Apple’s Green Data Center Project Causes Distress among Locals

June 19, 2012 By

According to reports, Apple decision to invest in solar farm and fuel cell installation to provide power to their massive data center which is being constructed in Maiden, N.C was positively received by the industry. Though it is an impressive project, this project is causing a lot of distress to the locals. Zelda Vosburgh’s back yard runs right up to the solar farm. According to her, she has endured a lot during the construction of the eco friendly project and can’t wait for it to be finished.
“When we get a storm or the wind blows bad this whole place turns into nothing but dust in the air. You can see it flying everywhere,” Vosburgh said.
Trevor Wilson said it’s not the dust but the noise he’s noticed the most near his parent’s home in Maiden. On Monday, crews were working to install the rows of supports needed for the solar panels. ”It is like beating of drums, but metal. Like banging pots together over and over, “Wilson said.
On the bright side, this project has proved fruitful for Randy Rush’s appliance business.
“I’ve got a couple people who stop a week and ask what they’re doing and most of the time of they stop they buy something, so it’s been good, ” Rush said.

Pastor William Painter’s church sits right next to the data center and commends Apple for trying to help the environment. ”It’s great that they’re using the solar power. We need more of that around. Cleaner power sources,” Painter said.

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Raleigh to Be the New Location for an Expansion Project of Citrix Systems

June 8, 2012 By

According to latest reports, Raleigh, North Carolina is making way for their
newest addition, a major corporate headquarter to their landscape. Citrix systems who are a major provider of cloud computing has locked down Raleigh for the expansion project of its Sharefile Data Sharing Group.  Sharefile hopes to announce the exact location of its new corporate headquarters by August.

 The project is expected to be completed in the next 5 years and Citrix Systems is reported to be investing a capital between $11 million and $26 million in Downtown Raleigh to house its workforce.

“At Sharefile, relaxation and play is considered as important as work in this corporate culture. We have a big tech company with a lot of young employees,” said Sharefile founder Jesse Lipson. “They want to be where the action is”.

“People are trying to come downtown more and more and more,” said Joey Brown. “People move from all sorts of other places to get down here.”

Adds Tara Zechini, I love to work downtown. The energy down here is great.”

“There’s always fun, there’s always parties and great things to eat and do; it’s a great place to be,” said Zechini.

Adding Sharefile’s employees to the downtown is bound to have an effect on the area’s economy.

 “When you move 500 professionals in a tech company to an area, they’re going to want to live near where they work and eat and experience entertainment in that area,” said Lipson.

He also believes that this move will affect the business end of Raleigh in a dramatic way.

“I think it’ll have a ripple effect on Raleigh and on other tech companies will want to move their headquarters down to where the action is.”

To return the favor to Citrix Systems for the expansion in Raleigh, the city has decided to award a Job Development Investme

nt Grant. The grant pays the company 2.25 percent of the new tax value of taxable investment recorded on the tax records for a period of 12 years at the current tax rate of $0.3735 per $100 property valuation.


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Data Center Infrastructure Management

June 1, 2012 By

Most organizations spend more than 70 percent of their IT budgets on infrastructure such as servers, operating systems, storage and networking. This is required to manage the swift yet uneven pace of growth that is essential to survive in today’s highly competitive environment. When organizations achieve the critical mass, they are often bogged down by the widely varying demands placed on their IT infrastructure.

Even as the investments for hardware and software are tracking downward, the costs of managing and supporting infrastructure are increasing. Server sprawl leads to increased operations and support costs, labor intensive legacy platforms lead to increased administration and support costs. Deployment and maintenance of IT systems is costly and consumes too much time and effort and managing system security and user identity information across enterprise systems can be complex.

Identity and Access Management:

Rapid search, identification and verification of user access rights helps guarantee information, communication and IT infrastructure protection from malicious attacks. The Activity Directory Domain Services offered help create a scalable, secure, and manageable infrastructure for user and resource management. These services provide the means to manage identities and relationships, and the out-of-the-box functionality needed to centrally configure and administer system, user, and application settings. Some of these services are:

  • Active Directory Implementation
  • Active Directory Migration from Previous Versions

Desktop, Server and Device Management

Data centers can manage desktops, mobile devices, and servers as well as deploy patches, operating systems, and applications across the network, asset inventory and proactive monitoring of systems by implementing and managing the Microsoft System Centre Suite.

