Both hot and cold air containment can significantly improve the predictability and efficiency of data centre cooling systems. While both approaches eliminate the mixing of hot and cold air, there are practical differences in implementation that have significant consequences. This paper examines both methodologies and highlights the reasons why hot aisle containment emerges as the
In the wider discussion about how to save costs and energy in the data centre, physical infrastructure preventive maintenance (PM) is sometimes neglected as an important tool for controlling TCO and downtime. PM is performed specifically to prevent faults from ocurring, but IT and facilities managers can improve systems uptime through a better underderstanding of
Traditional methodologies for monitoring the data centre environment are no longer sufficient. With technologies such as blade servers driving up cooling demands and regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley driving up security requirements, the physical environment in the data centre must be watched more closely. Find out more about the threats that exist regarding a class of
New breakthroughs in power and cooling technology allow for a simple and rapid deployment of self-contained high-density zones within an existing or new low-density data centre. The independence of these high-density zones allows for preditable and reliable operation of high-density equipment without a negative impact on the performance of existing low-density power and cooling infrastructure.
Data centre electrical efficiency is rarely planned or managed, with the unfortunate result that most data centres waste substantial amounts. Today it is both possible and prudent to plan, measure and improve data centre efficiency, thereby reducing electrical consumption and improving power densities, so that more IT equipment can be installed in a given site.
Data centre professionals can rid themselves of messy racks, sub-standard under floor air distribution, and cable sprawl with a minimum of heartache and expense. Whether the data centre mess is created over years of mismanagement or whether the cable-choked data centre is inherited, solutions for both quick fixes and longer term evolutionary changes exist.
Download this white paper to discover the exact meaning and implications of the terms Power Factor, Crest Factor and Surge Factor, as used in specifying UPS.
System planning is the Achilles’ heel of a data centre physical infrastructure project. Planning mistakes can magnify and propagate through later deployment phases, resulting in delays, cost overruns, wasted time and ultimately a compromised system. Much of the trouble can be eliminated by viewing system planning as a data flow model. More inside.
Long-term data centre or network room capacity planning may seem impossible in the face of evolving IT technology and business requirements. Nevertheless, data centre facilities have a lifetime that may span many generations of IT equipment, so planning – or the lack of – can impact the effectiveness of investments. This paper shows a simple
Data centres are routinely and unknowingly missing a great portion of their entitlement from virtualization. Beyond virtualization’s undisputed IT benefits – from reduced rack footprint to disaster recovery – is the parallel story of a substantial benefit from optimising the physical infrastructure that supports it. More in this white paper.