Friday, December 21, 2012

Season's Greetings

With the festive season approaching, Strategic Media Asia, SMA would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2013!


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Green Data Center Engineers Certification Program

 

 
In the 2011-12 Policy Address and the 2012-13 Budget, the Government will thoroughly support the conversion of industrial buildings into data centers and the accommodation of data centers in Tseung Kwan O which attract capital investment from global institutions. SOE, a chartered institute for operations engineers, who expertizes in mission critical facility / services, supports the policy and launches a professional training program to the Data Centre and ICT Industries in Hong Kong.
 
The certified program provides a technical knowledge and “green theory” for engineers who are involved in creating sustainable and energy efficient data centre (E&M) / plants or exploiting the role of telecommunication in helping deliver green operation and business practices to other areas of organization such as Tendering & Procurement. It also introduces other efficiency metrics and international standards such as PUE/DCiE (The Green Grid Energy Measuring Tools), Carbon Footprint, TPL accounting, end-to-end life cycle cost, TCO, etc.
 
 
Program Outline
 
(1)       Introduction of Green Data Centre
(2)       Concepts and trends of Green Data Centre
(3)       SWOT analysis of Green Data Centre
(4)       Green elements and Risk Analysis of Green Data Centre
(5)       Green Implementation Plan
(6)       Building an effective Green Data Centre team
(7)       Evaluation life cycle cost for Green Data Centre
 
 
Venue: 
Society of Operations Engineers - Hong Kong Region
Unit 2, 3/F, Winsum Industrial Centre,
588-592, Castle Peak Road, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
 
Date: 
15, 19, 22, 26, 29 November
and 3, 6 December 2012 (Every Monday and Thursday)
 
Time:
07:00 pm – 10:00 pm
 
 
Certification: 
A certificate of "Green Data Centre Engineers" will be awarded for those participants who completed the course assessment OR CPD certificate will be issued to students with attendance over 70%.
 
 
Enquiry:
Please contact Ms. Connie Mui at 3188 0062 or email: connie@soe.org.hk or visit http://www.soe.org.hk/pdf/15112012/15112012.pdf for moreinformation.
 
 
 

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Data Center Site Tour / Technical Visit

Data Center Site Tour / Technical Visit
Data Center Site Tour
Sponsored by KDDI Hong Kong Limited (www.kddi.com.hk)

Overview

Strategic Media Asia (SMA) is pleased to announce that a Data Center Site Tour, organized by KDDI Hong Kong Limited (KDDI), will serve for individuals who successfully attend the training seminars in Data Center Facilities and HVAC Design.

Per normal practices, site tour only reserves for data center its own customers and will not open to the public. Therefore, it is definitely a rare chance for the selected participants from our Training Seminars to visit a world-class Tier 3+ purpose-built data center facility in Hong Kong.

For whoever who are interested in data center business and cooperation, SMA and KDDI will provide extra support to those companies in order to maintain the customers' satisfaction.




KDDI Hong Kong Limited

KDDI Corporation is a Fortune Global 500 companies and Top 10 Telecom Company in the World as of 2012.

Subsidiary company, KDDI Hong Kong was established in Hong Kong in 1988 and has over 20 years of experience in providing the One Stop Information Communications Technology (ICT) Solution to enterprises in Hong Kong such as providing Data Center Services, Content Delivery Acceleration (CDN), end-to-end Global Network, quality ICT Solutions and System Integration.

Through collaborative partnerships, KDDI has built up with telecommunications companies around the world in order to provide both a wide service area with high service quality. KDDI's backbone is a high-capacity fiber network that weaves the world together and its TELEHOUSE, which is an established global data center brand over the world.


For detail, please visit: www.kddi.com.hk





Telehouse Hong Kong CCC

TELEHOUSE HONG KONG CCC is one of the largest and most technologically advanced carrier neutral data center facilities in Hong Kong and in the Asia Pacific Region.

Telehouse Hong Kong CCC is a Tier 3+ purpose-built data center facility is strategically located in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong where around 19 km from the Central Business District and approximately 30 minutes from the Hong Kong International Airport. With virtually no risk of natural disasters in the vicinity, TELEHOUSE HONG KONG CCC is ideal for securing mission-critical business systems.

