Mission Critical, Vol.8-Num.5

7/25/2019 Mission Critical, Vol.8-Num.5

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Starting on page 16

Volume 8 Number 5

www.missioncriticalmagazine.com

Starting on page 16

September/October 2015

Volume 8 Number 5

Are There Gophers In YourData Center?

See page 6

Dont Let TAPs HandcuffYour Network

See page 36

The Importance of Codesand Standards

See page 46

WHATS INSIDE

GETM

OREA

T

MISS

IONCR

ITICA

LMAG

AZINE

.COM

September/October 2015

FROM FACILITY DESIGN TO INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT,DATA CENTER SOFTWARE HAS COME OF AGE.FROM FACILITY DESIGN TO INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT,DATA CENTER SOFTWARE HAS COME OF AGE.


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4| Mission Critical SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

COVER STORY16 CFD And Mission Critical Facilities

Practical use of computational fluid dynamics in mission criticalfacilities.By Dr. Reza Ghias

24 The Right Time For DCIMReal-time or near-time? Find out what is right for your facility.By Matt Lane

FEATURES

30 Motors For Mission Critical FacilitiesNew design for permanent magnet motors uniquely delivers ultra-high efficiency at low speeds.By Andrew T. Holden, P.E.

36 Dont Let TAPs Handcuff Your NetworkConsider an optical tap to access critical network data.By Jennifer Cline, RCDD and Brian Rhoney

42 Changing The Face Of Facility ManagementThe Internet of Things (IoT) is coming to data center infrastructures

near you.By Bhavesh Patel

46 The Importance Of Codes And StandardsIts a matter of safety.By Chris Crosby

50 The Payoff Of Preventive MaintenanceGet a little peace of mind.By Kyle Tessmer

54 The Lithium-Ion UPS Your Ally In A DC DisasterPut your UPS in the eye of the storm.By Emilie Stone

FEATURES continued

56 IT Agility: Making Better Use

Of Power Monitoring DataDesigned for the Internet ofThings, todays data centerhardware provides valuablefeedback that enables all-softwareinstrumentation for automation.By Jeff Klaus

60 Ultraviolet Energy And TheData CenterUV is an important addition to thedata center cooling equation.by Forrest Fencl

TABLEO

F

CONT

ENTS

16

September/October 2015| Volume 8, Number 5

5 CRITICAL THOUGHTSAn Embarrassment Of RichesOur September/October issue is overflowing.By Caroline Fritz

6 HOT AISLE INSIGHTAre There Gophers In Your DataCenter?Small holes can cost big dollars.By Julius Neudorfer

10 SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONSCharacteristics Of A Culture OfExcellenceDoing everything right every time.By Terry L. Rodgers, CPE, CPMP

12 SECURITY PERSPECTIVESWhat We Forget About ServerVirtualizationA refresher in virtualization security.By Mav Turner

14 ON TARGETDisaster Recovery And The CEOWhen it comes to disaster recovery,everything is sacred.Paul Schlattman

COLUMNS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

63 Events

63 News

64 Products

65 Heard on the Internet


5/81

We have a great, jam-packed issue for you this month. First, we have two sto-

ries on our cover topic, data center software: Dr. Reza Ghias of Southland

Industries writes about using computational fluid dynamics to design data

centers and Matt Lane of Geist writes on new ways to use data from data center infra-

structure management (DCIM) systems.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Andrew Holden of NovaTorque writes about motors for mission critical facilities; Jen-

nifer Cline and Brian Rhoney of Corning Optical Communications weigh in on optical

taps; Bhavesh Patel of ASCO Emerson Network Power writes on the Internet of Things

and facility management; Mission Critical Unconventional Wisdom columnist Chris

Crosby forgoes his column this month to write on the importance of codes and standards;

Kyle Tessmer of Mitsubishi Electric Power writes on the power of preventive mainte-

nance; Emilie Stone of Methode pens an article on lithium-ion UPS and disaster recovery;

Jeff Klaus of Intel examines how power monitoring data can help streamline your facility;

and Forrest Fencl writes about using ultraviolet energy to help cool data centers. In addi-

tion we have our regular slate of columnists on hand as well as a new product roundup

and the latest on news and events.

As you can see I wasnt exaggerating. September/October is huge!

Connect With Us

Mission Critical gives you many ways to stay in touch, whether it is on Twitter, Facebook,

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 www.missioncriticalmagazine.com | 5

Caroline Fritz

is the editor of

Mission Critical. Follow us onTwitter at @MCritical. And join us for great

industry discussion at Mission CriticalsOpen Forum

Discussion Group on LinkedIn.

By Caroline Fritz

CRITI

CAL

THOU

GHTS

An EmbarrassmentOf RichesOur September/October issueis overflowing.

Caroline Fritz

Editor


6/81

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Ihave been pontificating about cooling system energy efficiency and water usage

lately. In my last column, I discovered that a single hole on a golf course can use

2.8 million gallons of water a year just to stay green. Since I am not a golfer, my

impression of golf courses is based on the 1980s comedy Caddyshack. The film was

based on a golf course that had a clever gopher that liked to dig holes, despite best (or

worst) efforts of the groundskeeper. This crafty creature ultimately costs the club money

and lost customers. While gophers are not usually a problem in most data centers, it turns

out that a hole in the raised floor for cabling can be quite costly as well.

So lets examine the issue of raised floors and cable openings, since it seems the world

will continue to use and build traditional raised floor data centers, despite all the paradigm

shifts in the data center design from Google, Facebook, Open Compute, Yahoos Chicken

Coop, etc. The classic raised floor data center with underfloor cabling may be slowly fad-

ing, but it is far from gone. Here it is, approximately 20 years after the hot aisle/cold aisle

concept was introduced and yet there are still many basic airflow issues that continue to

plague these data centers.

The classic raised floor design serves two primary purposes; a supply air plenum

and a place to hide the power and network cables. On face value the design is relatively

straightforward; just have downflow cooling units (CRAC/CRAH) blow cold supply air

into an underfloor plenum and distribute it through perforated tiles of floor grates in the

cold aisle so it is available to be drawn into the front intakes of the IT equipment in the

cabinets. Then the hot exhaust air IT equipment in back in the cabinets blow into the hot

aisle and (perhaps magically) find its way back to the return of the cooling units.

