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Millions of people use Google search every day for a variety of reasons. Students use it for school, business people use it for research, and millions more use it for entertainment. But most people may not be using Google search to its full potential.

Want to use Google search more efficiently and get the search results you want quickly? Here are 20 Google search tips and tricks to maximize your search efficiency:

1. Use the tabs

The first tip is to use the tabs in Google search. On the top of every search are a number of tabs. Usually you'll see Web, Image, News, and More. Using these tabs, you can help define what kind of search you need to do.

f you need images, use the I mage tab. If you are looking for a recent news article, use the News tab.

It's rudimentary and most people use the tabs already. If you are not, then it's highly recommended to get associated with them. They can cut search times dramatically if utilized properly.

2. Use quotes

When searching for something specific, try using quotes to minimize the guesswork for Google search. When you put your search parameters in quotes, it tells the search engine to search for the whole phrase.

For instance, if you search for Puppy Dog Sweaters, the engine will search for content that contains those three words in any order.

However, if you search "Puppy Dog Sweaters", it will search for that phrase exactly as you typed it. This can help locate specific information that may be buried under other content if not sorted out correctly.

3. Use a hyphen to exclude words

Sometimes you may find yourself searching for a word with an ambiguous meaning. An example is Mustang. When you Google search for Mustang, you may get results for both the car made by Ford or the horse. If you want to cut one out, use the hyphen to tell the engine to ignore content with one of the other. See the example below.

This tells the search engine to search for mustangs but to remove any results that have the word "car" in it. It can be wildly helpful when finding information about something without getting information about something else.

4. Use a colon to search specific sites

There may be an instance where you need to Google search for articles or content on a certain website. The syntax is very simple and we'll show you below.

Sidney Crosby site:nhl.com

This will search for all content about famous hockey player Sidney Crosby, but only on NHL.com. All other search results will be removed. If you need to find specific content on a particular site, this is the shortcut you can use.

5. Find a page that links to another page

This Google search tip is a little obscure. Instead of searching for a specific page, you're searching for a page that links to a specific page.

Think about it this way. If you want to see who cited a New York Times article on their site, you would use this trick to find all the sites that link to it. The syntax is below:

That will return all pages that link to the New York Times official website. The URL on the right side can be practically anything.

Be aware, though, that the more specific it is, the fewer results you'll get. We know not a lot of people will likely use this Google search trick, but it could be very useful for some.

6. Use the asterisk wildcard

The asterisk wildcard is one of the most useful ones on the list. Here's how it works.

When you use an asterisk in a search term on Google search, it will leave a placeholder that may be automatically filled by the search engine later. This is a brilliant way to find song lyrics if you don't know all the words. Let's look at the syntax:

To you or me, that may look like nonsense. However, Google search will search for that phrase knowing that the asterisks can be any word.

More often than not, you'll find they are lyrics to The Beatles song "Come Together" and that's what the search will tell you.

7. Find sites that are similar to other sites

This is a unique one that could be used by practically everyone if they knew it existed.

Let's say you have a favorite website. It can be anything. However, that website is getting a little bit boring and you want to find other websites like it. You would use this trick. Below is the syntax:

If you search that above, you won't find a link to Amazon. Instead, you'll find links to online stores like Amazon. Sites like Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, and others that sell physical items online. It's a powerful Google search tool that can help you find new sites to browse.

8. Use Google search to do math

Google search can actually do math for you. This is a rather complex one to describe because it can be used in so many ways. You can ask it basic questions or some more difficult ones.

It is important to note that it won't solve all math problems, but it will solve a good number of them. Here are a couple of examples of the syntax:

If you search the first one, it'll return 45. It will also show a calculator that you can use to find answers to more questions.

This is handy if you need to do some quick math but don't want to do it in your head. If you search the second term, it will return the number value of Planck's Constant.

So it can do math, but it can also help you solve math problems by showing values for known mathematical terms.

9. Search for multiple words at once

Google search is flexible. It knows you may not find what you want by searching only a single word or phrase. Thus, it lets you search for multiples.

By using this trick, you can search for one word or phrase along with a second word or phrase. This can help narrow down your search to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Here is the syntax:

"Best ways to prepare for a job interview" OR "How to prepare for a job interview"

By searching that, you will search both phrases. Remember the quotes tip above? It's being used here as well. In this instance, these two exact phrases will be searched. It can be done by word too, like the example below:

chocolate OR white chocolate

This will search for pages that have either chocolate or white chocolate!

10. Search a range of numbers

Searching for a range of numbers is another tip we don't anticipate a lot of people using. The people that do use it, though, will probably use it quite a bit.

People interested in money or statistics will find this tip particularly useful. Essentially, you use two dots and a number to let Google search know you're looking for a specific range of numbers. Like the syntax below:

What teams have won the Stanley Cup ..2004

41..43

In the first instance, the search will toss back the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2004. The two dots with only one number will tell the search that you don't need anything before or after 2004. This can help narrow down searches to a specific number to improve search results.

In the second, Google will search for the numbers 41, 42, and 43. It is obscure, but wildly useful if you happen to need to search for numbers like this.

11. Keep it simple

Now we're getting into the general tips. Google search knows how to search for a lot of things. What this means is you don't need to be too specific. If you need a pizza place nearby, use this to search.

Google search will grab your location and deliver a variety of results about pizza places that are near you.

12. Gradually add search terms

There will come a time when Google search doesn't shovel out the results you expect. In this instance, keeping it simple may not be the best option.

As Google itself suggests, the best method is to start with something simple then gradually get more complicated. See the example below:

First try: job interviews

Second try: prepare for job interviews

Third try: how to prepare for a job interview

This will gradually refine the search to bring you fewer, more targeted terms. The reason you don't go straight from the first try to the third try is because you may miss what you're looking for by skipping the second step.

Millions of websites phrase the same information in a number of different ways; using this technique lets you search as many of them as possible to find the best info.

13. Use words that websites would use

This is a very important one. When people use Google search to hunt the web, they generally search for things using the same language that they would use for speaking.

Unfortunately, websites don't say things the way people do; instead, they try to use language that sounds professional. Let's look at some examples:

"I have a flat tire" could be replaced by "repair a flat tire."

"My head hurts" could be replaced by "headache relief."

The list goes on and on. When searching, try to use terminology you would find on a professional website. This will help you get more reliable results.

14. Use important words only

The way Google search works is to take what you search for and match it with keywords in online content.

When you search for too many words, it may limit your results. That means it may actually take you longer to find what you're looking for. Thus, it is apropos to use only the important words when searching for something. Let's see an example:

Don't use: Where can I find a Chinese restaurant that delivers.

Instead try: Chinese restaurants nearby.

Or: Chinese restaurants near me.

Doing this can help Google find what you need without all the clutter. So remember, keep it simple and use important words only.

15. Google search has shortcuts

A number of commands can be entered to give you instantaneous results.