TELEHOUSE HONG KONG CCC service provides multinational corporations and local businesses in Hong Kong with neutral, secure and power-protected co-location facilities. It offers full end-to-end ICT Solutions from design to implementation such as IP connectivity, system integration, LAN and software installation, system monitoring and virtual servers as well as premium data centers.


For detail, please visit: www.telehouseglobal.com


Site Tour Details

Date 12 October 2012 (Full, next round will be arranged in Nov / Dec 2012)
Time 1:45pm - 5:00pm
Meeting Point Exit D, Kowloon Tong MTR Station (To Fuk Road, Transportation is provided)
Target Audience Data Center Operators, Consultants, Facilities Managers, E&M Engineers, Government / Corporates' IT Management, etc.
Fee Waived and Exclusive for Participants of Training Seminars
Enrollment Registration can be made during the training seminars or sent to info@stmedia-asia.com for reservation by 7 days before the Site Tour held
Remark Business Card and HKID Card (or Passport) are required for the on-site registration
Should you have any enquiry, please feel free to contact (852) 3796 3026 / info@stmedia-asia.com. Kindly visit our website (www.stmedia-asia.com) for further information.

General Guideline

- All visitors must submit full name (same as HKID) and working company to SMA for pre-registration
- All visitors must present their HKID and name card for on-site registration
- KDDI's representatives will conduct brief introduction and Q&A section before and after the Site Tour
- KDDI and SMA reserve the right to refuse any unexpected registration for the Site Tour
- In case of disputes, the ultimate decision will be reserved by KDDI and SMA

Courtesy Reminders :

- All visitors must wear and present their visitor passes during the Site Tour
- All visitors must return the visitor passes to the Reception Desk after the Site Tour
- Tour guides will accompany with all visitors during the Site Tour
- Smoking is prohibited
- Food and drinks are prohibited, except for designated dining area
- Photo taking and video recording are prohibited


© 2012 Strategic Media Asia Limited - Where IT, Facilities and Design Meet
T (852) 3796 3026 | F (852) 2184 9978 | www.stmedia-asia.com
Rm 1303, Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Energy Efficiency Certifications in Data Center

Striving for energy efficiency in your data center is not only a great way to reduce operating expenses and reduce the environmental impact of the facility, but it is a way to garner PR points as well. Energy efficiency certifications are a way to provide independent verification of your efforts, and although they can be “gamed,” they still provide some metric for a more objective evaluation of data centers.


 


What Your Certification Means

Whether you’ve earned an Energy Star, LEED, or some other certification, all you really have is an independent statement that your data center was at one time up to par according to a set of standards.

The very next day after receiving the certification—as far as anyone else knows—your facility may well have thrown all the energy efficiency measures out the window. Of course, when it comes to energy efficiency, that would make little business sense: lower energy consumption means lower operating costs. Furthermore, implementing energy-efficient practices often requires supporting infrastructure with its own capital costs, and not employing that infrastructure wastes the opportunity to recoup costs and even gain a return on the investment.


The following are several tips to consider for maintaining your certification.

  • Don’t make the certification your main goal.
  • Work toward the best efficiency you can achieve, not just the bare minimum for certification.
  • Keep track of changes in the certification standards.
  • Recertify as often as is practical.
  • Make energy efficiency an ongoing project, not just a task for the couple months before recertification time.
  • Stay informed about new energy efficiency technologies—and choose wisely among them.
  • Budget for energy efficiency.
  • Be honest about the meaning of certifications.

Adopted from http://www.datacenterjournal.com


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Moving Away from Data Center Raised Floor - Benefits of Overhead Cabling

Low-Voltage Cabling Distribution

Interconnecting the various IT resources in a data center requires large amounts of cabling (whether fiber, copper or a combination of the two). Perhaps you have seen mess of wires and cables that can quickly build behind your desk, especially if you have a number of connected gadgets; the situation in the data center can be much worse if not carefully controlled. Finding a good place for cabling that permits good airflow, accessibility for maintenance and expansion, and safety (for personnel and equipment) is critical.





Benefits of Overhead Cabling

From an energy efficiency standpoint, overhead cabling eliminates one major source of airflow obstruction, helping reduce the likelihood of hot spots. According to an APC by Schneider Electric white paper (“How Overhead Cabling Saves Energy in Data Centers”), “The decision to place network data and power cabling into overhead cable trays can lower cooling fan and pump power consumption by 24%.”

