Datacenter Design - DP Air

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Datacenter Design Key Components and Sound
Strategies
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Datacenter design

• An efficient datacenter design can reduce
  down-time, increases operational efficiency and
  cuts maintenance costs. A good design also saves
  money by eliminating the need to expand or
  upgrade the facility in the future. Industry
  analysts report data center managers are looking
  for solutions to reduce energy costs and increase
  capacity to extend the facilitys useful life.

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Datacenter design

• Key Components of Datacenter Design
• For a top performing data center, companies need
  to look at three key areas
•  
• Equipment. IT equipment accounts for the
  majority of power consumption. As datacenter
  design focuses more on green options, companies
  are focusing on energy-efficient hardware and
  replacing older hardware.
•  
• Newer equipment comes equipped with thermostatic
  fan control. By maintaining equipment so no dust
  accumulates in intake grills, companies can
  improve reliability. Data center managers should
  also ensure cabling is protected and all
  equipment is positioned to not block exhaust
  ports. Careful datacenter design can help
  eliminate equipment operational issues.

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Datacenter design

• Airflow. In proper datacenter design, air
  should flow from the air conditioning equipment
  through the IT equipment and back to the air
  conditioning equipment. However, airflow can
  take a couple other paths that produce
  undesirable effects.
•  
• One example of improper airflow is when air
  flows from the air conditioning equipments outlet
  and back directly to the input. In this
  situation, the air conditioning equipment does
  not provide adequate cooling and the total
  capacity is reduced.

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Datacenter design

• Another case involves the hot exhaust air
  exiting from IT equipment. The hot air being
  expelled into the datacenter must be
  re-circulated through the facilitys air
  conditioner and cooled. However, before it is
  re-circulated, some of this hot air may be
  returned to the IT equipment through its air
  intake vent. The recycling of hot exhaust air in
  this manner reduces the effectiveness of the air
  conditioning equipment and puts the IT equipment
  at risk of not being properly cooled.

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Datacenter design

• Datacenter design needs to manage airflow by
  isolating hot and cold air. By doing so,
  companies can save money on cooling. Equipment
  racks should be configured in such a way to
  eliminate extra spaces and be aligned in a hot
  aisle/cold aisle design. Using this design
  technique ensures equipment air intake comes from
  a cold aisle and exhaust air is pushed out into
  a hot aisle.

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Datacenter design

• Temperature. Just as heat can cause major
  issues, overcooling causes inefficiencies and is
  a common problem in datacenter design. The hot
  and cold air separation techniques outlined in
  the previous section represent the starting point
  to temperature control. The next step is to
  thoroughly understand the manufacturers
  specifications for each piece of equipment.
•  
• By adhering to the temperature requirements
  listed on data sheets, IT managers can avoid
  overcooling the facility. By improving energy
  efficiencies, companies can save money on data
  center operations.

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Datacenter design

• Developing Sound Strategies for Datacenter
  Design
•  
• When designing or updating a data center, IT
  managers need to think about their future as well
  as current needs. Considerations should include
  company growth and when upgrades are expected.
  With careful planning and use of sophisticated
  tools, data center managers can understand
  equipment, airflow and temperature issues.

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Datacenter design

• An efficient datacenter design can save
  companies money and ensure systems availability.
  The first step in reducing energy consumption and
  emissions is to understand the environment. A
  high performance data center is not only good for
  the business, but an environmentally and socially
  responsible way to manage operations.

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About the Author

• Arnie W. Evdokimo is Chief Executive Officer of
  DP Air Corporation, a leading provider of data
  center design, build and maintenance services
  based in Phoenix, Arizona.
• For more information about datacenter design,
  visit http//www.DPAir.com today.