Like the math example above, Google can immediately give you the information you need that is displayed right at the top of the search results. This can save time and effort so you don't have to click a bunch of bothersome links.

Here are a few examples of some commands you can enter into Google:

Weather *zip code* - This will show you the weather in the given zip code. You can also use town and city names instead of area codes, but it may not be as accurate if there are multiple area codes in the city.

What is *celebrity name* Bacon Number - This is a fun little one that will tell you how many connections any given celebrity has to famed actor Kevin Bacon. The popular joke, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, is that no actor is more than 6 connections away from Kevin Bacon. Mark Zuckerberg has a Bacon Number of 3.

The math example posted above is another one.

What is the definition of *word* or Define: *word* - This will display the definition of a word.

Time *place* - This will display the time in whatever place you type in.

You can check any stock by typing its ticker name into Google. If you search for GOOG, it will check the stock prices for Google.

These quick commands can take a web search that is usually multiple clicks and condense it into a single search. This is very helpful for information you need repeatedly.

16. Spelling doesn't necessarily matter

Google search has gotten a lot smarter over the years. These days, you don't even need to spell words correctly.

As long as it's pretty close, Google can usually figure out what it means. Here are some examples:

If you search "Nver Gna Gve Yo Up" Google will automatically assume you mean to search for "Never Gonna Give You Up." If by chance your misspelling was intentional, Google gives you the option to search for the misspelled term instead.

This trick is great if you happen to forget how to spell something or are not altogether sure how something is spelled.

It can also be helpful when searching for obscure words. This applies to capitalization and grammar as well.

17. Use descriptive words

Pretty much everything can be described in multiple ways. Take our namesake, the "life hack." The terminology "hack" refers to a computer programmer breaking security on a network or system. However, when used in conjunction with the word "life", it alters the meaning to tips and tricks people can use to improve their lives.

If you have trouble finding what you're searching for, keep in mind that people may search or define what you need in a different way than you do.

You may search "How to install drivers in Ubunut?"

When you really mean "Troubleshoot driver problems Ubuntu."

There really isn't a good specific example for this one. If you search for something and you can't find an answer, try asking the same question using different words and see if that helps the results.

18. Find a specific file

An often forgotten feature of Google search is the ability to search for a specific file or file type. This can be infinitely useful if you need a specific PDF or PowerPoint file that you previously viewed or need to use for another project. The syntax is quite simple:

*Search term here* filetype:pdf

In the above example, you simply replace the search term with whatever you're searching for. Then use the filetype command and enter the extension of any file type you can think of.

This can mostly be useful for scholarly purposes, but business presentations and other assorted presentations can benefit from this kind of search as well.

19. Money and unit conversions

Google search can quickly and accurately convert both measurement units and currency value. There are a variety of uses for this, like checking to see the conversion rate between two currencies.

If you happen to be a math student, you can use it to convert from feet to meters or from ounces to liters. Here's how to do it:

miles to km - This will convert miles to kilometers. You can put numbers in front to convert a certain number. Like "10 miles to km" will show you how many kilometers are in 10 miles.

USD to British Pound Sterling - This will convert a US dollar to British pounds. Like the measurements above, you can add numbers to find exact conversions for a certain amount of money.

It's true that this tip is geared toward math students and international business people. However, you'd be surprised how often these tips are used by regular people.

20. Track your packages

Our last trick is to use Google search to find out where your packages are. You can enter any UPS, USPS, or Fedex tracking number directly into the Google search bar, and it'll show you the tracking information about your package.

This is much easier than going to the specific sites, waiting for them to load, then searching for your packages there.

No examples are really needed for this one. Just type your tracking number in and see where your package is.

Final thoughts

Google search is a very powerful search tool. Using the tips outlined above, you can find anything and everything you could ever need on the World Wide Web.

Whether it's avoiding Wikipedia for a school essay project, finding the latest stock prices, or even finding song lyrics, there is a way to make Google search work for you.

Featured photo credit: Unsplash via unsplash.com

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20 Google Search Tips to Use Google More Efficiently - LifeHack

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Many use Google search, but few know the real power of the search. Check out these Google search tips to make your search more efficient.

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From the dozen or so facilities housing Google's 900,000 servers to the sprawling server farms of Facebook to Amazon's seven sites scattered around the world, today's data centers must accommodate massive power demand, high heat loads, strict maintenance protocols, and super-tight security. Among owners' top concerns are constant increases in storage and processing requirements, affecting rack densities, backup power needs, and MEP infrastructure.

The sheer numbers behind these data facilities are staggering. According to WhoIsHostingThis.com and the blog Storage Servers, Google's data centers alone use 260 million watts of power a year-enough to power 200,000 households. Facebook serves a user base that adds about seven petabytes-seven thousand trillion bytes-of photos to the platform every month.

Among the biggest players has been Microsoft, which has invested some $23 billion on data centers and their contents to date. Last year, the company spent $112 million on a single facility.

Building Teams can have a tough time keeping up with rapid change in this sector. What works today may quickly be obsolete, especially if the end-user's power requirements are doubling every nine months. However, oversizing is not necessarily the most viable option.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this article, you should be able to:
+ Discuss two primary strategies for free cooling for energy savings and environmental improvement in data centers.
+ Describe potential uses of renewable energy for data centers.
+ Explain the pros and cons of overhead vs. underfloor cabling and air supply in data centers, especially the implications for occupant safety.
+ Understand trends in data use, computing, and facility infrastructure that are changing data center design, particularly packaged systems and cloud computing.

TAKE THE EXAM

To earn 1.0 AIA CES HSW learning units, study the article carefully and take the exam posted at www.BDCnetwork.com/datacentertrends

"In fear of what the future may bring, clients are now asking us to install as much MEP infrastructure capacity as is physically and financially possible," says John Yoon, PE, LEED AP ID+C, Senior Electrical Engineer with McGuire Engineers ( www.mcguireng.com). "But blindly increasing MEP infrastructure capacity in an attempt to stay ahead of future IT equipment needs is not a financially sustainable solution in the long run."

Instead, the generally recommended strategy is more effective management and utilization. This involves finding a sweet spot that meets current and predicted capacity needs without grossly oversizing the mechanical plant, says Daniel Bodenski, Director of Mission Critical Services at AEC and consulting firm CRB ( www.crbusa.com).

Data center experts classify scalable designs and builds as an important long-term solution. This concept involves master planning a full build-out, but constructing the first data module at a manageable size for the client's current needs.

"Design the infrastructure to be easily repeatable and rapidly deployable so that future modules can be added in a seamless fashion," says Charles B. Kensky, PE, LEEP AP, CEA, Executive VP with Bala Consulting Engineers ( www.bala.com). "This allows the end-user to add power and cooling capacity without disrupting ongoing operations."