But another major benefit is accessibility. Instead of being under the floor—and possibly all but inaccessible owing to the arrangement of equipment above the floor or the hassles of lifting floor tiles—overhead cabling can be entirely accessible, easing the process of maintaining existing cables or adding new ones. A TechTarget.com article (“Using overhead cables to tidy your data center: Ask the Expert podcast”) cites Robert McFarlane, a principal at consulting and technology design firm Shen Milsom and Wilke, as identifying another tremendous advantage: “avoiding the need to comply with article 645 of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and the dangerous Emergency Power Off (EPO) button that article requires.” The EPO button is a perennial source of headaches for data center operators: it has been mistaken for a variety of purposes, including a door opener, to the catastrophic detriment of data center uptime. Of course, McFarlane is referring to the use of overhead cabling for power cables in this context. But it is worth noting that the overhead cabling concept can also apply to power cables, delivering the same airflow and maintenance benefits on the facilities side as it does on the IT side.

Thus, if implemented properly, overhead cabling can improve both data center efficiency and uptime — a dual win. But the key is doing so in a way that avoids some common pitfalls.
 
 
 

Friday, August 10, 2012

Cloud Computing and Data Center Facilities Design

During the early days of data center design and management, facilities teams were able to run their own environments with only minimal interaction with other IT teams. Over the past few years, however, the sitution has been changed.


Impacts of Cloud


The effects of the cloud take numerous forms. When it comes to data center design and management, cloud computing can be a truly powerful tool. Consider the following:

  • Datacenter consolidation. With advancements in virtualization, IT facilities managers can now reduce the amount of physical data center resources that are directly in use. This means fewer servers and better resource utilization. This reduction in data center space can result in more intelligent computing and better cost management.

  • Monitoring and management. As a direct result of cloud computing, new monitoring and management tools have made the modern data center easier to control. Monitoring features are able to look at metrics such as workload balancing, server environmental statistics and even check for alerts and alarms. Working in a distributed environment settings has created the direct need for better management software. Facilities managers should take this into consideration and see how cloud-ready tools can help their environment.

  • Reconsidering HVAC. With a reduction in the physical footprint as a result of cloud computing and virtualization, facilities administrators are able to create a more efficient environment with better cooling and management practices. With cloud computing, there will be new requirements as far as how much environmental control will be required. This can be either a positive or negative, depending on the cloud approach. If a private cloud is being built onsite with new, integrated architecture, there may actually be a need for more cooling requirements, even if the footprint is less. On the other hand, offloading a cloud platform to a public provider can result in less cooling and power needs.

  • Disaster Recovery. A big benefit of cloud computing is the ability to replicate an entire data center to a remote facility (or numerous remote facilities). The other major consideration is the fact that these cloud-based DR data centers can be provisioned on demand with a pay-as-you-go model. This means facilities administrators won’t have to worry about their remote infrastructure until the time comes for a DR event. Of course, testing and constant monitoring of the secondary environment is always key.

  • On-demand computing. Instead of having systems being in a state of always on – facilities and IT teams can coordinate to ensure that a portion of that infrastructure is cloud-ready and provisioned only on demand. This means fewer data center components and less idle machines. More environments are looking to cloud providers to help them offload certain types of workloads and better their physical data center efficiencies.

  • Data management and warehousing. The conversation around “big data” is growing. More environments are seeking answers and solutions to how they can better manage their ever expanding database needs. Many times this means adding more shelves to a SAN and storing yet more data onsite. With cloud computing, facilities managers can leverage outside, WAN-based resources, to host some of their data needs. This means possible offloading or archiving massive amounts of data for quick retrieval, but making it all cloud-based.

  • Decentralizing the data center. Resiliency, redundancy and efficiency are always at the top of any facilities person’s list. A part of that process is to reduce single points of failure within a data center as well as making data more quickly to the end-user. With cloud computing, facilities can extend their environment and utilize more resources on-demand. This decentralized methodology can help offload hardware from an existing data center, create a more redundant system, and ensure that data can be placed closer to the end-user.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Data Center Raised Floor and Cooling System

Data Center Executives are addressing the cooling infrastructure demands with a full line of airflow management and in-floor cooling solutions. The continued adoption of high density equipment, virtualization and cloud computing strategies requires the cooling infrastructure of a data center to be capable of adapting to high and often variable heat loads while offering superior energy efficiency.

