Job No: 09

Job Name: Observe and fixed Raised Floor/Suspended Ceiling for Data Center.

Uniform: Load is defined as the external effort acting on

the structure. The load tends to change the shape of the
structure, which may even lead to plastic deformation of
the structure. The load that is either equal or
varies uniformly along the element length is given
as uniform load.

Concentrated: Rolling load. A rolling load can be described

as a weighted item that is dynamically placed upon an Snake Tray's drop-in Snake Canyon System
uses a raised floor's existing substructure to
entrance mat or grid that can potentially cause damage to achieve a finished cable management system.
that system. These weights are typically rolled over the
mat or grid with a piece of equipment that has multiple sets of wheels.
Rolling Load: Rolling load. A rolling load can be described as a weighted item that is
dynamically placed upon an entrance mat or grid that can potentially cause damage to that
system. These weights are typically rolled over the mat or grid with a piece of equipment that
has multiple sets of wheels.
Applicable Standards:

 Uptime Institute: Operational Sustainability (with and without Tier certification)

 ISO 9000 - Quality System
 ISO 14000 - Environmental Management System
 ISO 27001 - Information Security
 PCI – Payment Card Industry Security Standard
 SOC, SAS70 & ISAE 3402 or SSAE16, FFIEC (USA) - Assurance Controls
 AMS-IX – Amsterdam Internet Exchange - Data Centre Business Continuity Standard
 EN50600-2-6 Management and Operational Information

A really cool system:

Raised floors are an option for installations that
include a large number of cables. They are more
efficient and less costly than overhead systems,
where hot air rises.

In a nutshell, a raised-floor system is a series of

structured plates placed on an elevated support
system that creates a cavity between the slab
and underside of the access floor. Cables can be
Tate Access Floors Inc.'s raised-floor solution for the office environment
laid here to distribute services. includes relocatable air diffusers, strong understructures that allow for
lateral retention of floor panels, and underfloor service pathways that allow
access to multiple locations with finished floor heights.
Raised floors are like having a vent system under the
floor, with cool air directed where needed. They are
helpful in data centers, which are constantly changing
as more equipment is added or transferred to a
different part of the room. Raised floors also allow for
easy cable management as cables are pulled through
the floor and laid out in a grid; they can be easily
reached, upgraded or reconfigured.

How to raise the floor:

The two types of raised-floor systems are pedestal and movable.

• A pedestal design uses fixed-height pedestals to

support uniformly-sized removable floor tiles.
The floor tiles are usually made of steel,
aluminium, or wood that has been treated with a
fire-retardant material. The floor must be built at
least 6 to 12 inches above the subfloor.

Raised floor systems have floor tiles that are A pedestal type of raised flooring (above) uses fixed-height pedestals
generally no larger than 4 square feet. Perforated to support uniformly-sized removable floor tiles, while movable raised
flooring is built 18 inches above the subfloor, through which vertical
floor tiles can be placed in front of enclosures, seismic shock is absorbed by dampers and a spring encased in a
disk drives, or other pieces of equipment to cylinder.
distribute air conditioning to hot areas. The floors
are also completely modular. Utility panels can be moved out of the floor and moved to
another location. Air diffusion devices can be placed next to heat-generating equipment so
that air can be directed into the floor’s perforated panels. When upgrades or changes are
needed, the panels can be brought out of the floor and placed in another location.

Raised-floor systems have been typically relegated to data centers because, with all the
equipment, it is easier to move air under the floor than overhead. The biggest challenge here
remains cooling and access. Hot spots in data centers remain a significant problem due to
the concentration of equipment. Increased use of heat-producing blade servers has only
added to this challenge. Data centers that were built in 2000 or earlier could typically
accommodate 40 watts of power per square foot. Today’s data centers can produce 60 to 80
watts per square foot.
Design challenges:

Standard challenges for installing raised-floor systems have included tile installation, proper
grounding techniques and providing protection from power interference. Perforated floor
tiles should be installed in front of enclosures, and metal cannot be exposed so as to directly
contact equipment that has been placed on top of floor tiles. Metal-sheathed floor tiles and
the supporting raised-floor structure must be properly grounded, and the openings for
electrical cabling should be smooth to prevent damage to any installed cable. In addition, the
installation area must be protected from high-frequency interference coming from power-
line transients.