If only it were that simple. In actual practice, a myriad of issues seem to get in the way

of this designs simple concept, especially when applied to higher density cabinets. These

generally fall into two categories; wasted cold bypass airflow and hot recirculated

airflow. Lets first look at the definition of bypass air; any cold supply airflow that did

not get the intake of IT equipment. Bypass airflow occurs in any opening in the raised

floor, such as cable cutouts and miscellaneous leakage areas, spaces along the perimeter

where it meets the walls and other openings like PDU cabinets or other equipment, are

common examples

Data center managers have begun to pay more attention to this and are trying to address

it wherever possible. Proper sealing of the gaps where the raised floor meets the walls

is a good start. The other area, and the worst offender, is the cable cut-out under every

Are There Gophers In

Your Data Center?Small holes can cost big dollars.

Julius

Neudorfer is the CTO andfounder of North American Access

Technologies, Inc. (NAAT). Read his complete

archive at

www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/juliusneudorfer.

By Julius Neudorfer

INSIGH

THO

TAISL

E

TECHNICAL ADVISORY BOARD

Robert Aldrich

Hitachi DataSystems

Christian BeladyMicrosoft

Rudy Bergthold,P.E.CupertinoElectric, Inc.

Dennis CroninSteelOrca

Peter CrookUpsite

Technologies

Peter M. CurtisPresidentPowerManagementConcepts

Kevin DickensJacobs-KlingStubbins

Peter Funk Jr.Funk and Zeifer

Scott Good,Uptime Institute

Peter Gross,Bloom Energy

Cyrus IzzoSyska HennessyGroup

Jonathan KoomeyStanford University

Keith Lane, P.E.Lane Coburn &Associates, LLC

Bill Mazzetti

Rosendin Electric

John MusilliIntel Corp

Bruce Myatt, P.E.Critical FacilitiesRound Table, The DataCenters, LLC

Russ B. MykytynSkae Power Solutions

Dean NelsoneBay

Glen NevilleDeutsche Bank

Julius NeudorferNorth AmericanAccess Technologies,Inc.

Thomas E. Reed, P.E.

Jacobs-KlingStubbins

David SchirmacherDigital Realty Trust

Jim Smith,Digital Realty Trust

Robert F. Sullivan

Henry WongIntel Corp.

Stephen WornData Center Dynamics,OT Partners

Look for us on Twitter@mcritical

Friend us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/

MissionCritical


8/81

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HOTA

ISLE

INSIGH

T

cabinet. Moreover, these openings range in size,

from a small 4- x 4-in. notch at the edge of a tile, to half

or even a whole tile! If left open, a substantial portion of the supply air

becomes bypass air. This results in several problems including lower

static pressure, which lowers the airflow where it belongs through the

perforated tiles or grills, causing wasted fan energy. In addition, when

the bypass air mixes with the warmed IT exhaust air it lowers the return

air temperature to the cooling unit, lowering its cooling capacity and

energy efficiency. To address bypass air, the brushed style cable grom-

met was developed over a decade ago. However, only more recently

has it moved toward more widespread use. Yet many data centers still

have not addressed this issue.

As for recirculation, it is when the warm IT exhaust air re-enters

the IT equipment (either from the same server or any other server),

which typically results in hot spots. This is a more complex problem

to solve, but the first line of defense is installing blanking plates in the

racks to minimize back-to-front recirculation within the same cabinet.

On a broader scale, aisle containment systems prevent over the top,

end-of-aisle, and aisle-to-aisle recirculation, as well as bypass air, but

are more costly and more difficult to retrofit in existing facilities.

This past July an ASHRAE white paper reviewed this issue (Ple-

num-Leakage Bypass Airflow in Raised-Floor Data Centers by James

R. Fink, P.E.). However, while the white paper discussed bypass air

and related issues as a general problem, it cited cable openings as the

majority cause of floor related bypass airflow. To quantify the issue,

a specially constructed test fixture was created that allowed accurate

measurements of leakage. In addition, to simulate real world condi-

tions, they used seven test conditions that varied the number of network

and power cables, as well as their positioning in the collar.

The overall finding of the paper noted that 50% or more of under-

floor supply air leakage is typically wasted by those cable cutouts with-

out any form of bypass air control. It also took the relatively unusual

step of analyzing and comparing different brands of cable grommets

with brush collars. While visually the brush collars appeared generally

similar, a study showed a huge variation between the best device and

the worst performing device. In order to make accurate comparisons,

the author created a sealed test chamber which used a controlled static

pressure of 0.05 in. w.c. (12.5 Pa) to simulate the typical underfloor

pressure. However, in practice this will vary and more recently higher

pressures are being used to achieve greater airflow rates through perfo-

rated floor tiles and grates to try to meet the challenge of higher density

racks. In those cases, waste from cable cutouts and the savings from the

brush collar grommet is even greater.

THE BOTTOM LINESo how much is that hole for each cable opening costing? According

the report it is an astounding $480 per year (compared to the raw open-

ing without any grommet). The whitepaper used a cost of $0.13 per

kWh (averaged over 10 years) as a basis to calculate projected savings.

The paper stated, Installation of grommets to seal cable cut-out

holes is nothing short of an outstanding investment. The relative per-

formance differential among several popular tested grommets is signifi-

cant and worthy of consideration. Moreover it noted that the vastly dif-

fering performance of various brands had a huge impact on projected

savings Between the best and the worst-performing grommets, there

is a significant difference in ten-year savings. In the hypothetical 1MW

data center with 200 equipment racks and one grommet per rack this

difference is nominally $72,000. It summarized the highly detailed

results declaring given the almost negligible cost of grommets

relative to obtainable savings, there is little reason not to choose the

best-performing grommet.

There have been many methods to save energy and improve cool-

ing performance that have been developed over the last decade. Some

are simple and cost nothing to implement, such as raising the supply

air temperature, while others may requires some cost and effort and

require economic justification. In todays highly competitive, efficiency

driven data center market, an obvious, but overlooked problem that can

be easily addressed with quick ROI is a rare find. The savings cited in

the ASHRAE whitepaper are very clear. Moreover, brush style grom-

mets are easily installed and are operationally non-intrusive and also

can be implemented over time, as resources permit. So if you have not

already done so, start sealing those cable cutout openings using the

grommets with the best performance, and in case there seems to be

some new, odd looking holes, better check for gophers.

REPRINTS OF THIS ARTICLE are available by contacting Jill

DeVries at [email protected] or at 248-244-1726.

