Building a New Data Center

It's been way too long since my last post. I've been consumed with travel, planning for a new data center & being sick.



We just kicked off a new Data Center project. The Data Center will be roughly 75K SF to start with capacity to grow to 125 SF of usable space. As you can imagine this is a huge undertaking and everyone wants a piece of the action. Internally we have lots of concerned folks who feel the need to have their voices heard, externally the "partners" have come out of the woodwork with offers of "help".



Like most companies our Data Center project hasn't started under the most ideal circumstances. We didn't have the appropriate level of initial focus by staff and we're under the gun to get the job done as quickly as possible. Sound familier. Normally this combination is a recipe for getting less that you bargained for.



First recommendation:

- Always make certain you understand exactly what you expect from this new Data Center. Is it more capacity, will other places be consolidated there. What Tier should it be and for what reasons. If you're just planning on adding capacity and growing organically into the space, then you'll want to ensure that folks using systems from this new location understand the trade-offs associated with having their systems remote (assuming the new DC is far from home).

- Break down the budget very carefully, but be prepared to make sacrifices in one area so the money can be used for effectively somewhere else.

- What considerations should you make about being Green? Depending on your organization (what Green message do they have if any?) you may need more or less focus here. On the other hand their are looming compliance/regulatory issues that could bite you if you're not prepared. The San Francisco Bay Area has just decided to levy a tax on air pollution caused by local companies. While the current penalties are relatively small, you can bet that the penalties will change if emissions aren't reduced.

- In the EU your companies carbon foot print is becoming an issue. This could very well happen here too.



There are a thousand considerations and hundreds of options available when building a data center. Recent technology improvements in the Data Center combined with public awareness of whether your company is green or not make this both a great time and a scary time to build a new data center. Most DC managers are loath to take any type of risk when building a new DC. They are more likely to use what they view as "tried & true", which you can read as "90's technology". This means that you'll build a DC that isn't ready for today's needs, let alone the requirements sure to be there five years from now. As a result of this general reluctance to "experiment" with the DC, I believe the time has come for DC managers to be required to take some sort of certification program related to managing, owning & improving DC facilities. This certification should focus on industry initiatives and technologies that can improve DC efficiency, make your DC greener and lower your costs, all while allowing you to put more equipment in the same space.



More on this topic at a later date.