Considerations for Storage Consolidation

The growth of company files, e-mail, databases, and application data drives a constant need for more storage. But with many networks architected with storage directly attached to servers, growth means burdensome storage management and decreased asset utilization. Storage resources remain trapped behind individual servers, impeding data availability.

There are three storage consolidation architectures in common use today:

• direct-attached storage (DAS),
• network-attached storage (NAS), and
• the storage area network (SAN).

DAS structures are traditional in which storage is tied directly to a server and only accessible at that server. In NAS, the hard drive that stores the data has its own network address. Files can be stored and retrieved rapidly because they do not compete with other computers for processor resources. The SAN is the most sophisticated architecture, and usually employs Fibre Channel technology, although iSCSI-based technology SANs are becoming more popular due to their cost effectiveness. SANs are noted for high throughput and their ability to provide centralized storage for numerous subscribers over a large geographic area. SANs support data sharing and data migration among servers.

So how do you choose between NAS, RAID and SAN architectures for Storage Consolidation? Once a particular approach has been decided, how do you decide which vendor solutions to consider? There are a number of factors involved in making a qualified decision including near and long term requirements, type of environment, data structures, budget, to name a few. PTS approaches Storage Consolidation by leveraging our proven consulting approach:

• to gather information on client needs,
• survey the current storage approach, and
• assess future requirements against their needs and the current approach.

Critical areas for review and analysis include:

• Ease of current data storage management
• Time spent modifying disk space size at the server level
• Storage capacity requirements to meet long term needs
• Recoverability expectations in terms of Recovery Time Objectives and Recovery Point Objectives
• Needed structuring of near- and off-line storage for survivability and ease of access to data
• Security needed to maintain data storage integrity
• Evolving storage complexity if current architecture is maintained
• New applications considered for deployment
• Requirement to provide Windows clustering
• Interest in considering Thin Provisioning
• Storage spending as a percentage of total IT budget

PTS reviews all of the items above, and more --- we then design the best storage architecture for both near and long term requirements and are able to source, install and manage leading edge storage solutions from companies such as Dell and Hitachi.

Ultimately, Storage Consolidation positively impacts costs associated with managing your IT network in terms of redundancy, disaster recovery, and network management. It also allows for a more secure network, free from wasted assets tied to particular servers or data center components. Finally, the tasks of provisioning, monitoring, reporting, and delivering the right storage services levels can be time consuming and complex and Storage Consolidation will enhance your ability to manage your organization's data storage.

The Devils in the Details - Enhanced SAN & Switching Solutions for Next Gen Data Centers

PTS is pleased to announce a new educational event, The Devils in the Details - Enhanced SAN & Switching Solutions for Next Generation Data Centers, in which we will introduce several new technology-based solutions, which will enhance data center optimization, consolidation, virtualization, and disaster recovery.

Prior to an upcoming New Jersey Devils versus Philadelphia Flyers hockey game we will leverage our understanding of the synergies between Facility and IT Infrastructure and introduce two highly efficient and cost effective solutions. These solutions can dramatically reduce the costs and complexity of your IT environment while increasing your ability to adapt, manage, and grow your storage and computing infrastructure. Learn about flexible, scalable solutions that will meet your business and security challenges and better understand how IT requirements drive new needs for your data center support infrastructure.

February 10, 2010
NJ Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Prudential Center, Newark
Presentation with dinner/drinks starting at 5:00 PM
Game time 7:00 PM

Join us for an informative discussion and learn about:

• PTS Data Center Solutions' strategic data center design approach combining both IT and support infrastructure expertise to design, manage and operate a superior data center.
• Dell EqualLogic PS Series SANs designed to cost-effectively integrate advanced data and disaster protection features directly with VMware virtual infrastructure to help provide seamless data protection and disaster recovery management.
• Enterasys S-Series® enterprise switching and routing solutions specifically designed for high speed core and SAN deployments.

Click here to learn more

Please RSVP by 1/5/2010. Tickets are limited and available on a first-come basis.

PTS Announces a Strategic Distribution Relationship with Dell Corporation

I’m excited to announce that PTS has launched a strategic distribution relationship with Dell Corporation which includes the full breadth of Dell products targeted for the small to mid-size business segment.

As a leading data center design and turnkey solutions provider, we’ve been approached by many clients asking us to help them reduce overall data center operational costs through power efficiency analysis and improvements. The relationship with Dell allows us to provide consultative support by focusing upon key technology energy drains in the data center, namely routing, server processing, storage and security-based infrastructure products.