There are line of in-floor cooling products for raised floor data centers can nearly eliminate by-pass air and save significant energy. Using directional airflow and variable-air-volume dampers, the data center can instantly react to any variation in utilization to match cooling with the heat load at the rack level. Some data center also provide fan assisted airflow to eliminate hot spots or implement high-density equipment in a current raised floor facilities without significant capital investment.

In addition, a full line of containment systems and air sealing grommets is designed to help reduce by-pass airflow, improve energy efficiency and increase data center capacity. More information can be found below.




Electronically controlled variable air volume damper used to adjusts the amount of air to meet the specific needs of the rack it services.




Fan assist module is designed to provide a blast of cooling through an individual airflow panel. This powerful solution is ideal for solving the toughest hot spots in a data center.




Grate panels the airflow angle toward the equipment achieving a 93% Total Air Capture (TAC) rate by a standard server rack.




Full line panels have the unmatched ability to handle heat density needs of the most demanding mission critical facilities.




Blade damper allows the user infinite airflow adjustability when it comes to airflow from any airflow panel.




Seal a variety of openings in the aisle, blocking bypass airflow and maximizing cooling performance.






The rack shield isolation system is designed to capture subfloor supply and dedicate it to the computer thermal load, thereby ensuring that cold supply air will not spill across the raised floor.




Hot and cold aisle containment, Partition, Strip Doors, Retracting Roofs, Hinged and Sliding Doors all work together to create the perfect containment solution.





The CRAC Hood Extension is a ceiling return duct that connects the top of the CRAC unit directly to a ceiling return plenum greatly increasing cooling capacity and efficiency by capturing hot exhaust air and channeling it directly into the CRAC unit.




Monday, July 23, 2012

Key Areas to Examine for Data Center Efficiency

Are you struggling on where to start your energy efficiency efforts? Look to these four key areas for improvements.

  • Cooling: Typically the lowest hanging fruit.
  • Water: Don’t overlook the use of water, due to its scarcity in certain areas. Water is related to energy as well.
  • Electrical Design: Recent engineering innovations offer new efficient options.
  • Incentives: Help offset improvement or development costs of energy efficiency.



Measuring Efficiency


Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is the most popular industry metric for measuring the energy efficiency of data centers. Today, there appears to be an arms race for the lowest PUE. Even if you aren’t one of the select few with the operational flexibility to participate, you can measure your PUE and work to improve efficiency relative to your own data center site. The industry group, The Green Grid, has many resources available on PUE.

You may also consider to take some data center training / certification - Energy and Cost Management for Data Center.


Green Cooling Techniques


ASHRAE’s latest version of TC 9.9 drastically expanded the recommended and allowable temperature and humidity ranges with the approval of the major server manufacturers. It is estimated that an energy savings of 2-4% can be realized for each degree Celsius the temperature is raised in a data center. It seems raising the temperature is low hanging fruit, but I have seen very few do it to date.

Another undisputed, easy and inexpensive energy saver is hot or cold aisle containment. Preventing the mixing of cold and hot air results in a higher return air temperature that yields an increased efficiency of the cooling system. Many systems exist ranging from hard containment systems to simple refrigerator curtains that you might see in a meat locker. Have a limited budget? Hot or cold aisle containment provides a compelling financial argument for adoption.

Free cooling is now a critical consideration–with either air-side or water-side economization. The new temperature and humidity ranges offered by TC 9.9 make free cooling feasible for a large part of the year in any location, and when designing a new data center or expanding an existing facility.
Liquid cooling has been talked about a great deal of late, with liquids being far more efficient at expelling heat than air. The approach requires some modification of the server so that it can be submerged in the liquid, but studies have shown positive results.

Evaporative cooling is another energy efficient technique, especially applicable in dry climates. However, evaporative cooling often sparks a debate over the use of additional water, especially in water-constrained areas.





Water Efficiency


Water is a topic that is gaining increased attention and will continue to do so in the future. I once heard a “futurist” say that “water is the new oil.” In evaluating evaporative and other cooling techniques, many (myself included) have made the mistake of evaluating only the amount of water used in the respective cooling systems.

In order to determine the complete hydro-footprint of a system, you must also look at energy usage and how much water is used in the production of that energy. The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) published a study that analyzed how much water is used in the production of power per kilowatt-hour on a state-by-state basis. While not perfect, it provides a basis for analysis from an authoritative source. After taking the amount of water used in the production of energy into account in a particular geography, evaporative cooling can have a smaller hydro-footprint (use less total water) than a chilled water system due to the amount of energy saved.

