Data Center Design – Architecture and Renovations

Data Center Design – Architecture and Renovations

by | Jun 19, 2018 | Architectural Planning, Architecture, Blog, Cloud Computing, colocation, Colocation Data Center, Data Center Design, Data Hall, Interiors, Planning, Uncategorized

Renovation of Data Center buildings

Since, 2004, or the past 15 years, Serbin Studio has been re-designing Data center buildings in Arizona.   As computer storage and computing continues to grow due to new technologies, buildings are requiring more data storage.  Since 2004, data hungry companies have been adding to the required storage on the web, such as Facebook (2004), Netflix (1997), Wikipedia (2001),  Amazon Cloud Computing (2005), Apple / Iphone (2007), Black Friday web (2005), Youtube (2005) etc.  During the life of these buildings within existing colocation (cloud) facilities,  tenants move in and out of leases.  This creates opportunities for data centers to refresh and update their systems to meet current demands and upgrade to new equipment for better efficiency.  Prem Data Centers also need to be refreshed or expanded to meet current and future needs as companies grow or change.

Colocation Data Center or Cloud computing – “Multi-tenant environment that is contained within a building outside of a company’s facility.  It can house all the companies data or be a backup facility for disaster recovery.  The data hall environment can be maintained by the tenant (triple net lease) or all operation of the systems (ie. power distribution, mechanical cooling etc.) can be maintained by the Colocation Facility.  Cloud computing allows a company to minimize infrastructure of onsite while having a backup to their data in a maintained secure environment”

On Prem Data Center – “Refers to private data centers that companies house in their own facilities and maintain themselves.  Benefit to onsite is ultra controlled environment with minimal latency.  It is measured in Mbps or Megabytes per seconds.“

Latency – Delay of transfer of a packet of data from one designated point to another.    This can be affected by number of router hops.  Since data centers can be physically located anywhere in the world, a customer may want to consider the geographic location of their data to minimize delays.

In Colocation facilities, when tenants move in/out, the new tenants needs are unique and the Data Halls are updated internally.  Improvements to Data Center facilities don’t just stop at at the Data Hall.   Common meeting spaces such as Lobby’s, customer lounges, conference rooms, common hallways, restrooms etc. need refresh as well. Exterior of buildings also require updates to be competitive with new facilities.

Raw space within Data Center building prior to remodel

Raw space within Data Center building prior to remodel

Data Hall remodel prior to Colocation tenants moving into space

Data Hall remodel prior to Colocation tenants moving into space

 

Data Center restroom prior to remodel. Circa 1980's design

Data Center restroom prior to remodel. Circa 1980’s design

Restroom remodel in progress prior to completion. Terrazzo flooring, ceramic tile full height walls, solid surface counter with undermount sink etc.

Restroom remodel in progress prior to completion. Terrazzo flooring, ceramic tile full height walls, solid surface counter with undermount sink etc.

 

Installation of new mechanical systems can upgrade the cooling capacity of the Data Hall.  New power distribution systems and lighting systems can provide additional power and improve building efficiency.

Two types of Architects are required for a successful Data Hall environment.

Data Center Network Architect – “Design and support in the network planning, network architecture design, hardware and software, transmission and signaling links and protocols for a complete computer network.  They evaluate new products and perform network problem resolution.  Develop technical standards …… etc.”

and

Data Center Building Architect – “Design of building systems to support the Data Hall environment including a safe and secure invironment with adequate power and cooling required within the space to support server equipment.   Buildings are designed to structurally support the equipment as electrical equipment can be quite heavy.  Architects specialize in the design of support spaces (ie. lobby, offices, conference rooms, restrooms, customer lounge etc.) to provide a comfortable working environment.”

Serbin Studio specilizes in Data Center Building Architecture.  We have put together a highly experience team of architect, Mechanical, plumbing , Electrical Engineer and structural engineers and other necessary design support to ensure quality, efficient and timely designs.   Projects can be design-bid-build and design-build.   The design team can handle all aspects of renovations to existing Data Center facilities and New builds.  From small power upgrades to a rack, building cooling upgrades, Common space remodels, to conceptual space planning, our team is ready to handle any task.  Since 2004, we have facilitated over 300+ projects ranging from several thousand dollar upgrades to multi million dollar upgrades to existing facilities.

 

 

Data Center Architectural Firm in Arizona

Data Center Architectural Firm in Arizona

by | Apr 25, 2018 | Architecture, Blog, colocation, Colocation Data Center, Data Center Design, Data Center Design firms, Data Hall, Interiors, phoenix architects, Uncategorized

Data center’s are used to house computers which store information.

The information is stored away for ongoing importing and exporting of information, long term safekeeping and storage for future retrieval. Because the majority of this information is “for your eyes only”, the environment has to be secure from others and available to you whenever you desire it.

The information stored varies from personal to business.  Banks store financial information, companies store information relating to their business, Facebook has your photos and posts, Twitter holds on to your tweets, Amazon stores your past orders, Apple Icloud stores your photos, your online retailer stores your credit card numbers, your kids snapchat floats in the cloud, this post is stored there etc.

Most people don’t realize where this information really goes or where it is stored.  The term ‘cloud’ makes you look up in the sky, like a scene from Avatar, but it is all rooted firmly on the ground in Data Centers.

A Data Center therefore must be a highly secure environment which allows for oneself to access that information on a moments notice.  For the most part, it is instantaneous.  There are two main scenarios.  (1) A company can build and operate their own data center or (2) rent space, called a colocation Data Center.  Colocations Data Centers manage the facility, similar to renting space within an office building.   The rental of space may be as small as one computer server, a rack which may store a dozen computers, a cage of any size storing 100’s of computers or a room storing thousands of computers.  The top 4 Wholesale colocation Data Center providers as recognized by Data Center Knowledge are

  1.  Digital Realty
  2. Global Switch
  3. CyrusOne
  4. China Telecom

The typical data center is comprised of a large room anywhere from a few thousand feet upwards to 40,000 s.f.  The room is supported by a large electrical and mechanical  infrastructure to maintain power to the computer servers while keeping them at a desired temperature.   Computers use energy which give off a lot of heat.  This heat if not removed will build up in a room which eventually will shut down the servers.

The power consumption within a Data Center is  similar to how one uses power within our homes.  At times, you have peak power when everyone is at home, turning on lights, cooking something in the oven, running our A/C to keep ourselves cool while watching television show.  At other times, your power consumption is low, when your not home or asleep at night.  Power companies need to supply enough power to handle the peak times a Data Center has when its servers are in heavy demand or else outages occur and clients are not happy.  Therefore, data centers are similarly designed to handle higher than expected use so they can ensure that any demand is met.   Data Centers use approximately 4% of the energy consumption within the U.S.

The quantity of Data Center is surprising.  There are 40+ colocation Data Centers within Arizona and 100’s of privately run Data Centers.

Serbin Studio has been specializing in Data Center Design since 2004.  The data center building is usually inconspicuous, not one to stand out and draw attention to.  They have a level of secrecy so they can float under the radar.  Most projects require the designers to sign a Non-disclosure agreement so the secrecy of the design methods are not shared with the competitors.
Within that 14 year period, we have worked on over 300 data center projects relating to conceptual designs, data center renovations, commercial office renovations, elevator renovations, exterior facades etc.

Our most recent projects  in 2018 which I have sworn to secrecy include:

  1. Master planning for a new facility
  2. Exterior renovations to enhance an existing facilities tired facade
  3. Lobby, Customer lounge, restroom, offices and conference room renovations to enhance the customer experience
  4. Power upgrades to an existing facility