Achieving Unified Resource Management
[ Source: 3Com ]
September 2009-
The modern enterprise relies on a constantly evolving set of networked business applications to ensure employee productivity, achieve operational efficiency and compete in today's global economy. Until now, network managers have had to rely upon a hodgepodge of vendor-specific element management systems and restricted multi-vendor management platforms - a costly, manually-intensive, inefficient propositon.
This paper outlines the need for a comprehensive, unified and modular management platform that provides a single window into the ...
True Cost of Tape Backup
[ Source: 3X Systems ]
April 2009-
Companies frequently assume that their current backup solution or backup management process can be retained at no cost to the company. However, in the case of tape backup, the reality is that the cost of “doing nothing” can often be greater than the cost of a new solution. In fact, the analysis conducted in the 3X Systems and Glomark-Governan white paper found that for many companies, eliminating the labor of managing a tape backup would ...
Deploying High-Density Pods in a Low-Density Data Center
[ Source: APC ]
October 2011-
Simple and rapid deployment of self-contained, high-density pods within an existing or new low-density data center is possible with today's power and cooling technology. The independence of these high-density pods allow for predictable and reliable operation of high-density equipment without a negative impact on the performance of existing low-density power and cooling infrastructure. A side benefit is that these high-density pods operate at much higher electrical efficiency than conventional designs. Guidance on planning design, implementation, ...
Ten Errors To Avoid When Commissioning A Data Center
[ Source: APC ]
May 2011-
Data center commissioning can deliver an unbiased evaluation of whether a newly constructed data center will be an operational success or a failure. Proper execution of the commissioning process is a critical step in determining how the data center operates as an integrated system. The documentation produced as a result of commissioning is also the single, most enduring value added deliverable in a data center's operational life. This paper outlines the ten most common errors ...
Cooling Strategies for Ultra-High Density Racks and Blade Server
[ Source: APC ]
May 2011-
Rack power of 10 kW per rack or more can result from the deployment of high density information technology equipment such as blade servers. This creates difficult cooling challenges in a data center environment where the industry average rack power consumption is under 2 kW. Five strategies for deploying ultra-high power racks are described, covering practical solutions for both new and existing data centers.
How Monitoring Systems Reduce Human Error in Distributed Server Rooms and Remote Wiring Closets
[ Source: APC ]
October 2011-
Surprise incidences of downtime in server rooms and remote wiring closets lead to sleepless nights for many IT managers. Most can recount horror stories about how bad luck, human error, or just simple incompetence brought their server rooms down.
This paper analyzes several of these incidents and makes recommendations for how a basic monitoring system can help reduce the occurrence of these unanticipated events.
Classification of Data Center Management Software Tools
[ Source: APC ]
October 2011-
Data centers today lack a formal system for classifying software management tools. As a result, confusion exists regarding which management systems are necessary and which are optional for secure and efficient data center operation.
This paper divides the realm of data center "Operations Technology" into four distinct domains and compares the primary and secondary functions of key subsystems within these domains. With a classification system in place, data center professionals can begin to ...
Electrical Efficiency Modeling for Data Centers
[ Source: APC ]
October 2011-
Conventional models for estimating electrical efficiency of data centers are grossly inaccurate for real-world installations. Estimates of electrical losses are typically made by summing the inefficiencies of various electrical devices, such as power and cooling equipment. This paper shows that the values commonly used for estimating equipment inefficiency are quite inaccurate. A simple, more accurate efficiency model is described that provides a rational basis to identify and quantify waste in power and cooling equipment.
Rack Powering Options for High Density
[ Source: APC ]
October 2011-
Alternatives for providing electrical power to high density racks in Data Centers and Network Rooms are explained and compared. Issues addressed include quantity of feeds, single-phase vs. three-phase, number and location of circuit breakers, overload, selection of plug types, selection of voltage, redundancy, and loss of redundancy. The need for the rack power system to adapt to changing requirements is identified and quantified. Guidelines are defined for rack power systems that can reliably deliver power ...
Guidelines for Specification of Data Center Criticality/Tier Levels
[ Source: APC ]
October 2011-
A framework for benchmarking a future data center's operational performance is essential for effective planning and decision making. Currently available criticality or tier methods do not provide defensible specifications for validating data center performance. An appropriate specification for data center criticality should provide unambiguous defensible language for the design and installation of a data center. This paper analyzes and compares existing tier methods, describes how to choose a criticality level, and proposes a defensible data ...