The need for uninterruptible service is another critical planning consideration. Some clients try to manage risk with geographical diversity or remoteness; others prefer the opposite approach. "The financial sector has been locating their data centers for years in outlying areas rather than in the major metropolitan areas," says Bill Brody, VP with construction management firm B.R. Fries ( www.brfries.com). "These are generally less high-risk areas, out in the countryside. Yet others have data centers right in the city, like tech centers and other companies that really want to closely monitor or centralize their operations."

Brody, who works with digital media companies and institutional R&D entities, says many tech companies and universities just lease their data centers from companies that own and operate facilities for multiple clients. "But Wall Street banks, for example, really want their data centers operated by their own people, so they can keep track of them and manage the security issues better," he notes.

MODULARITY, FREE COOLING, AND THE QUEST FOR LOW PUE

Once a client has selected the preferred location, the Building Team must devise effective designs. Modularity is a guiding principle. By plugging chillers, generators, and uninterruptible power systems (UPS) into a standardized supporting framework, clients can defer capital expenses to a just-in-time scenario. Rob Sty, PE, SCPM, LEED AP BD+C, a Principal in the Phoenix Technologies Studio of SmithGroupJJR ( www.smithgroupjjr.com), notes that this method also reduces stranded capacity: capacity that can't be used by IT loads due to system design or configuration problems.

Fortunately, the industry is seeing a higher level of coordination between data center managers and IT directors, which is enabling power and cooling systems to be more closely coupled with actual and predicted demand. Aaron Duda, PE, LEED BD+C, an Uptime Accredited Tier Designer (UATD) and Senior Associate with Environmental Systems Design ( www.esdglobal.com), says that this partnership is allowing performance-based deployments instead of initial overdesign.

Unlike air-conditioning systems placed around the perimeter of computer rooms, closed-couple cooling and containment systems are sited right next to the IT load. The cool air has a much shorter path to travel and can cool the cabinets more efficiently. COURTESY BALA CONSULTING ENGINEERS

Beyond modular, scalable designs, more efficient power and cooling are a high priority. Teams are striving to leverage climate patterns, existing infrastructure, or both to gain free cooling-a strategy required for data centers by the latest energy codes. Free cooling uses outside air or an existing source of cold water to help chill buildings and equipment.

Nearly every data center designed by MEP consultant Syska Hennessy Group ( www.syska.com) in recent years has included some form of free cooling, the most popular of which is the water-side economizer, according to James Coe, PE, RCDD, Director of Critical Facilities for the firm's Atlanta office. "If the end-user has a water-cooled chiller plant, this is the lowest-cost solution for free cooling, and it usually pays back quickly," he says.

Direct air-side economizers can be more expensive and may require a larger footprint; their filtration requirements and costs can run high, and they may not easily isolate ambient contaminants or handle weather anomalies, says ESD's Duda. The HVAC controls may be hard-pressed to achieve stable humidity conditions in a direct air-side system, he adds.

Plug and play: Planning for modular expansion

With data centers growing at such a rapid clip, coupled with the reality of high O&M costs, most end-users can only afford to support current loads-even when they know loads will most likely increase very soon. Plug-and-play infrastructure is a response to the problem: complete systems are shipped in containers, ready to go. Lead times are quick, and testing and commissioning can be conducted in an isolated fashion. Plugging a new module in should have little impact on critical power and cooling-as long as modularity was planned at the outset, with appropriate electrical and mechanical distribution systems available.

Plug-and-play infrastructure works particularly well for data centers that lease space to contracted clients, says Rob Sty, Principal in the Phoenix Technologies Studio at SmithGroupJJR. "It is a very economical approach to deferring capital expense costs until a specific customer has been identified, and the best example of scalability," he says. "The benefit is that a cost estimate on the next phase of infrastructure can be easily defined, and the timeline of construction can be significantly reduced." The difficult part comes in correctly predicting the right size of the module, and client requests for customized solutions that do not fit into that model.

Authorities having jurisdiction may be skeptical of plug-and-play additions. "While the AHJ may not have an issue with a single piece of equipment, cramming computer-room air-conditioners, UPS, fire-suppression systems, and equipment racks in an intermodal container will always cause an increased level of scrutiny," says John Yoon, Senior Electrical Engineer at McGuire Engineers.

One other downside of this deployment strategy is obsolescence, according to Aaron Duda, Senior Associate at Environmental Systems Design. "The information technology sector is quick to change and adopt new processing strategies and hardware components to give users a seamless experience, while plug-and-play infrastructure relies on proven and dependable technologies that provide a stable and unchanging platform," he says. "As IT deployments change and allow for more aggressive environmental designs, a plug-and-play deployment may not allow the facility to take full advantage of new options."

Gaining traction in the mission-critical marketplace: indirect outdoor-air economizers with evaporative cooling, which take advantage of ambient heat rejection while mitigating many of the problems associated with processing outdoor air, says Duda.

Sty reports that the University of Utah's data center is reducing central plant operating hours via air-side economizer operations, and is poised to achieve a power usage effectiveness or PUE-the ratio of the total energy used by a data center to the energy delivered to the computing equipment-of 1.25 at full load. The strategy will also save about 10 million gallons of water per year.

Yoon says Google's data centers have managed to push their PUE down to 1.12, an improvement over the industry average of 1.8 for large data centers.

The practicality of free cooling, regardless of method, is tightly linked to a facility's parameters for indoor temperatures-especially, appropriate temperatures for air entering servers via ventilation fans. ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9 -Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment has issued recommendations and thermal guidelines encouraging teams to consider higher server inlet temperatures, says Sty. Allowing higher temperatures can significantly reduce costs by increasing the number of hours possible for economizer operations.

"The basic premise is that server equipment is generally much more robust than we give it credit for, and it isn't necessary to cool a server room like a meat locker," Yoon says. In 2008, Christian Belady, PE, Principal Power and Cooling Architect for Microsoft, performed a now-famous experiment wherein a rack of servers, protected from the elements by only a flimsy metal-framed tent, ran reliably for half a year.

Sometimes it's hard for data center managers to overcome the perceived risk of such a design approach. "While increasing the cold-aisle temperature set points may dramatically increase the feasibility of air-side economizers in many regions, you have to convince the IT manager to embrace a design that goes against the traditional convention that low temperature and separation from the surrounding environment equals reliability," says Yoon.

To help data center designers implement economizer systems and take advantage of free cooling, Bodenski recommends the following plan of action:
* Determine the potential number of free cooling days for both air-side and water-side economizer systems.
* Get aligned with the end-user's IT equipment requirements-supply air temperature and chilled water supply temperature-and deployment strategy. Will the IT load be deployed 100% on day one, or just 15% on day one?
* Determine the type of distribution system-underfloor, overhead, or other.
* Develop analyses for monthly electrical consumption and water consumption, as well as a payback comparison for air-side and water-side economizer options using net present value.
* Work with the end-users to obtain criteria to develop the engineering and economic analyses, notably geographic location, system type, IT load deployment, water-side economizer pumping penalty, air-side economizer fan penalty, utility rates, demand rate, water utility rate, maintenance costs, internal rate of return, utility and maintenance escalation, and construction cost inflation.
* Consider partial chiller loads, a hybrid air-side and water-side economizer, or both.
* Take into account the cost and complexity of modifying the base building architectural system and structural system to accommodate an air-side economizer.

