Data

Center

The correct environment to protect your ICT infrastructure will range from Data Centers to Computer Rooms to MDF rooms. The requirement to provide a secure and environmentally adequate facility will determine the design required.

CNS can design up to Tier IV level Data Centers that are Green compliant with contained cooling, power management and leading edge product efficiencies.  These next generation Data Centers are designed to meet the high density computing requirements that servers require.  Such facilities are designed to cope with the harsh Middle East environments where daily temperate can exceed 50o C.

Data Centers

The Data Center is the nerve center of the organization, its design should be given due thought. Before designing a proper estimate should be made of all its needs when it is working at full capacity and growth should be anticipated. Similarly an equipment floor plan should be made and due care should be taken in designing the telecommunication cabling system for the floor. Data Center space is precious and it needs to be used wisely.

he main components are power conditioning & distribution, cooling, battery backup, standby generator, access control, environmental monitoring, flooring and fire suppression. CNS has qualified designers in all areas that comply with local regulations within the UAE.

CNS offers a complete Turnkey Data Center solution that includes:

• CCU/CRAC
• Raised flooring system
• Power cabling & electrical wiring
• Fire fighting system
• Access Control System
• Data Center internal SCS-copper and fiber   
• Environmental monitoring system
• Generator and UPS
• Project management
• Maintenance 12 months
• Implementation       
• Drawings
• UAT                                                           

Energy costs continue to increase. The cost of powering Data Centers increase as equipment runs faster/hotter and high density designs move power per rack from 7Kw to 25Kw. Data Centers are 50% inefficient (PUE ratio).

It is not possible to use natural cooling in the UAE which means that cooling must be powered with chillers. This increase the cost and inefficiency of the Data Center.

The Data Center is the area of priority. If you have an existing operation how can you be more efficient, compliant or better positioned to reduce energy costs and support environmental policies? If you are considering building a new Data Center or architecting a new ICT infrastructure what are the best practices, the best products and best designs? The choices are many, but they will require investment and possibly a write off of current assets. These options are detailed:

Consolidate your current infrastructure - An approach to more efficient usage of server resources is to reduce the total number of servers or server locations that an organization requires. Under-utilized servers take up more space and consume more power than can be justified. Although consolidation can substantially increase the efficient use of server resources, it may also result in complex configurations of data, applications, and servers that can be confusing for the average user to contend with. To alleviate this problem, virtualization may be used to mask the details of server resources from users while optimizing resource sharing.

Refresh your current infrastructure – Many OEM’s offer incentives to replace your old servers with new (often taking back the old ones for recycling). These new servers will have the latest energy efficiencies built in. Look for efficiencies via variable speed fans, lower power consumption CPU’s, greater performance per watt devices, etc.

The normal starting position is to asses where your organization is today. Many OEM’s offer an assessment service but these are usually biased to their products or solutions. CNS operates a best-of-breed and best-in-class model that will enable us to work with the best technology providers in a blended solution. By using our DREAM (Define, Review, Engineer, Accelerate, Manage) methodology we can help you answer the burning questions:

• How can I reduce energy costs?
• How efficient is my Data Center?
• How can I harness my compute power?
• What are best practices?
• How do I measure my carbon footprint?
• What investment is required?
• What are easy wins?
• What are industry trends & timescales?
• What are my priorities?

In answering these questions we will ensure that you have considered all of the options available to you, the end state of various scenarios going forward, the budgetary estimates in realizing the preferred options and the likely timelines. We can help you define ICT Governance for green ICT and ensure mandatory or voluntary compliance with regulations and policies.

We also offer a reduced TCO via our Leverage!CNS managed services product where we can deliver a Managed Data Center solution to include maintenance, cleaning, security, cable management, etc.