Data Center Solutions

Data Center Solutions - Facility Management

Data Center Floor Plans

Effective data center floor plans require the strategic placement of equipment in order to optimize air flow and cooling without adversely affecting work flow and the required service area, all while still providing for maximum availability and scalability.The floor plan design process involves significant evaluation and planning utilizing top down and elevation methodologies.

Planning and Pre-Design Phase

Detailed planning and pre-design is an important first step in creating an intelligent, efficient data center floor plan. By investing time and effort at this early stage, companies can save on capital and running costs, save time on correcting mistakes further down the design route, and save time on commissioning.
This process begins by determining a project budget for a particular layout for the IT and support infrastructure equipment including the computer room(s), mechanical room(s), electrical room(s), and any other supporting data center spaces that may be required. Next, if the project is for an existing data center, the conceptual design stage typically begins with a thorough on-site survey of the facility along with an examination of future growth constraints and the ability of the existing services to support the proposed floor plan.

Data Center Floor Plan Methodologies

The two primary methodologies for looking at a data center floor plan are the "top down" view and the "elevation" view.
Top Down View
To establish a data center floor plan using the top down view, designers begin by examining the work flow process and equipment location, accounting for equipment size and the necessary service space. This may involve analysis via Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modeling, which can be performed for the under-floor air area as well as the area above the floor.
CFD modeling the airflow in a data center provides information to make informed decisions about where to place CRAC equipment, IT-equipment, perforated tiles, high density rack location units (RLUs), etc. Much of the software available today also allows mapping of both under-floor and overhead airflow obstructions to more accurately represent the environment. Furthermore, the CFD analysis will make obvious which cooling zones can be used for low density, medium density and high density equipment.
Once this assessment is complete, the floor plan design will implement a 'hot aisle/cold aisle' approach. This approach is the accepted layout standard for RLUs and should be adapted for both new and retrofit projects. In the 'hot aisle/cold aisle' approach, cold air is delivered via perforated tiles in the cold aisle. The heat builds up in the hot aisle and uses the ceiling height as a pathway back to the CRAC units. Additionally, row cooling can be accomplished utilizing a new CRAC type commonly referred to as an 'in-row' system.
In addition, the design team needs to address the specific power and cooling zones. Some zones of capability can be low-density RLU zones that require only raised floor row cooling, while others can be in-row cooling zones to provide medium-density cooling capacity. Still others can be cabinet cooling solutions for ultra high-density server environments. Provisioning cooling zones is most easily accomplished by matching the cooling techniques with the load requirements as a result of analyzing the CFD model.
Elevation View
The elevation view evaluates the design of the data center floor plan in three tiers: the layout below the raised floor, the layout above the raised floor, and the layout above the dropped ceiling.
To establish a data center floor plan using the elevation view, designers begin by segmenting the access floor. At this level, it is important to include a sub-floor with adequate drainage to draw water from spills or leaks away from sensitive equipment. Power cabling and piping for cooling systems should also run through the sub-floor. Data cabling may be installed at the top of the raised floor. The design should also incorporate free space in the middle of the raised floor to allow for unobstructed air flow.
Above the raised floor, the equipment in the room must be laid out to enhance performance and support high availability. This is typically done following the 'hot aisle/cold aisle' approach, allowing for work flow and equipment demands as discussed above. It's also important to note that the ceiling height in most rooms is typically a minimum of 9 feet, and the highest equipment placement should be no less than 18 inches below any sprinkler heads.
Next we come to the layout above the dropped ceiling. No plumbing or water pipes should pass over the room. Instead, it is common to pass these pipes at the perimeter to avoid potential equipment damage in the event of a water leak. An optional cooling approach presented by dropped ceilings is for the data center to utilize the ceiling plenum as a return air pathway depending on cooling requirements.
A broad spectrum of technical and strategic concerns must be taken into account when drafting a data center floor plan. The biggest factor to be considered when creating an effective data center floor plan is the power and cooling density to which the equipment is deployed. For best results, hire an expert consultant to ensure an efficient design that will lead to maximum availability and scalability.

Computer Room Relocation Implementation Service

PTS provides comprehensive planning, project management, and implementation services for clients requiring Computer Room Relocation due to consolidations, migrations, acquisitions, business moves, or other strategic business reasons. PTS provides specific technical expertise and labor to prepare all IT and facilities equipment for relocation, load and transport all equipment, re-install and recertify equipment (, and document and hand off to client operational and IT personnel.
PTS' Computer Room Relocation Implementation Service provides quality pre-move, move, and post-move services to support computer room relocations which fall within the ninth phase of the PTS data center project process.

