By identifying the key design criteria for the two main areas of the project, theTechnology Infrastructure & Services (IT) and the Support Infrastructure & Services (the Facility), an accurate project assesment and cost estimation for the data center are possible. The key design criteria are:

Availability
The first step in creating a data center project budget is to establish the Availability Requirements for the facility. While it is common practice to state the need for 7x24xForever availability, the steep cost-curve associated with achieving this goal has to be taken into consideration. LASTING's data center classification system is based, in part, on the Uptime Institutes tier classification system.

Power & Cooling Density
The next step in defining a project budget is to determine the Power Density to be used as a basis for design. The power density can be described as the amount of power delivered to the critical load per unit of area and is directly related to the amount of heat that must be removed via the computer room air conditioner (CRAC) systems. In general, PTS defines power density in terms of Rack Location Units (RLUs). In a typical data processing environment each RLU dissipates 1,500 to 4,000 watts. However, network RLUs, 1U server RLUs, and blade server RLUs consume considerable more power, and therefore dissipate considerably more heat. The uneven distribution of RLU power density is becoming ever more commonplace, and it is a major obstacle in present day data center design.

Business Objectives
The final design criteria component of the project budget is the cost associated with achieving the Business Objectives for the facility. Selection of the network services delivery is what drives the final selection of all network, security, server, storage, access, communications, and monitoring infrastructure to be deployed within the facility. Ultimately, this equipment is the critical load that must be supported by the supporting infrastructure.
Unfortunately, the space requirements for a computer room project are often previously dictated by management and/or the project architect. This complicates the design by restricting the power & cooling density strategy utilized as a criterion. Inevitably, this also increases the overall cost of the project.

Technology Infrastructure & Services (IT)
The design process, data center infrastructure and services can be broken down into Technology and Supporting categories for budgeting purposes. The Technology Infrastructure & Services budget is determined by working with IT personnel to identify the existing systems and growth projections, evaluate planned upgrades and improvements, and quantify financial constraints. The technology infrastructure & services budget includes the following elements:

Project Management
Technology Systems Design (Network, Security, Server, Storage, Cable Plant, Communications, NOC and Monitoring)
WAN Services Procurement
Relocated, Replacement & New - Server & Storage Infrastructure
Relocated, Replacement & New - Network, WAN & Network Security Infrastructure
Relocated, Replacement & New - Voice Communications Infrastructure
Relocation Services
Technology Systems Installation
Cable Plant Installation
Physical Support Equipment (Cabinets, Enclosure, Racks, Trays, Troughs & Ladders)
NOC & A/V Equipment & Installation
Support Infrastructure & Services (the Facility)
As previously discussed, the Support Infrastructure & Services budget is determined by considering the technology infrastructure, power density, and availability requirement. In general, the higher the power density and/or availability, the greater the support infrastructure required and thereby the higher the overall cost. Within the overall data center infrastructure plans, the support infrastructure & services budget includes the following elements:
Project Management
Support Infrastructure Systems Design, Engineering & Construction
Architectural Design & Construction
Support Infrastructure Systems (Power, Cooling, Fire Safety, Architectural, etc.)

Resuming

1. By identifying the business Objectives or network services to be delivered by the data center we will determine the size of the critical load.

2. The power & cooling density with which this critical equipment will be deployed will ultimately determine leads to the total (IT infrastructure + support infrastructure) space required. The critical load density leads to the number of RLU's and the amount of IT space (raised floor space) required for the environment. Generally, densities greater than 4,000-watts per RLU can be considered high-density deployments and will require increasing amounts of supporting infrastructure. For extremely high-density deployments the ratio of support space to IT space can exceed 2-to-1.

3. The cost dirver for the entire project will relly in the determination of the availability requirements for the business use of the facility. Excellent data center availability can be achieved with redundancy built into all major systems and sub-systems. However, always-availability can only be achieved with designs that:

• Deploy multiple active delivery pathways for both power and cooling,
• Are concurrently maintainable,
• Have incorporated fault-tolerance,
• Have taken into account site selection criteria.

In the end, establishing the design criteria for the project will lead to the determination of:

• Space requirements
• Budget requirements
• Time requirements

The data center's technology infrastructure budget cannot be easely generalized since so much depends on the type of business, the platform utilized, and so on. However, it is not uncommon for the project budget to be ten-of-thousands of euro per RLU, or thousands of euro per square foot of raised floor space.

Please contact us for more information regarding DataCenter Solutions
Tel: 021-2425026, email: solutiibuc@lasting.ro