Design Considerations

When Planning a New Data Center

John Jones, M.B.A.

Vice President for Information Technology
Indiana Wesleyan University
Eric Sank, P.E., RCDD
Design Collaborative, Inc.
Data Center Design – a Case Study.

•History of the IWU Data Center

•Challenges
•Charge
•Frustration
•Partnership
Understand your needs.

•Present Equipment + Growth

•Racks
•Layout
•Misc. Equipment
Location, location, location...

•Security
•Access to fiber/copper
•Accessibility
•No Foreign Services
•Visibility
Reliability

•How Critical are Processes

•Uptime Institute
•www.uptimeinstitute.org
•Tier Classification
Reliability – Tier Classification

Tier 1
•Single Path cooling & electrical
•No redundancy
•99.671% availability (28 hours/year)
Reliability – Tier Classification

Tier 2
•Single Path cooling & electrical
•Redundant capacity, single path
•Raised floor, UPS, engine generator
•99.741% availability (22 hours/year)
Reliability – Tier Classification

Tier 3
•Active & Passive delivery paths
•Redundant Capacity
•Concurrently maintainable9
•99.982% availability (1.6 hours/year)
Reliability – Tier Classification
Reliability – Tier Classification

Tier 4
•Dual active delivery paths
•N+1 redundancy
•Concurrently maintainable
•99.995% availability (.4 hours/year)
•Clean out your desk!
Power Distribution

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Power Distribution

Design Considerations
•Does electrical service have adequate capacity?
•Need at least one feed from building utility
service.
•Distribution type panel on output of transfer
switch
Power Distribution

Rules of Thumb
•200-400 watts/sq f.t total electrical load for
data center including A/C
•Cost is dependent on distance from service.
Emergency Generator

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Emergency Generator

Design Considerations
•Powers A/C, UPS, lights & other critical equip.
•Fuel choice – natural gas vs. diesel
•Transfer switch – programmed transition
•Indoor vs. Outdoor
•Accessories – heater, charger, etc
Emergency Generator

Rules of Thumb
•Size the generator 2-3 times the KW of
UPS/equipment load.
•Estimate $250-$300/KW for installed price
UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

...brown can’t do
this for you.
UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

...brown can’t do
this for you.
•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
UPS

Design Considerations
•Required watts.
•Actual vs. rated loads
•Availability – N, N+1, 2N
•Single Unit vs multiple, rack mounted UPS
•Dual Conversion vs. standby
•Location
•Battery type, time, weight
•Bypass – static and wrap-around
•Flywheel Technology
•Limit battery recharge when on generator
UPS

Rules of Thumb
•70-100 watts/s.f. for standard equipment
layout. Can go up to 200-300 watts/s.f.
•5-7 years life for maintenance –free batteries
and 10-14 years for lead-acid batteries.
•$500-$800 per KW.
•3 ft. maintenance clearance required in front
and possibly on the sides
Air Conditioning

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Air Conditioning

Design Considerations
•Sawcut for Drains
•Redundancy – N+1, 2N
•Clearance Around Units (maintenance)
•Outdoor Condensing Units
•Humidity concerns
•Refrigerant preferred over chilled water
Air Conditioning

Rules of Thumb
•$800-1000 per KW of electric load. ($1600-2000
for 2N redundancy)
•Footprint up to 20 s.f. each for up to approximately
100 kw.
•18” is minimum preferred height for raised flooring.
Fire Detection

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Fire Detection

Design Considerations
•Standard smoke detectors vs. VESDA
•Smoke detectors not required beneath raised floor
Rules of Thumb
•Approx. $150 per device for standard fire alarm
system
•Approx. $5/s.f. for VESDA
Fire Suppression

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Fire Suppression
Design Considerations
•Wet system acceptable – no piping in data center
•FM200 has replaced Halon as agent
Rules of Thumb
•Cost - $35,000 for 1,000 s.f. and $10,000 for each
additional 1,000 s.f.
•Need space for control panel and tanks. Plan on 4
s.f. for the tank per 1,000 s.f. of data center.
Security

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Security

Design Considerations/Rules of Thumb

•Security/Card Access
•Approximately $2,500 per door, including card
reader, headend/controller, and door hardware.
Racks

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Rack - Enclosures

Design Considerations
•Hot aisle – cold aisle lay out
•3’ min. working clearance on both front and back
•Include cable management – vertical /horizontal
•Avoid heat dams caused by cabling in rear of rack
Rack-Enclosures

Rules of Thumb
•Costs – Up to $3,500 for specialized racks
•Can include UPS, A/C, and monitoring
•Sizes – 24-32” widths, 30-44” depths
•Cable management can help air flow
Branch Circuits, PDU’s, Strips

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Branch Circuits, PDU’s, Strips

