Data Centre Design | 6 essential considerations
The mantra ‘Careful planning can avoid costly downfalls’ is particularly relevant to Data Centre design. At the heart of every business lies its data. This information is constantly evolving, as are the different ways in which businesses analyse it and use it to promote their growth.
If your Data Centre cannot handle the ever growing volume of data which is produced by your business or protect your data in the event of a power outage, it will have a catastrophic negative impact on your business – whether in loss of sales, loss of data or downtime.
The cost of failure
According to an industry study by The Diffusion Group, who surveyed small business organisations in the UK, 60% of companies that lose their data close down within six months of the disaster, and a staggering 72% of businesses that suffer major data loss disappear within 24 months.
DCResponse has identified 6 essential considerations when considering what is required within your Data Centre design and build:
1. The right Data Centre Design for your business
Ensuring the right Data Centre Design is in place to respond to the changing needs of your business is vital. If you wake up worrying about the capability, resiliency or efficiency of your Data Centre, then it is time to contact an expert like DCResponse who can carry out a site survey and assess its operation.
There are many reasons why you might need a change to your Data Centre Design and the equipment within it, although primarily they are in response to two fundamental questions; will your Data Centre infrastructure (such as your UPS or generator) protect your business critical operation in the event of utility or component failure and is your facility operating at its most efficient.
2. Critical Power Protection
Power outages and power cuts happen. You can’t prevent them, but you can ensure you have the right protection. A generator and/or UPS system will provide continuity to your business when you need it.
It is important to choose the right solution for your facility. There are off the shelf solutions and bespoke solutions, and there is no ‘one size fits all’, so it is important to discuss your needs with an expert like DCResponse. This will help you understand all the key elements of protecting your IT environment and advise you on the best UPS system or generator for your Data Centre Design.
3. Data Centre Cooling
Data Centre cooling will keep your IT estate within the recommended environmental envelope and prevent hardware failures. Its main purpose is to remove heat from the secure white space and prevent the moisture content of the air from moving out of tolerance. The standards used in the UK follow the ASHRAE 9.9 guidelines which were published in 2011. This allows air inlet temperatures to the IT estate of up to 27 Degrees Centigrade in some circumstances. This has meant a move in recent times to more installations of both direct and indirect free cooling applications which has driven facility PUEs from where that have historically been at 2.0 or more down towards 1.1.
4. Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
PUE is an important measurement of energy efficiency in Data Centres, providing the metrics needed to make informed changes about Data Centre infrastructure. With the cost of power rising, an efficient Data Centre Design not only delivers cost benefits to your organisation but is considerably less damaging to the environment. Many low capital cost approaches in energy efficiency with often just small changes can save businesses thousands of pounds a year. PUE compares the total energy used by a facility with how much is used by the IT production estate. The closer the figure tends to 1.0, the more efficient the facility is operating.
5. Planned Preventative Maintenance
To ensure all equipment is in working order and will perform as designed in both normal operating conditions and an emergency, it is essential that regular maintenance inspections are planned and completed to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The service inspections provide the end user with the confidence that their Data Centre is operating at its best.
DCResponse provides a range of UPS maintenance packages from a simple repair to 24/7 service contracts with guaranteed response times.
6. Remote monitoring
An early warning alert can prevent a situation from reaching a critical point. DCResponse offers UPS monitoring systems that detects any changes or errors in your system. Our automated management system monitors the environment of your IT systems and identifies even minor problems and sends alerts immediately informing relevant personnel.
Summary
The design and build of your Data Centre is an important project that needs to be carefully considered from not just the initial design but putting in place the correct systems for ongoing protection and peace of mind. Using a company like DCResponse to design your Data Centre is essential. We can provide the optimum reliability and performance specification for your facility whilst at the same time offering the most cost effective capital investment as well the lowest ongoing operational costs.
We design and build a bespoke Data Centre solutions to fit your exact requirements. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you with your next Data Centre Design.
