Organising Space in a Data Centre or Communications Closet
If you need to have equipment installed in a data centre, wiring closet or similar space think about these:
How much space will you need (this is measured in U) ? Don’t forget to take in to account cable management and space for patch panels and control terminals.
Who controls the space and whose permission will you need to install the equipment?
What is the process to get approval to site equipment there? What information will be required? For example, how much heat will your equipment give off that needs to be handled? What will be the cost?
What is the process to get approval for people to work there? Will training be required (e.g. health & safety) ? If so, what will be the process for this?
What is the process to obtain approval to connect the equipment to power? You will probably need to provide the amount of power your equipment draws (peak and average current, voltage, number of circuits/phases?)
How resilient is the power in the data centre and how does this compare with your requirements?
If you have a need for an in-rack UPS will this be allowed (risk of injury/fire)?
What is the process for running cables between racks? Who will carry this work out and what is the process to request/order this work to be completed (and the costs)?
How will the cables be terminated? Where is the demarcation point for fault liability?
What are the locations in the data centre you are concerned with (e.g. your equipment location, other relevant equipment location and carrier location(s)) and how far apart are these by cabling distance ? Note that the actual distance the cable needs to take may be considerably more than as-the-crow-flies.
Does the data centre have any known issues e.g. congestion under the floor for cabling?
In lifecycle, how will the appropriate teams gain access to the equipment? Bear in mind that an external maintenance team may not send the same person each time – so site specific training may be an issue.
Does the data centre have an on-site human presence? What are their hours and what services are they able to provide? E.g. can they reset a server if requested? Will they escort an external engineer if necessary?
What are the call-out arrangements for out of hours support or for a ‘dark’ data centre?
Are there any health & safety concerns that you should be aware of (and people who will be working in there will also need to be aware of).
I’ve never asked for the actual temperature of a data centre, but be warned they can feel very cold if you or your team are spending a few hours in there. Conversely, some data centres can be quite warm and this can also be uncomfortable – take a sweater or hoody with you and dress in layers. Your team will probably already know what to expect if they routinely work in the data centres in question.
Check what the first aid arrangements are. Your team will potentially be handling heavy equipment in awkward spaces and some of the metal edges can be sharp.
What arrangements are there for rubbish disposal and recycling of recyclable materials (e.g. cardboard boxes)? Will your team have to take these away with them?
Further Notes
If you’re not familiar with 19-inch Racks or how they are measured in Rack Units then you will find these articles in Wikipedia very helpful.