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While the divide between Facilities and IT
is not new, it can be extremely expensive when it comes to planning
new data centers. Taking a closer look at industry trends with
respect to a company's IT needs can save lots of time and loads of
money.
"...it's important to
perform extensive discovery and needs assessment to avoid extreme
modifications in the future."
It's often said that there is a disconnect
between IT, Facilities, and upper management," explains Brian
Donathan, Principal of Teladata, a Fremont-based IT infrastructure
consulting firm. "It's important for IT to communicate their
requirements plan with the Facilities team to ensure that the
building's infrastructure has enough capacity to accommodate their
current and long-term needs. Bridging this gap helps to formulate a
solid project plan- for today and for a company's future."
Data Centers Should Reflect Corporate
Vision
Good communication must also
be accurate communication. IT can only realistically respond to what
its needs are after upper management articulates the corporate goals
and vision. What suffices in terms of network, telecommunications,
and data processing operations for the next year or two will rarely
see a company through any kind of growth plan. "The dotcom fear
still exists of over-engineering or over-building to accommodate
future growth. That's why it's important to perform extensive
discovery and needs assessment to avoid extreme modifications in the
future," explains Donathan. Realistic growth projections as well as
the tier of reliability required in getting there are crucial for
the planning and budget process. The higher the tier of reliability,
the higher the price tag.
Power vs. Space
The challenge with today's data center is having
enough infrastructure capacity to support the new technologies.
Companies are increasingly converting to high-density servers due to
scalability, cost, and improved performance. Loads that were
1,000-2,000 watts/cabinet are now up to 5,000-30,000 watts/cabinet.
While that means greater space efficiency for the computers, the
flipside is that more power and space is required for
infrastructure, which includes HVAC, electrical and cable
management. Understanding the requirements behind the high-density
server trend can help Facilities better plan.
The Heat is On
Cooling all that packed power takes a lot of space.
Heat reduces servers' reliability and entire thermal overloads can
occur in minutes. Adequate airflow means bigger cabinets, wider
aisles and higher ceilings for the two to three feet of raised
floors the cabinets need. The height requirement alone directly
affects site selection as 19'-20' floor-to-structure clear heights
are more realistic to accommodate higher raised floors and
additional mechanical and cooling. Liquid-cool cabinets, a concept
developed in the 1960s, are becoming popular again. "Water is 3,500
times more efficient as a medium to cool than air," explains
Donathan.
Off-site Data Centers
Avoiding data center challenges altogether is another
option, if you choose to co-locate your company's data equipment.
Co-location centers (or co-los) are large data centers that are run
and maintained by a separate entity that sells space with 24/7/365
power, cooling, connectivity and security capabilities to clients.
The Right Team Can Facilitate
There are a host of considerations to weigh when
designing or expanding a data center. It's important to have an
experienced and knowledgeable team of architects, IT design
consultants and engineers who are practiced at facilitating the
discussion between IT, Facilities, and upper management to identify
key areas of concern. A better understanding of the IT perspective
goes a long way toward creating a solid plan that will best serve a
company's goals. | 