Continued from page 6

FIGURE 2. How much money does this cable cutout waste?Photo Courtesy of Upsite Technologies

FIGURE 1. How much money could a simple brush grommetsave? Photo Courtesy of Upsite Technologies


10/81

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Over the last few years I have been fortunate to have

toured many critical facilities including performing

in depth reliability assessments of over 45 sites in

20 countries across five continents. I have inspected literally

millions of square feet of computer room spaces and support-

ing infrastructure. I have interviewed and evaluated facilities

management staff and their processes and compared their

performances against their corporate standards and industry

best practices. What I have seen is a broad cross-section of

compliance ranging from marginal to awesome.

What I have also noticed is that in almost every case my

first impressions based on a familiarization tour and initial

staff interviews pan out to be accurate in the long run. There

are obvious telltale signs that quickly reveal what the culture

is for any given site. General housekeeping and cleanliness,

organization, institutional knowledge, and availability of

accurate site specific documentation are just a few aspects that

are indicative of how well the site is managed.

In the first sentence of my first column for this magazine

I wrote, Discipline, rigor, experience, training, process

driven procedures, and a culture of excellence; thats what

it takes to deliver continuous operations over the life of a

critical facility. Everything I have seen over the last few

years reinforces this statement. What follows are some

characteristics that are common to the sites I have visited that

have a culture of excellence.

INDICATORS

General housekeeping is one of the first and most obvious

indicators of how much pride and attention the staff has in their

site. Some sites are relatively clean, especially in areas where

people are most likely to traverse, and some are, well, less so.

As you move through the site and inspect the less traveled

spaces such as mechanical and electrical closets, tank rooms,

roofs, etc., the level of cleanliness and housekeeping tend to

drop off. When instead you find even the most remote and least

accessible spaces to be clean and clear of debris, dirt, stains,

etc., it is obvious that the staff enforce a high standard of care.

Ive also noted that in many instances excellent lighting

promotes excellent housekeeping, and the opposite is also

true. Dimly lit spaces tend to get less attention. Good

housekeeping is not only superficial, but also substantive in

that a leak, stain, debris, or other discrepancy stands out and

begs to be corrected.

Another obvious characteristic follows the old saying a

place for everything and everything in its place. In a recently

Characteristics Of A CultureOf ExcellenceDoing everything right every time.

SUSTA

INABLE

OPER

ATION

STerry L. Rodgers,

CPE, CPMP, is vice

president, Sustainable Operations

Services at Primary Integration Solutions, Inc.,

the Charlotte-based commissioning business of Primary

Integration (PI). Access his entire archive atwww.missioncriticalmagazine.com/terryrodgers.

By Terry L. Rodgers, CPE, CPMP

Ive also noted that in many

instances excellent lighting

promotes excellent housekeeping,

and the opposite is also true.

Dimly lit spaces tend to get less

attention. Good housekeepingis not only superficial, but also

substantive in that a leak, stain,

debris, or other discrepancy

stands out and begs to be

corrected.


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visited site, this practice was followed to perfection. Upon

entering every mechanical or electrical room there would be a

first aid kit, emergency flashlight, and floorplan. At least one

laminated and framed single-line diagram would be posted in

the room, with the portions that reside in the room annotated

by dotted line borders and color coded. These were hung by

string and wall hooks so the diagram could be removed and used

by the staff while standing in front of the respective gear and

equipment, but they were always returned to their rightful place.

Ladders, tools, and portable equipment were stored in designated

places identified by color-coded tape on the floor, and the only

items allowed to be stored in the room were those that were

applicable to the rooms purpose. Any parts or materials in the

space were directly related to the systems and equipment in the

room and otherwise the standing policy was that these spaces

were not for general or unrelated storage.

Signage, labeling, and color-coding combined with intuitive

conventions are also indicative of how standards are employed.

The best sites typically have comprehensive use of color

coded infrastructure and standardized labels such that upon

entering a room everything is easily understood. Conduit and

piping systems are simple to trace when they are painted or

otherwise color coded. Labels that not only identify the system

and/or equipment, but also conform to logical identification

conventions, can provide lots of critical information at a glance.

An example is electric panels with labels indicating what system,

switchgear, and breaker the panel is fed from and with color

codes that indicate whether the service is utility only, backed

up by generator, or on UPS. This becomes even more important

for sites with rooms and redundant systems that look similar if

not almost identical such as A and B switchgear, UPS, and

other infrastructure that otherwise could lead to human error due

to misidentification of equipment especially during emergency

or anomaly responses.

Easy access to site specific and accurate documentation is

another characteristic of a culture of excellence. How a request

for a drawing, manual, procedure, or other critical document is

responded to is a clear indication of how well the site manages

documentation. When the document is produced with ease and

the staff is confident it is current and accurate, there is likely a

formal document control system in place and enforced. When it

takes several tries to locate the document, and then it is provided

with the caveat that it may not be accurate, then there either

is no formal document control process or it is not enforced.

Regardless, the value of the information is reduced since it isnt

readily available and cant be trusted.

HIGH STANDARDS A MUST

I could continue with an almost endless number of other aspects

and indicators of what constitutes a culture of excellence. What

is consistent is that in all cases there is a very high standard of

what is considered acceptable and expectations that all staff will

not only comply, but will collectively enforce compliance by

others including teammates, contractors, visitors, and everyone

else. This means when something falls below the standard, it

gets resolved immediately. Messes are cleaned up, missing

labels get replaced, leaks get repaired, documents get updated,

and obsolete versions get archived. As parts and materials

get used, the stock gets replenished. Tools, materials, and

equipment get returned to their proper place. Staff get trained,

drilled, and recertified whenever systems are modified or the

site infrastructure changes. Contractors are supervised and their

work inspected before they are allowed to depart or their work

accepted.

As I also stated in that first article, the key is to do three

simple, but very difficult things:

Do everything

Do everything right

Do everything right every time

There is one other very important characteristic that is required

to foster a culture of excellence. There must be a properly staffed

and resourced facilities management organization. Effective

leadership champions the mission, purpose, and needs to

executive management to garner the required budget, resources,

and support necessary to succeed. The leadership must also

establish the standards that define what is acceptable. There

must be good management that can establish both organization

and processes that provide the order and structure needed

to operate and maintain the facility. Management must also

direct and supervise the staff in the execution of its duties

and responsibilities, schedule tasks and activities, and enforce

compliance through discipline and rigor. And last but not least,

there must be sufficient technicians, operators, and staff to do

everything right every time. This means qualified staff with site

specific knowledge, the tools and resources required, and the

skills to perform the tasks and activities assigned.