  • System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) – The SCCM comprehensively assesses, deploys, and updates servers, client computers, and devices-across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments. Optimized for Windows and tightly integrated with Windows 7, it is the best choice for gaining control over IT systems.
  • System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) – SCOM uniquely enables data centers to reduce the cost of data center management across server operating systems and hypervisors through a single, familiar and easy to use interface. Through numerous views that show state, health and performance information as well as alerts generated according to some availability, performance, configuration or security situation being identified, operators can gain rapid insight into the state of the IT environment, and the IT services running across different systems and workloads.

Security and Networking

Data centers should guarantee that information and communication are protected from unauthorized access while at the same time provide a mechanism to protect the IT infrastructure from attacks and viruses while preserving access to corporate resources.

  • ForeFront Endpoint Protection (Anti-Virus) – By allowing a data center to use its existing client management infrastructure the solution helps reduce ownership costs while providing improved visibility and control over endpoint management and security.
  • ForeFront Threat Management Gateway (Firewall and Proxy) – The solution reduces the cost and complexity of Web security through multiple layers of continuously updated protections that are integrated into a unified, easy to manage gateway.
  • ForeFront Unified Access Gateway (Firewall, Proxy and SSL VPN) – The solution utilizes a combination of connectivity options, ranging from SSL VPN to Direct Access, as well as built in configurations and policies. This enables the delivery of comprehensive, secure remote access to corporate resources for employees, partners, and vendors on both managed and unmanaged PCs and mobile devices.

Data Protection and Recovery

Organizations require a structured or disciplined backup, storage and restore management solution to protect their data. Disaster Recover Planning – an in-depth analysis of current systems and creation of contingency plans in case of natural or intended disasters.

The System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) from the Microsoft System Center suit can also be implemented for data management. The SCDPM delivers unified data protection for Windows servers such as SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, Virtualization and file servers, as well as Windows desktops and laptops. DPM seamlessly uses disk, tape, and cloud-based repositories to deliver an easy-to-use and best-of-breed backup and recovery solution for Windows.

Virtualization

In today’s highly automated, technology-enabled economy, business capability has become inextricably linked to IT capability. However, IT infrastructure is becoming increasingly complex. The need of the hour is to leverage IT so that it becomes a more efficient and strategic asset of business.  By consolidating resources through server, client and storage virtualization, organizations can increase their resource utilization from 10%-15% to as much as 80%. Hardware requirements can also be reduced by 10:1 ratio or better. Automated system management and administration at every level in the data center allows greater focus on more strategic planning activities. Moreover, through virtualization, organizations can achieve a reduced deployment time for new IT services by 50% to 70%

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Hi-Tech Transportation Inc. Creates a New Division to Accommodate the Global Need of Data Center Migration Services

May 28, 2012 By

Samuel Lolla and Stewart Smith, Managing Partners / Spokesmen for Hi-Tech Transportation, Inc recently announce that their company will be opening a new division. This division is named MIGRA Systems according to the latest reports.

Lolla explained that the new division would reflect the evolving focus and standards of the company, adding, “This new corporate division will focus on comprehensive planning, technical skills and best practices required to achieve a successful, incident-free Data Center Migration. From the initial planning, project management, communicating with multiple third parties such as OEMs and software vendors, to providing insurance and transportation, a migration specialist like MIGRA Systems, Inc will provide a seamless, end-to-end data center relocation.”

MIGRA Systems hopes to become a one stop shop which offers all kinds of data center migration services, products and information online. This shift is a result of increasing global requirements to migrate IT Infrastructures. To live up to expectations of our customers and target group of the IT industry as a whole, we have created this new, one-stop website that offers a complete range of information regarding our current data center solutions”, Jeff Whitt, Managing Partner, of MIGRA Systems explained

The main features of MIGRA Systems.com are:

  • physical & virtual data center migration services
  • professional services such as project management & disaster recovery
  • data center design & build services
  • technology refreshes including device sales & rentals

MIGRA System is a part of Hi-Tech Transportation Inc which is an independent high-value products carrier incorporated in January, 2004. It is located in Charlotte, NC. The ownership, management and operations team have over 100 cumulative years of experience in the high-value products transportation and logistics industry.

