Learning Guide

Server room design and data storage facility planning guide

 

Being an active participant in data center planning can help you prove your worth as a VAR to your customer. By acting as a resource, sounding board or

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contractor, a solid relationship can be built and trust can be established. But before any of that can happen, you must have the best available knowledge and resources at your finger tips to make the best server room and data storage facility planning decisions. This guide will introduce you to server room design and storage room planning essentials to bring with you to your customers' shops.

   Server room and data storage facility needs
   Data center planning and design
   Server room power and cooling considerations

 

  Server room and data storage facility needs  Return to Table of Contents

Storage facility design services
Designing data center planning for a customer can be big business for VARs. In addtion to the hardware alone, there is the opportunity for maintenance and support. But in order to land that first contract, VARs need to be up to date on their knowledge of power, heating and cooling technologies and techniques.

Storage capacity planning: Managing storage inventory
Manage storage free-space and get insights into the efficiency of your customer's storage shop by applying inventory management principals. Contributor Brian Peterson explains storage inventory turnover and how to determine storage rate of consumption.

Server room planning: Location, space, setup and environmental considerations
Before building or redesigning a data center server room, VARs need to take into account the different aspects that will all be competing for space: hardware, components and interconnects. By laying the proper foundation, on-going maintenance will be less difficult than it otherwise might be.

Putting the brakes on virtual sprawl
Virtualization will help address rising data center costs and server tracking issues, but virtual sprawl is another dilemma altogether. Help your customers avoid virtual sprawl issues with the advice in this Q&A.

 

  Data center planning and design  Return to Table of Contents

Server room design first steps: A crash course
Planning and building a data center server room takes careful consideration and attention to detail -- not to mention explaining the details to a customer. Before starting the project, it is worth your while to check out these pieces of expert advice.

Learning Guide: How to design a server room
It's not easy loose track of all the elements that need to go into a server room or data center. This learning guide is a great place for VARs to make sure that all the loose ends are tied up before proceeding with a data center planning project. From reserving a room to flooring considerations, make sure that you don't over look anything.

ASHRAE considerations for data centers
An often overlooked aspect of data center and server room design is sound. Acoustical noise emissions can have a negative impact on employees at a company who can hear the data center humming away. This chapter excerpt from ASHRAE helps VARs get the noise under control.

 

  Server room power and cooling consideration  Return to Table of Contents

Data center infrastructure management: Power and cooling tips
Data center infrastructure management is a mission critical aspect of any company. Resellers who support data center hardware give themselves the opportunity to be in front of customers regularly to make sure the hardware is functioning properly.

Hot opportunities in power and cooling for the channel
Server technology is constantly changing, but some VARs are still using old information and techniques about cooling and idata center nfrastructure design. Being current and on the leading edge of technology is very important to any VARs business. Check out the latest information on cooling servers.

Crash course on server room cooling
Cooling a server room isn't always dependant on the newest technologies or latest advancements in servers. Sometimes knowing your equipment, how to set it up and how to run it efficiently is enough to keep your data center chilled.

Overheating server prevention
An experienced VAR who can help ease the mind of a server room manager who worries about overheating servers is a valuable commodity. Knowing the how to set up racks and rooms could be the first step in a long term, lucrative service deal for a VAR. Check out these cooling tips that will help ease overheating worries.

This was first published in February 2007

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