Datacenter Standards, Best Practices, and Success Stories

1. Datacenter Standards,Best Practices, and Success Stories Prof. Dr. Srisakdi Charmonman President Emeritus of the Computer Association of ThailandCEO of the College of Internet Distance Education Assumption University of Thailand www.charm.au.edu charm@ksc.au.edu Invited Talk for “Datacenter Satellite Conference & Exhibition Series” Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, and Osaka organized thru VDO Conference by Pacific and Strategy Holding Ptc. Ltd. For Bangkok at Westin Sukhumvit Hotel, July 16, 2009

2. Datacenter Standards, Best Practices, and Success Stories. 1. Introduction 2. Datacenter Standards 3. Datacenter Best Practices 4. Green Datacenter 5. Datacenter Success Stories 6. Concluding Remarks 2

3. 1. Introduction. • As of the year 2009, most organizations depend on computer network and the Internet. • Most organizations cannot continue operating without computer network. 3

4. Introduction (Cont.) • Therefore, most organizations need backup for their computer network which may be in the form of datacenter. • According to Wikipedia, “a data center or datacenter or datacentre or server farmis a facility to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems.” 4

5. Introduction (Cont.) • A datacenter generally includes: * Redundant or backup power supplies* Redundant data communications connections* Environmental controls and security devices 5

6. Introduction (Cont.) • During the 1980s, microcomputers were used in most organizationsbecause of their low cost and ease of operation. • The word “datacenter” appeared in the 1990s, when more powerful microcomputers called “servers” were used to replace mainframe, and intalled in old mainframe room. 6

7. Introduction (Cont.) • During the 2000s, organizations needed nonstop operation and 24/7 presence on the Internet, and so datacenters became more popular. • As a matter of fact, they were called “Internet DataCenters or IDC” • In 2009, datacenter may also be operated by datacenter service providers. 7

8. 2. Datacenter Standards. • A well-known datacenter standard is TIA-942 (TIA = Telecommunication Industry Association) • For more information see www.adc.com/Library/Literature/102264AE.pdf 8

9. ANSI/TIA-942 • TIA-942 is the first standard to specifically address datacenter infrastructure. • TIA-942 includes guidelines on a wide range of subjects. • Provides a flexible and manageable structuredcabling system using standard media. 9

10. ANSI/TIA-942(Cont.) • Later, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) also approved TIA-942. • TIA-942 became “ANSI/TIA-942 Telecommunications Infrastructure for Data Center”. 10

11. ANSI/TIA-942 (Cont.) 11

12. ANSI/TIA-942 (Cont.) • The requirements of ANSI/TIA-942covers the following.2.1 Site Space and Layout2.2 Cabling Infrastructure2.3 Tiered Reliability2.4 Environmental Consideration 12

13. 2.1 Site Space and Layout • The datacenter should be designed with plenty of flexible “White Space”, empty space that can accommodate future racks or cabinets. • For future growth, surrounding empty space should also be available. 13

14. Site Space and Layout (Cont.) • According to ANSI/TIA-942, a datacenter should include the following key functional areas.* Entrance Room (ER) – outside the computer room for better security. 14

15. Site Space and Layout (Cont.) * Main Distribution Area (MDA) location of Main Cross-Connect (MC) such as routers and switches. * Horizontal Distribution Area (HDA) location of Horizontal Cross-Connect (HC), such as racks for fiber and coaxial cable. 15

16. Site Space and Layout (Cont.) * Zone Distribution Area (ZDA) location of Zone Outlet (ZO) or Consolidation Point (CP) * Equipment Distribution Area (EDA) location of equipment cabinets and racks. 16

17. 2.2 Cabling Infrastructure • Horizontal Cabling* Should install the highest capacity media available to reduce the need for re-cabling in the future.* The maximum horizontal distance is 90 m. independent of media type.* The maximum channel distance including equipment cords is 100 m. 17

18. Horizontal Cabling Distances (Cont.) * The maximum backbone fiber optic cabling is 300 m. * The horizontal copper cabling is 100 m. 18

19. Cabling Infrastructure (Cont.) • Computer Room & Entrance Room Requirementssuch as * Minimum clear height of 2.6m/8.5 ft* Minimum door size 1m/3ft wide 2.13/7ft high 19

20. 2.3 Tiered Reliability • The ANSI/TIA-942 includes 4 levels, each specifying details: * Architectural* Security* Electrical* Mechanical* Telecommunication 20

21. Tiered Reliability (Cont.) • Tier descriptions include information on* Raised floor heights* Watts per square foot* Points of failure 21

22. Tiered Reliability (Cont.) • Tier 1 – Basic: 99.671% Availability* Single path for power and cooling distribution* Optioned raised floor, UPS, generator* Takes 3 months to implement* Annual downtime of 28.8 hours* Must be shut down completely for preventive maintenance 22

23. Tiered Reliability (Cont.) • Tier 2 – Redundant Components: 99.741% Availability* Less susceptible to disruption from both planned and unplanned activity* Single path for power and cooling distribution* Includes raised floor, UPS, and generator 23