There have been a few projects of late that use either sea water or ground water for cooling, which is very efficient as it effectively eliminates the need for much of the cooling equipment. A site in central Nebraska is pursuing this tactic by using irrigation wells with a volume of 1,000 GPM at 52⁰F as the source of groundwater for cooling and re-injecting the water back into the aquifer. This is not only very energy efficient, but uses little to no water for cooling, saving on both capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX) through the elimination of much of the cooling equipment. The net impact addresses both the energy and water efficiency of the equation for a very energy efficient, and therefore sustainable, cooling solution.


Highly Efficient Electrical Solutions


Major efficiency gains have been made in recent years in electrical equipment that can improve your data centers’ PUE. There are multiple manufacturers of UPS’ that are reaching efficiencies of 96-98 percent at less than 50 percent load. This is important if you utilize A and B feeds to your equipment for redundancy.

Another trend is for the UPS to operate in a by-pass mode, which eliminates the losses through the batteries. Many are not yet comfortable with this mode of operation, but it is another efficiency gain to consider in optimizing performance. Higher voltage and DC power are also evolving trends that provide efficiency gains that bear mentioning.


 


Energy Efficiency Incentives and Rebates


Whether designing a new, energy efficient data center or upgrading your existing facility, there are many incentives available to help defray the cost and improve your ROI.

Power companies are commonly providing incentives based upon your performance compared to a baseline building or a baseline piece of equipment. Plan to include the power company as early in the design phase as possible, to maximize the financial benefits. Some require approval of the incentive prior ordering the equipment.


Additional Considerations


There are additional considerations beyond those mentioned above in optimizing your mission critical facility’s efficiency.
  • System modularity is an accepted practice that affects efficiency. Implementing modular and rapidly expandable designs in lieu of installing full density on day one typically results in higher efficiency through higher equipment utilization. This saves on CAPEX and OPEX, making for a smart business decision.
  • Cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP), has gained in popularity and can be as high as 60-80% efficient compared to the typical 30% efficiency of normal power plants.
  • Peak power shaving can also be achieved through thermal storage. This is done by creating ice at night when power rates are lower and utilizing the ice for cooling during the day.

Measure, Improve, Monitor and Repeat


Regardless of the selected energy efficiency measures in your new or existing data center, make sure you measure your initial or existing condition so you have a baseline. After your improvements are made, measure again to determine your new condition and your ROI. In the case of a new data center, perform a total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis to guide your decisions. You should continue to monitor your efficiency and make improvements to improve your PUE relative to your initial condition. As a reminder, measuring your outcomes against those in the industry under different operating conditions may not provide an apples-to-apples comparison.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Design & Operate a Data Center for Energy Efficiency

EU Code of Conduct for Data Center Energy Efficiency
2-day Training Seminar on EU Code of Conduct for Data Center Energy Efficiency (2012)
The Best Practices for Designing an Energy Efficient Data Center

Overview

In response to the rising challenges facing data centre operators, owners, systems designers, equipment manufacturers and customers, the European Commission have introduced the Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres. The Code aims to raise awareness of the issues and opportunities and to recommend best practice solutions. We introduces the Code, the benefits it brings, the levels of commitment required, the technical background to the best practices, data collection and reporting together with real examples.

This 2-day training seminar enables individuals working in data centres to improve cost and energy efficiency. The ongoing development of the Code encompasses topics associated with new data centre planning, design and development, and the tuning and operation of existing facilities.
All sections are conducted by Chartered Engineers (CEng) and help you to approach best practices in designing and operating energy efficient data centers by our further technical programs.

Registration Detail

Date To Be Announced (2-day)
Time 10:00am - 5:30pm
Venue 10th Floor,Central Building, 1 - 3 Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong
Target Audience CIO, CTO, IT Directors, Data Center Operations / Facilities Managers, Data Center / ICT Consultants and E&M Engineers
Fee Normal Rate: HK$6,500 (Early Bird Rate: 10% Discount)
(Two refreshment breaks will be provided.)
Enrollment Online Registration or Download Application Form
Exam and
Certification
All content cover an accredited syllabus necessary to sit the British Computer Society (BCS) "Intermediate Certificate in EU Code of Conduct for Data Center" exam through Prometric (www.prometric.com). However, taking the course does not offer a guarantee of passing. Extra examination fee required.

