Data center design and facilities
Data center design includes continuous power and cooling for IT equipment, site security and energy use. Data center facilities are specialized for a task and must operate in concert with the IT organization. New trends in data center design and construction include modular and containerized builds, as well as DCIM to track energy use.
Top Stories
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Tip
11 Jun 2026
Scaling AI data center cooling for high-density servers
As workloads increase, AI data centers face thermal challenges. Effective cooling strategies that combine air and liquid methods are essential for reliability and efficiency. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Jun 2026
A primer on hyperscale data centers
Hyperscale data centers can hold thousands of servers and process much more data than an enterprise facility. However, they can be difficult to build and maintain. Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2010
Data center EPO vulnerability fixed in 2011 National Electrical Code
Data centers are no longer required to put the big red kill-switch on exit doors, thanks to a committee that convinced the NFPA to revisit its data center EPO regulation. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jul 2010
Calculating carbon emissions in the data center
While data center carbon measurement is in its infancy and lacks hard standards, it still may benefit IT admins to know basic methods for calculating carbon emissions as carbon legislation begins impacting data centers. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Jun 2010
Bus track and busway power distribution: Power anywhere?
Bus track and busway power distribution in the data center is a growing trend that allows for greater flexibility and accommodation of rising power densities. This in-depth exploration of bus-type power systems will help you decide whether this is a good option for your data center power infrastructure. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jan 2010
Hot aisle / cold aisle containment in pictures
Hot aisle /cold aisle containment is fast becoming a popular way to make a data center more efficient. This slideshow demonstrates some implementations of the data center design. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Oct 2009
Sizing computer room air conditioners for data center energy efficiency
Choosing a right-sized computer room air conditioner (CRAC) is crucial to data center energy efficiency, but there are many variables to consider. Learn more about data center air conditioning design, maintaining humidity levels and temperature, and managing air flow to determine the best CRAC for your facility. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 Aug 2009
How to choose the right uninterruptible power supply for your data center
This tip discusses how to choose the right-sized uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your data center. It also explains common mistakes in UPS sizing and why UPS power ratings can be so confusing. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Aug 2009
Avoid common pitfalls when calculating data center power load
For data center pros trying to size an air conditioning system or UPS, accurately estimating data center power load is critical. But there are many common pitfalls to avoid. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Mar 2009
Air flow management strategies for efficient data center cooling
To achieve efficient data center cooling, you must reduce your facility's air flow waste. In this tip, an expert outlines air flow management strategies and best practices that can improve data center air flow, including the installation of blanking panels, raised-floor tiles and hot-aisle/cold-aisle design. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Feb 2009
Optimizing server energy efficiency
Reducing data center energy consumption is a hot topic in the IT industry, but server energy efficiency has only recently become a focus of discussion. Improving server efficiency means optimizing the main components that impact a server's overall power consumption: power supply, fans, CPU, memory, hard drives, I/O cards and ports, and supporting chipsets. Continue Reading
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News
08 Dec 2008
CRG West preps data centers for cloud computing customers
A data center services provider executive tells us about his company's approach to cloud computing. He addresses scalability, latency and cooling issues when implementing a cloud infrastructure. Continue Reading
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News
08 Dec 2008
ViaWest data centers go green, which makes dollars and cents
ViaWest has proven that building a data center with virtualized servers, careful hot/cold-aisle design, renewable wind power and scheduled thermal analysis reviews is not only fantastically green, but also cost-effective. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2008
EU launches Code of Conduct for Data Centers
The European Union has announced a strict new code for data center energy conservation in order to fight global warming. This places the EU further ahead of the US on energy conservation policy. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 Nov 2008
Improving data center cooling capacity with chilled water plants
With a chilled-water plant, you can improve your data center cooling capacity and possibly prevent more drastic measures, such as having to build a new facility. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2008
A peek at Power Loft's high-density data center
