Are the Uptime Institute's Data Center Rating Tiers Out of Date?

Let me start by saying I have the utmost respect for the Uptime Institute’s Pitt Turner, P.E., John Seader, P.E., and Ken Brill and the work they have done furthering the cause of providing some standards to an otherwise standard-less subject like data center design. However, as a data center designer I feel their definitive work, Tier Classifications Define Site Infrastructure Performance, has passed its prime.

The Institute’s systems have been in use since 1995, which is positively ancient in the world of IT.

In its latest revision, the Uptime Institute’s Tier Performance Standards morphed from a tool for IT and corporate decision makers to consider the differences between different data center investments into a case study for consulting services pushing for certification against their standard.

While the data their standard is based upon has been culled from real client experiences, the analysis of the data has been interpreted by only one expert company, ComputerSite Engineering which works in close collaboration with the Uptime Institute. Surely, the standard could be vastly improved with the outside opinion and influence of many of the, just as expert, data center design firms that exist.

Case in point, the Uptime Institute has repeatedly defended the notion that there is no such thing as a partial tier conforming site (Tier 1+, almost Tier III, etc.). They argue that the rating is definitive and to say such things is a misuse of the rating guide. While I understand the argument that a site is only as good as its weakest link, to say that a site incorporating most, but not all of the elements of the tier definition is mathematically and experientially wrong.

PTS’ actual experiences bear this out. Our clients that have all the elements of a Tier II site, except for the second generator, are clearly better than those with no UPS and/or air conditioning redundancy (Tier I). Therefore, if not for Tier I+, how do they suggest to account for the vast realization between the real availability of the two sites?

It is interesting that most data center consulting, design, and engineering companies nationwide utilize elements of the white paper as a communications bridge to the non-facility engineering community, but not as part of their design process. In fact, most have developed and utilize their own internal rating guides.

While I will continue to utilize their indisputable expertise as a part of my own interpretation in directing PTS’ clients with their data center investment decisions, I suggest that clients would be wise not put all of their eggs in the Institute’s basket at this point in time.

What is your outlook on the Uptime Institute’s Tier Performance Standards? Is the four-tier perspective outdated or is it still a meaningful industry standard?

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Are “free” computer room site assessment services worth the money you pay for them?

It has become commonplace for the myriad of IT and support infrastructure OEMs to offer free site assessment services in an effort to woo clients into purchasing their equipment.

While it was already difficult enough for small- to mid-size design consulting service providers to build credibility and brand-identity in the ultra-competitive world of computer room design, in the past few years these firms have seen some of their most valuable vendor partners become chief competitors.

This is not just a case of sour apples. The design services provided by most OEMs do their clients a disservice. Clients are usually only provided the part of the picture that suits the manufacturer and they are forced to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, the blanks are often not identified. This leads to some very unhappy bean counters.

One leading power and cooling system manufacturer’s entire go-to-market strategy is based on allowing inexperienced enthusiasts to represent themselves as capable designers by providing them with access to an online configuration tool. Being an expert in its use myself, I can safely say the information it provides is rudimentary at best. Our team at PTS Data Center Solutions uses this tool only for ordering purposes and never for design. These online tools are being used by the manufacturer’s own systems engineers, reseller partners, or end users themselves to try to simplify the inherently complicated subject of computer room support infrastructure design.

The manufacturer’s configuration tool only provides solution recommendations for the equipment they manufacture. Much of the rest of the complete solution is missing, including the infrastructure they don’t sell, the labor to install any of it, and/or the engineering services to produce the design documentation required to file the necessary permits. Worse, little advice is provided as to the best project delivery methodology. While I would be the first to admit the traditional consulting engineering community has been slow to adapt to the latest design practices, the truth remains that as-a-matter-of-course changes to facilities still require the services of a licensed engineer. This includes the sizing of the power and cooling infrastructure.

That’s not to say the use of tools doesn’t have its place. Any consultant-recommended solutions should always be based on sound engineering using the latest technologies, such as computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling.

Individuals seeking computer room solutions are better served by hiring experienced, licensed, capable design engineers that are well versed in all of the major infrastructure solutions. This ensures that for a moderate amount of money spent in the planning stage you come away with a properly designed project with a well-defined scope, schedule, and budget.

PTS’ 2008 Predictions for the Data Center Industry

I consider myself a veteran of the data center design industry. Additionally, I have the good fortune to visit as many as fifty data centers and computer rooms in the course of a year. And while I have seen good ones and bad ones, they all seem to share certain commonalities. As a result of my experiences and research covering a broad scope of concerns, I have compiled a list of the challenges the data center industry as a whole will face over the next few years.

