DESIGNING THE LAYOUT OF THE DATA CENTER

Over thirteen years of daily work in all sizes of data centers enables the careful observer to learn much about the importance of the placement of each piece of equipment.

Perhaps the most commonly overlooked aspect of good planning is strict control and strategic direction of the layout of the pieces of computing equipment in the room.

Elements that reflect good planning

     -There is a readily available current layout.
     -There is a printed plan for six months into the future.
     -There is also a one year plan.
     -Ideally there is also a conceptual five year plan that includes power and communication support disciplines.
     -There are five foot wide traffic isles straight to each exit that are not violated or cluttered.

The media library should be located in the same area as the tape or cartridge drives to reduce traffic throughout the computer room.

A separate printing room prevents paper and toner dust as well as packaging debris form affecting the computer equipment especially the magnetic media which is highly susceptible to airborne contamination.

HVAC EQUIPMENT must be appropriately positioned in the data center. Even spacing of the air handling equipment is rarely appropriate since the heat load generating equipment is not evenly spaced.

NOTE: Few designers and virtually no contractors, know that cooling for a computer room load is correctly selected using the formula below.

HVAC Apparatus Tonnage = Cooling Load/.6 

A consistent and thoughtfully planned hardware color scheme promotes a showcase environment.

AVOIDING CLUTTER

If a piece of gear is allowed in the data center it should have a specific (well thought out ) place to reside and only one place. The more specific leadership gets with this concept the better.

e.g. If the room needs a scissors that doesn't mean that everyone should have a scissors.

Who needs a scissors?  What do they need it for?  Where will they be using it? 
What will they do with it when they are done ?

There should be one place for the scissors. That is where the user will look for it. That is where the user will return it.  This may seem a little far fetched for those whose rooms are somewhere between catchalls and knickknack shops. However, it does work and can be achieved. 

Develop a ruthless approach to every THING that enters your data center. If it is a consumable there is a place for it. That place is NOT where the delivery clerk dropped it. How much stock do you NEED on the floor? How is it packaged? Do you need a separate staging area for such supplies?

Some specific examples of things that violate the rules of clutter and ruthlessness: 
-Too many chairs. There should be one less chairs than there are operators.
-Too many trash cans.
-Reel and cassette carts. If one is necessary, fine, make your case. But you had better have a &%*# good case for needing two. 
-Microfilm readers. It is questionable if any of these belong in a data center.
-Spare tile, buss & tag cables, power cables, extra wiring etc. Storing items like this
in the data center, either above or below the floor is poor practice.

POWER CONCEPTS

Secure and lock mechanical rooms that control power distribution leads to PDUs and associated computing equipment.

Do not allow power bars in the room at all. They all have exposed on/off switches and most have a push button reset either of which can easily be bumped to take down equipment.  If you must have a power bar for more outlets temporarily, make sure it is mounted above the floor and that there are no other outlets fed from it. Remove it as soon as possible.

Do not allow extension cords into the room.

Do not plug anything related to the MIS mission into the utility outlets. Utility outlets should be no more than two per circuit. 

When the room becomes protected by a UPS, make sure you get rid of all power bars and boxes down stream of the UPS that might contain a surge protector. Surge protection does not belong down stream of a UPS and can cause more harm than good. 

Label all electrical cables and breakers and map the location of each receptacle.

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT 

This is often the most cluttered and high risk area of the data center. Most of the equipment in the data center requires just enough room around it to provide service access. In the communication area it would be wise to allow two to three times that amount of area. 

A punch down board or frame is only one foot deep but should have four or five feet on all sides.  3274s can be stacked three high and require only one foot of service access on both sides. A wise layout will give these busy cabinets more space fore and aft.

Most of today's modem cabinets and network analysis equipment can be tightly packed but one invites problems when they are unnecessarily compacted. It is wise to err on the side of too much space in the communications area. 

LIGHTING

Arrange ceiling lighting based on equipment layout. Put lights under the floor.  Encapsulating the sub floor will provide invaluable long term benefits in reducing dust, simplifying cleaning and improving visibility for all under the floor work.