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Posts Tagged ‘server colocation’

How to Assess Generator Size, Make, Model, and Fuel Type When Choosing a Colocation Provider

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Posted by: Darren Bonawitz

When considering a colocation provider, ask about their generator to verify the size, make, model and the fuel type.

Size – Backup generators need to be sized appropriately in order to provide adequate protection for customers. For example, if a facility has 100 cabinets that are allowed to have a power load of 12kW per cabinet, that is a potential load of 1200kW (not counting supporting infrastructure such as computer room air conditioners, etc.). So if the facility has a single 1000kW generator, that is a warning sign. So you will need to verify what their upgrade plan is at the very least, and if you do not like the answer, walk away.

Load – Much like a UPS, you will want to verify the capacity and load and verify if and how they handle oversubscription. With regard to load, it is important to not just find out the current load on the generator. Instead, verify the committed load on the generator. Customers may only be utilizing a portion of the power delivered to their cabinet currently. If their existing customers add equipment over time, the load will increase even if the facility does not add new customers. So look at both the current and committed load.

Fuel – The fuel will generally either be diesel or natural gas with diesel being more common. In addition, verify the fuel tank capacity, how much fuel is in the tanks currently, and the amount of run time currently and at full load. That way you know how long you can run. On your tour, take the time to visually verify how much fuel is actually in the tanks. If their tanks are not at least 80% full, that could be an indication of a facility not staying on top of their critical infrastructure. At a minimum, I would recommend ensuring they keep at least 24 hours of fuel on site in case of an emergency with more run time being desireable of course. The age and quality of the fuel matters as well. See if they have reports on fuel quality tests, how often they refuel, etc. to ensure fresh fuel.

Maintenance – Ensure the generator(s) are under prevenative maintenance programs and being serviced regularly. Do not be afraid to ask to see proof as well. There are varying opinions on testing schedules, but my recommendation is that testing occurs monthly with a live load test quarterly. This means simulating a power failure and allowing the customers equipment to actually run off the generator’s power to make sure the equipment runs properly should an issue ever arise. Some places may test more frequently which is fine, but I would not recommend a facility that tests less frequently.

Automatic Transfer – It is very important that the provider have an automatic transfer switch (ATS) between the electric utility power and the backup power to eliminate the need for human interaction.

Hopefully the facility you choose never has to utilize their generator in non-scheduled events, but in the event they do, you will be glad you took the time to verify these items.

Tags: 1102 GRAND, automatic transfer switch, backup generators, cabinet level PDUs, colocation provider, colocation services, data center, data center cost, data center network, data center operations, data center server, data center servers, data colocation, datacenter, efficiency, electric company, electric energy, electric utility grid, electric utility substation, electrical, electrical energy, electrical substations, electricity, Energy, energy advantages, energy conservation, energy cost, energy saving, energy savings, energy-efficiency, facility, floor level power distribution units, generation power, generator transfer switch, green data center, green energy, Green IT, greening it, hardware, hardware maintenance, heating and air, heating and cooling, heating and cooling system, heating and cooling systems, heating systems, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet hub and data center, Internet Service Prodiver, IT, IT infrastructure, it infrastructure management, Kansas City Power & Light, Midwest data center, Midwest Internet hub, PDUs, plant power, plants power, power, power connector, power generation, power generator, power generators, power loss, power one, power plant, power plants, power protection, power service, power supply, processor.com, Public Utility Commission, Raw Space, remote facility, save energy, server, server colocation, source energy, sources energy, sources of energy, substation design, substations, substations electrical, supply power, sustainable energy, telecommunications, transfer switch, transmission lines, uninterruptable power supplies, utility companies, utility company, utility energy, utility grids
Posted in 1102 GRAND, Colocation Information, Disaster Recovery Solution, Energy, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Electric Utility Grids/Substations

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

By: Darren Bonawitz

db Electric Utility Grids/Substations

In this post, a continuation of an ongoing blog series about colocation power, we will be taking a look at electric utility grids/substations. Keep in mind that this is not meant to be a comprehensive discussion but rather a starting point and high level overview of things to consider in regard to grids/substations and colocation. When searching for a colocation provider, or when verifying that your current provider meets your needs, ask the data center or colocation provider what the makeup is for its power grids. A grid serves a specific geographical area and is a network of all the elements, such as power lines and transformers that are necessary to distribute power to a particular area. Some facilities will only be on one power grid whereas some will have the luxury of dual power grids (some even more). This means that if one side of the grid were to fail for any reason, the second could potentially supply power adding an extra level of redundancy.

If a facility does have dual power grids, I recommend making sure it has an automatic transfer switch (ATS), which will automatically switch from grid one to grid two without manual intervention. Speaking of ATSs, make sure there is also an ATS between the utility power and backup power infrastructure. In fact, be sure to ask to see the generator servicing your equipment. Believe it or not, we are aware of unscrupulous data center operators who claim to have generator support when they in fact do not. We will discuss generator support more in a later post. Another item I recommend checking into is whether the transmission lines between the power plant and substation as well as the substation and colocation facility are underground. I won’t go so far as to say it should be a requirement to have underground transmission lines, but I do think it is a competitive advantage if you are comparing facilities that otherwise appear equal.