ACTIVE COOLING STRATEGIES FOR ROWS, RACKS, AND CABINETS

Free cooling will take a data center only so far. Engineers still must deal with increasing rack densities and the need to prevent hot spots. This often means bringing the cooling to the load, not just the room, says Bala's Kensky. "Plan it and model it, but do it efficiently," he says. "Higher density does not mean just adding cooling capacity. It requires an intelligent, efficient approach to delivering the cooling at the point of greatest need, and removing the heat effectively."

Raised-floor systems work well for densities below 10 kW/cabinet. High densities require other solutions. For instance, central station air-handling units (AHUs), in lieu of computer-room air handlers, can employ a "ballroom" delivery of air into the cold aisle and integrated rack, says Sty. In-row cooling is also growing in popularity.

For greater flexibility, all power and data cabling can be supplied overhead, as in this data center installation at the University of Utah, designed by SmithGroupJJR. Take care not to block the path of lighting. COURTESY SMITHGROUPJJR
"As rack densities increase beyond the limits of what traditional air-cooled cabinets can support, water cooling at the cabinet may become more viable," Sty suggests. He points to the High Performance Computing Data Center in the new Energy Systems Integration Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colo., where cooling liquid is delivered directly to the cabinet. This strategy yields extremely high thermal efficiencies and contributes to a PUE of 1.06. Rear-door coolers-both water- and refrigerant-based-can accommodate loads up to 30 kW/rack and are highly adaptable to retrofits, says CRB's Bodenski.

Yoon says top-of-row bus duct and in-rack liquid cooling can be great choices for high-density server lineups, but he also says they shouldn't be viewed as a one-size-fits-all solution. "Just because you can put 800-ampere bus duct above a 10-cabinet server lineup and also provide the cooling to make it work, should you?" he asks.

Yoon recalls one project for which an extensive blade server deployment was planned. A high-density, pumped refrigerant cooling system was installed to accommodate the load, only to have the client change its preferred server vendor. The blades were never fully deployed, and the load thresholds for effective operation of the cooling system were never reached. The cooling system had to be decommissioned and replaced less than five years later, according to Yoon.

To avoid such situations, McGuire Engineers generally recommends modular designs, specifying generic building blocks with a predefined per-cabinet power and cooling budget. "This entails considerable coordination with end-users so they understand the power and cooling budgets they have to live within," says Yoon. "Often, it's simply a case of redistributing IT equipment within the facility to even out temperatures and minimize the chance of hot spots."

Software company upgrades to save $1 million a year on electricity

Recently, Bala Consulting Engineers helped a global business software company upgrade the infrastructure at a legacy 40,000-sf data center, achieving an annualized power usage efficiency of 1.43.

The upgraded MEP infrastructure provides hot-air containment via vertical exhaust ducts and solid rear-door cabinets for the existing cabinets. The system also incorporates an oversized cooling tower, high-efficiency chillers, and a heat exchanger for free cooling.

"The chilled water supply temperature was raised from 45 to 61ºF, while maintaining a 75ºF cabinet inlet temp, providing a warm water distribution system and increasing the number of free cooling hours per year," says Charles B. Kensky, Executive VP with Bala.

UPS modules were swapped for high-efficiency units with a higher voltage distribution and high-efficiency transformers.

Though the data center increased its IT load from 1,200 kW to 4,000 kW, the lower PUE translates to an operating cost of $0.09/kWH. The upgrades are saving the company nearly 13,000 MWh, or $1.16 million in operational costs per year.

New technologies are allowing more efficient data center layouts, such as 40- and 100-gigabit top-of-rack (ToR) network architecture, says Yoon. "This design methodology is much easier to implement, as ToRs have reduced the cabling requirements for high-bandwidth equipment," he says.

Some enterprise facilities are starting to consider full-submersion cooling solutions, which immerse the server electronics in a dielectric bath, to take densification to the next level. "The dielectric fluid is circulated over the server components, and then heat is rejected to an open-loop condenser water system," says ESD's Duda. "The dielectric can move more heat per volume unit, allowing the deployments to have a much smaller footprint."

HOT AISLES, COLD AISLES

Engineers are also striving to devise the best aisle containment strategies, preventing hot air exhausting from server cabinets from mixing with cold air supplied by the cooling system. Bala's Kensky recommends starting with simple strategies such as brush grommets (to seal cable openings in the floor) and scalable blanking panels, which fill unoccupied rack space to control airflow and enable servers to operate at a cooler temperature. End caps, aisle covers, and chimneys-vertical exhaust ducts extending from the top of cabinets to the ceiling plenum-can all be effectively deployed to contain hot air.

Cold-aisle-driven plans, which concentrate on maintaining temperatures by keeping cold aisles cold through various barrier strategies, work well for retrofits with in-row cooling or a raised-floor environment, saving on ductwork and construction expenses, says Bodenski. However, hot-aisle plans, which emphasize environmental control by confining and exhausting hot air, remain the preferred method for many new data center build-outs. Among the advantages:
* IT personnel can work in a 75°F environment, compared with 100°F or more in cold-aisle containment settings.
* End-users can take advantage of extended air-side or water-side economizer hours, which increases mechanical system efficiency and lowers PUE.
* Some IT equipment may not be able to survive outside of the contained areas and would need evaluation in a cold-aisle setting.

One approach Syska Hennessy likes to pursue is partial containment, where the air pressure in the hot aisle and cold aisle are kept at the same levels. "With full containment deployed, the pressure in the hot aisle can be higher than the cold aisle," Coe explains. "The server fans may have to be sped upand draw more critical power to overcome this pressure."

Aisle containment is not a simple spec. The concept has evolved from a straightforward return air pathway to a sophisticated architectural solution supporting numerous infrastructure components, making full Building Team collaboration increasingly important. "Coordination with all design disciplines is necessary to ensure that the pod containment architecture fits into the entire building system," says Sty.

To make it easy to set up containment solutions, some vendors are now offering prefabricated systems as a turnkey design, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning package.

GREENER POWER GENERATES DEBATE

Until recently, data centers' enormous power and water use has escaped widespread criticism; generally, the consumption has been viewed as a necessary evil in a booming industry. But such governmental and public tolerance is likely to change. "It is only a matter of time before the environmental impact of these types of facilities is put on display," predicts ESD's Duda. "Many enterprise users fear this bad publicity so much that they are investing in on-site photovoltaic or fuel cell installations to offset their grid use of power. They're also examining on-site use of process water from the cooling systems, to curtail the discharge of the fluid to storm or sanitary systems."