Data Center relocations are expensive and require specific expertise and experience. Therefore, we recommend completing these programs using skilled personnel intimately familiar with IT migrations.
PTS fully specifies and implements all elements of the relocation program. Specific activities include

Project Management. Detailed project schedule, team structure, and PTS and Client Requirements are developed. Comprehensive communications across all partners including client, PTS, landlord (if applicable), and other subcontractors are completed by PTS project management personnel as preparation for onsite work is completed.

Pre-Move Site Preparation. PTS relocation professionals arrive onsite and perform a pre-move assessment of all infrastructure to verify size, count, physical layout, packing requirements, labeling of all devices, cables, and equipment with specific information for new rack location, position, and integration requirements, path for transport from the facility, cabling requirements, and other facility and IT requirements.

Move Plan Creation (if necessary). PTS develops and delivers a complete Move Plan specifying all aspects of the Computer Room Relocation program including labeling, de-installation, packing, transport, unloading, unpacking, re-installation, re-cabling (if separately contracted to do so), re-certification of equipment per the OEM (if optionally contracted to do so), documentation, clean-up, and other miscellaneous tasks associated with the relocation.

Move Implementation. PTS personnel perform de-installation, packing, loading, transporting, unloading, re-installation, and recertification of equipment per the Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Post-Move Consulting. Project completion activities including punch list completion, move review, documentation, and clean-up.

The full scope of PTS relocation activities are shown in the following diagram:

Data Center Solutions - Information Technology

Digital Edge server virtualization management services allow companies to take advantage of the benefits of a virtual private server, server virtualization and dedicated managed servers without the need to have an internal staff that are experts on VMware, Xen, or Microsoft Hyper V.

Computer Room Relocation Implementation Service

The team of experts at Digital Edge provides virtual server hosting and management services so that your servers and all data remain secure and backed up. Our experienced and certified engineers and support staff provide around-the-clock support to ensure that your applications are always operating at maximum efficiency. Our data centers offer:
Digital Edge provides server virtualization management for your virtual private server in order to ensure that your servers and data are secure and backed up, all while minimizing your capital expense.
Digital Edge Virtual Data Center Solutions provide a fully redundant Enterprise Architecture monitored and managed 24x7 with the capability to expand on demand. Virtual Data Center Solutions can be provided at a lower overall cost than most traditional colocation or server virtualization management scenarios.
Digital Edge maintains complete authoritative and operational control over data center facility, working with both staff facility engineers, electricians, and contractors to produce the solutions that custom fit clients' needs for server virtualization management.
Nowadays, everywhere you turn people are talking about cloud computing, but what is it? There are many myths about cloud computing services, but cloud computing is essentially a set of computing resources and services. Depending on the user's requirements,they may choose eitherpublic cloud computing or private cloud computing . Regardless of which option is chosen, both provide simple, scalable access to computing resources.

Organizations choose to use cloud computing solutions because this method increases capacity and capabilities without having to invest in infrastructure. Users are able to avoid investing in infrastructure because cloud computing involves the interaction of several virtualized resources. Cloud servers connect and share information resources based on the level of website traffic load across the entire network platform. This method of computing is considered a service in the form of:

Redundant Virtual Private Server Farm

N+2 Server Infrastructure

Move instances between hosts seamlessly

Virtual Disaster Recovery can be added as an option

Supported Client Types

Microsoft Windows 2003, 2008 (Data Center, Enterprise, Standard & Web Editions)

Linux (RedHat / CentOS / Debian / SUSE 9, 10)

Sun Solaris 9,10

HP-UX

VMware ESX

Staffed Facility

Digital Edge employees staff facilities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Operations Support Center staff are just 5 steps from raised floor equipment for any and all remote hands work.

Specialized, experienced and certified engineers available for consultation.

The level of technical expertise is unparalleled in the region for service provider data center space.

Complete Control

What is Cloud Computing?

considered a service in the form of:

Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud computing services: software provided and supported on demand

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing services: infrastructure provided and supported on demand

Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud computing services: deployment and scalability of application platforms

The greatest benefit of cloud computing is that users only pay for the resources needed, as they are used. Sold on demand in blocks of resources, cloud computing allows users to have as much or as little service at any time. It's a quick and affordable way to provision server connections and storage because provisioning becomes the responsibility of the provider, not the user. Organizations can have worry-free server provisioning because they don't need to invest time or money to purchase, manage and maintain the cloud as they would a physical server.
With Digital Edge private cloud computing solutions, we offer virtual instances and virtual colocation. Customers can expect:

Quick, affordable provisioning of servers

Already built in power, cooling, racking, stacking and cabling

Qualified and experienced professionals to provide network, hardware, VMware, Windows and Linux service

Redundancy, monitoring, help desk services, and more

Partnering with Digital Edge for your private cloud computing services is the best decision you can make for your server provisioning. To learn about how our cloud computing services can benefit your organization, contact us today!
All the enquaries can be send to info@digtialedgeme.com