Design Considerations
•# of servers/circuit/rack – ensure plug strips have enough plugs
•Is monitoring of load on each circuit required? Can be
accomplished at panel or at plugstrip. Access info via local
readout or by web server
•Branch circuit wiring typically run beneath raised floor.
•Power distribution can be built-in in some racks.
•Blade servers will require a 208 volt feed instead of 120v.
•Dual corded loads and 2N redundancy
Branch Circuits, PDU’s, Strips

Rules of Thumb
•Approx. 4-6 1U servers for each 20 amp circuit
•Approx. $350 per 20 amp circuit run from panelboard
to rack
•Approx. $300 each for vertical plug strips in rack.
Cable Trays

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Cable Trays

Design Considerations
•Data cabling overhead – power wiring below
•Wire basket type tray or traditional steel/aluminum
ladder type.
•Cabling can be integrated into racks
Rules of Thumb
•$20-$30 per lin. foot cost for basket tray (8”×4”)
•$40-$60 per lin. foot for ladder type tray.
Monitoring

•Design Considerations
Monitoring

Design Considerations
•Provide for monitoring/annunciators on critical systems
like UPS, generator, fire alarm, fire suppression, air
conditioning, and batteries.
•Control panel on equipment is most cost-effective and is
typically included with equipment.
•SNMP available for most equipment.
•HTML available for monitoring of most equipment
•Often the first item cut for cost savings.
Raised Floor

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
Raised Floor

Design Considerations
•Adequate space for wiring and air flow. 18” is minimum
•Include grounding of pedestals.
•Ramp will be required for ADA. 1:12 slope means an 18’
ramp is required for 18” raised floor
•Consider depressed slab so ramp is not required
•NEC requires removal of abandoned cable when doing any
renovations.
•Include 20% perforated tiles for air distribution in front of
racks.
Raised Floor

Rules of Thumb
•Approx. $25/s.f. + $5-$10,000 for ramp
General Construction

•Design Considerations
•Rules of Thumb
•Fees/Permits/Gen. Items
General Construction

Rules of Thumb
•Data center should a have vapor barrier for humidity
control.
•What level of security is needed? CMU vs. Stud/Drywall
•Ancillary Spaces Needed?
•Staff workstations
•Storage
•Rooms for UPS, Fire suppression, etc
General Construction

Rules of Thumb
•Approximately $150 per s.f. for new construction of
the ancillary spaces (outside of data center)
•Approximately $40-$80 s.f. for remodeling existing
spaces – new floors, ceilings, lights, etc
General Construction

Fees/Permits/General Items
•If replacing an existing data center, include costs for
move/changeover to new location
•Arch/Engr fees – 8-12% of construction costs.
•General Conditions: Mobilization, fees, permits, utilities – by
general contractor – 5-10% of construction costs.
•Contingency: include costs for unforeseen conditions. 10%
for cost estimates and 3-5% after bidding.
Bidding – A Case Study

•Existing conditions
•Program
•Location
•Costs
Bidding – A Case Study

•Existing conditions
•Program
•Location
•Costs
Bidding - Costs

- Total Costs
Bidding - Costs
Electrical Costs
•200 KW Generator $48,000
•Data center PDU’s, branch circuits $ 5,650
•Cable Tray $ 1,300
•Misc. elect costs – lights, outlets, fire alarm $27,350
•80 KW UPS (alternate) $40,600
•Total Electrical $82,300
•$/sq ft Data Center $137/sq ft
•$/sq ft Entire Project $ 62/sq ft.

- Total Costs
Bidding - Costs

Mechanical Costs
•(2) A/C units, 77 KW capacity each - $128,000
•Sprinklers - $ 3,000
•Misc. piping, - $ 9,500
•Total Mechanical - $132,260
•$/sq ft Data Center - $220 /sq ft.
•$/sq ft Entire Project - $ 99 /sq ft.

- Total Costs
Bidding - Costs

General Construction Costs

•Raised floor – 600 sq ft. $21,000
•Walls, doors, flooring, ceilings - $23,000
•Total General Trades - $44,000
•$ /sq ft Data Center - $73 /sq ft
•$ /sq ft Entire Project - $33 /sq ft

- Total Costs
Bidding - Costs

Miscellaneous Costs
•Equipment Racks - $5,000.00 allowance to be
purchased direct by IWU.
•Card Access - $2,500.00 allowance for 1 card
reader to be purchased direct by owner

- Total Costs
Bidding - Costs
Overhead/Fees/Contingency Costs
•Construction management fees - $21,500
•A/E Design Fees - $28,500
•Contingency - $ 5,800
•Printing, State Fees - $ 1,250
•Total Indirect Costs - $57,050
•$ /sq ft Data Center - $95 /sq ft
•$/sq ft Entire Project - $43 /sq ft.

- Total Costs
Bidding - Costs
Total Construction Costs
•Electrical $ 83,000
•Mechanical $132,260
•General Construction $ 44,000
•Misc. Equipment $ 7,500
•Overhead/Fees/Contingency $ 57,050
•Total $323,810
•$/sq ft data center $540 /sq ft
•$/sq ft total project $243 /sq ft

- Total Costs
Thank you!