In planning a raised-floor layout, make sure that adequate air conditioning is available for
peripheral equipment, be aware of weight restrictions for the subfloor and raised floor, and
make sure there are space accommodations for the equipment installation, as well as room
for possible expansion. When the layout is complete, you can place floor templates on the
floor to mark locations for equipment. The tiles can then be cut and the openings for cables
assigned.

But new challenges are arising as cable technology changes, and the spaces where raised-
floors are installed are expanding. Twenty years ago, the data center may have been the
largest area in a building where access flooring was used. Today, McCrossan contends that it
is the smallest space; raised-floor solutions are being installed in clean rooms, casinos,
libraries, and offices. Raised-floor environments, McCrossan adds, let you avoid costly
overhead ceiling installations or poke-thru technologies, making the solutions attractive for
areas outside of the data center. In fact, a technology developed primarily for data center
applications is now being driven by general office applications.

In the 1990s, for example, access flooring was driven by the need to manage the horizontal
distribution for voice, data and power distribution in data centers. Today, a much broader
clientele of users is seeking similar cable management for areas outside of the data center.

The raised floor trend is logical for the enterprise, McCrossan believes. If technology
upgrades or reconfiguration of workstations are required in the office environment, and the
facility has not taken the raised-floor approach initially, the approach is distributive, time-
consuming, and expensive. Work must be done in the ceiling for the redistribution of the
cabling. This could include core drilling for poke-thrus, and possibly removing the ceiling
system to enable change of heating and cooling ducts throughout the office setting.
Choose flexibility:
A variety of systems are available, and McCrossan emphasizes that it’s important to “pick the
right product for the application to control the costs. Today’s building designs need to
incorporate products that won‘t end up in the dumpster that are flexible, and can be reused
or reconfigured down the road to provide a sustainable building.”

Complex design considerations:

Design and installation considerations are becoming more complex as raised-floor systems
make their way out of data center rooms and in to other parts of a building.And now, there
are additional challenges of expanding solutions designed to distribute cold air to specific
places and avoid bypass airflow problems. Adding to the complexity are changes in
technology and cable preference.

As raised-floor systems expand to other parts of the building, installers are faced with
determining how easy it will be to access the cable for maintenance or reconfiguration in an
expanded office setting down the road. One solution is plug-and-play cabling, which can
reduce upfront construction time in an office setting, and allow for easy reconfiguration.

Today’s raised-flooring installations should include systems that provide relocatable air
diffusers that can be moved during moves, adds and changes. These systems should provide
strong understructures that will allow for lateral retention of floor panels, and should provide
underfloor service pathways that will allow access to multiple locations.

Lookabill points out that the outside diameter (OD) of a typical Category 6 cable is a lot more
than that of a Category 5 cable. A shielded Category 6 version’s OD could be 0.251 inches,
while the UTP Augmented Category 6 version could have an OD of 0.315 inches.

Another installation challenge is alien crosstalk when Category 6 cables are placed beneath
the floor and spread out. Static electricity, too, can be created in underfloor environments.
These problems can arise from the proliferation of microscopic zinc whiskers, a byproduct of
molecular stress.

Zinc whiskers occur when material is pushed off of a metal surface, such as the sheet metal
frames in the raised-floor systems. The whiskers break off, conduct electricity, and can raise
havoc with electronics, getting into electrical components and causing a short.

While typical filtration systems are not adequate enough to catch these electrical problems,
trouble can be avoided by taking proper grounding steps.-BM