In order to help, we will try to highlight a few of the points to consider when selecting . . . → Read More: Choosing a Collocation Data Center Facility]]> For many enterprises, placing their computers, storage and networking equipment in a collocation facility makes good business sense. Selecting the right collocation facility that will work for the enterprise can be more complex than many imagine.

In order to help, we will try to highlight a few of the points to consider when selecting the facility that is right for the customer’s individual situation. For this exercise we’ll assume an enterprise is considering a caged space to house between five and 25 cabinets.

Power: Most collocation facilities make the majority of their revenue from power. There are two basic power options available at most collocations. Power is either sold by the circuit or on a metered basis. When purchasing power on a metered basis customers pay for exactly what they use. The rate for metered power may appear expensive since the rates cover a number of collocation overheads along with a fair profit. Although the price per watt is higher, the benefit of metered power is that the invoice reflects actual usage rather than capacity.  This is a good choice for customers when power needs fluctuate or they are running a disaster recovery site which sits idle for long periods of time. Unfortunately unless the enterprise is a large customer most collocation facilities do not offer metered power.

Purchasing a power circuit is based on a flat rate price for the capacity of the circuit regardless of the amount of power drawn on the circuit. In the USA, power circuits are sold on a deregulated basis which means customers will be limited to only 80% of the listed circuit. In other words if a customer purchases a 20 amp circuit, it only has 16 usable amps from that circuit. Two factors impact the real cost when purchasing power on a circuit basis. The first is actual circuit cost.  The second is the customer’s ability to maximize its use of the circuit. For example a customer is paying for a 20 amp circuit, it is limited to a deregulated 16 amps. If the equipment is only drawing 12 amps off the circuit the customer is paying for four amps of unused capacity. Most collocation customers do not fully utilize their power circuits and ultimately pay a higher price for power.

Another factor is a dual power or fail-over circuit. Most computer, network and storage equipment allows for dual power feeds. Purchasing a two power circuit configuration where one will remain unused unless a failure occurs can be an expensive insurance policy. Most collocation facilities will provide backup circuits at half to a quarter of the full price. Secondary power circuit prices are highly negotiable.  When ordering a fail-over circuit, ensure the facility delivers it from a different feed than the primary circuit.

collocation hot aisle

Structural loads: High-density, smaller footprints equal lower costs and allows for easier expansion. Most facilities will market their watts per sqft but few list their floor’s load ratings. If an enterprise deploys high-density racks they need to know both. A full cabinet can easily exceed a ton.  Customers do not want their deployments to be limited by the weight capacity of the facility’s floor.

Network: There are two different models for providing Internet service in collocation facilities. One is carrier neutral and the other is carrier specific. Carrier neutral data center facilities offer customers more choices, price competition, and are generally available in the US and Europe.

In a carrier neutral site, customers will purchase network circuits directly from one or more of the network providers hosted by the collocation facility. The collocation facility will charge a monthly “Cross Connect” fee for maintaining the connection from their network meet-me room to the customer’s cage space. The monthly cross connect charge is negotiable. Facilities will be more likely to discount the cross connect charge if several circuits will be maintained over a number of years.

Carrier specific facilities require customers to purchase network circuits from them directly. This requirement can be expensive and limits cost saving through network techniques such as lowest cost pathing. This type of facility is typically operated by a network carrier such as AT&T, Verizon or other telco.

Infrastructure: Many collocation facilities brand themselves as Tier I, II, III or IV based on the Uptime Institute’s scale. While this rating provides a general impression of the facility, customers should dig deeper. Was the facility purpose built as a data center or is it a converted office space?  Customers should verify a facility’s electrical one lines, UPS and battery strings, HVAC, egress and ingress points for hidden single points of failure. Knowing the facility’s strengths and weak points allows for a better business decision.

Security: Is there a 7×24 guard present? Are there multiple levels of security including man traps, biometric or card access, physical sign in with a guard? Are there cameras and do customers have access to video feeds of their space? Are the security access processes well defined and tightly enforced? How is vendor access handled for customer equipment maintenance or upgrades? Collocation facilities are shared with strangers and the facilities need to protect their customers from malicious and accidental incidents. Customers should deploy lockable cabinets within their cage space to further limit access.  Customers may be required to meet their industry’s specific security standards. Validate these security requirements against the facility’s security procedures to understand what additional measures must be taken to meet the standard.

Remote hands: Collocation facilities are strategically located in cooler climates, close to low cost power and away from potential environmental and terrorist threats. This often puts the facility far from its customers. Savvy customers utilize a lights out strategy for managing their equipment in these remote sites and rely on the facility’s support staff for emergencies as well as regular maintenance. What services are available for smart hands to perform onsite duties? What is the rate for remote hands? Is there a minimum charge? Are the services available 7×24? Staff experience and capabilities will vary widely across facilities.

Cleanliness: Is the overall appearance neat and clean? How do the the spaces of the other customers appear? Are they a mess filled with cardboard and trash? These customer spaces are real fire hazards. Dirt and air contaminants from these spaces will find their way into other customers’ equipment. Customers are relying on the collocation facility managers to police the entire site. Other customers’ space is often a reflection of how the facility’s own infrastructure is maintained.