In this example of hot-aisle containment at the University of Utah, central station air-handling units supply cold air directly into the cold aisle, while barriers keep the hot air from mixing with the cold. The design eliminates the need for raised-floor air distribution. COURTESY SMITHGROUPJJR
Though fuel cells aren't cheap, they can make sense in areas where utility rates run high and federal and state tax incentives are available. Kensky reports that fuel cells by one manufacturer (Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, Calif.) can run on a variety of inputs and withstand high temperatures. EBay is using these natural gas-powered cells to power their newest data center in Salt Lake City, even when regular utility services are available. They have opted not to install generators or UPS equipment. For some projects, the waste heat from fuel cells and microturbines can be captured in combined-cooling-and-power systems, driving absorption chillers to contribute to cooling.

Solar remains the low-hanging fruit among renewable power solutions for data centers. Even though facilities may require acres of PV panels to achieve a reasonable result, experts say the investment can make sense. Wind power also requires lots of space. "If I had to choose an alternative, I would want to go hybrid: a hydroelectric base supplemented with solar, wind, or both, with generator or utility backing," says Chris McLean, PE, Director of Data Center Design at Markley Group ( www.markleygroup.com).

Designers are also trying to rachet down power use by delivering DC power to the cabinets and specifying higher distribution voltages. When DC power is supplied to IT equipment, AC power conversion (long a standard aspect of data center engineering) is no longer necessary; this yields a 2-3% efficiency gain and can obviate the need for a UPS inverter section and downstream power distribution units, says Yoon.

Higher delivery voltages- for example, 230/400VAC and 240/415V -are another hot topic in the data center design community. They're still relatively rare in North America but can be considered in high-

density installations, according to Yoon. This strategy enables equivalent power delivery at a relatively low current and minimal transformer losses. However, there is a higher risk of arc flash that could injure inadequately trained personnel, particularly with top-of-row busways. Yoon warns that the relative rarity of these alternate power-delivery methods also carries an inherent cost in the form of proprietary server equipment and specialized operational methods.

Even higher voltage-380V DC-is on the far horizon.

CABLING: OVERHEAD VS. UNDERFLOOR

Experts debate whether it's better to place data and power cabling overhead or under the floor. Bala's Kensky says overhead trays deliver a number of advantages. They make it easy to implement additions and changes, offering greater long-term flexibility. Putting cable high also minimizes future disruption to access-floor cooling plenums.

When combined with overhead ducted supply air to the cold aisle, overhead cabling can allow teams to forgo expensive raised-floor systems altogether. Cabinets can be placed directly on the structural slab. Power and low-voltage systems can coexist in a fully coordinated modular design.

Perhaps the biggest benefit, says Syska Hennesy's Coe, is that if power and data cables are placed overhead, and there is no raised floor (or the raised floor is only used to supply cold-aisle air), an emergency power-off (EPO) push button is no longer required, per the National Electrical Code.

"These EPO buttons are typically located at every IT room exit," Coe explains. "They de-energize IT equipment in the room and stop the supply of underfloor air. However, EPOs make IT managers very nervous since outages are bad for their job security."

An often-overlooked benefit of overhead installation, says Coe, is better O&M practices. When cabling is hidden below the floor, some installers will just abandon decommissioned infrastructure, creating blockages over time. "When cabling is visible overhead, it will typically be installed with better workmanship and be removed when it is no longer needed," he says.

Duda points out that overhead power and data do require close coordination of lighting and environmental conditions. "Unencumbered light should be provided where equipment requires regular access," he says. "If not properly planned, overhead cable trays can reduce the amount of light getting to the service spaces." Designers need to be familiar with the Telecommunications Industry Association Standard TIA-942, Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers. The standard stipulates an 18-inch clearance from the top of cable pathways to sprinklers, which can be difficult to achieve in a legacy facility, or even in a new building with height constraints.

Overhead installation has other disadvantages. Vertical supports and tray locations can limit cable installation space. Ladders are required to access the cable. Unprotected infastructure can be more vulnerable to damage, compared with underfloor installations. Cable ampacity (current-carrying capacity) may be compromised if installed over hot aisles with elevated temperatures, according to CRB's Bodenski.

Underfloor layouts offer easy access for installation and removal by means of a simple floor tile-pulling device. "Cable deployments are hidden from view and protected by the raised-floor system, providing a clean aesthetic," says Duda. "Properly planned underfloor deployments will have cavities large enough to accommodate cabling and provide clear pathways for air delivery." Also a must: proper cable-management strategies that support airflow.

Underfloor layouts enable designers to reduce "white space" above the computer equipment and can make system coordination simpler. But they can also waste energy due to cables blocking the delivery air path, supply-air leakage from cable cutouts, and bypass-air leakage from power distribution unit cutouts, says Bodenski. UFADs also require a greater floor depth to accommodate cable trays, and trays installed in the supply airflow plenum will complicate maintenance.

Because each project is different, SmithGroupJJR's Sty recommends weighing variables such as room height, rack and cabinet densities, and the overall facility cooling strategy before selecting a cabling location for any data center.

PACKAGED IT SYSTEMS OFFER INTEGRATED FACILITY SOLUTIONS

Following the trend toward greater systems integration, some data centers are moving to converged infrastructure to capture efficiencies and savings. Defined as multiple IT components-servers, data storage devices, and networking equipment-consolidated into a single package, convergence offers a reduced cabinet footprint, lowered power consumption, and an extended data center life cycle.

"Bringing together server storage, networking, and virtualization into an integrated solution that is managed as a single entity optimizes the IT infrastructure," says Sty. "This has a direct impact on the facility's supporting mechanical and electrical systems. Operational expenses can be reduced significantly through this operating platform."

A recent market research study by International Data Corp. ( www.idc.com) projects that overall spending on data center converged systems will grow at an annual rate of nearly 55%, reaching $17.8 billion by 2016. By then it will account for 12.8% of the total storage, server, networking, and software market.

Duda says that clients with a greater appetite for risk are actively embracing convergence, while more conservative companies are likely to go with proven technologies. Coe adds, "These solutions are becoming more common, but rarely do we see an IT manager who will deploy a converged system alone. They generally deploy a variety of solutions."

Yoon anticipates that the industry will move toward convergence. While data center managers, particularly in smaller facilities, traditionally focus on the IT equipment deployment and management, they will eventually be forced to pay more attention to MEP infrastructure, he says. Convergence can enable managers to take a systemwide approach.

A newer trend is cloud computing, which is transforming the process of computing from a product to a service. End-users are moving various aspects of operations-especially storage-from local servers to a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet. At $200,000 a pop for a single on-site storage-area network cabinet, transferring data to a remote site can make lots of financial sense.

"Storage requirements are growing faster than almost any other sector of IT platforms," says Kensky. "Even as storage technology becomes more efficient, we live in a smartphone and tablet world, and the demand for the cloud and storage will only grow."

