Assignment: Data Centers
For this assignment, you will research the operation of a data center. In particular, you will learn about rackmount systems, power consumption and distribution, backup power, cooling, and fire suppression. You will also learn about some basic safety rules for working in a data center.
Background Material
For this assignment, you need to do some online research and reading about data centers. Some of the following resources may be helpful, but you will likely need to locate other sources as well. Wikipedia is fine as a resource, although some of its articles might not be complete.
- What is “U” height? Rack Units explained
- What does 1U, 2U, 3U Mean? Rack Units Explained
- Server Room Power Consumption: The Battle Between Demand and Efficiency
- Tools and tips to track server power consumption
- What Is Thermal Design Power? Explained
- Everything You Need to Know About Data Center Power
- Power Services for Data Centers and the Power Factor
- Data Center Power Infrastructure Explained
- What is Power Factor?
- Refrigeration Ton Explained
- Calculating Cooling Loads
- Data Center Fire Suppression: Overview & Protection Guide
- Different Data Center Fire Suppression Systems Explained
- Data Center EH&S 101
Requirements
Prepare a video presentation (or narrated set of slides) with the following information:
- Explain what a rack unit is. What is the height of a “standard” rack? What are the differences between 1U, 2U, and 4U servers?
- Describe ways to guess how much power a system will consume when executing at full load. Are the TDP specifications useful for this purpose anymore?
- Show how power is distributed from a mains supply, through power protection and backup systems, and ultimately out to the servers in a data center. What are the different components of the power delivery system called?
- Explain why we use a Power Factor when sizing backup power equipment. Show a calculation to convert from Watts of consumption to the size (in Volt-Amps) of a UPS.
- What is meant by a ton of air conditioning? Show how to calculate the number of tons of cooling required for some total load in Watts. Is using only one air conditioning unit sufficient in a typical data center?
- Describe fire suppression systems that can be used in a data center. What are the advantages of modern clean agent systems over older Halon-based systems? Why don’t we just use water (i.e. fire sprinklers) as the only fire suppression agent?
- Explain how to work safely in a data center. What should you do if the fire suppression system activates? What electrical safety precautions should you take? What should you do if you see a piece of equipment catch fire? What should you do if you see someone else being electrocuted in the data center?
If you elect to work with a partner, you should each present for approximately equal time.
Be sure to include the URLs to your portfolio (or both portfolios, if working with a partner) in the presentation.
Portfolio Items
Include the following items in your portfolio:
- A summary of rack unit size and the height of a “standard” rack.
- An example calculation showing how to size a UPS for some number of Watts of system load, taking into account the power factor.
- An example calculation showing how many tons of cooling are required for some total wattage of all systems in the data center.
- A brief summary of data center safety rules.
Submission Requirements
Submit your presentation video to one of the weekly submission boxes for the course. If you’re working with a partner, only one person needs to submit the video.
