+353-1-416-8900REST OF WORLD
+44-20-3973-8888REST OF WORLD
1-917-300-0470EAST COAST U.S
1-800-526-8630U.S. (TOLL FREE)

Data Centre Essentials. Design, Construction, and Operation of Data Centres for the Non-expert. Edition No. 1

  • Book

  • 240 Pages
  • September 2023
  • John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • ID: 5841909
Data Centre Essentials

Understand the design, construction and operation of data centres with this easy-to-use reference

Data centres are spaces where computer systems, physical network technology and associated components are housed, operated and monitored, and any industry or business that employs computer systems or networked systems at any scale will interact with data centres. Data centres are complex and expensive to build and operate, and successful project delivery requires a wide range of specialised knowledge and skills. This accessible reference lays out the requirements for creating these essential facilities.

Data Centre Essentials is a comprehensive survey of the essential principles of data centre design, construction and operation. It is designed to provide those involved in a data centre project or providing professional service deliverables to the data centre industry but do not have a technical background or deep sector experience with the understanding required to participate in such projects. The non-technical language and thorough engagement with key considerations make it ideal for anyone looking to understand one of the pillars of a digital society.

Data Centre Essentials readers will also find: - An authorial team with decades of combined experience in engineering and construction consultancy - Detailed information about every stage in the process, including securing investment and the building process - Working lexicon of key data centre terminology

Data Centre Essentials is a must-own for contractors, engineers and construction project managers involved in data centre projects and will be invaluable for professionals such as lawyers, financial and insurance advisors, surveyors, engineers and architects who do not necessarily have deep domain experience but find themselves involved in or are interested in engaging in, data centre projects.

Table of Contents

Acronyms & Symbols xi

Foreword by Tom Glover xv

Preface xvii

Acknowledgements xxi

About the Authors xxiii

1 Introduction 1

2 What Drives the Need and the Various Types of Data Centres 5

Data Demand versus Compute Efficiency 8

Workload Placement 15

The Core Components of a Data Centre 18

Types of Data Centres 18

Entreprise Data Centre 18

Colocation 20

Public Cloud 21

Urban or Edge 21

3 Site Selection 23

Climate 26

Access Roads and Airports 27

Air Quality 27

Likelihood of Natural Disasters 28

Ground Conditions 29

Communications Infrastructure 29

Latency 30

Proximity to Subsea Cable Landing Sites 33

Density of Fibre Telecommunication Networks Near the Data Centre 33

Geopolitical Risks, Laws, and Regulations 34

Availability and Cost of Electrical Power 35

Natural Resources 36

Airport Flight Paths 36

Electromagnetic Interference 37

Taxes, Regulations, and Incentives 38

Incentives 39

Know the Stakeholders 41

Expect the Unexpected 41

Traditional Due Diligence 42

Retrofitting Commercial Buildings for Data Centres 42

Clusters 43

Qualitative Analysis 48

Quantitative Analysis 48

4 IT Operations and the Evolution of the Data Centre 51
Max Schulze

Beginning of IT Infrastructure 54

Bringing Enterprise IT to Maturity 55

IT Applications as Standalone Products - The Digital Economy 55

Second Iteration of the Internet 58

Key Ingredients for Digital Products 61

Difference Between Enterprise IT Infrastructure and Hosting Infrastructure 64

Commoditisation of IT Infrastructure 65

Virtualisation: Servers and Data Centres as Generators for Digital Resources 65

Software-as-a-Service: Digital Natives Entering the Enterprise 68

Great Outsourcing of Enterprise IT and the Growth of the Colocation Model 70

When Digital Products Scale - or the Invention of Hyperscale 71

A Change in Architecture - The Rise of Cloud Infrastructure 72

Origin of a Market for Digital Resources 75

When Cloud Infrastructure Became Cloud Services 78

When Microsoft and Google Joined the Party 79

Kubernetes and the Next Layer of Abstraction 81

How Traditional Hosting Companies Have Been Left Behind 82

How the New Paradigm of Cloud Infrastructure Is Changing How Data Centres Are Built 85

Central Role of Connectivity in the Future of Data Centre Architectures 86

Problem of an Old IT Philosophy 87

5 Overview of Infrastructure 89

Power 93

Cooling 97

BMS 106

Fire 106

Security 107

6 Building a Data Centre: Stakeholders, Design, Construction, and Commissioning 109

Stakeholders and Project Stages 109

Pre-project 110

Pre-design 111

Classifications, Standards, and Certifications 112

Design 112

Bricks and Mortar versus Modular Build 115

Procurement 116

Construction 120

Construction Design and Management 2015 (United Kingdom) 120

Commissioning 122

Handover 124

Operation 125

7 Operational Issues 127

Handover 127

Legacy Facilities 128

Operations Team 128

Uptime and Failures 130

Maintenance Processes and Procedures 133

Managing Change 135

Capacity Management 136

Training 136

Performance Optimisation - Beyond Reactive Maintenance 137

8 Economics, Investment, and Procurement of Data Centres 139

Enterprise 140

Colocation 141

Retail Colocation 141

Wholesale Colocation 142

Retail versus Hyper-scale Data Centres 142

Retail Data Centres 142

Hyper-Scale Data Centres 142

Investment and Procurement 143

Investment in Colocation Facilities 143

Power Supply Arrangements 146

Other Complexities 148

Valuation 149

Colocation Leases 155

Wholesale Colocation 156

Retail Colocation 156

Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) 157

Managed Hosting and Cloud Services 157

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) 158

Merger and Acquisition 159

9 Sustainability 163

Corporate Sustainability 163

Energy Consumption and Energy Efficiency 166

Renewable Energy 170

Generators 171

Water Usage 171

Heat Recovery 172

Life Cycle Impacts 173

Green Building Certifications 175

Policy and Regulation 176

Conclusion 176

10 The Importance of Planning to Avoid Things Going Wrong 177
Andrew McMillan

Introduction 177

Acquisitions and Investments 178

Operating Models and Commercial Contracts 183

Funding Investment 184

Construction 184

Choice of Contract 184

Technical and Pricing Schedules 185

Risk Allocation 185

Usual Suspects 186

Infrastructure Provision and Project Rights 187

Construction 188

Moving to Low Carbon Solutions 188

What Are Data Centre Operators Doing to Transition to Low Carbon? 189

Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) 190

On-site Generation and Electricity Supply 191

Backup Power 192

Where Could Other Efficiencies Be Made? 193

Ensuring Resilience 194

Intellectual Property Rights 194

Data and Cyber/Regulatory Compliance 196

Disputes 196

Conclusion 198

11 Around the Corner, What Could Happen Next 199

Glossary 203

Index 207

Authors

Vincent Fogarty RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Sophia Flucker