Guide to Data Centers

Do-it-yourself data centers design for smaller businesses

By Elliot Feldman

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Data centers are notoriously high-cost energy-hogs. A growing number of information technology servers now power a large range of organizations from major corporations to small businesses. Companies hire data center facilities to independently house their information technology systems as well as telecommunications and storage systems.

In some cases, company chief executives and chief information officers prefer to hire data-center management consultants to design their proprietary data center facilities.

According to the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, data-center operations management standards should include:

Electrical equipment and a power backup system in case of failure
A raised floor to accommodate a cooling system
An electricity use monitoring system
Humidity controls
Fire protection systems
Physical security for restricted site access

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Data centers 101

Learn as much as you can about data-center operations management services and data-center design standards from reliable sources.

I recommend: Hewlett-Packard offers their online video guided tour of a well-designed data center. InformationWeek presents primarily corporate examples of best practices in data center design. Sun Microsystems has an extensive white paper on Data Center Design Philosophy with guidelines for users. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has its own study of data center design standards, as does the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Read case examples of data centers

Data network services offer case studies that may determine what elements to include or exclude in data center facilities design.

I recommend: The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also offers their study (PDF file) of retrofitting an existing mainframe facility to meet technology trends. IBM TV shows several high-profile case studies of data center design at companies like RackForce. Silicon.com has a slide show article illustrating the step-by-step case study design of a data center. Sun Microsystems is a major information resource for data center design and data center management, including case studies.

Find consulting services to help you design your own data network center

Data center services specializing in design consulting may include major high-technology corporations like IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) or smaller independent companies.

I recommend: IBM's one-day New Enterprise Data Center Innovations Workshop is free for companies with IBM sponsorship. IBM experts advise businesses on data center design. IBM's Project Big Green helps companies design energy-efficient data centers. American Power Conversion (APC) offers its web-based Trade-Off data center design tool where companies can view a Flash-animated data network center adjusted to its specific business design parameters. See Digital Realty Trust's build-to-suit services and video.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

When considering a secure data facility, internal security threats can be more dangerous than external security threats, especially in a multiple user environment. Implement user monitoring systems that authenticate and track the actions of users to assure a more secure data facility.
Data centers power everything from a company's online videos to email systems.

The official source of Data Centers is the Data Centers page at Business.com

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