Insufficient staffing and/or resources inevitably results in a

reactionary culture where staff constantly has to prioritize tasks

and activities and compromise on performance. At first it is

the superficial tasks that get deferred (housekeeping, storage

and inventory control, document management, non-critical

preventive maintenance, etc.), but eventually the standards

arent met, morale degrades, and pride and ownership dissipate.

Basically, the staff no longer can do everything, much less do it

right every time.

REPRINTS OF THIS ARTICLE are available by contacting

Jill DeVries at [email protected] or at 248-244-1726.


25/81


Remember back 10 years ago when there was still a

question as to whether you should virtualize your

data center or not? Back then, there were a lot of

interesting security arguments levied against virtualizing serv-

ers. Many of those arguments were the standard fear, uncer-

tainty, and doubt surrounding any new technology adoption.

However, there were also some really relevant concerns that

weve forgotten, but probably shouldnt have.

ISOLATION

One of the most important of these concerns has to do with

isolation. Are virtual machines (VMs) truly isolated if they

are running on the same hypervisor? Does a guest VM pose a

threat to the host and other VMs running on that host?

Although there have been occasional vulnerabilities

discovered that allowed escape from a guest to a host, in

general, this concern hasnt manifested in any wide scale

breaches. However, you should still design with this risk in

mind, particularly for systems hosting confidential data and

guests that bridge different security zones.

If possible, group these machines together to minimize

exposure in an attack. Raw access to resources increases that

risk, so be careful of granting this level of access. Most of the

security concerns are not about direct jumping from guest to

guest, or at least no more than the standard attacks that applied

to physical hosts, but the concern is about exposure to the

hypervisor. If an attacker can gain even marginal control or

data from the host, then you should consider all of the guests

compromised. This may sound extreme, but its the reality of

the security model in a virtualized data center.

Since the host is so critical to your overall security

architecture, its also important to manage it with secure

protocols, limit who has network and account access, audit

that access, and keep it up to date with patches. If an attacker

gets full control of a single host, not only will they have full

control and access to the guests running on that host, but they

will likely have very broad network access, too.

Since most hosts contain VMs performing different functions,

multiple VLANs are often trunked in. To make things easy and

limit the requests on network teams, the full set of VLANs will

often be setup, even if the current guests are only using a small

subset. As network virtualization gains traction, this will only

continue. Again, this is an important time to think about what

access each VM actually needs and which network they need to

be on. If an attacker has access to management VLANs or other

sensitive networks, they have easily compromised the entire

network, not just the single host.

IMAGES AND SNAPSHOTSA second concern that wasnt fully appreciated at the time

but that has grown as a real risk is the security of images

and snapshots. Although the technical threat was understood,

there was little appreciation for the sheer number of these files

floating around.

If an image is compromised, its the equivalent of someone

powering off a server and walking out of your data center

with it. Thats bad, and its much easier to do than ripping a

production system off the shelf and making a run for it.

Snapshots are equally dangerous because they can contain

the data running in memory at the time of the snapshot.

What We Forgot About ServerVirtualizationA refresher in virtualization security.

SECURIT

Y

PERS

PECTIVE

S

If an attacker can gain evenmarginal control or data from the

host, then you should consider all

of the guests compromised.

Mav Turner is

the director of product

marketing for the security portfolio

at SolarWinds, an IT management software

provider based in Austin, TX. He has nearly 15 years of

IT management experience, including roles in security, systems, and

network administration. Read this article online at

www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/mavturner.

By Mav Turner


26/81


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Credentials are the biggest concern for leakage here, but any

data handled by the machine is at risk.

We often talk about VM sprawl from the powered on machines

perspective and forget about all of those images and snapshots

lying around. You need to define a clear plan for where those

files are stored, who has access, how the access is audited,

and when you should delete the old snapshots. Storage costs

arent always the driving factor for better image and snapshot

management, but security certainly should be.

LEGACY TECHNOLOGY

The third and final security issue with server virtualization

to consider is how it enables insecure legacy technology to

remain in your organization. This is one of the big benefits

of virtualization, but needs to be managed properly. That

application that only runs on Windows XP and hasnt been or

cant be patched is a huge hole in your defenses.

If you cant migrate to a more secure solution, make sure

you have walled off such servers and applications as much as

possible. You might need to use local account privileges so it

doesnt have access to the domain, and it definitely should be

segmented from a network perspective as much as possible. If

the machine doesnt need internet access to function, you should

not allow it to connect outbound. It might take a few extra steps

for users or administrators to access, but it is well worth it given

the security risk old operating systems and applications pose.

IN CONCLUSION

Server virtualization is not only here to stay, but it will

continue to expand through the stack into fully virtualized data

centers. By understanding the principles of virtualization as

a technology, and recalling the initial concerns we had when

server virtualization as we know it now was the trendy new

technology, we can better manage and secure our virtualized

data centers.

Just because its common now, doesnt mean we can forget

our original concerns and assume all of the problems have

been solved. As we enter a time with hyper-converged data

centers, remember the journey and apply those early lessons in

virtualization as complexity increases.




27/81


ONTA

RGET

THEE

VOLVI

NGRO

LEOF

THEC

IO

Paul Schlattman

is senior vice president, ESD

Consulting, Chicago, IL.

Access his entire archive at

www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/paulschlattman.

By Paul Schlattman

Ive been in the data center industry for a long, long time now

too long. One of the largest clients of my career was Comdisco.

As principal, I was in charge of the design of a majority of

their data centers nationally and internationally. Comdisco was the

pioneer in the disaster recovery (DR) industry since the 80s. While

I was the principal in the design of several projects, I also was an

alliance partner in their consulting practice. With this said, I was

continuously involved with the DR plans and design criteria around

supporting these plans.

Recently, I conducted interviews with an enterprise client that

discussed the levels of criticality within their applications. Their

response to criticality was similar to other enterprise clients and the

method to identify critical applications was to create a Tier program

Tier 1-3, with three being the highest and most critical applica-

tions (or vice versa). The problem with this antiquated method of

categorizing applications into tiers is that what may not be critical

to you, may be critical to me. If I am working in an application that

goes down, while it may not have a direct effect on the business, it

does reduce productivity. As the use of technology increases and the

dependence on it is greater, more applications are seen as critical

and not secondary. While losing email in the cloud may not have as

direct an impact as a financial application, the loss of email breaks

down communication.

TIER II CITIES

As plans are created for a DR site, several items need to be

addressed. Does latency and distance drive criticality and recover-

ability? Since many disasters are local/regional, is the secondary DR

site off the grid of the primary DR site? Are there remote hands that

are knowledgeable of DR applications at the remote DR site? As I

look around the Midwest, I see several opportunities for data center

development concerning Tier II cities and the regions they serve.