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Determining and Managing Critical Load and Heat Load in the Data Center

May 23, 2012 By

Sizing the electrical service for a data center or data room requires an understanding of the amount of electricity required by the cooling system, the UPS system, and the critical IT loads.  The power requirements of these elements may vary greatly from each other, but can be precisely estimated using simple rules once the power requirements of the planned IT load are determined.  Apart from estimating the size of the electrical service, these elements can be used to estimate the power output capacity of a standby generator system, if one is required for the data center loads.

A proper planning exercise in developing a data center, from a single rack sized environment to a full scale data center begins with determining the size of the critical load that must be served and protected.  The critical load is all of the IT hardware components that make up the IT business architecture:  servers, routers, computers, storage devices, telecommunications equipment, etc., as well as the security systems, fire and monitoring systems that protect them.  The process of determining critical load begins with a list of all such devices, with their nameplate power rating, their voltage requirements, and whether they are single phase or three phase devices.  The nameplate information must then be adjusted to reflect the true anticipated load.

Determining the critical heat load starts with the identification of the equipment to be deployed within the space. However, this is only part of the entire heat load of the environment. Additionally, the lighting, people, and heat conducted from the surrounding spaces will also contribute to the overall heat load. As a very general principal, estimate no less than 1-ton (12,000 BTU/Hr / 3,516 watts) per 400 square-feet of IT equipment floor space.

The equipment heat load can be obtained by identifying the current requirements for each piece of equipment and multiplying it by the operating voltage (for all single phase equipment). The number derived is the maximum draw or nameplate rating of the equipment. In reality, the equipment will only draw between 40% and 60% of its nameplate rating in a steady-state operating condition. For this reason, solely utilizing the nameplate rating will yield an over inflated load requirement. Designing the cooling system to these parameters will be cost prohibitive. An effort is underway for manufacturers to provide typical load rating of all pieces of equipment to simplify power and cooling design.

The equipment that will occupy a space has not been determined prior to the commencement of cooling systems design. In this case, the experience of the designer is vital. PTS maintains an expert knowledge of the typical load profile for various application and equipment deployments. For this reason, as well as consideration of future growth factors it may be easier to define the load in terms of an anticipated standard for a given area. The old standard used to be a watts-per-square foot definition.

The nameplate power requirements are the worst-case power consumption numbers required by Underwriter’s Laboratory and in almost all cases, are well above the expected operating power level.  Studies conducted by reputable consulting engineering firms and power supply manufacturers indicate that the nameplate rating of most IT devices is well in excess of the actual running load by a factor of at least 33%.  The U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) and similar worldwide regulatory bodies also recognize this fact and allow electrical system planners to add up nameplate data for expected loads and multiply by a diversity factor, anticipating that not all devices are running at full load 100% of the time. Calculators gather power consumption data from a wide range of manufactures and further specify various equipment configurations.

Determining the electrical power required to support and cool the critical load within the data center is essential in planning for the development of a facility that will meet the end user’s availability expectations.  This will help specify the size of the Data center physical infrastructure components that will achieve the availability determined by the needs assessment.  Once the sizing determination is complete, conceptual and detailed planning can go forward with the assistance of a competent DCPI systems supplier or, in the case of larger scale data centers, a consulting engineer.

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SURVEY OF DATA CENTER : AREAS OF INTEREST

December 18, 2011 By

While choosing site for data center, some points shall be pondered. Completed study with following area of interest will help you to indentify best location for your data center.

Physical Security

External

  • Anonymity
  • Protection (Barriers, Patrols)
  • Observation (Lights, Cameras and Monitoring Station)
  • Entry Points
  • Locks, Guards, Logs, Mantraps

Internal

  • Access Control (Passkeys, Compartmentalization, Creation and Review of Logs, Identification and Escort Requirements, Use of Cages/Rooms)
  • Observation (Cameras, Video Recording, Tape Maintenance and Review)

Environment Controls

  • Detection of smoke, heat, sound, water, humidity
  • Fire suppression systems
  • HVAC systems
  • Power plant (multiple power supplies, internal distribution and switching systems, UPS systems, testing)

Telecommunications

  • Multiple carriers
  • Internal distribution and switching systems
  • Control Center (location, staffing, scope of responsibility, monitoring systems, escalation procedures)
  • Testing

Network Management

  • Control Center (location, staffing, scope of responsibility, monitoring systems, escalation procedures)

System Configuration

  • Redundancy
  • Logical security (firewalls, IDS, DMZ, log management, backups)
  • Change management (plan review, authorization, testing)Capacity Planning
  • Performance characteristics
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Data Center Migration,Move and Relocation Project Timeline Checklists

December 16, 2011 By

Data Center Migration, Move and Relocation Project Timeline

Data Center Migration Planning Phase
1. Define Roles and Responsibility.

