Tips on Data Center Designing

Data Center design is really a challenging & interesting task for any data center manager. By doing it with proper plans, it will help to create a best infrastructure.

Only basic ideas are discussed here… Things to consider before Designing Data center:

1. Space

“Space” – The physical infrastructure is the very basic consideration on any Data Center design. If space is perfect then everything follows as perfect as expected. Once the decision on the physical – solid infrastructure is selected, the following things to be considered for better & good looking Data center.

2. Size of the Data Center

Calculate the existing Server & Storage Racks & also the future expectations (for next 10 years) in mind. Then go for the actual rack allocation according to the Industry standards. Weight management is the key factor to be measured. What is the maximum load the floor can take? Incase creating a Data Center in 10th floor of a building, need to find out the load capacity or weight in Kg / Sq.ft & design the perfect. Size of the racks plays the vital role here. If there is difference in the height of the racks when calculating the false ceiling consider the maximum height with buffer for the airflow to avoid complexities.

3. Cabling on Data Center

It’s always advisable to opt for the false flooring for the Data center and allocate a space where the cables need to run. If Data Center Infrastructure is the soul for the business then cabling is the heart of the infrastructure. That’s why proper cabling needs to be done in advance to avoid disruptions on later. Planning for the future networking for next 10 years – what would be the advanced technology may come on the same. Ex. For sure future data center would be occupied with 10G. So planning in advance makes easier for a data center manager to avoid any compatibility issues. Numbering maintenance would be advisable for future reference. Leaving some free cables with numbering will not make any harm which can be used when needed in future or can be replaced with faulty cables. Only thing the cable standard needs to be maintained as per the Industry requirement.

4. False Ceiling / Flooring

False ceiling & false flooring gives the best option for the cabling & ducts to be prepared for the data center. False ceiling would be calculated with the height of the rack. Making sure the ducts are at right place for the cool air flow to avoid heat propagation & wastage of cooling air on unnecessary areas. False flooring will be very much helpful for the data center cabling & cables to lay in proper manner. In case while using the precision type cooling the false flooring play the major role on the cooling air flow. So there would not be much congestion on the cabling which should not affect the air flow. And make sure the perforated tiles are fitted on the front of the racks where the cooling air comes up –goes through the rack and the heat air forces on the backside. And it’s also important to have the perforated doors on all the racks in case of precision type cooling.


5. Power & Cooling

Power & cooling calculation is the major part on the data center design. It’s not only for the existing systems, but also for the future expansion for next 10 years. Power calculation needs to be done on the basis of power consumption of individual systems & Servers. Also going for the UPS will be the best option so there won’t be any dependence on the raw power. We get time for at least switch off the servers & storage in case of power failure instead of getting into trouble with servers on sudden power failure. The distance between the transformer & the Data center needs to be calculated.

Cooling is based on the quantity of servers & systems on the data center. Finding ways to cool the data center more efficiently is based on the heat calculation. i.e., in normal standard more power means more heat propagation. So calculating the power & cooling simultaneously would be the best option to go for.


6. Other important factors

Apart from the above mentioned important key factors there are lots more to be considered on the data center design. Some of them are listed below.

• Humidity controller
• Fire Alarm
• Water Alarm
• Access Control
• Emergency exit doors
• Virtualization Plan
• Disaster plan
• Future plan

Planning is very important & it gives us lots more options to look forward the future growth. Just by planning, where we will be 10 years from now gives the wider exposure & better options for the Data Center plans.