Minimum Requirement for a Standard Data Center

Minimum Requirement for a Standard Data Center

Area, size and Construction:-

 Physical Space:

o A minimum of 25 m² (5x 5).
o Square is preferable to long and narrow.
o Measure physical sizes of all items – height in rack units (1 RU ~ 4.5 CM).
o Account for HVAC equipment, power distribution, and UPS systems.
o Clearances – NEC Section 11016 requires three feet of clear.
o working space around equipment with exposed live parts.
o High voltage electrical panels and transformers must be at least meter from racks & equipment.

 Physical Features:

o A minimum ceiling height of 10’-0” clear (below light fixtures)
o Anti-Static Access Floor System is highly recommended
o Most stand-alone computer systems are designed for cabling from below
o More flexible cooling with raised floor than ducted air
o Floor load rating under distributed loading must be > 250 lb/ft².
o Door at least three feet (3′) wide and should swing open out of o the room (double doors preferable).
o No tight turns to get into room.

 Finishes:

o Use Vapor Barrier In Wall Construction To Prevent Moisture Migration.
o Interior walls are recommended to be painted with fire retardant paint.
o Seal All Openings – Pipe / Cable Cutouts Doors.
o Keep Doors Closed.
o Windows are not recommended.
o Minimize Outside Air.
o Flooring should be static free.
o Ceiling Color should be reflective Light (white is recommended).

 Lighting:

o Lighting Fixtures ≥ 10 feet above floor with a minimum of.
o 500 LUX in the horizontal plane and 200 LUX in the vertical plane, measured 1 m above the finished floor.
o Account for light loss due to full cable trays and light blocked by equipment and racks.
o Coordinate positions of light fixtures with layout, particularly cable trays & cabinets.
o Lighting Fixtures should be free of EMI (Normal Fluorescent.
o Lighting with standard Ballast should not be installed).
o Emergency lighting consistent with emergency system for the building.

 Physical Security

o All doors should be controlled.
o Door access, proximity card/badge or biometric.
o keyed locks or numbered keypads (Not Recommended).
o Door should alarm if left open.
o Interior room (no windows).
o Walls up to deck (demising walls).
o Emergency Power Off is highly recommended.

o Complete isolation of Data Center from any source of dust, water, vibration and humidity. That includes:-

o Blocking any external open windows.
o Ensuring any water sources will not get into Data Center, utilities Room or UPS Room.
o Ensuring there is no water or water-based systems are passing over Data Center, Communications Room or UPS Room that could leak into the center.
o It should not be located adjacent to water sources (e.g.WCs) or below or above fire sources (e.g. Kitchen)
o It should be 50m-60m raised from the floor and minimum weight should be 750kg/m2.
o Data Center should be cooled through internal AC units. Building AC should not have any air flow to Data Center.

 Raised Floor and tiles

o Supply and install a sub-frame supported non-carpet anti-static raised floor in Data Center and related rooms.
o The raised floor should be safely capable of carrying the equipment weight including any future expansion. The load on the raised floor could reach 340kg/m2. 

o A minimum height of 30cm of the raised floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeD4C6EdzXo

Electrical Requirements for Data Center

Fire Suppression Systems

Installing a fire fighting system in Data Center, The fire fighting system shall meet the following criteria:

o FM200 or NOVIC 1230- based system.
o Includes heat sensitivity and smoke detectors (HSSD).
o Safe to people and equipment.
o Environment friendly.
o Cost effective and its re-charge cost is low.
o Easy to re-charge and test.
o Covers all areas in Data Center.
o Prepare the Computer Center with Fires extinguishers suitable for electrical/electronic fire fighting.
o Early warning detection system.

Air Conditioning Requirements

Environmental Control Objective:

o To maintain temperature and humidity within acceptable operating limits.
o Computer grade highly reliable air conditioner units with capability to control temperature and humidity should be properly selected and installed.
o Excess cooling capacity including additional redundant units should be taken into consideration.
o Cooling equipment should be sensibly located to avoid hot spots.
o Completely independent from the building Air Conditioners.

Environmental Control (HVAC) (TIA 942 requirements):

o Temperature 20°C – 22°C, own zone.
o Positive air flow.
o Humidity of 45 – 55%, non-condensing.
o Continuous cooling (24 hours x 365).

Hot and cold aisles:

o Redundancy (100%; 50%; Min 25%) Depends on number of units. 
o Cooling independent of building automatic shutdown system and not subject to building power-saving shutdowns .
o TIA 942 and ASHRAE, amongst many others, recommend laying out equipment racks according to the hot aisle/cold aisle.
o Cold air passes through vented floor tiles, through the front of the cabinet and out the rear.

Problems Caused By Poor Environment in Data Center:

 Temperature Swings – Reduce Life Of Electronic Components.
 Hot Spots – Sudden Equipment Shutdown.
 High Humidity – Condensation.
 Low Humidity – Static Electricity.
 Dust – Short circuits, Overheating Of Components.
 Any of the above can lead to downtime and subsequent loss of revenue.

 Provide and install dedicated air conditioning units serving Data Center : The AC system shall be:

 Capable of controlling Data Center temperature and humidity.
 Consists of (n+1) units. Each one can take the whole load at a time (alternate operation).
 Standby units in case of the presence of more than two cooling units should be discussed and approved by Data Center Management.
 Has no or very low vibration and noise.
 The air cooling in Data Center shall be directed under the raised floor.
 The AC Units should not share the power with any equipment in Data Center.
 The expected heat dissipation in Data Center should be calculated in BTU to cater for the maximum power load UPS would be designed for with future capacity growth.

 AC units should be located in a separate room adjacent to the Computer Room blowing the air under the raised floor.

Minimum Requirement of the Network Resources for a Standard Data Center

o Provide and install UTP-based cabling infrastructure with RJ45 outlets distributed  at an average of two outlets per one square meters in the new Computer Center. All outlets shall be floor-mounted under the raised floor. All network cabling and termination is based on the Giga Speed network standard used in the Building.

All cables shall be terminated in the Central Network cabinet in the Communications Room with proper labeling of cables and faceplates.

o Install LAN and phone outlets at the walls of the Computer Center with a three data and one voice outlets every two meters.

Minimum Requirement of the Network Resources for a Standard Data Center
Minimum Requirement of the Network Resources for a Standard Data Center

o Provide and install telephone outlets distributed at an average of one outlet per three square meters in Data Center. All outlets shall be installed under the raised floor.

o All voice outlets in Data Center shall be terminated in the voice communications room.
o Data cables should run in separate cable trays from power cable trays.

Lighting Requirements:

o Install new lighting for Data Center proper for normal office environment (500  Lux Lumens/m²), with no or minimal heat emission.
o Emergency lights should be added to provide adequate lighting during total  power outage.

Access Control System:

o Provide the Computer Center with an access control system that records who is accessing the area. Mantrap + biometric.

Water Detection System:

o Prepare the Computer Center, Communication Room and UPS room with a water detection system.

 Design Documentation and Manuals:

o Prepare and provide a full documentation of Data Center design and setup. The documentation shall be provided in 2 softcopies as well as three hard copies. The documentation includes:-

o Power schematics diagrams depicting all installed circuits.
o LAN cabling diagram in the Computer Center.
o Specs of all systems included in the Computer Center with their operational information.
o Support information for each system in the Computer Center.
o All systems warranties shall be extended to IT Services. Warranty documents shall be handed to IT Services by the end of the project.
o Operations manuals of all installed equipment shall be handed to SS prior to the end of project. Operational information of installed equipment shall be passed to IT Services representative(s).

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