One client, Data Realty, recently built a 50,000-sq-ft data center

in South Bend, IN. The site is a greenfield development offering

numerous benefits that other sites dont. While one might think

Why invest in a data center in South Bend? the location is actually

brilliant. Data Realty in South Bend can support Chicago and India-

napolis for both DR or as a primary site. As a DR site, South Bend

is not on the ComEd grid, and is additionally not on the Indianapolis

Power and Light grid. Therefore, the location exactly compliments

the DR strategies of both cities. This coupled with hands on manage-

ment of applications during a crisis, makes Data Realty the preferred

choice in selecting a DR site.

While looking at the success of Data Realty in South Bend, I ask

Disaster Recovery And The CIOWhen it comes to disaster recovery, everything is sacred.

FIGURE 1. Digital Realty recently built a facility in SouthBend, IN.

As plans are created for a DR

site, several items need to be

addressed. Does latency and

distance drive criticality and

recoverability? Since many

disasters are local/regional, isthe secondary DR site off the

grid of the primary DR site?

Are there remote hands that

are knowledgeable of DR

applications at the remote

DR site?


28/81


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myself Why cant other Tier II-III cities model this program?

Lets examine Milwaukee (Tier II city).

If youre a wholesale/colocation company, I can point to 3 MW

of demand in Milwaukee with little or no supply. Yet no one seems

interested in building a data center in Milwaukee or Madison, WI,

which is even better. Madison can support Chicago, Milwaukee, and

Minneapolis.

Several of the large collocation providers addressed Tier II cities as

if they were a larger market by building large data centers. They didnt

right-size their prototypes to support the market, and are now selling

their data centers in these markets. If addressed properly, Tier II cities

will provide a strategic play in DR as well as edge compute.

EVERYTHING IS SACRED

The business protocol for subscribing to a disaster recovery plan has

been to only back up what is critical. Due to interdependencies from

application to application, the constant need for all applications and

storage area networks creates a different DR plan than what weve seen

in the past. This combined with the proper location create an overall

DR plan that is safe and effective.

NEW CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE CIO

While disaster recovery criteria has been established for over 30

years in the industry, new technology drives a different criteria than

previously identified within the enterprise data center market. Some of

the new considerations include:

What is your cloud providers DR plan? Can you review their plan

prior to subscribing to cloud services?

Is your internal cloud or hybrid cloud recoverable?

While operating in a recovery cloud situation, is your network secure

and reliable?

Since several people now commute, and utilize a virtual office

approach, is your recovery plan accessible nationally and inter-

nationally?

DR testing is not just exercised in critical applications, but should be

tested in the virtual world directly with the endusers.




29/81


In todays 21st century business environment, the need

for efficient data centers is increasing at unprecedented

rates as the demand for computing, processing power,

and data storage grows exponentially. The energy

consumption in a data center can be significantly more

than a typical office space, and a considerable portion of the

energy cost (30% to 50%) is dedicated to the data centers cool-

ing system. More than ever, IT equipment is getting smaller in

size yet more powerful, and the need for a proper and efficient

cooling system design plays an important role in saving energy.

The new generation of computers operates under higher temper-

atures, which does reduce the cooling cost and makes it possible

for a higher computer intake temperature (80 to 85F). However,

going beyond the intake temperatures design criteria can cause

overheating and IT equipment to be more susceptible to failure. As

a result, the need for accuracy and a scientific-based design of the

data centers thermal management requires the use of advanced

engineering tools such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to

parameterize and visualize variable designs. CFD enables design

engineers to recognize issues at early stages of the design and

tackle the engineering challenges that cannot be solved accurately

using a conventional design approach.

CONTAINMENT DESIGNAs air passes through servers, its temperature rises. The recircu-

lation of this hot air into the intake can eventually cause equip-

ment failure. Installing a containment and chimney configuration

can prevent the mixture of cold and hot air that forms hotspots

while also improving the cooling system efficiency. In order to

justify the installation costs and confirm potential energy sav-

ings, CFD should be applied during containment design. The

current airflow situation in existing data centers can be investi-

gated and the possible hotspots under the data hall's design can

be predicted through room simulation and temperature impact

evaluation. Figure 1 compares the temperature contours at 4 ft

above the floor for a data hall with and without containment/

Dr. Reza Ghias is the director of Advanced SimulationCenter (ASC) at Southland Industries, a national MEPbuilding systems firm. With more than 15 years ofexperience conducting research and executingcomputational fluid dynamics (CFD) projects in a widerange of industries, he works closely with Southlandsdesign engineers and clients to overcome designchallenges and develop innovative building systems designs. Rezahas received his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineeringand has authored and presented many papers, articles, and technicalreports proving the results of his work. He can be reached at [email protected].

By Dr. Reza Ghias

Investigate the practical use of computational fluiddynamics in the design of mission critical facilities.


30/81

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CFD And Mission Critical Facilities

chimney. The results show that the maximum temperature

was reduced from 125F (no containment) to 95F (contain-

ment) due to preventing the recirculation of hot air.

GAPS AND CRACKSWhile the use of a containment and chimney configura-

tion is effective, it is not a standalone solution to separate

cold and hot air in a data center. It

is important to also investigate the

impact of structural gaps in data cen-

ter design. Air can penetrate the gaps

and cracks that exist in the cabinet

structure between the containment/

chimney and racks. It can also enter

a failed server when its fan can-

not overcome the pressure gradient

between the cold and hot aisles.

Depending on the location and size

of such gaps, hotspots can form or

the cooling load can become wasted,

despite the investment in containment

and chimney installation. CFD can

model the impact of the gaps and

provide valuable information to predict the issue in advance

and enable the design to be improved. Further, hot air recir-

culation and cooling load leakage occur when enough pres-

sure is present to force the hot or cold air through the gaps.

Thus, the areas with a higher IT load are more susceptible to

hot air recirculation and the areas with a lower IT load are

prone to cooling load leakage. Figure 2 shows the recircula-

tion of hot air through gaps between the ceiling and contain-

ments in a data hall at the area with a high density IT load.