  • Create a team and assign responsibilities for all aspects of the move
  • Make sure all areas of expertise are covered
  • Make sure that you may have to look outside of IT for some areas

2. Prepare documentation, policy, and procedures

  • Ensure that assets and inventory documentation is properly managed.
  • Here is where you find out how good or bad your assets documentation is.

Data Center Migration Blueprint Phase

1. Design a layout for your new data center.

  • Get familiar with the dimensions of the new location and determine where everything will be located.

2. Develop a schedule.

  • A complex data center move is all about timing. Divide and conquer by breaking the task into manageable subtasks.

3. Set up services.

  • Contact service providers for all the utilities you’ll need, such as WAN services. Do this well in advance of your move, but even then be
    prepared for possible delays.

4. Make business interruption plans.

  • Plan the timing for shutting down and bringing back essential applications and services. Leave plenty of time for testing.

Data Center Migration Relocation Phase

The move will quickly reveal whether your months of planning bear fruit. Here are some tips:

  • Only personnel involved in the move should be present at this time.
  • Have contact numbers for all your vendors handy.
  • If you are moving into a newly constructed building, try to have representatives from the construction firm present.
  • A data center move means a lot of work getting done in a short amount of time. Make sure you have resources on “standby” in case you
    require more help.
  • Have plenty of help desk staff available to help users get their PCs and network configurations set up. If your entire business is moving, you will have lots of users asking for help.
  • Test your critical applications and hardware once everything is in place. Is your hardware operating properly?
  • Are your critical applications running without a hitch , or are there configuration problems to be resolved ? Is your networking equipment
    operating properly ?
  • Act to correct any problems revealed by your testing. Document any problems thoroughly and file the report in a safe place. After all, you never know when you might be moving again!

Lots of more in our tool section.. http://datacentertalk.com/category/data-center-tools/

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Lee Technologies

December 13, 2011 By

Lee Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of complete data center solutions and resources that allow customers to focus on their core business. Founded in 1983, Lee Technologies designs, builds, operates, monitors and maintains business-critical facilities for some of the most data-reliant private and public sector organizations in the world, including Coca-Cola, JP Morgan, Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Department of Defense, Time Warner, Verizon and many others.

Since that time, Lee Technologies has grown into a total lifecycle solutions provider of business-critical data center infrastructure. We design, build, operate, monitor and maintain business-critical data centers for some of the most demanding Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies in the world. With more than 25 years of industry experience, our depth and breadth of expertise at solving business-critical data center challenges is unparalleled.

WebSite: http://www.leetechnologies.com

Solutions Information
T 800.955.4533
Corporate Information
T 703.968.0300
National Locations
T 800.955.4533

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Data Center Services by PTS

December 13, 2011 By

In today’s highly competitive, warp-speed changing, climate where businesses can’t stop and downtime is measured in profits lost, PTS offers solutions for protection against some of the leading causes of critical systems downtime, hardware damage, data loss and decreased employee productivity. Highly respected in our industry, PTS sets the standard for continuous availability solutions for facilities to data centers to desktop systems.

Founded in 1998, PTS is a data center consulting firm and turnkey solutions provider, offering a broad range of project experience, specializing in designing data centers, computer rooms and technical spaces that integrate, best-of-breed, critical infrastructure technologies and result in continuously available, scalable, redundant, fault-tolerant, manageable and maintainable mission critical environments.

PTS corporate headquarters in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and our office in Orange County, California, PTS works to fulfill our mission of creating satisfied customers by emphasizing pre-design & planning services to provide the optimal solution to meet our clients needs and resulting in an early & accurate alignment between scope, schedule and budge.

WebSite: http://www.ptsdcs.com
TS Data Center Solutions, Inc. 568 Commerce Street, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
Toll Free: 1.866.PTS.DCS1 Tel: 201.337.3833 Fax: 201.337.4722 Email: info at ptsdcs.com

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