Individual CPD / completion certificate can be granted by our experienced Chartered Engineers (Available upon request).
Should you have any enquiry, please feel free to contact us at 3796 3026 / info@stmedia-asia.com

 

Day 1 Content


- Define, identify and list data center best practice sections
- Power distribution in data center - the power tree
- Optimizing the data centre requirements
- Area of responsibilities (physical building, mechanical & electrical plant, data floor, racks, etc.)
- Efficient cooling 1 (hot / cold aisle containment, raised floor, ceiling height, airflow control, etc.)
- Efficient cooling 2 (CRAC settings, arrangement of cable trays, cabinets and cooling plants, etc.)
- Efficient cooling 3 (air free cooling, water free cooling, mechanism of absorption chiller, etc.)
- Interactions and interdependencies of various systems
- Standby UPS
- Standby ferro UPS
- Line interactive UPS
- Double conversion on-line UPS
- Delta conversion on-line UPS
- Temperature and humidity control
- Factors affecting data center energy consumption


Day 2 Content


- Resilience level and provisioning
- Data center efficiency and Uptimes Tier levels requirements
- ASHRAE 2011 common environmental guidelines
- ETSI EN 300 019 Class 3.1
- Select and deploy of new IT equipment
- Data centre utilisation, management and planning (software, IT and M&E)
- Physical building layout (site selection, water sources, use of economizers, etc.)
- Lighting control (EU standards, LEED, BREEAM, etc.)
- Monitoring (energy use & environmental reporting, etc.)
- Items under consideration (rotary UPS, mechanical UPS, etc.)
- Minimum practices for data center energy efficiency
- Metrics used to measure data center energy efficiency


Delivered by Experienced Speakers

Mr. Joe Tang

Having more than 10 years experience in mission critical design, Mr. Tang was working on numerous projects involving data centers, disaster recovery sites, trading floors for multinational financial institutes and data centre providers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shanghai, South Korea and India.

He is specialized in the areas of master site planning, mission critical infrastructure design, single point of failure study, cause and effect analysis and integrated system test. Mr. Tang is now working in a multi-disciplines consultancy providing sustainable design and green initiatives to different sections in Asia Pacific.

Mr. Tang is also:

- A Chartered Engineer of Engineering Council (CEng)
- A Member of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET)
- A Corporate Member of Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineering(MCIBSE)
- A Member of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (MASHARE)
Ir Joson Chan

Ir Chan had started his career as part-time lecturer since 2001 and has been served in various territory institutes. He majors in teaching subjects in electrical engineering, project management, sustainable engineering and facility engineering for critical services. Ir Chan is a permanent members of CNet Training professional data centre training team.

Ir Chan has gained extensive experience within different aspects of infrastructure projects and as a Senior Engineer in an E&M consultant firm, mainly involved in the data centre / financial institutions MEPF design projects and working with companies such as Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, etc. He is now working in an international theme park and resort to maintain facility support of critical facility and Network Communication Centre. He unites learning with this key career experiences, allowing delegates to gain essential insight into real-life working and scenarios.

Ir Chan is also:

- A Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv)
- A Fellow of Society of Operations Engineers (FSOE)
- A Chartered Engineer of Engineering Council (CEng)
- A Member of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET)
- A Corporate Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (MHKIE)
- Grade H0 and C0 Registration of Electrical Worker of the HKSAR Government
Ir K.T. Poon

Ir Poon has more than 10 years consultancy experience in data center design and build, operation management, energy and cost management projects both in Hong Kong and China. He was also working for a design and installation of a facility management system in an international school in Hong Kong with a subsystem of an energy management system.

Ir Poon is a part time lecturer in various tertiary institutes. He also teaches facility management, business strategic management of the distance learning courses (both degree and master degree) offered by overseas universities.

Ir Poon is also:

- A Corporate Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (MHKIE)
- A Chartered Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS)
- A Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council, U.K. (CEng)
- European Engineer of the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (Eur. Ing.)
- A Chartered Information Technology Professional of the British Computer Society (CITP)

Recent Participants Come Form...

Airport Authority Hong Kong Fujitsu Hong Kong Limited
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Ltd Johnson Controls Hong Kong Limited
Citic Telecommunication CPC Group Leigh & Orange Limited
CTM (Macau SAR) Meinhardt (Hong Kong) Limited
EMSD, HKSAR Government Mizuho Corporate Bank Limited
Elixir International Limited Sociedade De Jogos De Macau
Facilities Analysis & Control Limited Welcome Air-Tech Limited
And More...