In healthcare, for example, new processing-intensive clinical technologies like computer-assisted diagnostics and telemedicine are combined with an ongoing need for secure medical-record storage. The scenario requires increasingly robust storage and processing protocols. Clients see the cloud as a way to help handle the enormous load, says Sty.

AEC firms like Syska Hennessy have started using the cloud themselves for archiving, e-mail, and some other IT applications. "The upside for firms of all sizes is that they can reduce their owned and maintained IT equipment and the need to provide connectivity, power, and cooling for less-critical IT functions," says Syska's Coe.

Cloud computing also allows data center operators to reduce the needed level of in-house infrastructure reliability. Cloud providers can shift IT activity to a different data center-or a different area within the same data center-in the event of an outage or failure. Designing data centers to a lower Tier level (a measure of uptime and redundancy) reduces capital and operating costs, since lower levels mean fewer generators, UPS modules, and chillers.

Cloud computing further enables operators to better standardize equipment and critical infrastructure across their portfolios, lowering costs and driving efficiency, says Bodenski.

Cloud computing fills an important niche, but it also raises issues of net neutrality, cybersecurity, and information ownership. Where confidentiality is a high priority, such as for critical operations and transactions, firms will most likely continue to want their own processing and storage infrastructure, says Duda.

MORE EFFICIENT PROJECT DELIVERY

Cloud or no cloud, technological evolution will continue to require smart thinking and nimble action from Building Teams and their clients. "The demand for data center critical load will grow until we have fully tapped the potential of computers, smartphones, tablets, Internet televisions, and whatever comes next," says Coe. "That could be a while."

Coe anticipates that the data center sector will eventually demand that Building Teams offer a more efficient construction-delivery process, pressed by the need to increase capacity, improve sustainability, and hold the line on cap-ex and operating costs.

Data center best practices at the University of Utah

SmithGroupJJR was recently tasked with applying industry best practices to ramp up energy- and water-use efficiencies for 15 data centers and IT rooms operated by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

The local climate is cool and dry most of the year but includes extreme winter conditions and a short summer period with high wet-bulb temperatures. The design team created a psychrometric chart, based on weather data, mapping cooling distribution hours and recommended cooling strategies to maintain data floor setpoints.

The team determined that a predominately air-side economizer, full and partial approach, was the best option 73% of the year. A water-side economizer would work best 22% of the year, and vapor compression cooling would be required 5% of the year.

The final system design uses central station air-handling units with fan matrix air delivery directly into the room. Removal of raised-floor systems reduced system pressure drop and fan horsepower. Both the Enterprise (Tier III) and High Performance Computer (Tier I) areas use an air-side economizer with hot-aisle containment strategies, supporting IT loads of 20 kW per cabinet. Incorporating hot-aisle containment allowed higher cold-aisle temperatures, which increased the number of hours for partial or full economizer operation.

Air-side cooling is provided by multiple fan array units blowing directly into the cold aisles, which are kept at 76°(±2°)F. Fan speed is controlled by maintaining a slightly positive differential pressure set point between the hot and cold aisles. To block particulates that might be introduced through economizer operation, two layers of filtration were provided: MERV 8 prefilters and MERV 13 final filters. Outside air conditions are monitored by a weather station, guiding the choice of full or partial economizer operation.

During periods when the air-side economizer isn't a practical solution, the university's two-stage central cooling plant provides chilled water to the indoor air-handling units. Due to the elevated temperatures supplied to the data floor, chilled water is delivered at 65°F with a 30°F temperature rise. Stage 1 of the central plant uses a water-side economizer via closed-circuit fluid coolers, which act as a dry cooler when dry-bulb temperatures are below 45°F. As the atmospheric wet-bulb temperature increases, or during an interruption of domestic water to the site, three air-cooled chillers operate in series to provide the required chilled water temperature. AHU coil selections were made to provide cooling at a 65°F chilled water supply temperature, increasing hours of water-side economizer use.

With power feeds from two substations, Phase 1 of the project installed three 2.5 MVA transformers, with room for two more in the future. Critical IT power was routed separately from HVAC equipment power and normal power, to assist with accurate PUE monitoring. HVAC equipment was sized in a modular fashion to support the transfer of load from one distribution path to another in the event of electrical failure. Enterprise-critical IT loads were separated from high-performance computer IT loads.

Power from the centralized power distribution units is supplied to cabinets via overhead bus ducts, which support 120/208V or 480V distribution. The power strategy includes distributed redundant UPS with catcher architecture, featuring double-conversion high efficiency (96%) with maintenance bypass. This architecture allows for N+1 redundancy and improved efficiency through higher loading.

- Robert F. Sty, PE, SCPM, LEED AP, SmithGroupJJR

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From the dozen or so facilities housing Google's 900,000 servers to the sprawling server farms of Facebook to Amazon's seven sites scattered around the world, today's data centers must accommodate massive power demand, high heat loads, strict maintenance protocols, and super-tight security.

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In the latest AFCOM State of the Data Center Industry study, we found that data center leaders really have their heads in some interesting places. Beyond cooling, power consumption, rack density, and even edge computing, it's pretty amazing to see where decision makers are investing.

The report,which I helped co-author, identified five trends that IT organizations expect to be a priority in the coming year. Some, like flash storage, are already seeing wide implementation. others may surprise you.

Within the next 12 months, State of the Data Center participants said they are most likely to either implement or consider implementing flash storage (70%), hyperconverged infrastructure (56%), Linux container management and orchestration tools (51%), BYOD - Bring Your Own Device (51%) and SDN (48%) and OpenStack cloud software (48%).

Let's taker a look at each of these top 5 data center strategies and understand why they're important.

Flash Storage

Leading organizations and data center leaders are actively deploying all-flash storage for very good reasons. We're way beyond some of the original challenges facing all-flash arrays and associated SSD devices. For example, Pure Storage's appliances deliver 99.9999% availability, inclusive of maintenance, failures, and now generational upgrades. You're talking literally just a few seconds (of that) of outages per year.

"Advancements in SSD technology and lower price points are driving broader SSD adoption and are making SSDs a ubiquitous storage technology," said Jeff Janukowicz, research vice president for Solid State Drives and Enabling Technologies. "SSD adoption in the client PC and in the enterprise data center market continues to increase, which will drive SSD unit shipments to grow at a 2015-2020 CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 16.9 percent."

A recent Forrester study (commissioned by Pure Storage) took a deeper dive into the economic impacts of all-flash on the modern data center. Throughout the study, Forrester found that power and cooling savings totaled $74,231 over three years and assume a cost per KWH for power of $0.14 and a cost per KWH for cooling of $0.10. Data center leaders are looking at delivering new levels of performance while still optimizing data center space. With the increases in rack density, solutions like all-flash storage can absolutely give you a competitive advantage.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)

The latest AFCOM State of the Data Center report indicated that the majority of respondents report rack power density is increasing. The estimated mean target rack power density is 7.3 kW. Here's a look at the trends:

That same report also indicates very little growth around actual data center capacity requirements. This means that data center leaders are actually leveraging better tools to design their data centers and even edge solutions.