By partnering with Dell, we see ourselves as partnering with a best-of-breed solutions provider for our mid-market clients. Depending upon client applications, a host of solutions such as the Dell EqualLogic iSCSI storage family and PowerEdge blade and rack servers can improve power efficiencies, support growth within the data center and provide superior price / performance returns.

To learn more, please contact us today.

‘Lights Out’ Data Center Management

In a recent post at The Data Center Journal, titled “Save some money – work with outsiders,” Rakesh Dogra discusses the new trend to minimize power bills using Lights-Out data center and remote management. [As a side note, way back in 2006 we blogged about how “dim” data center designs are a realistic goal for most companies. You can read that post here.]

Dogra explains that the use of these tactics can lead to major cost savings. He suggests that, looking at your IT, security and facilities staff, it is unwise to cut back on security personnel but it may be prudent to use remote management to replace portions of the IT staff. Additional benefits may include:

• A lesser possibility of accidents and security breaches since fewer people will have physical access to a computer room.
• Response time is boosted with remote bios level access to a data center’s servers.
• Geographical independence can also be achieved through this system.

A potential downside of this system is that a “data center will need people within its premises too to fire fight something going wrong like outages. Also, a data center manager may not find someone with the required amount of experience and expertise to fend off crisis when it happens.”

It is surely a best practice to consider operating as ‘lights out’ a data center as possible, as the author suggests.

For PTS, the real secret to realizing operational costs savings from reduced energy consumption has less to do with facility based solutions than it does with IT. Our position is that there is far more operational cost savings potential coming from virtualizing servers and storage.

To prove the point, in 2010, PTS will perform a network re-design effort of our own operations and provide detailed documentation and analysis of the before and after conditions of our data center energy usage. So, stay tuned...

Introducing PTS' Information Technology Solutions Group

For years our team has provided exceptional service to analyze, survey, design, plan, commission and manage Data Centers for our clients. We are now pleased to leverage our expertise in All Things Data Center to launch an exciting new division, PTS Information Technology Solutions Group (ITSG).

ITSG provides information technology based consulting, design, implementation/integration, and ongoing support services as well as IT infrastructure solutions to companies nationwide. ITSG extends PTS' data center expertise beyond facility planning, design, engineering, construction, and maintenance to include service and solutions pertaining to:

• LAN/WAN Networking
• Information/Network Security
• Servers & Systems
• Virtualization Technologies
• Enterprise Storage
• Unified Communications
• Software
• Application Development

ITSG's services and solutions are tailored specifically to the needs of our client's project needs, including:

• Technology Roadmaps
• Data Center Relocation
• Consolidation
• Technology Refresh

ITSG follows our proven project delivery process:



PTS' goal is to provide our clients with 100% turnkey, people, process, and technology solutions from data center facility to IT operations.

ITSG will be led by Rich Horowitz, an industry veteran, who has been involved in all facets of the technology industry for more than 20 years. Rich is actively involved in business development, operations, Channel Partner development, Mergers & Acquisitions, and services delivery. Rich has been involved in approx $700 million in technology hardware sales, software sales and technical services engagements. Rich will be responsible for establishing and strengthening the PTS IT Solutions Group brand, and working with our clients to understand their needs and how we can provide value to them.

To learn more, please contact us today.

Drug Companies Put Cloud Computing to the Test

Traditionally characterized as "late adopters" when it comes to their use of information technology (IT), major pharmaceutical companies are now setting their sights on cloud computing.

Rick Mullin at Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) explores how Pfizer, Eli Lilly & Co., Johnson & Johnson, Genentech and other big drug firms are now starting to push data storage and processing onto the Internet to be managed for them by companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft on computers in undisclosed locations. In the cover story, “The New Computing Pioneers”, Mullin explains:

“The advantages of cloud computing to drug companies include storage of large amounts of data as well as lower cost, faster processing of those data. Users are able to employ almost any type of Web-based computing application. Researchers at the Biotechnology & Bioengineering Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, for example, recently published a paper on the viability of using Amazon's cloud-computing service for low-cost, scalable proteomics data processing in the Journal of Proteome Research (DOI: 10.1021/pr800970z).”

While the savings in terms of cost and time are significant (particularly in terms of accelerated research), this is still new territory. Data security and a lack of standards for distributed storage and processing are issues when you consider the amount of sensitive data that the pharmaceutical sector must manage. Drug makers are left to decide whether it’s smarter to build the necessary infrastructure in-house or to shift their increasing computing burdens to the cloud.