The talent pool of senior level experts is disappearing. Worse yet, as a nation we have not educated tomorrow’s engineers and/or technicians. This severe lack of experts will be an ever present obstacle to sustainable corporate growth due to technology evolution. In turn, this threatens the nation’s overall economic growth and will cause the United States to fall as the technical leader of the world. Our only saving grace will be to embrace the new world order and adapt to global solutions.

The original equipment manufacturers will own the data center design space. This is their best recourse in maintaining an ability to sell their ever improving infrastructure to customers with old, out-dated, ill-prepared facilities. A further prediction is that it will be difficult for these OEMs to provide heterogeneous and not self-serving designs. And even if they can, will clients believe it to be so?

Big surprise, data centers and computer rooms nationwide are running out of power, cooling, and space. Furthermore, due to the high capital cost and the time it takes to undertake a computer room improvement project, operators will choose not to. My prediction is that this will lead to business impacting disruptions for at least 20% of businesses over the next three (3) years.

We will run out of utility power producing capacity as a nation before the technical revolution is over. Furthermore, no amount of ‘green’ building will prohibit this from inevitably happening. Like virtualization has been for processing capacity, ‘greenness’ is only an incremental band aid on the proverbial bullet wound. My prediction is that the U.S. will experience more wide area outages, such as the one in August of 2003, in the near future.

As the saying goes, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. We had better hope so. My final prediction is that our technological leadership as a nation will be saved not by a band aid application, by a grassroots conservation effort, or by sheer will alone. Ultimately, it will be saved by a sweeping improvement in the efficiency of how power is used by IT infrastructure. Materials research within the semiconductor industry will yield a massive reduction in the power dissipation of IT infrastructure. As a result, companies worldwide will take advantage by refreshing their IT equipment, thus allowing them to survive using their existing aging facilities and support infrastructure.

What is your number one prediction for the industry in the coming years? Whether you’re optimistic or foresee doom and gloom, I would love to hear what you think.

PTS' 2008 Predictions for the Data Center Industry

I consider myself a veteran of the data center design industry. Additionally, I have the good fortune to visit as many as fifty data centers and computer rooms in the course of a year. And while I have seen good ones and bad ones, they all seem to share certain commonalities. As a result of my experiences and research covering a broad scope of concerns, I have compiled a list of the challenges the data center industry as a whole will face over the next few years.

The talent pool of senior level experts is disappearing. Worse yet, as a nation we have not educated tomorrow’s engineers and/or technicians. This severe lack of experts will be an ever present obstacle to sustainable corporate growth due to technology evolution. In turn, this threatens the nation’s overall economic growth and will cause the United States to fall as the technical leader of the world. Our only saving grace will be to embrace the new world order and adapt to global solutions.

The original equipment manufacturers will own the data center design space. This is their best recourse in maintaining an ability to sell their ever improving infrastructure to customers with old, out-dated, ill-prepared facilities. A further prediction is that it will be difficult for these OEMs to provide heterogeneous and not self-serving designs. And even if they can, will clients believe it to be so?

Big surprise, data centers and computer rooms nationwide are running out of power, cooling, and space. Furthermore, due to the high capital cost and the time it takes to undertake a computer room improvement project, operators will choose not to. My prediction is that this will lead to business impacting disruptions for at least 20% of businesses over the next three (3) years.

We will run out of utility power producing capacity as a nation before the technical revolution is over. Furthermore, no amount of ‘green’ building will prohibit this from inevitably happening. Like virtualization has been for processing capacity, ‘greenness’ is only an incremental band aid on the proverbial bullet wound. My prediction is that the U.S. will experience more wide area outages, such as the one in August of 2003, in the near future.

As the saying goes, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. We had better hope so. My final prediction is that our technological leadership as a nation will be saved not by a band aid application, by a grassroots conservation effort, or by sheer will alone. Ultimately, it will be saved by a sweeping improvement in the efficiency of how power is used by IT infrastructure. Materials research within the semiconductor industry will yield a massive reduction in the power dissipation of IT infrastructure. As a result, companies worldwide will take advantage by refreshing their IT equipment, thus allowing them to survive using their existing aging facilities and support infrastructure.

What is your number one prediction for the industry in the coming years? Whether you are optimistic or foresee doom and gloom, I would love to hear what you think.