MATERIALS AND INSULATIONSThe materials used in data center buildings such as racks,

cabinets, and containments hold different thermal capaci-

ties, so heat resistance must be considered during the

design. For example, heat transferred through the ceiling,

cabinets, and containments has an impact on thermal man-

agement. Choosing the proper materi-

als with reasonable R-values reduces

the heat transfer between the hot and

cold aisles. The heat transfer rate

increases with higher temperature dif-

ferences between the cold and hot

sides. CFD helps model the outcome

of using materials with different heat

resistance at various temperatures in

a data center. Figure 3 illustrates side

wall diffusers located on the right

side of a data hall. It is clear that the

thermal boundary layers grow over

the surface of the containment, and

the ceiling influences the intake temperature of the servers

located at a higher height.

RISK ASSESSMENT AND CONTROLSTRATEGYIt is imperative to consider and plan for possible failure

components in the cooling system to prevent any IT damage

FIGURE 1. (a) The temperature distribution in the data hall with no containment. (b) The rackarrangement in the data hall. (c) The temperature distribution in the data hall with containment.(d) Containment (shown in green) separates the hot air in the back of the servers and cold air atthe intakes.

FIGURE 3.(a) The temperature distribution on the wall of the racks and containments exposedto cold air. (b)The growing of the thermal boundary layers on the wall of the containment andceiling increase the intake air temperature at the servers. Diffusers located on the wall can beseen on the right.

FIGURE 2. (a) The pressure distribution in the data hall at 6 ft above

the floor. (b) The temperature distribution in the data hall at 6 ft abovethe floor. (c) The recirculation of hot air from the attic into the datahall through the gaps between the ceiling and containments at thehigh density IT load area. (d) The ceiling gaps left for ceiling deflectionshould be sealed in critical areas.


32/81

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or interruption. These can occur dur-

ing the failure of one or more com-

puter room air handlers (CRAH), or

during a power outage; or if an unex-

pected recirculation occurs. There is

no conventional tool to simulate these

failure scenarios, but they can be

modeled using CFD. CFD can predict

the length of time it takes each tem-

perature to raise to the point so that an

applicable solution to the data center

is realized. Figure 4 shows a fail-

ure scenario in which three CRAHs

failed at the same time. In this exam-

ple, Southland Industries, a national

MEP building systems firm, used

CFD to calculate the right amount of

cooling load through increasing the

air flow of the adjacent CRAHs, as

opposed to intensifying the airflow of

all CRAHs. This compensated for the

failed CRAHs in an efficient manner

and ultimately conserved energy. This

figure also shows that containments

were removed at different locations

in the data hall. Containment remov-

al at some locations can cause hot

air recirculation and is more crucial

in locations where the containment

removal causes cooling load losses.

CFD also can be used to locate

the appropriate locations for control

sensors, or to devise a smart control

strategy that balances the supply air-

flow with IT density in a data hall.

This alleviates high velocity called

the wind tunnel effect that occurs as a result of rushing the

air from a lower IT density to a higher density area. Figure

5(a) highlights the zonal control strategy that balances the

airflow supply based on the non-uniform IT density in the

hall. Figure 5(b) shows the temperature contours at 4 ft

above the floor with adjusted air supply proportional to

local IT loads. Figures 5(c) and 5(d) show the comparison

between the velocity contours (ft/s) in the data hall with

equal air supply at each CRAH, as well as the adjusted air

supply based on local IT load. The illustration shows that

the high velocity region in the middle of the corridor has

been alleviated in the adjusted air supply case.

PARTICLES ENTRAINMENTSHigh humidity in a data center can cause condensation, cor-

rosion, and electric shortage, while low humidity can cause

an electrostatic issue that harms the system. Moreover, the

entrainment of generator engine emissions or other particles

into outdoor air (OA) supply can damage the computers. For

these reasons, it is important to design and control the data

center for the right humidity ratio. CFD can aid design engi-

neers in the investigation of potential humidity issues inside

the data center. It can also expose any particle entrainments

and high humid air in the data center, ensuring that the air

quality meets the design criteria. Cooling towers, emer-

gency generators, air exhaust, and suspended particles (e.g.,

sand grains) are various sources of high humidity air and

particles. Figure 6 shows the outside view of a mission criti-

cal facility. In this example, Southland Industries employed

CFD to calculate the cooling tower water particles, genera-

tor emissions, and humidity concentration at OA under dif-

ferent wind speeds and directions. This verified the appro-

priate location of the emergency generators, cooling towers,

exhaust air, and OA in the design.

FIGURE 4.(a) Temperature distribution in the data hall at 3 ft above the floor with three failedCRAHs and an adjusted flow rate at adjacent CRAHs. (b) The location of the removed contain-ments. (c) The temperature contours show hot air recirculation from the attic into the data hall.(d) The temperature contours show cold air leakage from data hall to attic.

FIGURE 5.(a) Setting up a zonal control strategy in the data hall to balance the airflow. (b) Thetemperature distribution in the data hall at 4 ft above the floor with adjusted supply air basedon the local IT load. (c) Velocities contours (ft/s) at f4 ft above the floor with equal air supply ateach zone. (d) Velocities contours (ft/s) at 4 ft above the floor with an adjusted air supply basedon corresponding IT loads at each zone.



34/81

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COMPONENT EVALUATIONMany challenges can be encountered during the design of

mission critical facilities. Manufacturers typically test and

validate most of the components under specific and con-

trolled environment conditions. CFD can be used to model

the performance of the equipment including air-handling

units (AHU) and the humidifier, or of a new system under

different design conditions. As a result, any possible prob-

lems can be predicted and planned for in advance, which

brings more confidence to the design but more importantly,

efficiency and effectiveness. Figure 7 illustrates a pres-

surized Thermal Storage Energy (TSE) system. Southland

Industries implementation of CFD optimized the dif-

fusers in the tank to increase the

performance by 24%. As part of the

commissioning effort, the installed

system was tested to the same condi-

tions originally simulated in the CFD

model. The CFD results were within

2% margin of error and saved the

customer time and money on projects

during the building phase.

CONCLUSIONMany factors, ranging from IT load,

diffuser size, humidity, and rack size

to failure scenarios, ceiling height hot

spots, and many more, have an impact

on the performance of mission criti-

cal facilities. In order to save energy

and cut down on costs, these must be

considered during the design or reno-

vation process. The cooling system

design of these facilities continues to

be even more challenging when the

goal is an optimized design, yet engi-

neers push the limit to save energy

and costs. CFD is a reliable solution

that can produce results with accu-

racy. Implementing the right model in

collaboration with a partner experi-

enced in both the HVAC industry and

CFD software can shorten the design

procedure and optimize the design

effectively. The virtual design used

during this process allows owners,

engineers, and architects to visualize

the outcome, predict critical scenar-

ios, and propose practical solutions

prior to installation in a manner that

is more accurate than conventional

approaches and less expensive.