© 2012 Strategic Media Asia Limited

T (852) 3796 3026 | F (852) 2184 9978 | www.stmedia-asia.com
Room 1303, Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong


Saturday, June 9, 2012

Best Practices for Green Data Center Design & Operation

Right-sizing the physical infrastructure system to the load, using efficient physical infrastructure devices, and designing an energy-efficient system are all techniques to help reduce energy costs. A successful strategy for addressing the data center energy management challenge requires a multi-pronged approach that should be enforced throughout the lifecycle of the data center.

Best Practices - Data Center Engineering for Efficiency

System design

In datac enters, system design has a much greater effect on the electrical consumption than does the efficiency of individual devices. In fact, two datacenters comprised of the same devices may have considerably different electrical bills. For this reason, system design is even more important than the selection of power and cooling devices in determining the efficiency of a data center.

Floor layout

Floor layout has a significant effect on the efficiency of the air conditioning system. Ideal arrangements involve hot-aisle/cold-aisle configurations with suitable air conditioner locations. The primary design goal of this floor layout approach is cool air and warm air segregation.


Proper configuration of server software

When configuring servers, many data center managers are not careful about how they configure the powerrelated software. Power-economizer modes should always be selected to ensure more efficient operation of the server.

Location of vented floor tiles

In an average data center, many vented tiles are either placed in incorrect locations or an insufficient or excessive number of vented tiles is installed. By using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in the datacenter environment, the designer can optimize datacenter cool air flow by “tuning” floor tiles by varying locations and by regulating the percent of vents that are open at any given time or can optimize CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioning) unit locations.



Rightsized physical infrastructure components

Of all of the techniques available to users, rightsizing the physical infrastructure system to the load has the most impact on physical infrastructure electrical consumption. There are fixed losses in the power and cooling systems that are present whether the IT load is present or not, and these losses are proportional to the overall power rating of the system. In installations that have light IT loads, the fixed losses of the physical infrastructure equipment commonly exceeds the IT load. Whenever the physical system is oversized, the fixed losses become a larger percentage of the total electrical bill.



Strategic Media Asia (SMA) Limited (www.stmedia-asia.com)

SMA enables individuals working in data centres to improve cost and energy efficiency. Our training seminars and workshops encompass topics associated with new data centre planning and development, and the tuning and operation of existing facilities. Service providers and equipment manufacturers will take a particular interest as the workshop takes into account the full range of technologies used in the data centre environment and its impact in how procurement decisions are made.

IT, Project and Facilities Managers, Designers, Consultants, etc. who are responsible for highly critical systems, like the UPS and CRAC systems, etc., in Data Centre and IT equipments are highly recommended to attend.

Should you have any enquiries, please visit www.stmedia-asia.com/trainings.html or www.stmedia-asia.com/events.html


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Green Data Center Engineer Certification Program - Organized by The Society of Operations Engineers (SOE, Hong Kong Region)



The Green Data Center Engineer Certification Program
4 – 20 July 2012

Introduction

In the 2011-12 Policy Address and the 2012-13 Budget, the Government will thoroughly support the conversion of industrial buildings into data centers and the accommodation of data centers in Tseung Kwan O which attract capital investment from global institutions. SOE, who expertizes in mission critical facility / services, supports the policy and first launches a comprehensive program for Green Data Centre in Hong Kong.

The certified program provides a technical knowledge and “green theory” for engineers who are involved in creating sustainable and energy efficient data centre (E&M) / plants or exploiting the role of telecommunication in helping deliver green operation and business practices to other areas of organization such as Tendering & Procurement. It also introduces other efficiency metrics and international standards such as PUE/DCiE (The Green Grid Energy Measuring Tools), Carbon Footprint, TPL accounting, end-to-end life cycle cost, TCO, etc.