What's leading the way? As the report points out, IT organizations are most likely to have already implemented new kinds of advanced solutions, like hyperconverged infrastructure(HCI). Hyperconvergence incorporates cloud-like infrastructure economics and flexibility into the enterprise without negatively impacting performance, reliability and availability. Its "all-in-one" architecture enables it to serve as a building block that can be added as needed as opposed to purchasing/upgrading components like servers and storage every three to five years.

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A recent IDC study found that 75 percent of HCI deployments replace existing infrastructure, including networking. Furthermore, as Gartner points out, Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) is a growing trend for today's data centers because it reduces costs, increases scalability, and protects data. HCI is reported to be the fastest-growing segment at a CAGR of 48%, slated to exceed $10 billion by 2021.

With the distribution of IT and new requirements around concepts like edge, data center leaders are look at more efficient ways to deploy infrastructure and support evolving initiatives. In our AFCOM report, we found that four in 10 respondents have either deployed or planned to deploy edge compute capacity. HCI can help make this entire process as efficient as possible.

As per the diagram above, the evolution of infrastructure allows organizations to deploy effective notes which can scale rapidly. From there, we see how new solutions around software-defined technologies are impact the next generation of data center solutions. We'll touch on that later. The bottom line is that HCI is a great way to remove legacy gear and deploy new types of data center design.

Linux Container Management & Orchestration Tools

This one was really interesting to see in the top 5. The actual market for containers and container management is fiercely competitive. Why the massive interest?

Application containers can include runtime components from security to monitoring, orchestration networking and storage - basically the code required to execute and alter a piece of software - in a single package regardless of the infrastructure it sits on. To that extent, containers go hand in hand with continuous development, agile, and DevOps practices. That said, there are a few solutions out there to examine: Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Mesosphere, among others. You can also extend container management into Google Cloud Platform, AWS, or Azure.

"Containers, while widely used by hyperscale web companies, are still a very emerging technology for the enterprise," explains Mary Johnston Turner, research vice president, Enterprise Systems Management Software. "IDC expects that for production environments, most enterprise teams will prefer container management solutions that are embedded in broader infrastructure management software and SaaS solutions and will resist implementing a standalone greenfield environment."

Data center operators absolutely want that DevOps business, and want to have container management integrate with infrastructure management. 451 Research estimated in 2017 that the application container segment reached a robust $762 million in 2016 and is forecast to grow at a 40 percent compound rate over the next four years to $2.7 billion. DevOps is a hot market right now. If you, as a data center leader want to differentiate yourself, look to container management as possibility.

BYOD

Believe it or not, we're still seeing growth in the adoption of mobility services. A recent survey from Gartner found that mobile device adoption in the workplace is not yet mature. Although 80 percent of workers surveyed received one or more corporate-issued devices, desktops are still the most popular corporate device among businesses, with more than half of workers receiving corporate-issued desktop PCs. To that extent, mobility and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) solutions will only continue to evolve as healthcare organizations find more use-cases and benefits in supporting a mobile workforce.

"BYOD strategies are the most radical change to the economics and the culture of client computing in business in decades," said David Willis, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "The benefits of BYOD include creating new mobile workforce opportunities, increasing employee satisfaction, and reducing or avoiding costs."

As Gartner points out, BYOD drives innovation for data center leaders and the business by increasing the number of mobile application users in the workforce. Data centers now need to find ways to support BYOD both as an initiative and possible service model. We know that we're becoming more connected. The data centers which can support this new level of connection will be the ones with happy end-users.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

New virtual services are sweeping the modern data center and are actually making the data center administrators' life easier. Just imagine having the ability to abstract vast amounts of resources and manage heterogeneous environments all from one logical controller. New infrastructure components no longer care what type of hardware you're using - it cares about how you are presenting resources.

Software-defined technologies have come quite a long way. These logical systems are capable of introducing amazing optimizations for the data center platform as well as your business model. Software-defined networking is a new way to control resources on a truly distributed plane. The ability to abstract powerful networking physical components into logical services and features can help a cloud platform scale and become more robust. It also allows the data center to control key resources more efficiently. One of those resources that is the network, which has begun to sprawl physically quite a bit. As we interconnect with cloud, the edge, and distributed IT architectures, simplifying the network is the logical way to go.[clickToTweet tweet="New virtual services are sweeping the modern data center and are making data center administrators' life easier." quote="New virtual services are sweeping the modern data center and are making data center administrators' life easier."]

As new applications require cloud delivery or deployment, the demand for transferring data into the cloud is increasing. This requires a new approach to managing data with a layer of software on top of existing network hardware to drive innovation. Industry analyst firm Gartner predicts that by 2019, 70 percent of existing storage array products will also be available as "software only" versions. And, by 2020, between 70 percent and 80 percent of unstructured data will be held on lower-cost storage managed by software-defined storage environments.

SDN can do a lot for your data center. Imagine having the ability to recreate an entire networking environment to mirror an existing infrastructure. The difference? Everything is network virtualization and completely isolated. SDN can help create connections between applications, services, VMs and numerous other workloads. Effectively, administrators are able to test their environment, disaster recovery (DR) plan, or high-availability methodology completely from a secured and isolated configuration. From there, you're looking at capabilities like Network Function Virtualization (NFV), WAN traffic control, load-balancing, security, WANOP, and even SD-WAN.

The Road Ahead

A big challenge for many data center leaders is finding good people who can help out. Don't let that stop you, however. Be sure to find the right expertise and expand your own SDN practice.

The data center consists of a lot of moving parts. All of these new solutions we discussed are aimed at making life easier. Remember, further down that same list we have Open Compute implementations as well as working with cloud solutions like OpenStack. Moving forward, data center leaders will absolutely need to think differently to differentiate themselves in the market. Beyond just providing infrastructure, how are you supporting the new initiatives we've listed?

As you evolve your own data center model, be sure to look at the entire list to see where you can adopt a new technology and create a new competitive advantage.

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The Top 5 IT Strategies for the Data Center for 2018

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In the latest AFCOM State of the Data Center Industry study, we found that data center leaders really have their heads in some interesting places. Beyond cooling, power consumption, rack density, and even edge computing, it's pretty amazing to see where decision makers are investing.

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A good power and cooling strategy is no longer enough to maximize efficiency in today's modern data center. Indeed, a future in which all devices and networks are connected requires data center design elements that can evolve with the Internet of Everything and the related demands of hyper-connectivity. Maximum efficiency can be achieved by considering the following key elements when designing a data center: performance, time, space, experience and sustainability.

