Data Center Wish Lists

In the spirit of the holiday season, the folks at SearchDataCenter.com have taken a look at what’s on data center managers’ holiday wish lists. It’s a fun read – check it out when you have a minute. Here are some of the highlights:“Extra processor horsepower”“Information on building new data centers to carry us through the next 20 years and beyond”“A pill that we could give folks in the physical plant...

Embracing the Expanding Role of IT in Business

I was recently asked by Processor Magazine to answer a few questions about IT’s role in business, and it occurred to me that now might be a perfect time to give a “shout out” to the IT folks out there. A sort of gift, if you will, in the spirit of the season.First, let me dispel an all too common myth – IT is not just a group of “geeks” typing code all day in the server closet down the hall. Far from...

Server Cabinet Organization Tips

Just in time for Halloween, check out this classic server room cabling nightmare at Tech Republic. Scary stuff.Good data center design is a combination of high-level conceptual thinking and strategic planning, plus close attention to detail. Obviously, things like the cooling system and support infrastructure are critical to maintaining an always-available data center, but smaller things like well...

The Role of Sprinklers in Computer Room Fire Protection

A number of clients have asked us about the viability of replacing their ‘wet’ sprinkler systems with a dry-type fire suppression system, such as FM-200. Not many IT personnel understand the role of water-based fire suppression systems, but all realize the potential for water in the data processing environment to be a “bad thing.”   The short answer is that sprinkler systems protect the building...

Blogging in Good Company…

Happy Friday, everyone!A little over a year ago, Rich Miller at Data Center Knowledge put together a list of data center-related blogs, some of which have now become part of my regular reading habit. (Thanks, Rich, for including the PTS blog in that list.)Expanding on Data Center Knowledge’s list, here are a few blogs that I try to keep tabs on:* Cisco’s Data Center Networks* Virtual Graffiti’s...

It Isn’t Easy Being Green: Companies forgo eco-friendly solutions

A number of major corporations in the past year, including News Corp and Citigroup, announced plans to launch significant environmental initiatives. These corporations are paying particular attention to sustainability and are taking steps to build green data centers, in addition to reducing their carbon footprint in other ways. To meet this demand, industry leaders such as Sun Microsystems, HP...

Plan Your Data Center Move (Part 2 of 2)

A successful data center relocation starts with a good plan. By placing emphasis on pre-design and planning, you can achieve an optimal solution to meet the demands of your data center move. Here are some key points to address when developing your own data center relocation strategy:What equipment really needs to move?An equipment migration is the perfect time to make network and network security...

Plan Your Data Center Move (Part 1 of 2)

In my post “Tips for Handling Your Data Center Relocation,” I discussed some basic strategies for streamlining a data center move. Since then, I’ve received a few requests for more insight into handling the data center relocation process. In this post I’ll address whether it’s necessary to call in the pros and how to pick a data center moving company. While in some cases the in-house team can handle...

Reflections on the Data Center in a Box

Recently Jack Lyne, Executive Editor at Site Selection magazine, contacted me regarding Sun Microsystems' new Project Blackbox, colloquially dubbed the “data center in a box.” (Check out his article: “Sun’s Blackbox: A Moveable Feast for Data Centers?”) Jack’s questions led me to reflect on the current rate of adoption I’ve observed for the mobile date center.While the energy-efficient technology...

PTS Weighs in on Data Center Humidity Issues

Mark Fontecchio’s recent article on data center humidity issues at SearchDataCenter.com not only created buzz in the data center blogs, but generated quite a discussion amongst our team at PTS Data Center Solutions.Data center humidity range too strict?While some data center professionals find the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)’s recommended relative...

Recommended Reading: “The New Data Center”

There’s an interesting piece up at NetworkWorld.com on the leading trends in data center storage, titled “The New Style of Storage.” It touches on a variety of topics including e-discovery, eco-friendly storage technology, and virtualization.This is part 3 in a six-part series that examines the latest technologies and practices for building “the New Data Center.” Taken together, it’s a bit of a long-read,...

High Density Devices Strain Data Center Resources

A few weeks back I commented on the current boom in data center development. Spurring this trend is the growing need for greater processing power and increased data storage capacity, as well as new Federal regulations which call for better handling and storage of data. In the scramble to keep up with these demands, the deployment of high density devices and blade servers has become an attractive option...

NEW from PTS: Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Services

Behind the scenes at PTS Data Center Solutions, we’re always working to enhance our products, services and solutions in order to provide our clients with designs that offer optimum manageability and performance. Our newest consulting service utilizes powerful 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software to facilitate the design, operational analysis and maintenance of our clients’ data centers and...

Keeping It Clean in the Data Center

Spring is here. It’s the time of year when people throw open the windows, pull out the dust rags and fire up their vacuums for a burst of Spring Cleaning. This annual household ritual serves as a good reminder of the importance of regular cleanings within the data center environment. Regularly scheduled site cleanings help to keep the data center environment free of dust, dirt and other particulates...

Data Center Cooling: Approaches to Avoid

Data center cooling problems can compromise availability and increase costs. The ideal data center cooling system requires an adaptable, highly-available, maintainable, manageable, and cost effective design. When working to design an effective data center cooling system, there are a number of commonly deployed data center cooling techniques that should not be implemented. They are:Reducing the CRAC...

The New Data Center Boom

Across the country, data center development is booming. Companies, including major players like Microsoft and Google, are buying up acres of land with the intent of building new data centers.This rapid growth is, at least in part, spurred by the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), which call for better handling and storage of...

Reducing Data Center Power Consumption

When it comes to data center power, less is clearly more. By reducing the amount of energy their data centers consume, companies can take a burden off electricity suppliers, protect the environment and increase their profits. Many in the data center industry have already seen the light when it comes to reducing power usage. Technology companies are developing more efficient hardware, researchers...

Computer Room Design Tips

Computer rooms are an important component of the overall data center environment. Their purpose is to shelter network and server infrastructure as well as their related cabling, otherwise known as the computer room’s critical load. In creating a secure and efficient computer room design, special consideration must be given to good planning and the implementation of the right technologies. The success...

Server Room Security Measures

The other day I was reading a news story about hollow coins being used for espionage and it inadvertently got me thinking about server room security issues. While I’m still not 100% sure of the best way to protect your facility against Canadian spy coins, I am aware of a number of techniques for guarding against unauthorized server room access.To reduce downtime from accidents or sabotage due to the...

Data Center Power Solutions

I receive a lot of questions from clients seeking solutions to their problems with data center power consumption. It seems that the higher energy costs rise, the more power the average data center needs. Overall costs for data center power may be skyrocketing, but there are ways to mitigate the expense. Here are some interesting suggestions I’ve come across lately:- Utilize virtualization softwareVirtualization...