Going Green with Data Center Storage

Just saw an interesting article in Enterprise Strategies about the use of magnetic tape as an energy-efficient storage solution. In “Tape’s Role in the Green Data Center,” Mark Ferelli discusses how tape technology is making a comeback by helping to keep the data center green as utility bills rise. He explains:

The efficient use of disk can help with data center greening when a user reads and writes to the densest possible disk array to ensure capacity is maximized and more disk is not bought unnecessarily.

In archiving, on the other hand, the greenest option is tape, which uses less power and produces a lower heat output. This not only eases the bite of the utility bill but places less strain on HVAC systems. In contrast, the case can be made that using disk for archiving does more harm since disks that spin constantly use much more power and generate more heat.

Ferelli also takes a look at alternative power and cooling solutions, such as MAID (Massive Array of Idle Disks) storage arrays, in comparison with tape-based storage.

What’s been your experience with energy-efficient storage technology? Do tape-based systems offer better power savings versus disk-based solutions?

Top 3 Data Center Trends for 2009

Enterprise Systems just published the “Top Three Data Center Trends for 2009” by Duncan Campbell, vice president of worldwide marketing for adaptive infrastructure at HP. In the article, Campbell discusses how companies need to get the most out of their technology assets and, in the coming year, data centers will be pressured to "maintain high levels of efficiency while managing costs". In addition, companies will need to make an up-front investment in their data center assets in order to meet complex business demands.

Campbell predicts:

• “There will be no shortage of cost-cutting initiatives for enterprise technology this year.”
• “As virtualization continues to enable technology organizations to bring new levels of efficiency to the data center, the line between clients, servers, networks and storage devices will continue to blur.”
• “Blade offerings will continue to mature in 2009. Server, storage, and networking blades will continue to improve their energy efficiency and reduce data center footprints. Vendors are also now developing specialty blades, finely tuned to run a specific application.”

Efficiency, agility, and scalability will remain priorities for companies. By taking advantage of innovative data center technologies, companies can further reduce costs while increasing productivity – a goal that is of particular importance during challenging economic times.

Data Centers Understaffed and Underutilized?

The following news snippet from SearchStorage.com caught my eye and I couldn’t resist sharing it here:

Symantec Corp.'s State of the Data Center 2008 report paints a picture of understaffed data centers and underutilized storage systems.

The report, based on a survey of 1,600 enterprise data center managers and executives, found storage utilization at 50%. The survey also discovered that staffing remains a crucial issue, with 36% of respondents saying their firms are understaffed. Only 4% say they are overstaffed. Furthermore, 43% state that finding qualified applicants is a problem.

Really interesting numbers, particularly when it comes to staffing issues. With so many layoffs and other cutbacks happening, it’s not so surprising that firms feel understaffed. However, with the national unemployment rate reaching 7.2 percent for December, I don’t think finding qualified applicants will be as much of a problem in 2009. As for the underutilization of storage systems, this is a major contributor to high data center costs. If corporate budgets continue to get slashed, I can guarantee that virtualization is going to stay right at the top of most data center managers to-do lists for the foreseeable future.

(By the way, if you’re an unemployed techie, you might want to check out this article from CIO.com. Socialtext is offering its social networking tools free to laid-off workers who want to form alumni networks and share job leads.)

PTS to Provide Services for Verari’s FOREST Container Data Center

I’m happy to announce that PTS Data Center Solutions has partnered with Verari Systems to provide design and construction services for Verari’s FOREST Container data center consolidation solution. The combination of Verari’s modular, portable data center that is deployable virtually anywhere, with the broad project expertise of PTS, provides organizations with a complete and secure “ready to go” alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar data centers.

Unlike the traditional bid-build process which costs more, takes more time to execute and requires more resources to manage, the Verari/PTS FOREST Container construction strategy condenses the exercise into a clear and concise process. The combination of a portable data center with our turnkey services addresses consolidation needs with minimal disruption to business operations.

Recently named as a finalist in the “Clean Technology Category” of the 15th Annual AeA San Diego Council's High Tech Awards, the FOREST container is designed to house over 2000 blade-based compute servers or nearly 12 petabytes of blade-based storage by utilizing Verari’s BladeRack® 2 X-Series platforms in a modular unit. Energy spending is dramatically reduced by the Verari FOREST Container’s ultra efficient power subsystems and patented Vertical Cooling Technology™, boosting reliability, performance and availability.

Click here to learn more.

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.

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 improvements, phase out old server and storage platforms, and undertake a virtualization project to minimize the number of servers.

Is the new site’s support infrastructure prepared to accept the new load?

Is there enough UPS, cooling, power distribution, floor weight capacity, etc.? Is the data cabling strategy the same or will you be making changes? It’s helpful to retain a computer room design consultant to verify the load capacity and redundancy constraints of the new site. If working with a pre-existing space, the new computer room should be re-commissioned.