2008 Data Center Industry Trends

A recent article from Network World points to security as the dominant issue for the data center design industry in 2008. Potential threats identified by experts include:

• Malware attacks which piggy back on major events such as the ‘08 Olympics or the US Presidential Elections
• The opportunity for the first serious security exploit in corporate VoIP networks
• Additional malware vulnerability for users as participation in Web 2.0 continues to grow

Other important issues for 2008 as identified by Network World staff include:

• The early adoption of 802.11n WLAN technology
• A shift in IT’s approach to managing mission critical environments as virtualization and green computing are deployed more broadly
• The growing acceptance of open source technology at the corporate level
• Tightly controlled budgets as IT spending growth drops (particularly in response to news of economic recession)
• Increased demand for “IT hybrids” – professionals with both business acumen and technical know-how – as the most sought-after hires

Source: Security dominates 2008 IT agenda

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 and IT that would give them an understanding of what the data center is and what it takes to operate one under best practices”

And all I thought to ask for was a Nintendo Wii. I’ll have to be more creative next year.

No matter what you’re wishing for this year, the team at PTS Data Center Solutions wishes you a happy holiday season and a fantastic New Year!

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 it. As technology continues marching forward, IT’s role and its importance to the bottom line continues to grow. And don’t just take my word for it – according to the MIT Sloan Management Review, Information and Information Technology have become the fifth major resource available to executives for shaping an organization, alongside people, money, material and machines.[1] In fact, we’re witnessing all businesses, from large to small, expanding what was traditionally thought of as IT, to a broader corporate responsibility known as Information Systems (IS). This new IS paradigm is responsible for the development and implementation of business processes (BP) throughout an organization. These BP’s are often technology based and therefore the logical domain of the technology leaders of the organization.

IT, or “IS” I should say, is responsible for much more than just fixing uncooperative computers. IS deals with the use of infrastructure including PCs, servers, storage, network, security, communications, and related software to manipulate, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information securely. Today, the IT umbrella is quite large and covers many disciplines. IT professionals perform various duties ranging from installing applications, implementing LAN/WAN networks, designing information databases, and managing communications. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, network security, deploying infrastructure, managing communications, database and software design & implementation, as well as the monitoring and administration of entire systems.

So what’s my point, you ask? Simply to reinforce the value of IT and help shift the corporate perception of IT as a “necessary evil” to IT as an important value center that can help businesses and employees to accomplish more, with greater accuracy, in less time, while utilizing less company resources. For 2008, I encourage companies to make a New Year’s resolution to embrace IT and look for ways to make the most of this extremely valuable resource.

[1] Rockart et. Al (1996) "Eight imperatives for the new IT organization," Sloan Management Review.

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 organized server cabinets can also contribute to the overall efficiency of a data center or computer room. That being said, I thought I’d share a few of our guidelines and best practices for organizing your cabinets.

In no particular order:

1. Place heavier equipment on the bottom, lighter equipment towards the top

2. Use blanking plates to fill equipment gaps to prevent hot air from re-circulating back to the front

3. Use a cabinet deep enough to accommodate cable organization and airflow in the rear of the cabinet

4. Use perforated front and rear doors when using the room for air distribution

5. Make sure doors can be locked for security

6. PTS prefers using a patch panel in each cabinet for data distribution. We typically install it in the top rear U’s, but are experimenting with vertical rear channel patch cable distribution

7. PTS prefers using vertical power strips in a rear channel of the cabinet with short power cords for server-to-power-strip distribution

8. While they are convenient, do not use cable management arms that fold the cables on the back of the server as they impede outlet airflow of the server

9. Don’t use roof fans without front-to-rear baffling. They suck as much cold air from the front as they do hot air from the rear.

10. Monitor air inlet temperature ¾ of the way up the front of the cabinet

11. Use U-numbered vertical rails to make mounting equipment easier

12. Have a cabinet numbering convention and floor layout map

13. Use color-coded cabling for different services

14. Separate power and network cabling distribution on opposite sides of the cabinet

15. PTS often uses the tops of the cabinet to facilitate cabinet-to-cabinet power and data cable distribution

As you can see, the little things do make a difference. And by instituting some or all of these, you’ll be one step closer to 24-7 availability.

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 and dry-type systems protect the equipment. In most cases a dry-type system cannot take the place of a sprinkler system, it can only be installed in addition to it. At the end of the day, the local fire inspection is the authority and has jurisdiction over what is permissible. This is the reason that pre-action sprinkler systems are primarily used for computer room fire protection.
 

That being said, fire prevention provides more protection against damage than any type of detection or suppression equipment available. For Tier I and Tier II computer rooms, PTS often recommends installing only a pre-action sprinkler system activated by a photo-electric smoke detection system and forgo a dry-type system and VESDA system. We find the most effective strategy is to emphasize prevention and early detection. This allows the client to maximize availability by investing in solutions for areas of higher risk, such as fully redundant power and cooling systems.
 

For more information on fire protection, read our vendor white paper “Mitigating Fire Risks in Mission Critical Facilities,” which provides a clear understanding of the creation, detection, suppression and prevention of fire within mission critical facilities. Fire codes for Information Technology environments are discussed. Best practices for increasing availability are provided.