FIGURE 6. (a) The location of the cooling towers, emergency generators, exhaust, and OA airintakes. (b) The high humidity air from the cooling tower at a low wind speed. (c) The high humid-ity air from the cooling tower based on the highest wind speed and worst direction in the area.(d) The water particle tracks from the cooling tower based on the highest wind speed and worstdirection in the area. (e) The gas emission and particle tracks from the emergency generator. (f)The gas emission and particle tracks from the emergency generator in far field.

FIGURE 7.(a-f) Temperature contours in the vertical cross section of the tank at different timesduring the discharge process.


Read this article online at

www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/drrezaghias


36/81

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Why settle for passive containment when there

is an intelligent, cost effective option available toaddress heat issues, now and into the future.

Maximize rack and room density to achieve best-

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37/81


Akey component of todays data center infra-

structure management (DCIM) systems is

gathering and analyzing live data associ-

ated with the data center. This can represent

thousands of points of information such as

temperature, power, capacity, or status of any number of devices,

meters, or sensors throughout the data center. The collected

DCIM information can easily venture into the Big Data realm

with not only collection of information, but also storage of mil-

lions of samples of historical values.

As an industry term, DCIM has been convoluted over the years

as multiple vendors use the same term to define significantly dif-

ferent feature sets. While DCIM is taking a more defined shape,

the term real-time in regards to data collection is in danger of

falling into that same confusing realm for an enduser.

Our team recently heard an enduser say that their DCIM

provider gave them real-time information as one sample each

day. There were hundreds of thousands of data points and the

software could only accommodate a single poll of each data

point every day. Naturally, that enduser was disappointed and

discouraged as their expectations of real-time data were far from

what the vendor actually produced.

Another term beginning to be heard across the industry is

near-time, and is a more accurate description of what most

DCIM systems provide. Another popular term with a separate

meaning is extended interval. At Geist we have worked hard

to define these three terms in the following way:

Real-time: a continuous sampling of data sets with a refresh

cycle of seconds.

Near-time: a sampling of data sets separated by more than a

minute but less than one hour

Extended interval:any sampling of data that is delivered less

frequently than once per hour.

These three rates of refreshed information have their own dis-

tinct use cases, along with pros and cons for each. There isnt a

one-size-fits-all approach to collecting live data. The users need

is the key driver to determine what data needs to be collected

and at what rate.

THE BENEFITS OF REAL-TIME DATAIt might be best to illustrate the benefits of real-time data with a

real-life case; a colocation provider that prior to the installation of

As a co-creator of Geists DCiM solutions, Matt Lanehas over 14 years of experience working in data centermonitoring and product development. He brings awide range of experience as an entrepreneur, businessowner, and manager. He is currently the presidentof Geists DCiM division which provides customizedsolutions for data center monitoring.

By Matt Lane

eal-time or near-time? Find out what is right for your facility


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DCIM Environet:

The whole picture througha single pane of glass

geistglobal.com/products/dcim


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The Right Time For DCIM

DCIM had been manually logging their tenants power usage

in extended intervals. Approximately four times per day they

would take physical readings, record them in a spreadsheet,

and then evaluate the spreadsheet monthly to ensure that the

tenants were all staying within their power SLAs.

After deployment of an alternative DCIM system, they

captured data on a real-time basis and then stored that data

for historical review. At the end of the first month, the reports

derived from their real-time system were quite astonishing.

The original extended interval logging had gaps large enough

that there were significant differences in what was reported

the prior month with what was being reported through this

new system. In the end, the colocation provider realized

they had several customers that were over-utilizing their

prescribed capacities for power. As a result, they were able

to renegotiate their service agreements and the cost of the

DCIM implementation was recouped in a matter of months.

Who says DCIM doesnt have a tangible ROI?

Beyond this short illustration, real-time data collection

has many benefits.

Warnings and alarms. With data refreshed within sec-

onds, users can be alerted to threatening situations and

react quickly. Real-time information may help them see

issues before they become problematic, allowing the

operator to move from reactive into a more predictive

management state.

Highest accuracy of data. With frequent polling comes

the opportunity to store additional detailed historical

information for use in data analysis. A high sample rate

ensures that quick spikes and sags in readings are cap-

tured.

Reporting and trend analysis. Real-time information

provides an increased level of detail when it comes to

reporting and identifying trends. The data center environ-

ment can change quickly and having a higher data refresh

rate ensures that the user sees the entire picture.

Validation of capacities.A database of devices and their

anticipated power draw is included in most DCIM systems

today. Real-time data allows the user to utilize the most

precise data to validate their nameplate or de-rated assump-

tions to ensure maximum usage to their full capacities.

Operational awareness. Data center operators can fre-

quently be seen entering the critical environment to take

readings, assess an audible alarm, or to just generally

evaluate the status of the site. Having real-time information

accessible through their DCIM system allows access to that

information in a more convenient and holistic way, giving

greater understanding into many aspects of their operations.

THE DRAWBACKS TO REAL-TIME DATA Cost of implementation.It takes a significant amount of pro-

cessing to collect and manage all of that real-time information,

translating into higher implementation and system costs.

Data overload. It is important that a real-time data col-

lection tool has intelligent and simple ways to make sense

of all of the collected information. Good user interfaces,

graphical representations, and reporting engines are a

must to avoid information overload.

Extended network and processing resources. Big Data

brings with it the challenge of passing vast amounts of infor-

mation across LANs and WANs as well as processing and

storing all the data collected. An efficient tool needs to be

harnessed to ensure performance of the application remains

high without degrading other systems in the process.

WHEN NEAR-TIME DATA IS HELPFULNear-time data can be somewhat less taxing for a system to

collect and manage and can provide a number of benefits to

DCIM users.

Validation of capacities.While it may not have the same

number of samples as provided by real-time data, when

collected at reasonable near-time intervals data can pro-

vide valuable insight into actual readings and associated

trends that can be used to validate assumptions made in

modeling capacities.

Replacement of sneaker reports. We see many orga-

nizations that still use technicians to walk the data cen-

ter floor and take manual readings at defined intervals.

Because those types of reports are completed on a some-

what infrequent basis, near-time data can provide at least

a one-for-one replacement and free up an employees time

to work on more productive tasks.