On-boarding: Once the contract is signed the collocation facility has a number of on-boarding items to complete including running power and network circuits, erecting the cage fence and completing security access. The duration and cost associated with on-boarding can vary widely and is negotiable.

Miscellaneous factors: These factors often can make the difference when selecting between similar collocation facilities.

• Shipments: How is equipment moved into a customer’s cage space? Is there a loading dock available for customer use? Will the collocation facility receive and store shipments or do customers have to be there to receive deliveries? How difficult is it to move equipment from receiving to customer’s cage space (freight elevators, pallet jacks and cart availability, wide hallways…)?
• Run Book: A well run collocation facility is maintained through its run book. The run book defines processes for every situation including routine maintenance as well as emergencies. Is the run book available for review?
• Ceiling height: When customers are running cables in ladder racks, nine foot ceilings will cause a number of challenges. Low ceilings may limit cabinet placement if sprinkler heads become obstructed by cabinet tops or ladder racks.
• Lighting:  Is there good lighting in the space?  Will staff be able to clearly see what they are doing when working on equipment in the cabinets.  Accidental incidents have occurred because staff could not accurately read labels or see port numbers.
• Shared space: Is there a build room set aside for customer use to uncrate and setup equipment prior to moving it into the cage space? Is there a break room for customers to use when on-site? Is mobile phone coverage available in the data center or shared space?
• Disposal: Bringing up a new cage space generates a lot of waste. Does the facility support recycling of cardboard, paper, plastic? How easy is it to dispose of trash?
• On the street: Is the facility capable of supporting planned growth? What is the facility’s reputation? What are current and past customers saying about the service?

While this is not an exhaustive list, it does provide important points that should be considered when searching for a collocation facility.  When selecting a collocation facility, ask the questions: “Is this how I would design a data center?”.  Metagyre assists clients in the selection process to ensure their collocation choice supports the goals of the business and provides the best value for client specific needs.

One of the most quoted portions of the standard is . . . → Read More: Collocation Facilities And The Myth Of The Tiered Data Center]]> A number of years ago the ANSI/TIA-942-2005 came out as “the” Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers.  Its purpose was to provide requirements and guidelines when designing a data center and to encourage planning for the data center earlier in the property development process.

One of the most quoted portions of the standard is the “Tiered Reliability”, which was intended as a means for determining specific data center needs required to lessen the time a data center was taken off-line.  The tier breakdown assists designers with a method to quantify certain aspects and to objectively compare one center to another.

Tier I – Basic Components

• single path for power and cooling with no redundant components (N)
• susceptible to disruptions from both planned maintenance activities and unplanned events
• may or may not have back up generator, UPS (uninterrupted power supply) or raised floor
• 99.671% availability – 28.8 hours (statistically) of annual downtime

Tier II – Redundant Maintainable

• single path for power and cooling with redundant components (N+1)
• less susceptible to planned and unplanned disruptions.  Planned infrastructure maintenance may require a processing shutdown
• includes generator, UPS, and raised floors
• 99.749% availability – 22.0 hours (statistically) of annual downtime

Tier III – Concurrently Tolerant

• multiple paths for power and cooling with only one active at any time (active/passive – N+1)
• planned infrastructure maintenance can be performed without disruption.  Unplanned events may cause disruptions
• includes raised floor, generator, UPS with each power and cooling path capable of carrying the full data center load
• 99.982% availability – 1.6 hours (statistically) of annual downtime

Tier IV – Fault Tolerant

• multiple active power and cooling distribution paths including redundant components (2(N+1) S+S) for example each path has UPS in an N+1 configuration
• can sustain planned maintenance activities and at least  one unplanned event without a critical impact on load
• includes raised floors, multiple generators, multiple UPS and other multiple distribution components
• 99.995% availability – 0.4 hours (statistically) of annual downtime

The standards went a long way to elevate the need for specific elements in the data center and the best practices for their usage.  Unfortunately, once the marketing spin took off, numerous collocation vendors began touting their facilities as a Tier III or Tier IV without regard for the full spectrum of component requirements or the processes supporting those components.  In addition the design standards cover other elements including:

• cable and fiber designs
• network distribution
• rack and cabinets layout
• space utilization and pathways
• air flow design

Many commercial collocation facilities claiming higher fault tolerance, achieve this mark by maintaining a lower power density requirement on their tenants driving up customer costs and reducing cabinet layout efficiencies. Even when the power plant supports high electrical draws, floor load ratings may limit the cabinet’s capacity.  Other times, best practices must be completely rethought, for example the best hot and cold aisle layout will fail to achieve design goals if the collocation facility locates the client in a cage space which does not support air flow management. Of course occasionally collocation customers themselves lower the reliability by failing to incorporate proper redundancy practices within their private suite or cage space.

Each business has unique up-time, cost, networking and processing density goals in mind when they establish a data center.  In order to reach those goals, a balance between requirements and design standards must be struck.  While the tiered data center may be an over used marketing myth, the ANSI/TIA-942-2005 provides a solid base template.  This template, along with skilled engineering and management practices can go a long way to facilitate a data center build out that delivers on technical design goals at an agreed upon business price point.