24. Tiered 2 (Cont.) * Takes 3 to 6 months to implement* Annual downtime of 22.0 hours* Maintenance of power path and other parts of the infrastructure require a processing shutdown 24

25. Tiered Reliability (Cont.) • Tier 3 – Concurrently Maintainable: 99.982% Availability* Enables planned activity without disrupting computer hardware operation but unplanned events will still cause disruption* Multiple power and cooling distribution paths but with only one path active 25

26. Tiered 3 (Cont.) * Takes 15 to 20 months to implement* Annual downtime of 16.0 hours* Includes raised floor and sufficient capacity and distribution to carry load on one path while performing maintenance on the other 26

27. Tiered Reliability (Cont.) • Tier 4 – Fault Tolerant: 99.995% Availability* Planned activity does not disrupt critical load and data center can sustain at least one worst-case unplanned event with no critical load impact 27

28. Tiered 4 (Cont.) * Multiple active power and cooling distribution paths includes redundant components, i.e. 2 UPS each with N+1 redundancy* Takes 15 to 20 months to implement* Annual downtime of 0.4 hours 28

29. 2.4 Environmental Consideration • Several environmental considerations exist within the ANSI/TIA-942 datacenter standard that are* Fire suppression* Humidity levels* Operating temperatures* Architectural* Electrical (power)* Mechanical system specifications 29

30. 3. Datacenter Best Practices. 3.1 Microsoft’s Environmentally Sustainable Datacenters 3.2 IRIDE Environmentally Friendly Datacenter 3.3 Merger & Acquisition-Driven Datacenter 3.4 Datacenter Assessment and Design 30

31. 3.1 Microsoft’s Environmentally Sustainable Datacenters. • Microsoft prepared top ten best business practices for environmentally sustainable datacenters. 31

32. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 1. Provide incentives that support primary goals. • Microsoft provides specific incentives to reward managers for improving the efficiency of their operations, using metrics such as Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). 32

33. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • Incentives help achieve results in short time if apply properly.* Datacenter manager rewarded for efficiency and not uptime.* Incentives given for low energy usage. 33

34. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 2. Focus on effective resource utilization. • Using resources effectively. • Utilizing existing datacenter infrastructure. 34

35. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 3. Use virtualization to improve server utilization and increase operational efficiency. • Migrating application from physical to virtual machines. • Encourage cloud operating system which use virtualization. 35

36. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • Key benefits of virtualization. • * Reduction in capital expenditures. • * Decrease in real estate, power, and cooling costs. • * Faster time to market for new products • and services. • * Reduction in outage and maintenance windows. 36

37. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 4. Drive quality up through compliance. • There are many regulatory and security standards. • Compliance must be strictly enforced. 37

38. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 5. Embrace change management. • Standardized procedures for the request, approval, coordination and execution of changes can greatly reduce the number and severity of unplanned outages. • If not well managed, poorly planned changes may cause disastrous results. 38

39. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • Other features that change management process should include: • * Documented policies around communication • and timeline requirements. • * Standard templates for requesting, • communicating, and reviewing changes. • * Post-implementation review, including cases where things went well. 39

40. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 6. Invest in understanding the application workload and behavior. • Require hardware engineering. • Credible and competent in-house expertise. • Provide meaningful feedback to vendors. • * To evaluate new hardware properly* Optimizing request for proposal (RFP) process for servers* Experiment new technology. 40

41. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 7. Right-size server platforms to meet application requirements. • A major initiative in Microsoft datacenters involves right-sizing the platform. 41

42. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • There are two forms: • (1) Work closely with server manufacturers to optimize their designs and remove items that are not used. Focus on high efficiency power supplies and advanced power management features. 42

43. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) (2) Being disciplined about developing the exact specifications for servers to meet the needs, and then not buying machines that exceed specifications. 43

44. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 8. Evaluate and test servers for performance, power, • and total cost of ownership. • Test on short list candidate servers to calculate • total cost of ownership. • Not rely on benchmark data, which may not be applicable to needs and environment. 44

45. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 9. Converge on as small a number of stock-keeping units (SKUs) as possible. • Narrowing the number of SKUs allows Microsoft to make larger volume buys, thereby cutting capital costs. 45

46. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • 10. Take advantage of competitive bids from multiple manufacturers to foster innovation and reduce costs. • Microsoft encourages to analyze proposals from multiple companies that puts most of the weight on price, power, and performance. 46

47. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • Competition among multiple manufacturers to drive innovation and provide the most energy efficient & lowest cost. 47

48. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services’ team was taking significant steps in four areas important to environmental sustainability: • * Using recycled resources whenever practical • * Using renewable resources whenever available • * Reducing waste in operations • * Taking part in industry environmental groups 48

49. Microsoft’s Practices (Cont.) • Microsoft announced in March 2009 that it was taking a proactive corporate approach to reduce its carbon emissions per unit of revenue by at least 30 percent. 49

50. 3.2 IRIDE Environmentally Friendly Datacenter. • Producing electrical power & thermal energy from renewable sources (Hydroelectric). • Two hundred virtual machines on only fifteen physical machines and cost savings up to 70 percent. • Reduce the number of physical servers and improve flexibility. 50