The “Top Ten Challenges” that plague data center design

If you take the time to research contemporary data centers, your thoughts may occasionally drift from Darwin's theory of evolution to data center designers. Usually people think that design is moving in the direction of efficiency and normality. In the past, data center design and communication industry have deep roots. The top ten things in the data center listed in this article are to appeal to everyone to make better data center designs to accommodate current developments.

It’s time for us to abandon those traditional old habits and have new ways to replace them. But innovation involves more than just the technology itself. The development of the data center requires the data center managers to implement it in the right way. Remember: we are not building a shelter, but a complex data center.

1. Internal Management

Maybe you have had such an experience - "When your mother is not there, you have to take care of housework," also before you leave the work area. Do some cleaning work. Close all open doors (front and rear doors), return the tools to their owners or put them back in the toolbox to clean the trash in the cabinet or hallway. Keep the work area clean and tidy.

2.ILO Settings

For those who have to work hard in the data center, remember to set the ILO entry for all the systems you touch. ILO can help local employees use those systems remotely without having to travel long distances. It also makes it easier to support the support of those systems. If you need access to the console, ILO can help you control the system, including the ability to shut down and turn on the system.

3.Stolen

You may think that with security doors, retina scanners and ubiquitous cameras, it is impossible to steal data centers. If you think so, it is a big mistake. Your security awareness should be thoroughly implemented within the data center. If you find that an important device is in the wrong place or someone has helped you misplace it, you should report the lost device to the data center security manager. They will track all people entering and leaving the data center and help you narrow down the investigation.

4. Lighting

The "dark" data center is on paper and there is nothing wrong with it, but have you ever thought about putting it into practice? The light source that remains active is the flashing light from the server's network port. Data center chassis manufacturers include lights when designing the rack. There are also some well-placed LED lights for use by servers placed at the bottom of the data center.

5. The aisle is hot and cold

The problem of the aisle is a fun concept - interesting but poorly conceived. You will understand this when you work in a hot aisle. Hundreds of fans are blowing hot air to you, and you have to maintain and operate the system between very crowded racks. Like dim lighting, hot aisles/cold national roads are theoretically feasible, but far from being true in real data centers.

6. Emergency Vehicles

Emergency vehicles are the keyboard/video/mouse and tool loading vehicles required for data centers. They are usually placed at intersections that are not easily found. If you find an ambulance that has not been used, you have to thank your staff for putting it there. This way you have the hope to use them to complete the assigned tasks. The simple solution is to place more ambulances in each data center. Monitors, keyboards, mice, screwdrivers and active loaders are inexpensive, so you can purchase more.

7. Noise

No one can hear your shouts in the data center. The noise in the data center is so great that you have to yell at a colleague or go outside to talk. Not to mention the use of mobile phones - no one wants to hear you shouting at the end of the phone and saying that you are buying some milk on the way home. Server and chassis manufacturers must understand how to make a silent fan.

8. Data Center Flooring

Stepping on the loose floors in the dimly lit data center is a headache. You don't know if you're stuck in the entangled cables on the floor or in a row of boxes. Report the loose data center floor to data center managers. Loose or broken floors need to be repaired or replaced immediately.

9. Rack Space

Although the original principle of a 19-inch rack designed for computer equipment has no history. Or the server design needs to be adjusted. If you are a normal height person, you will find that small size systems (1U and 2U) will not fit in a crowded rack. This rack does not have enough space for the data center management center to work behind the system, knowing that power, network, storage area networks, video and keyboard cables are placed on the back of the system. The current design is not yet suitable for data center administrators for long manual work.

10. Cable

What did you think of in addition to the cable in the second half of 2010? It's time for new technologies to do everything without cables. There are so many cables in the data center. When you see bundles of cables that are as thick as human thighs and hundreds of cables connected to the central control panel, some changes have been made to the technology. Getting into the cable-free era is a good plan for the data center -- not just for the network but for everything.