APC Whitepapers

Data Center Projects: System Planning System planning is the Achilles’ heel of a data center physical infrastructure project. Planning mistakes can magnify and propagate through later deployment phases, resulting in delays, cost overruns, wasted time, and ultimately a compromised system. Much of the trouble can be eliminated by viewing system planning as a data flow model, with an orderly sequence of tasks that progressively transform and refine information from initial concept to final design.

Electrical Efficiency Measurement for Data Centers Data center electrical efficiency is rarely planned or managed. The unfortunate result is that most data centers waste substantial amounts of electricity. Today it is both possible and prudent to plan, measure, and improve data center efficiency. In addition to reducing electrical consumption, efficiency improvements can gain users higher IT power densities and the ability to install more IT equipment in a given installation. This paper explains how data center efficiency can be measured, evaluated, and modeled, including a comparison of the benefits of periodic assessment vs. continuous monitoring.

Data Center Projects: Standardized Process As the design and deployment of data center physical infrastructure moves away from art and more toward science, the benefits of a standardized and predictable process are becoming compelling. Beyond the ordering, delivery, and installation of hardware, any build or upgrade project depends critically upon a well-defined process as insurance against surprises, cost overruns, delays, and frustration. This paper presents an overview of a standardized, step-by-step process methodology that can be adapted and configured to suit individual requirements.

Selecting an Industry-Standard Metric for Data Center Efficiency The development of standards for the measurement and specification of data center efficiency is an essential step in the global effort to reduce the environmental impact of data centers. This paper explains some of the metrics that have been used to describe the efficiency of data center physical infrastructure and suggests which metric is the most effective.

A Quantitative Comparison of High Efficiency AC vs. DC Power Distribution for Data Centers This paper presents a detailed quantitative efficiency comparison between the most efficient DC and AC power distribution methods, including an analysis of the effects of power distribution efficiency on the cooling power requirement and on total electrical consumption. The latest high efficiency AC and DC power distribution architectures are shown to have virtually the same efficiency, suggesting that a move to a DC-based architecture is unwarranted on the basis of efficiency. 

Electrical Efficiency Modeling for Data Centers Conventional models for estimating electrical efficiency of data centers are grossly inaccurate for real-world installations. Estimates of electrical losses are typically made by summing the inefficiencies of various electrical devices, such as power and cooling equipment. This paper shows that the values commonly used for estimating equipment inefficiency are quite inaccurate. A simple, more accurate efficiency model is described that provides a rational basis to identify and quantify waste in power and cooling equipment.

Power and Cooling Capacity Management for Data Centers High density IT equipment stresses the power density capability of modern data centers. Installation and unmanaged proliferation of this equipment can lead to unexpected problems with power and cooling infrastructure including overheating, overloads, and loss of redundancy. The ability to measure and predict power and cooling capability at the rack enclosure level is required to ensure predictable performance and optimize use of the physical infrastructure resource. This paper describes the principles for achieving power and cooling capacity management.

Cooling Strategies for Ultra-High Density Racks and Blade Servers Rack power of 10 kW per rack or more can result from the deployment of high density information technology equipment such as blade servers. This creates difficult cooling challenges in a data center environment where the industry average rack power consumption is under 2 kW. Five strategies for deploying ultra-high power racks are described, covering practical solutions for both new and existing data centers.

Site Selection for Mission Critical Facilities When selecting a new site or evaluating an existing site, there are dozens of risk factors that must be considered if optimal availability is to be obtained. Geographic, site-related, building, and economic risks need to be understood and mitigated to lessen the downtime effects on your business. In this paper guidelines are established for selecting a new site or assessing an existing one. Common risks that affect the availability of a business are defined and techniques for minimizing these risks are presented.

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