distribution
across the data center’s varying IT equipment.
• Grounding of equipment
Grounding of equipment remains essential for safety & efficiency. Grounding the data center
equipment allows for efficient cooling & distribution of air, effective support of equipment and
power cabling. (Rasmussen, 2015)
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Specifications
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Chosen raised floor and justification
After comparing between both access floors and doing a complete comparison between them
to choose the best one that fits for panadox data center. Standard access floor is the most
suitable one for our case for many several reasons. This type of raised floor can weight up till
300 kg which will be very strong and can hold as many servers as want. Moreover, this one is
used in most of the data centres and it’s recommended by them. One of the main reasons that
this type will be used for panadox is that it allows the cable management and air flow which is
required for cooling and to let the air flows through the raised floor.
The cooling is set up by arranging under the appliance perforated floor tiles. Equipment is des
igned to take cool air down and warm blow to the ceiling. Moreover, this type will be
following TIA-942 standard. Therefore, the chosen type will be very suitable for panadox as it
will allow airflow and cable management.in contrast, low profile raised floors don’t allow
airflow which won’t be suitable for panadox. Furthermore, after a visit to HDC data center
identified that they are using this type which confirms our analysis and choice. Finally, the
chosen type will be standard raised floor which will be more effective and efficient for panadox
data center.
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2.7 Energy Management System and Green Computing
• Control costs & heat with natural climate control
Data centres invest a lot of money into temperature control and ensuring the data centre
is running at an optimum temperature because climate and the environment in and
around the data centre is essential. It is important because if the server and devices are
in an area with poor temperature control, it can end up damaging those devices as too
hot or too cold temperatures can affect the operation of the devices, damaging their
structural integrity, operational integrity and eventually destroying them. Cooling
systems are very expensive and power consuming. When a cooling system in trying to
cool an area, which is in a warmer location, the cooling systems will work more
exhaustively to control the temperature. The temperature and climate of the geographic
location can aid in this issue by making it easier for the cooling systems to control the
temperature as the initial temperature is closer to the optimal temperature therefore
efficiently cutting the use of too much power. (Stanganelli, 2017)
35
This essentially reduces the load on power making it more efficient and reduces the use
of unnecessary hardware like servers and storage devices. (Jin et al., 2013)
36
3.0 Data Center – A Complete Picture
Data
Center
Spaces
Justification
The data center design proposed for Panadox is following the TIA-942 standard as mentioned
in section 2.2 of this report. It has five basic data center spaces such as Entrance Room, Main
Distribution Area, Horizontal Distribution Area, Zone Distribution Area and Equipment
Distribution Area. Following is a brief explanation of each of the component of the data center
as shown in Figure 26.
1. Entrance Room: It is a location for access provider equipment and demarcation points.
2. Main Distribution Area (MDA): It consists of the core routers and switches for LAN
and SAN infrastructures.
3. Horizontal Distribution Area (HDA): It serves as a distribution point for horizontal
cabling for distributing cable to the equipment distribution area and it consists of LAN,
SAN and KVM switches.
4. Zone Distribution Area (ZDA): It is an optional interconnection point in the horizontal
cabling between HDA and EDA. It can house equipment like mainframes and servers.
5. Equipment Distribution Area (EDA): It consists of racks and cabinets, installed in an
alternating pattern to create hot and cold aisles that will dissipate heat (Accu-tech.com,
n.d.).
37
The connection between Entrance Room, MDA and HDA is provided by backbone cabling
whereas the connection between HDA, ZDA and EDA is provided by horizontal cabling as
mentioned in section 2.2.1 of the report.
The data center would be redundant as all the equipment in the data center has a backup,
so if one fails the other takes over.
38
4.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, our team has proposed a data centre design plan for Panadox that ensures to
create a secure and efficient data center. The proposed data center is following the Tier 3
data center standard. The recommended storage system for the Panadox data center is SAN
as SAN can provide virtualization to extend the storage capabilities at any time. Rack
servers are recommended for the Panadox Data Center, however for future enhancement
blade servers can be implemented. The Panadox Data Design is following the TIA-942
design standard and it is divided in five spaces such as Entrance room, Main Distribution
Area (MDA), Horizontal Distribution Areas (HDA), Zone Distribution Area (ZDA), and
Equipment Distribution Area (EDA). Clean agent system will be used in the data center for
fire prevention. For the cooling, hot aisle containment system is preferred. The data center
will have a raised floor as it provides enough space to place quantity of communications
cable and power necessary for the data center to work and it is necessary to convey cool
air. The Panadox Data Center is a Green Data Center as all the necessary measures are
taken that are required for a Green Data Center. The Panadox Data Center is a secure Data
Center as it has all the necessary security measures such as biometric access systems, all
the security systems will be monitored 24/7. Motion sensors and CCTV systems monitoring
will be equipped to handle low light conditions. The staff will only have access to areas
that are required by their duties. The visitor’s appointments will be verified before allowing
escorted access only to the necessary location.
39
5.0 Work break down structure
Name TP Number Tasks
40
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Appendix
Consultants from ZiPro had made an analysis before proposing for Panadox Data Center. The
visit to HDC Data Center was on 24th April, 2019. From there, the analysis have been made
based on data center standard (Uptime Institute), required IT hardware, cooling system &
raised floor, power system, green computing and IT space.
46
HDC Data Center’s cooling system based on hot aisle designed for
dedicated servers such as rack servers and blade servers along with
Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units. They have provided
containments to keep the exhaust air and release from the chambers.
Moreover, EMS also helps in monitoring the cooling system in facility.
Hot aisle allows to maintain the optimum temperature and humidity in
a way to achieve the environmental friendly. Therefore, for Panadox
Data Center, the consultant will design hot aisle cooling system for the
IT facility.
47