THE DATA CENTER EVOLUTION – SHOULD YOU UPGRADE A LEGACY DATA CENTER

(The 90's called... they want their data center back)

Should you consider upgrading your legacy data center? Ten years ago, yours was a state of the art data center. At a height of twelve inches, the raised floor was more than adequate to deliver enough supply air to cool a heat density of 75 to 100 watts per square foot, while accommodating a sea of power and data cables. Monolithic CRAC units were lined up along the perimeter of the room like a rectangular Stonehenge, pushing air at tens of thousands of cubic-feet per minute (CFM) in an effort to achieve an ambient temperature around 70ºF. The UPS utilized the latest technology, boasting efficiencies above 90% as long as the load was at least 50% of the rated capacity. Your data center might have even included N+1 redundancy. You may still remember that new data center smell…

A decade or so later however, you have an aged infrastructure and the repair invoices are piling up, along with letters from the manufacturers warning that soon they will no longer support your equipment – parts availability is becoming a major issue. The IT staff is complaining of hot spots in the data center and they would really like to plug their redundant power supplies into a redundant source, not just a separate circuit in the same PDU. The data center that was once a source of pride is now starting to keep you up at night, worrying about the severity of the next failure.  

It’s probably not going to offer much solace, but the truth is -- you are not alone. The owners and operators of millions of square feet of legacy data center space constructed in the Dot Com Era are grappling with the same problems. Server virtualization and new processor technologies have consolidated computing power in to smaller footprints, creating localized heating issues and larger power circuit requirements. If you manage a collocation data center, you may receive little or no notice that that a 12kW cabinet is about to land on your raised floor. In some cases, data centers may actually have the necessary capacity in their power and cooling plants, but the delivery methods and redundancy requirements are not up to par. In other cases, additional power and cooling capacity needs to be brought into the facility to meet the increasing demand. In either situation, some form of upgrade is necessary. 

There are many benefits to upgrading your legacy data center’s infrastructure: 

• Efficiency: Newer UPS technologies offer improved efficiencies at lower loads and modularity to allow the infrastructure to grow to match the load. There are many new computer room cooling technologies including in-row cooling, rear door heat exchangers, and fan-tray floor tiles; all of which deliver the supply air directly to the localized heat load. This close-coupled cooling approach, along with segregation of hot and cold aisles, and variable speed fans, increase operating efficiency as compared to the legacy perimeter CRAC unit design. Higher efficiencies reduce operating costs and may also garner in utility rebates. 

• Heat Density: The newer close-coupled cooling solutions are also well suited to handle the high density heat sources created by blade servers and other densely packed server cabinets. The metric for data center cooling design has moved away from “watts-per-square-foot: to “watts-per-cabinet”. The goal is no longer to achieve a low ambient temperature in the data center, but instead to deliver the appropriate temperature to the intake of the servers and segregate the hot-aisles from the cold-aisles. 

• Redundancy: The majority of today’s servers utilize redundant power supplies. Additional power circuits must be installed to accommodate these servers and in order to take full advantage of the redundant supplies, the redundant power path architecture should be followed as far upstream as possible toward the utility and generator sources. This may include dual A-B UPS systems and power distribution units as well as redundant electrical feeders and circuits. 

• Monitoring/Control: The new electrical and cooling systems have the ability to monitor many parameters, providing real-time reporting and alarming via web pages and emails, as well data collection for historical trending. The status of your data center, right down to the power strip in the back of any IT cabinet, can now be monitored remotely. Many power strips also have the capability to remotely switch outlets on and off, providing the data center operator with complete control over server deployments. Measured loads on power and cooling systems can be used to calculate operating parameters such as Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). 

So with all this upside, what are you waiting for, right? Well, while the benefits are many, upgrading the data center infrastructure can pose many risks and must be carefully planned. In the vast majority of cases, the up-time requirement for the data center operation is 7x24, with many companies supporting business operations in several time zones. A firm with engineering and construction experience in critical facilities is an essential partner when planning and implementing data center upgrades. Planning will likely require a phased approach, allowing existing systems to remain in uninterrupted operation while the new systems are installed. Detailed Methods of Procedure (MOP) must be developed and reviewed by all parties involved. 

The success of the project will hinge on a coordinated effort, from the inception stages where the goals of all stakeholders (facilities, IT department & business units) are incorporated into the planning, through multiple design reviews and final implementation. Having a single coordinating entity involved through all stages of the project will ensure that the design goals and business requirements are not compromised. This project coordinator will monitor schedule and budget, order major equipment and evaluate submittals against the project specifications, and track commissioning and punch lists for project close-out. Division of all of these responsibilities to multiple contractors without coordinated oversight would result in an end product that misses the mark and an unsatisfied client.

Your data center can be successfully upgraded to meet the requirements of the latest IT equipment and the demands of today’s data driven business. With careful planning and coordinated implementation, the project should deliver a data center poised to take on the next decade of data processing.

Data Center Upgrade or Start Fresh?

But what if it doesn’t make sense to do a data center upgrade? In the beginning stages of the design, meetings with the real estate group may reveal that the business has decided not to renew the lease for the existing facility; or maybe the facilities department has determined that an upgrade to the electrical and cooling plants in that location are cost prohibitive. It may be time to look for a new location for your next data center, a chance to start fresh and build a new state of the art facility. The process for this effort will be similar to the data center renovation, but will now incorporate site evaluation and site selection. The same design and construction partner with critical facilities experience will be fundamental to project success.

Data center upgrade process: 

1. Assessment: Identify deficiencies & determine the requirements of all stakeholders
2. Schematic Design: Review load requirements, evaluate technologies & systems options (modularity, redundancy, efficiency)
3. Design Development: Design concept reviews & project budgeting
4. Construction Documents: Finalize designs & develop MOPs
5. Implementation: Execute the plan
6. Commissioning: Perform integrated systems testing
7. Project & Close Out: Client training & operations manuals

Whether you decide to upgrade your legacy data center or build new, business expectations for reliable data processing and data transmission demand that you leave last decade’s designs and equipment behind you. It’s time to move forward with more reliable and efficient data center infrastructure.

Author: Jim Stark, Manager of Engineering & Construction at Electronic Environments Corporation. Jim’s group has extensive experience in delivering critical data center projects and performing site assessments and evaluations with regard to industry standards and power quality. 

Is your data center stuck in the 90's? Let us know your thoughts on upgrading your data center infrastructure.