General planning and architecture.Near-time data can

be adequate when high-frequency operational awareness

is not required, but when general planning and visibility is

sought. A lot of data can still be gleaned from a poll rate

of 15 minutes that will provide accurate enough infor-

mation to aid planning and data center growth decisions.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEENREAL-TIME AND NEAR-TIMEReal-time data collection and near-time data collection have

many of the same benefits, but there are certain operational

elements that are not available when using a near-time rate.

Some of those could include:

Delayed warnings and alarms

Failure to capture short bursts or periodic changes in-

between polling cycles

Not enough detail to fully examine an event

The main difference between the two polling rates is the

effect on operational awareness. As an example, if the poll cycle

is every 15 minutes, and a 10-minute power outage occurs, the


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ability to collect information about how the load transferred and

returned to normal, how the temperatures were affected, and gener-

ally review the entire event is simply not possible.

When monitoring power specifically, a near-time polling cycle

can easily miss spikes and sags or simple deviations in work-

loads that can change rapidly.

If operational awareness and greater in-depth analysis of events

is a critical factor to the success of the DCIM system, near-time

data collection is likely not the answer. Real-time polling provides

the granularity of information needed for those technicians that

are responsible for continuous equipment operation.

WHEN IS EXTENDED INTERVAL RIGHTFOR ME?Extended interval polling is a very sporadic collection of infor-

mation. This kind of data would be more useful at a macro level.

For instance, having a daily sample can give good information

into rounded readings like max megawatts utilized. During the

course of a normal day, there is too much variation in power

readings to put much stock in a single time sample.

A good use case for extended interval would be for global

capacity planning. An executive level user could be tasked with

determining when to build a new data center or when to consider

collocating. A small number of infrequent samples could provide

a close enough picture of the power footprint across an organi-

zation for the executive to start planning conversations.

Technicians, 24/7 staff, and even managers will be left want-

ing for more information as they attend to their daily duties in

an extended interval rate. So, in summary, extended interval is

really only effective for high-level planning.

CONCLUSION: YOUR TIME IS THERIGHT TIMEThe point is that there is no single live data-polling rate that is

best for everyone. However, there is a right polling rate for each

job title group within the data center.

Technicians, operators, NOC staff, and those responsible for the

daily operations of a data center, will likely find a real-time data

collection system most beneficial. It provides the highest degree

of operational awareness and the ability to complete post-mortem

analysis on past events. The other polling rates cannot provide

nearly the level of information required by this group as real-time.

Near-time polling rates are great for those responsible for

detailed planning and reporting. Generally, this responsibil-

ity resides with data center, IT, or facility managers who have

a continuing need to analyze capacities when deploying new

equipment and planning for future equipment. These managers

may not need the same level of operational awareness such as

the instantaneous alarming or power quality capture that comes

with real-time levels. However, near-time gives them a very nice

window into how power flows throughout the day and the effect

that has on their working environment.

Data center operators wont have a lot of use for extended inter-

val polling. There simply isnt enough granularity to be of benefit

to the reactive decisions and actions they must take. Extended

interval is a reasonable fit for the executive level group who are

more interested in generalities or data across lots of sites. Having

infrequent measurements still gives them enough data to make

high level decisions that can then be passed down to the managers

for greater evaluation.

In the end, it is most important to establish the business needs

first. Who is using the system? What are they using it for? What

are the goals of the system? What data needs to be collected to

accomplish those goals? If the right scope of work is defined at the

outset of the project, obtaining a system that has the appropriate

level of data polling will be simplified. There is a right choice

for data acquisition frequency and what that is depends on who is

using DCIM.



The Right Time For DCIM

FINDTHERIGHTSUPPLIERDONT WASTE PRECIOUS TIME SEARCHING FOR SUPPLIERS

Turn to the Mission CriticalBuyers Guide for companies in the data center and

mission-critical facility solutions industry.

GO TO:www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/buyersguide

or SCAN THE CODE:Read this article online at

www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/mattlane


42/81

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When it comes to fans and motors more of

a good thing is not always a good thing.

A recent U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) study stated that almost

60% of the fans within buildings today

are oversized. The study went on to say that almost 10% of the

fans were oversized by at least 60%. Although the magnitude of

the issue may be surprising, the problem is well known to any-

one involved with the design and selection of fan systems. The

conservative approach, often taken when designing and purchas-

ing a fan and motor, results in a product that exceeds the system

requirements and consumes more energy than necessary.

Oversizing fan/motor systems can end up creating a host of

other issues, including higher installed and operating costs,

increased maintenance, and possibly a higher level of vibration

and noise. It is very common for the application of safety mar-

gins to be compounded through the specification and purchase

process with the accepted remedy being the addition of a VFD,

to ramp down the speed.

The issue becomes even more complicated in HVACR appli-

cations with requirements for fan speeds well below that of the

standard, 4-pole, 1,800 RPM AC induction motor.

The difficulty derives from the fact that properly sizing a

motor to lower speed design requirements, for example selecting

an 8-pole 900 RPM, or a 6-pole 1,200 RPM AC induction motor,

must be weighed against the additional cost and inferior energy

efficiency associated with these machines. Hence the most com-

mon solution has been to use a lower cost, more efficient 1,800

RPM induction motor, gear it down mechanically with belts and

pulleys, and then control the final desired speed range with a

VFD. Of course, belts and pulleys introduce their own inefficien-

cies, costs, maintenance requirements, and design complexity.

This issue is increasingly faced in the design and construction

of custom air handling equipment used in mission critical data

center applications. Here energy efficiency is of utmost impor-

tance due to the 24/365 duty cycle and the enduser focus on

lifetime operation and maintenance costs. Also, these data center

Andrew T. Holden, P.E., is a sales executive withNovaTorque, Inc., which is a California-based companythat produces ferrite based permanent magnet motors.Andy is an industrial engineer from Georgia Tech with aMBA from Georgia State and has spent almost 10 yearsin the HVAC industry as a manufacturers representative.He is currently focused on representing NovaTorquesmotors to engineers, architects, owners, OEMs, contractors, reps, andendusers. In addition to his time spent in the HVAC industry he has spentover five years in the electric power generation sector as a consultantand as a commercial manager with international responsibilities.

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USE USto lower data centeroperating costs .

Xcel Energys Data Center Efficiency program can help datacenters and large-scale IT operations improve reliability and energyefficiency. By making improvements to airflow, cooling, motors andlighting, you can save energy and earn rebates to help reduce your

operating costs. As a result, you can get the reliability that ITprofessionals want, and the cost savings management demands.

Contact an energy efficiency specia

Documents

Mission Critical, Vol.8-Num.5