Performance

When companies began adopting high density configurations, virtualization and other methods to boost the capacity of existing IT equipment, they disregarded the need for a robust data center infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted business-critical applications. Infrastructure can have a direct impact on network performance. To maximize network performance three parts of the infrastructure must be considered: the structured cabling, racks and cabinets, and cable management.

Select a cabling solution with co-engineered cable and connectivity to maximize channel performance. Look for flexible and scalable rack and cabinet solutions that can accommodate higher weight thresholds, and have adjustable rails and wider vertical managers, along with integrated cable and airflow management options for better cable support, protection and airflow. The physical solution should support both copper and fiber media. Also, work with a manufacturer that is current with standards. They usually take two to three years to develop, so these manufacturers will be aware of the upcoming requirements of new technology long before a standard is published.

Time

Data centers are growing in size and complexity but require fast deployment times. They must be able to adapt quickly and easily to support changing business requirements. Select infrastructure solutions that optimize time, result in faster deployments, reduced cost, and allow for easier moves, adds and changes.

Ninety percent of active equipment will be replaced in five years or less. The infrastructure must be able to support heavier equipment, increasing port and cable densities, and cable media changes (i.e. replacing copper with fiber). At the same time, the infrastructure must be able to support common topologies like ToR (top of rack), MoR (middle of row) and EoR (end of row) along with new architectures like leaf-spine and other mesh configurations. A modular solution provides the foundation for a flexible and scalable building infrastructure. It combines the advantages of standardization with those of customization.

Modular solutions should offer the following time-savings attributes:

Modular racks and cabinets that assemble quickly, have adjustable rails, higher weight thresholds, and taller heights to easily accommodate new equipment.

Modular options for optimizing airflow management in a rack or cabinet and efficient cooling solutions (>5kW density).

Cable management that is easy to install, change and available where needed; in the front or back of the rack/cabine.t

Wide vertical cable managers that support changing cabling needs, minimizing obstruction from the cables to support better airflow and can be installed at the end when dressing cable making equipment and cable installation easier.

Integrated pathways with rack/cabinet.

Pre-terminated solutions that allow for quick installation, easy moves, adds and changes, and easier migration to newer technologies.

A modular solution designed so that all components work together optimizes installation and deployment time and will support future network changes, computing power and technology upgrades in order to facilitate growth without major disruptions.

Space

In the past, the ability to adapt to future demands was accomplished by oversizing the infrastructure system and letting the data center grow into its infrastructure over time. This is neither capital or energy efficient. Infrastructure systems must be designed for greater flexibility and scalability allowing for the right-sizing of a data center.

Because space is a premium in the data center, the infrastructure system should be built for optimization. One best practices suggests adopting the rack as the basic building block for data center density.

To optimize space in the data center consider the following:

Use the rack or cabinet as your basic building block.

Select racks and cabinets with higher weight limits, sufficient depth and heights that support growing vertically.

Select cable management that can support existing cable density, provide ample room to grow, mitigates airflow restriction caused by cable; and is designed to support both copper and fiber.

Select connectivity that supports high density and mixed media.

Use cable with smaller OD.

Consider patching outside the rack and cabinet (e.g. overhead) to conserve space for equipment.

Select a rack or cabinet solution that easily integrates with overhead pathways.

Experience

The quality of the data center build experience can be enhanced by selecting the right partner. The growing trend in data centers today is to outsource more. During the design phase, the designer must provide guaranteed performance while providing flexibility and scalability for tomorrow's needs. In general, their solutions should be modular to meet specific needs or special requirements for additional customization. It is critical that the product and the solution work together seamlessly. During the installation phase, the solution must be easy to install, quick to deploy and easy to manage. It is also important to have a contractor with a history of quality installations. Logistics must be coordinated to guarantee delivery of what is needed when it is needed. Projects may also be global, which is another reason why it is important to consider with whom you will work.

You should consider manufacturers that can provide resources to help coordinate the project through the entire design phase. The solution may become the standard for other locations creating additional coordination with local support. The manufacturer should have expertise with all components of the solution - new cooling technologies like close-coupled cooling, power, connectivity, cabling, physical infrastructure, cable management, and pathways - to guarantee that all pieces work seamlessly together. This expertise should be utilized to extend the equipment life, reduce cost and address the unique challenges in data centers, accomplished through one point of contact from the manufacturer.

Sustainability

Sustainability can mean many different things. Often it is associated with improving processes to avoid using up or totally destroying natural resources. The perceived importance of sustainability varies, but it is growing. Even if it is not a high priority for an organization today, working with a sustainable manufacturer doesn't cost more; and there are many benefits.

Sustainable manufacturers develop solutions that reduce the impact on the environment. This translates into designs that offer choice and flexibility in space design, reduce installation time, and reduce material waste on site, etc. They should ensure optimal energy efficiency and performance.

Not all sustainability claims are equal. Look for products that are RoHS compliant and solutions that minimize the impact on the environment through efficiencies, energy, packaging, etc. A manufacturer that has ISO 14001 certification means that it is actively working to reduce the environmental impact of their processes, products and services.

Conclusion

Data centers deliver critical services for business. Trying to maximize efficiency in a data center design focused only on power and cooling strategies is short-sighted. There are other efficiencies that will enhance the data center's ability to cost effectively adapt to business strategy changes and increased computing demand. A data center solution should be designed with five key goals: guaranteed performance, time efficiency, space optimization, resource utilization and sustainability. This will help attain complete efficiency in the data center design.
I ndustry Perspectives is a content channel at Data Center Knowledge highlighting thought leadership in the data center arena. See our guidelines and submission process for information on participating. View previously published Industry Perspectives in our Knowledge Library.

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Data Center Design Best Practices: Efficiencies Beyond Power and Cooling

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A good power and cooling strategy is no longer enough to maximize efficiency in today's modern data center. A future in which all devices and networks are connected requires data center design elements that can evolve with the Internet of Everything and the related demands of hyper-connectivity.

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Sketchup Tutorial For Beginners - Part One

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Go to http://www.MasterSketchup.com to learn how to create unique 3D models using Trimble Sketchup. If you're brand new to Sketchup, or have tried it before and are thinking about giving it a second shot, this video should get you on the right track.

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A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions-especially at night. Richard had noticed that placing lamps in a field didn't deter lion attacks, but when he walked the field with a torch, the lions stayed away. From a young age, he'd been interested in electronics, teaching himself by, for example, taking apart his parents' radio. He used that experience to devise a system of lights that would turn on and off in sequence-using solar panels, a car battery, and a motorcycle indicator box-and thereby create a sense of movement that he hoped would scare off the lions. He installed the lights, and the lions stopped attacking. Soon villages elsewhere in Kenya began installing Richard's "lion lights."

A version of this article appeared in the June 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review.

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For more than 30 years, the TED conference series has presented enlightening talks that people enjoy watching. In this article, Anderson, TED's curator, shares five keys to great presentations: Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end).