Tags: 1102 GRAND, automatic transfer switch, backup generators, cabinet level PDUs, colocation provider, colocation services, data center, data center cost, data center network, data center operations, data center server, data center servers, data colocation, datacenter, efficiency, electric company, electric energy, electric utility grid, electric utility substation, electrical, electrical energy, electrical substations, electricity, Energy, energy advantages, energy conservation, energy cost, energy saving, energy savings, energy-efficiency, facility, floor level power distribution units, generation power, generator transfer switch, green data center, green energy, Green IT, greening it, hardware, hardware maintenance, heating and air, heating and cooling, heating and cooling system, heating and cooling systems, heating systems, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet hub and data center, Internet Service Prodiver, IT, IT infrastructure, it infrastructure management, Kansas City Power & Light, Midwest data center, Midwest Internet hub, PDUs, plant power, plants power, power, power connector, power generation, power generator, power generators, power loss, power one, power plant, power plants, power protection, power service, power supply, processor.com, Public Utility Commission, Raw Space, remote facility, save energy, server, server colocation, source energy, sources energy, sources of energy, substation design, substations, substations electrical, supply power, sustainable energy, telecommunications, transfer switch, transmission lines, uninterruptable power supplies, utility companies, utility company, utility energy, utility grids
Posted in 1102 GRAND, Colocation Information, Data Center Security, Disaster Recovery Solution, Energy, Midwest data center, Saving Money, Uncategorized | No Comments »

POWER IN A COLOCATION ENVIRONMENT

Friday, August 27th, 2010

By: Darren Bonawitz

When selecting a colocation provider, many believe that power is one of the most important considerations. Reliable and cost-effective power is imperative to an economically and technically viable data center, as nearly everything in a data center relies on it. It impacts data equipment such as routers, switches and servers. Power also affects supporting infrastructure including everything from lighting to cooling units. Furthermore, power constitutes a considerable portion of the colocation charges incurred by customers. Selecting a facility with not only reliable but competitively priced power is important in order to decrease your organization’s operating expenses. I discussed this in my previous blog post on Aug. 18th and have decided to expand on power in a series of blog posts due to its importance in a colocation environment.

There are many physical components that make up a data center’s power infrastructure. Knowing what these are will help you understand what quality data centers do differently than others who cut corners. The components that I will discuss in the blog series include: the utility company that provides power to the data center, utility grids/substations, uninterruptable power supplies (UPSs), floor level power distribution units (PDUs), cabinet level PDUs (sometimes referred to as power strips) and backup generators. For today’s blog post I am going to cover the electric utility company.

Utility Company
Power is usually supplied to a data center by a large utility company. Different utility companies are more reliable than others and you should take their history of power outages into consideration when choosing your colocation provider. Some areas of the country are simply more prone to events such as brownouts or blackouts due to the age and capacity of the existing power generation and distribution infrastructure. For example, the blackout of 2003 devastated much of the Northeast United States, causing billions of dollars of losses to businesses. While Kansas City has very reliable infrastructure and one of the most reliable utility companies (Kansas City Power & Light) in the country, not all markets are as fortunate. Several areas experiencing explosive population growth and density or those that have recently experienced a high level of increasing demand (i.e. new data centers) that are fed by old or strained infrastructure may be more prone to brownouts or blackouts. This is important to know if you are in a mission critical environment and are considering a data center powered by that utility company. To research the utility company, we suggest contacting the Public Utility Commission and asking for disclosers on the company to learn the frequency and instances of power loss.

Tags: 1102 GRAND, backup generators, cabinet level PDUs, colocation provider, colocation services, data center, data center cost, data center network, data center operations, data center server, data center servers, data colocation, datacenter, efficiency, electric company, electrical, electrical energy, electricity, Energy, energy advantages, energy conservation, energy cost, energy saving, energy savings, energy-efficiency, facility, floor level power distribution units, generation power, green data center, green energy, Green IT, greening it, hardware, hardware maintenance, heating and air, heating and cooling, heating and cooling system, heating and cooling systems, heating systems, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet hub and data center, Internet Service Prodiver, IT, IT infrastructure, it infrastructure management, Kansas City Power & Light, Midwest data center, Midwest Internet hub, PDUs, plant power, plants power, power, power connector, power generation, power generator, power generators, power loss, power one, power plants, power service, power supply, processor.com, Public Utility Commission, Raw Space, remote facility, save energy, server, server colocation, source energy, sources energy, sources of energy, substations, supply power, sustainable energy, telecommunications, uninterruptable power supplies, utility companies, utility company, utility grids
Posted in 1102 GRAND, Colocation Information, Data Center Cooling, Data Center Security, Disaster Recovery Solution, Energy, Location, Midwest data center, Networking, Saving Money | No Comments »

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Posts Tagged ‘server colocation’

How to Assess Generator Size, Make, Model, and Fuel Type When Choosing a Colocation Provider

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Electric Utility Grids/Substations

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

POWER IN A COLOCATION ENVIRONMENT

Friday, August 27th, 2010