With the massive growth of data and a complex infrastructure with cables running throughout and a dizzying array of ports and plugs to manage, data center infrastructure can be a confusing topic. Moreover, it is a hassle for those who are not accustomed to the complex processes and equipment involved in managing and designing a data center facility.

Fortunately, here we shall be sharing the basic principles of data center networking architecture, which will prove to be a big plus for customers looking to collude their IT assets with a data center facility.

Data Center Principles For Effective Design And Networking

These are the primary principles for an effective data center design and networking strategy:

1. Cabling

With most of the limelight into the connectivity & networking process and how the companies are using them, it overshadows the importance of physical infrastructure that makes any data center networking architecture possible.

Cabling is one of the most crucial aspects of a data center design. Poor cable deployment is much more than just a messy look- it can restrict air flow, causing overheating by restricting hot air and blocking cool air from entering.

Over a long time, cable damming can cause equipment to heat up and fail, resulting in loss of working capital due to increased downtime and maintenance. Previously, in traditional designs, cables were installed beneath elevated floors. In recent years, the design paradigm has shifted, and overhead cabling is utilized, which often helps to reduce energy costs and reduce cooling needs.

Structured cabling techniques are practiced to ensure consistency in performance and better ease of use. Unstructured point-to-point cabling might be cheaper and easy to install but may lead to higher operational costs and frequent maintenance problems.

2. Redundancy

Uptime is the most critical aspect of data center design. If a facility fails to deliver reliable power and connectivity to the networking systems it hosts at the site, it probably won’t suffice the business requirements for long.

Modern colocation data centers use a combination of backup generators to provide optimized and effective backup power needs and deploy uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) that efficiently deliver battery power to essential equipment on the rare occasion of an outage.

The sole purpose of UPS backups is to keep the energy flowing until the generators kickstart and start providing the necessary power. There are specific terminologies in the data center to indicate how much redundancy a center has available (N, N+1, 2N, and 2N+1).

Considering the high Service-level agreement (SLA) Uptime, redundancy strategies are an essential aspect. The difference between 99.99999% and 99.99% uptime may not seem considerable, but it adds up to almost an hour of data availability every year.

Given the high loss incurred to the working capital due to system downtime, it’s not that surprising why companies invest heavily in backup systems that keep their infrastructure up and running, keeping customer data safe and always at ready use.

3. Power And Cooling Efficiency

What can be intuitively perceived about data centers is that they require and use up much power. For instance, U.S. data centers use more than 90 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, requiring 34 massive (500 megawatts) coal-powered mines. Last year, global data centers used roughly 416 terawatts (or about 3% of the total electricity (National Research Development Corporation).

Researchers expect the growth of the power demands to hold steady, at least through 2021. Well-designed facilities are better capable of power distribution, ensuring they do not let electricity go to waste. They implement sophisticated automated systems that manage power-intensive processes much more efficiently to keep energy use in check even as the facilities expand and become more powerful.

A good example is that the data center power consumption has drastically reduced by 80 percent through lower-powered chips and solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of the higher power-consuming spinning hard drives.

In addition, many facilities adopt green data center design standards to ensure sustainability without compromising performance.

Cooling infrastructure is also another crucial data center design process. It has evolved a long way, from innovations in traditional air handlers to innovative strategies to make the best use of natural cooling with outside air and water sources. While many facilities to date rely on primitive computer room air conditioners (CRACs), the increasing power demands of modern servers have spurred a rapid advancement and demand for new solutions like direct-to-chip liquid cooling and calibrated vectored cooling (CVC).

Even though most facilities fail to incorporate these advancements mentioned above into their data center designs due to their sizable legacy infrastructure, they can still make significant improvements to their cooling efficiency through analytical and automated systems driven by Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

For example, the tech giant Google made headlines in 2018 when it announced it would be handling cooling systems of its hyper-state data centers through an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) Algorithm developed by the deep mind (Source: MIT Tech Review).

This instance shows that technological advancement and incorporating them have great potential for reducing cooling costs for data center operations. The cooling methods you choose will depend on various factors such as budget, geography, electricity cost, and more. However, these are some of the most popular cooling methods used by most facilities:

• Traditional Air Cooling: Industrial air conditioners create chill air and move it via ducts to where they are deployed. While they are energy-intensive, they help keep the data center at the precise temperature needed.

• Water Cooling Units: It is much more efficient than many others; it uses nearby water bodies to cool the facility.

• Outdoor Air Cooling: In areas with a cold climate, outdoor air cooling is used to cool the facility.

• Localized Cooling: A cooling unit faces each “warm row” of the data center, so air does not need to be transported viaducts, making the cooling process more optimized. It also allows precision cooling.

4. High-Density Deployments

While cooling infrastructure might be the primary driving force behind the data center power consumption, the increasing power density of server cabinets is also an essential factor.

Power density is a valuable metric for calculating a data center’s actual computing efficiency. As the size of processors has become smaller and more potent with advanced tech, the equipment stacked in the racks has also undergone these changes.

Previously, a cabinet drawing anything more than 5 KW was considered a high-density rack, which has risen to somewhere around 7-10 KW, with high-performance ones featuring densities as high as 30-40 KW. As processing large amounts of data has become widespread, high-density capacity has become an indispensable “must-have” feature in all data center facilities.

5. Physical And Logical Security

With the rising focus on cybersecurity, you cannot undermine physical security measures to safeguard valuable data and software assets.

Therefore, leading data center designs standards must provide optimum security against physical data breaches. This includes multiple layers of protection that incorporate both physical and logistical measures.

From simple security measures like perimeter fencing with cameras and motion sensors to more sophisticated tools like biometric scanners, a well-designed and secured data center provides only authorized personnel access to the customer assets.

Regular compliance audits are another practical method to protect customer data and assets. With most customers facing various regulatory requirements as a part of their businesses, data centers must design their infrastructures and operations with compliance in mind. A good facility should promptly produce the necessary certificates and attestations to demonstrate their compliance with relevant rules and regulations.

How Can Mechartes Help?

At Mechartes, we focus on providing accurate simulation-oriented results with a professional approach using advanced engineering tools. We provide Data Center Validation Services that include the pre-design stage, design stage, and construction stage.

We adhere to all the industry-leading Data Center design standards and guidelines to provide the perfect simulation and design for the best utilization of resources and performance.

Our specialty includes Data Center Architecture and Engineering. The different stages we design, and the specific technologies we use are:

• Pre-Design Stage: We use External Flow CFD analysis for the chiller and generator yards present in the Data Center sites. We carefully assess the wind directions and weather conditions to judge the perfect placement of the chiller and generator units.

• Design Stage: We use CFD Analysis to validate and optimize the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) design of the following areas per specific project requirements: Data Hall, Generator room, and DRUPS room.

• Construction Stage: Stress analysis is used to analyze the existing piping networks as it helps diagnose the design’s compatibility with its weight, pressure, and thermal stress. We provide support and design suggestions for the most effective method based on the detailed stress analysis report.

For expert consultation on designing or expanding your data center, visit Mechartes and get the best guidance adhering to the guidelines and standards set for optimum performance.