D ATA CENTRE
Simulation Software for Data Centre Design and Management Large as Life By Alexandra Bannerman, Technical Marketing Engineer, Future Facilities Ltd. The right kind of
simulation software can take the guesswork out of data centre design and management and vastly improve operations.
Despite the data centre industry’s best efforts, we still read about the facilities of huge, global corporations suffering from thermally induced outages, networking problems, and power failures, bringing downtime that often results in major financial loss and a large dent in customer confidence. This isn’t often down to carelessness; in fact a huge amount of resource is usually allocated to the design and maintenance of these facilities. The simple fact is that the task of running a successful data centre is an extremely complex one, and the data centre manager is required to juggle a huge number of continually changing factors, all of which have a major impact on the workings of the facility. Although this is a recognised,
long-standing issue with a multitude of promised ‘quick fixes’ from various gadgets and tricks, data centre success is still no sure thing for the majority of operators. In a multi-billion dollar industry that supports many others, and is integral to our modern day lives, one would hope that there is a better way to cope.
Simulation within data centre design,
operation and management phases holds the key to vastly improved data centre health. Simulation software can allow for the creation of detailed, scientifically accurate and responsive 3D virtual representations of facilities in past, present or future states. This gives operators a tool to test, analyse and therefore optimise their data centres. Such simulations can contain detail
from room level right down to individual servers. A dedicated electronics module can take the simulation even further - right down to chip level - providing solutions for electronics designers who wish to design and prototype components and detailed equipment internals. Infrastructure, detailed vendor specific cabinets and equipment, networking, power, weight, real assets and live data can all be included in the virtual model, effectively allowing any relevant party to investigate the details of their facility without even having to step inside it. This remote method of dealing with a data centre provides a facility with an immediate
and highly beneficial level of protection; any design or operational changes can be tested first in simulation, before implementation in real life. Cisco Systems is one of the
organisations which has employed simulation tools to improve and gain a better understanding of their data centres. Cisco now saves approximately $200,000 anually having used simulation software to model and analyse one of their data centres. Cisco sought solutions to improve airflow management and reduce the amount of energy and money used to cool their facility. Their simulation model allowed identification of undesirable airflow behaviour, the biggest culprit being air recirculation within cabinets - hot air from equipment exhausts which makes its way back into server inlets rather than out of the cabinet and to air conditioning units. By simulating and analysing possible improvements, Cisco was able to develop an improved floor grille configuration and rearrange cabinet blanking panels to negate cooling inefficiencies. As a result, it
Data centre, rack, server and chip level simulations. 48 NETCOMMS Volume I, Issue 4 2011
www.netcommseurope.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60