Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
heat like small toaster ovens—but they do so continuously, not just dur-
ing breakfast.
It is not always possible to simply scale up power feeds and air con-
ditioning within an existing structure, which can lead to a very unpleas-
ant surprise halfway through an extended consolidation effort. Capacity
planning includes long-term research to ensure that the hottest months
of the year are considered when evaluating capacity requirements. Layout
and organization within the data center can also affect cooling and power
distribution, creating hot spots or requiring renovation to strengthen
floors beneath large uninterruptible power supplies.
Larger data centers may separate power and processing facilities in
order to implement more efficient DC-based power distribution. Water-
based cooling systems, popular with technology geeks trying to overclock
their systems for maximum performance (that is, alter the settings to
exceed the manufacturer-recommended maximum speed), are now evolv-
ing into effective solutions for cooling large data centers, where water
or oil can be used to circulate heat away from servers more efficiently
and more quietly than forced-air cooling allows. Such extensive changes,
however, require a wholesale shift in facilities planning as well as in server
acquisition procedures.
As recent events have shown, facilities planning must also include
factors such as potential terrorist activities and natural disasters. Data
centers in the World Trade Center were completely lost as a result of the
terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, while some located in the vicin-
ity of New Orleans were literally buried in mud and sewage when levees
failed following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Even backup sites along
the Gulf Coast became unsupportable when evacuation efforts drained
available fuel supplies needed to run backup power generators long-term.
Organizations whose centralized consolidated resources are located in
high-visibility or geographically risky locations constantly gamble on the
continued performance and long-term viability of their data centers and
the services they support.
Consolidation Includes the Help Desk
Another key issue to address when considering consolidation or shared
services is to ensure that the help desk function is maintained. Users may
not care which server holds their e-mail or how their file storage is being
