Data Center Power: Top Five Things to Know About Data Center Power

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Data Center Power

• Top Five Things to Know About Data Center Power

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Data Center Power

• Todays IT managers realize the impact data
  center power has on the overall functionality of
  IT systems. In fact, the physical data center
  facilities allow various network and systems
  architectures to function at maximum performance
  levels. Power is a major data center component
  that affects operational efficiencies and growth
  capabilities.
• The power infrastructure within a data center
  includes the electrical service entrance,
  generators, the main distribution system,
  uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and the
  peripheral components such as batteries, surge
  protection, transformers, distribution panels and
  circuit breakers.
•  
• This complex group of components must be
  integrated seamlessly and managed system-wide to
  support the data centers infrastructure
  requirements.

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Data Center Power

• Challenges for Todays Data Center Power Systems
•  
• In years past, the power issues of todays
  modern data centers were not considered during
  the designing and planning phases. However,
  critical requirements must be factored into all
  data center designs for optimum performance and
  long-term viability. Without these five
  requirements, data centers will have difficulty
  keeping pace with current technologies and
  customer expectations.
•  

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Data Center Power

• Data center power systems must include the
  following capabilities
• Adaptability. Data center power should be
  designed as a modular system that can scale to
  different power needs. When a company builds-out
  a data center, they wont always know future
  power demands. So to address changing
  requirements, companies must design a power
  system that can easily grow.
•  
• One resulting situation many businesses must
  avoid when building a data center is
  incorporating too much capacity. If a major
  portion of a data centers power capacity is not
  utilized, then the company has wasted money and
  is sacrificing current efficiency to prepare for
  possible undetermined growth.
•  
• A professional data center building consultant
  can help find the right balance between current
  and future data center power needs. With the
  power right configuration, businesses can reduce
  costs and increase efficiency without sacrificing
  future growth capabilities.

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Data Center Power

• Standardized Solutions. Planning and
  engineering for data center power can take months
  and years. Often, companies dont have the
  luxury of spending exceptionally long periods of
  time planning before bringing their data centers
  online.
• A pre-engineered or standardized solution can
  simplify the planning process. A more efficient
  design and planning process streamlines expensive
  engineering costs and accelerates building
  completion.

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Data Center Power

• Improved Systems Availability. Any data center
  power system must incorporate features to ensure
  maximum systems availability. By decreasing
  single points of failure, downtime can be greatly
  minimized. The Uptime Institute found in its
  studies that human error causes 40 percent of all
  downtime scenarios. Therefore, data center power
  configuration must be optimized to prevent staff
  contributing to outages.
•  
• In addition, placement of power components, such
  as UPS systems, is another factor contributor to
  systems availability. If components are not
  placed properly within the data center facility,
  circuit breakers can become a single point of
  failure.

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Data Center Power

• A Comprehensive Management System.
• To maintain the best power performance levels,
  operators must be able to see whats happening
  internally. A management system can provide the
  necessary visibility at all levels of operation.
  In addition, data center staff is in a much
  better position to control power usage and
  correct any issues before experiencing
  significant downtime.

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Data Center Power

• Data center power is very complex, especially
  with todays new data center technologies.
  Design of power systems is migrating to more
  pre-engineered and standardized solutions.
  Determine the best power configuration and usage
  parameters during the design phase can help
  ensure the maximum levels of systems availability
  at the lowest possible costs.

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About the Author

• Arnie W. Evdokimo is Chief Executive Officer of
  DP Air Corporation, a leading provider of data
  center design, build and maintenance services
  based in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information
  about Data Center Power , visit
  http//www.DPAir.com today.