2007_02_01_archive

Computer Room Design Tips

Computer rooms are an important component of the overall data center

environment. Their purpose is to shelter network and server

infrastructure as well as their related cabling, otherwise known as

the computer room's critical load.

In creating a secure and efficient computer room design, special

consideration must be given to good planning and the implementation of

the right technologies. The success of your design is dependent on the

long-term scalability, flexibility and availability of your facility.

Here are some computer room design tips to help your business optimize

network performance, achieve its long-term availability goals and

avoid costly problems in your computer room:

Power

In any mission critical environment, it's important to provide

adequate, scalable power for the load. Comprehensive load studies can

produce a reasonable estimate of your facility's power requirements.

Once you've assessed the power needs of your computer room, conceptual

and detailed planning can go forward.

Cooling

To design a computer room cooling system that operates effectively,

you need a firm understanding of the amount of heat produced by the

equipment contained in the enclosed space, along with the heat

produced by other heat sources, such as conduction from adjacent

spaces. Be sure to account for factors such as ceiling height, access

floor depth, equipment layout and overall heat load.

Scalability

The design and construction of your computer room should meet the

current technological needs of your business, while allowing for

expansion along with the changing technology and business landscape.

The use of modular systems, where the characteristics of the modules

are known and the steps to add more modules are simple, is an

excellent strategy to address growth without major disruptions.

Redundancy

High-availability is accomplished by providing redundancy for all,

major and minor, systems, thereby eliminating single points of

failure. By installing additional resources for system redundancy,

hardware upgrades can be handled without fear of network failures.

Incorporate redundant systems into your initial computer room design

and continue to do so as your facility expands or upgrades its

technology.

Monitoring

After your computer room is complete, the job of monitoring the IT and

support infrastructure begins. Computer room monitoring is the vital

last line of defense in achieving a high availability environment.

When evaluating monitoring systems, look for solutions that are cost

effective, easy-to-use, designed with intuitive alarming and

escalation methodologies, and built to provide robust reporting all