What’s Your Battery Room Spill Plan?
When is the last time you thought about the plumbing in your data center? Likely, it is not often, but for your battery rooms it can be vitally important. From day to day, most lead-acid batteries are stable, but a spill management plan can address the many safety, health, and environmental concerns long before trouble […]
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Water Mist or Gaseous Suppression?
For data center fire suppression, this can be a tricky issue. Which is more dangerous? Which might hurt my IT equipment? Having either system is not dangerous, and is much more desireable than no protection. In this comparison, both are assumed to be ‘dry’ pipe systems, and therefore not a threat to IT equipment due […]
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Business law and the regulatory environment
Over the years I have learned a lot about business and the messaging components. I have learned that there is a lot that goes into the process, from raw research to how communications firms translate that information to an informative message. Having a business unit behind you to do all of this is a great […]
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Ice Storage Systems?
The ASHRAE technical committee Datacom book series makes mention of ice storage for consideration. While ice storage is useful if you have the up-and-downs that a normal office building has, it has much less application for a data center where load runs much more evenly throughout 24 hours. The amount of ice stored would amount […]
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Rack & Cabinet Airflow Considerations
What should you be looking for in a rack or cabinet in your data center? Focusing on the important features will save you time and money in the years to come, so take the time to know what you have and where you might be headed. Although most data centers are supported by standard racks […]
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Self-driving data centers
As we delve deep into another year there are no shortage of summaries over the last year and predictions for 2020 and the next decade. The last year, as the year before, has seen even more awareness of climate change and advocation for renewable energy sources. Along with this is the demand for smarter services, […]
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Longevity of Geothermal
On rare occasion I run across a system that, although smaller in size, supports a mission critical facility and supporting spaces with geothermal. In one instance, open loop geothermal-sourced cooling was serving a smaller network operations center that had a large screen wall with a small data center behind it. The building had two central […]
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Investing in Fuel Cells
Fuel cells have been providing energy to the data center industry for over a decade, with many performing far beyond expectations. They were chosen for their reliability with constant loads and efficiency, operating to supplement or replace part of power drawn from the utility. Another touted benefit is their environmental impact, reducing the carbon footprint […]
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Overcoming Challenges with Onsite Renewable Energy Use
Renewable energy and onsite power generation has taken significant strides in use and availability but there are still challenges in connections, expectations and experience. Although performance of the systems has increased while cost has gone down, tax credits and incentives are still needed to ensure that the return on investment is still attractive. Spatial requirements […]
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To Raise a Floor or Stay a Slab?
The debate about whether a raised floor is designed and installed for a data center has gone on for years, with the fate of raised floor seemingly coming to an end. However, when diving into the matter, the decisions are often about the best way to manage cables, supply cooling water and airflow, and supporting […]
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