Power Loft is building a colocation facility specializing in high-density data center space, with final plans of 300 Watts per square foot, or 10 kW/rack. The company is constructing a 200,000 square foot facility in Manassas, Virginia, which is scheduled for completion in Q12009. The new facility is LEED-certified with a green roof and waterside economizers for power cost savings. Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2008
Server cabinet air velocities increasing
The velocity of air coming out the back of server cabinets in 2003 was just a few feet. In 2007, it was more than 12 feet, and Future Facilities estimates that it will be around 25 feet in five years. Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2008
Drawbacks to hot/cold aisle containment
Containing hot and cold aisles in the data center can add up to high-cost installations, not to mention retrofits. The issue of sprinkler installation is one area in which the efforts to containment can cause unexpected additional cost in order to be compliant with fire codes. Continue Reading
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News
03 Sep 2008
Creating standards for data center energy monitoring: ASHRAE and Green Grid collaborate
ASHRAE and The Green Grid recently partnered together, which will allow them to write white papers and books together and create a standard set of tools and guidelines about energy use for data center managers. Their first collaborative effort is a new book, Real-time power consumption measurements for data centers. Continue Reading
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News
28 Aug 2008
Save energy: Manage server power utilization
August 27, 2008 was "Power IT Down Day," and Hewlett-Packard, Citrix and Intel joined forces to ask PC users to install power management software to decrease power consumption of machines when idle. While the sponsors stressed PC power managment, others responded by emphasizing server power management as a much bigger issue. Data center managers are getting proactive on this front, with 33% reporting that they have installed power management software this year compared to 18% in 2007. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Jun 2008
Uninterruptible power supply load bus synchronization: Yes or no?
Should you consider paying the additional cost of a Load Bus Synchronization system for your uninterruptible power supply? Data center experts Syska Hennessy weigh in. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Jun 2008
Selecting a general contractor: Data center construction runbook, Chapter 3
When you're building a new data center, it pays to bring the general contractor onboard early, rather than bidding out the process and ending up with unqualified subcontractors on your project. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Apr 2008
Data center cooling optimization in the virtualized-server world
How many hamburgers can you cook on a blade server? If your servers are literally cooking there are a variety of systems to consider to keep your equipment cool. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Jan 2008
Do dual-power supply servers increase redundancy?
Implementing servers with dual power supplies is a common practice in mission-critical environments. But improper implementation can result in a false sense of power redundancy. This tip explains what can go wrong in your data center. Continue Reading
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Answer
08 Oct 2007
Data center cooling and humidity control: CRAC or AHU?
Data center physical environment expert Robert McFarlane discusses the best temperature and humidity control choices for a reader's data center. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 Sep 2007
Data center facility control systems
Data centers are mission-critical environments with serious consequences for failure, but many employ the same commercial-style control systems as office buildings. Contributor Steve Blaine discusses why data centers can benefit from industrial PLC/SCADA control systems. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Feb 2007
Do dual-corded servers connected to separate uninterruptible power supplies draw power from both?
Dual-corded servers are intended to share the load from UPS systems for overload protection. But do they really work? Expert Robert Macfarlane discusses dual-corded equipment and why data center managers need to be careful when shopping for them. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Jan 2007
What is the minimum ceiling height in a data center?
Assessing appropriate ceiling height in the data center can be tricky. It depends on, obviously, how much space you have to work with and factors such as your fire suppression system and cabling. Expert Robert Macfarlane offers some advice. Continue Reading
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13 Sep 2006
Data center physical security
If you want to know how to be more proactive when it comes to keeping your data center safe, this guide is for you. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 Jun 2006
NFPA 75: Raised floor fire protection
Utilizing separate suppression 'zones' for both above floor and sub-floor spaces is a common practice in areas where the subfloor contains a significant hazard/fuel load. Continue Reading
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Answer
18 Jul 2005
Data center raised floors and ceiling height
In this question, Bob McFarlane explains the benefits and drawbacks to different data center designs pertaining to cooling and airflow. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jan 2005
Cooler Nocona processors to power IBM blade servers
IBM plans to start powering blade servers with low voltage Nocona processors. Chips with the Nocona core consume about 55 watts, little more than half of the 103 watts consumed by the regular Xeon. Continue Reading