Establish corporate buy-in.

Clearly communicate the timeline of the project with everyone in the company – management and employees alike.

Identify, mark, tag, and document everything – twice!

Every piece of equipment from subfloor to ceiling – be it a cabinet, rack, power cable, power strip, patch cable, data cable, bracket, nut, or bolt – needs to be accounted for using a numbering convention that will ensure everything goes back together exactly as it came apart.

Develop a schedule with enough time built in for contingencies.

Allow yourself a sufficient margin of error in case there’s a hold-up at some point during the process. Build extra time in at the end of the data center relocation schedule and don’t try to do too much at one time.

For more advice on data center migration, check out "Tips For Moving Your Data Center" at Processor.com.

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, but well worth the time. Check it out when you have a chance.

Be sure to take a look at parts 1 and 2, as well:
Part 1, The New Data Center – Trends, Products & Practices for Next-Gen IT Infrastructure
Part 2, Defending Your Net – Tools and Tactics for Enterprise IT Security

Want to weigh in on what you’ve read? I’d love to hear it. Post your thoughts on the comments page for this entry.

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 for many data center managers. However, a new report from the Aperture Research Institute indicates that “many facilities are not able to handle the associated demand for power and cooling.”

The study, based on interviews with more than 100 data center professionals representing a broad spectrum of industries, reveals that the deployment of high density equipment is creating unforeseen challenges within many data centers.

Highlights of the report include:

• While the majority of data center managers are currently running blade servers in their facilities, traditional servers still comprise the bulk of new server purchases. Mixing blade and non-blade servers in such small quantities can unnecessarily complicate the data center environment and make maintenance more difficult.
• The rising power density of racks makes them more expensive to operate and more difficult to cool. More than one-third of the respondents said their average power density per rack was over 7KW, a scenario that setting the facilities up for potential data center cooling issues and unexpected downtime.
• Respondents report that the majority of data center outages were caused by human error and improper failover.
• What’s really jaw-dropping is that while more than 22% of outages were due to overheating, 21% of respondents admit that they don’t know the maximum power density of their racks. The report points out that “[o]ver 8% of respondents are therefore using high-density devices without tracking power density in a rack, dramatically increasing the potential for outages.”

High density equipment can help data centers keep up with business demands, but only if you can keep things running smoothly. Proper management of power and cooling is essential for meeting the end user's availability expectations. For more information on the various cooling challenges posed by high density rack systems, please visit our Data Center Cooling Challenges page at PTSDCS.com.

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 computer rooms.

Here is an overview of the multiple applications of our CFD Services:

• CFD Modeling as a Design Tool

By building CFD models of a mission critical space, engineers can quickly and efficiently review multiple design options. This allows for early detection of potential problems with air flow and heat distribution, thus permitting designers to provide an optimum solution.

• CFD Operational Baseline Service

After the data center’s IT infrastructure has been populated, PTS uses CFD modeling to map the site and analyze the data center cooling characteristics down to the equipment level. By doing so, we can determine how variations in the position and design of equipment, as well as other factors, affect the room’s cooling profile.

• Maintaining a CFD Modeled Computer Room

To ensure the high performance and manageability of a mission critical site, it is important to understand the effect that equipment changes will have before implementation takes place. Through CFD visualization, simulation and analysis, PTS’s consulting team can predict the impact of operational changes on the temperatures in the room. From there PTS is able to make recommendations for avoiding potential problems while planning for future growth. As part of the CFD modeling process, PTS maintains a complete asset inventory log as well as a detailed change order log, ensuring that infrastructure changes are tracked correctly.

If you’re interested in learning more about this data center consulting service, please visit our Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Services page.

Request a Quote

To request a quote for PTS's CFD Baseline and/or Maintenance Services, please send an email to CFD@PTSdcs.com with the following information:

1. The physical address of the location
2. The square footage of the computer room to be modeled
3. The number of server cabinets, racks, and stand-alone pieces of equipment in the computer room
4. The number of IT infrastructure devices (servers, switches, routers, storage arrays, etc.) the computer room supports

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 data. Companies are also responding to the nationwide push to establish energy efficient data centers. In order to accommodate the state-of-the-art, next generation data centers, companies simply need more space than their current facilities can provide.

Data Center Site Selection

For companies seeking to develop a new data center facility, high-quality site selection is of the utmost importance. By choosing a site location wisely, companies can save both time and money, while achieving scalability, flexibility and high availability.

Choosing a site that minimizes the natural and man made threats to continuous operation is the first step in provisioning a new data center. There are many factors to consider, including:

• Natural Hazard Threats
• Physical Location Threats
• Terrorist Activity Threats
• Environmental Contamination Threats
• Site Accessibility
• Amenities Access

It is interesting to note that the priority level of these factors is highly changeable. For instance, a decade ago it would have been more common for companies to seek site locations that with close proximity to major cities and airports. However, in the wake of September 11^th, data centers are more likely to spring up in smaller cities, reducing the likelihood of damage from terrorist attacks, but most especially in those areas of the country that have the lowest operation costs including utility rates, land acquisition costs, labor rates, tax rates, and cost-of-living expenses.

To help navigate the complex process of site selection, many companies employ data center consultants for assistance in selecting an appropriate geography on which to locate their data center. Site selection services are the optimal way to ensure your mission critical facility is set up in both a location and a building that can support constant availability.

New Year’s Resolutions for Data Center Solutions

Happy holidays, everyone!

Each year, millions of people form New Year’s Resolutions in the hopes of making a change for the better. I encourage data center managers and other IT professionals to use this annual tradition as an opportunity to reflect on the data center solutions you want – or need – to adopt in order to keep your data center in top condition. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. “Eat right/Quit smoking/Drink less”

I’m not suggesting that you or your team members change your lifestyle habits. The idea behind this metaphoric resolution is to improve the overall health of your data center. Consider updating your key processes, tightening up security, keeping a more detailed record of network changes, or coming up with some other solution that will boost your data center’s availability.

2. “Battle the bulge”

Over time, data centers tend to get cluttered. Dirt and dust start to accumulate on mission critical equipment, and employees may try to use perceived “extra space” for storage. This could cause major problems down the road. Straightening things up will not only improve employee moral and health, but also enhance equipment performance and cut down on maintenance costs. Cleaning your data center every day, week, or month will help your machines run better, and keeping the “extra space” empty will improve the efficiency of your environmental systems.

3. “Learn something new”

Don’t let your team get set in its ways. Establish a reading habit that will keep you up-to-date regarding new technologies and data center solutions. Encourage your coworkers to do the same. Also, attend an industry-sponsored convention or open house – it’s a valuable opportunity to make connections and gain a fresh perspective.

4. “Save money”

Find ways to cut costs via server virtualization or other efficiency-boosting solutions. Analyze the efficiency of your air conditioning or electrical systems – a few refinements might result in major financial rewards.

5. “Reduce stress/Enjoy life more”

Once you’ve made strategic improvements to your data center operations based on your IT resolutions, you’ll be able to spend more time making large-scale improvements instead of chasing after minor problems.

Set aside some time this week to write down your own IT resolutions. It’s a small step that will help you start 2007 with your best foot foreword.

Data Center Solutions to Beat the Summer Heat

This summer, data center managers are sweating – and it’s not just because of the heat. As temperatures hit record highs this year, the increased demands placed on US energy grids have lead to brownouts and occasional blackouts. Between the soaring temperatures and the power outages, data center cooling systems and backup generators are getting a real work-out.

The situation isn’t likely to improve in the summers to come. As our national energy usage increases, power reliability decreases during peak times. The demand for energy is growing at a much faster rate than our power generation capacity can handle.

Unfortunately, if you can’t take the heat, the solution isn’t “Get out of the data center.” Data centers that don’t want to get burned by future heat waves are investing in some preventative measures. Many businesses are installing extra cooling systems and on-site generators in the hope that these data center solutions will prevent costly downtime.

Heat removal is essential to the proper functioning of data centers, yet poor design and maintenance choices prevent many air conditioning systems from operating at peak efficiency. The availability and reliability of your network services hinge on the continued operation of your precision cooling solutions. If you’re looking for help minimizing the frequency and severity of unexpected downtime, try the following data center solutions:

- Provide redundancy throughout the entire cooling infrastructure by maintaining at least one additional computer room air conditioner (CRAC), pumps, and heat rejection equipment for each cooling zone. This is referred to as N+1 redundant.

- If you have a cooling system that employs on-site thermal storage such as a chilled water system, consider providing the air handlers, inside the computer room, with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) power to provide uninterrupted power & cooling to the site.

- To sidestep power outages altogether, size the on-site emergency power generators to handle your system’s cooling as well as power needs.

- Perform regular checks on your computer room air conditioner (CRAC) and heat rejection equipment including inspecting all filters and operating parameters.

For an expert assessment of your data center’s cooling system, consult a data center design firm. By evaluating your present and future loads, capacity and redundant capacity plans can be created and utilized to keep you cool when the heat turns up.