Program Outline

(1) Introduction of Green Data Centre
(2) Concepts and trends of Green Data Centre
(3) SWOT analysis of Green Data Centre
(4) Green elements and Risk Analysis of Green Data Centre
(5) Green Implementation Plan
(6) Building a Green Data Centre team
(7) Evaluation life cycle cost for Green Data Centre
 
Speakers:     Ir C.K. Chan, CEng, CEnv, FSOE, FIplantE, MIET, MHKIE, CSME, REW H0 C0
                     Ir Herman Poon, CEng, Eur. Ing., CITP, MBCS, MHKIE

Venue:          Society of Operations Engineers (Hong Kong Region)
                     Unit 2, 3/F, Winsum Industrial Centre,
                     588-592, Castle Peak Road, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Date:            4, 6, 9, 13, 16, 18, 20 July 2012 (Monday, Wednesday and Friday)

Time:            7:00pm - 10:00pm
 
 
Registration Fee and Certification Detail 


 
HK$4,000 (Member) and HK$4,500 (Non-Member) including course materials, course assessment and certification

 "Green Data Centre Engineer" certificate will be awarded for those participants who completed the course assessment OR CPD certificate will be issued to students with attendance over 70%. Green Data Centre Engineers are eligible to enroll higher level courses by SOE.

 Please contact Ms. Connie Mui at 3188 0062 or email: connie@soe.org.hk OR download the pdf file for registration -  http://www.soe.org.hk/pdf/11062012/11062012a.pdf


Friday, June 1, 2012

Data Center Redundant Capacity - Where Can I Add Load?

One of the key power usage metrics that we often requesting is Available Redundant Capacity (ARC). We don’t always ask for it using this name. More simply, we want to know “Where can we safely add new IT equipment without overloading and potentially bringing down my facility?”

Monday, May 21, 2012

Cut Data Center Energy Bill in Six Ways


"People are looking at data center efficiency, whereas five years ago it wasn't an issue," says Adam Fairbanks, Bluestone Energy, a company that retrofits old data centers to make them more energy efficient and to qualify for utility rebates (many utilities are required to help pay for data center projects that will reduce energy use; if a project can be proven to cut energy draw by 20%, the utility might pay for as much as half the cost of the project). "Today any new data center build gets scrutinized by the CFO as well as facilities and IT."


Where lowering a company's carbon footprint was a big driver for such projects a few years ago, because of the economy, environmental concerns have gotten pushed back and today they're a matter of reducing operating expense, Fairbanks says. "Money drives the majority of the projects we work on," he says.

Fairbanks shares some of the most popular methods his clients have been using to cut energy costs in a power-guzzling data center:


  • Turn the thermostat up. The common wisdom around how cold a data center needs to be has changed and an ASHRAE committee has revised the upper limits of its data center temperature recommendation up to 70-77 degrees. "People have said that's conservative, and many equipment manufacturers have said that up to 90 degrees is OK for their products," Fairbanks says.
     
    However, you have to be able to manage the movement of air before you can raise temperatures, he warns. If the air is not coming through the floor properly (due to excessive wires in the way or something) or air is swirling around, you won't see efficiencies.

    And you still have to cool computing equipment, even with a set point of 90 degrees. A server left running by itself uncooled would probably fry itself, Fairbanks says. "At one data center I was at recently, we did a thermal scan, where we measure and map temperatures all over the facility. One rack was at 110, which is a danger level," he says. With the proliferation of blade racks, such high cabinet temperatures are becoming more common, and there's a tendency to put all the racks in one corner of the data center, which creates one huge hot spot.

  • Upgrade the HVAC. "About 30% of the power used by a data center is consumed by cooling," Fairbanks says, and the average data center is over-cooled by three or four times. A new cooling system also causes less stress on day-to-day operations than bringing in other types of new equipment. "If you put in new servers and power units, you have to rewire half the data center and move things around and it's higher risk than changing the HVAC," he says. "If you have a backup HVAC system for redundancy, you can flip over to the backup while you install the new system and achieve payback quickly."

  • Use cold and hot aisles. This method of laying out a data center such that cold air used to cool computers is kept separate from the hot air they generate has been around for years, but has become more widely adopted this year.

  • Try blanking panels. Server racks often have holes in the back of the cabinet, especially racks that are not full of blades. The cold air that is pushed up through the floor into these rack can escape out of the holes and into the hot aisle, causing the air conditioning system to run less efficiently. A blanking panel closes over the holes so that cold air is used exclusively to cool the servers in the racks.

  • Virtualize. "There's often a conflict between the business units that own the racks and the IT staff that want to use virtualization," Fairbanks says. But here's an incentive: his company has qualified data centers for utility rebates through virtualization projects, since reduced power supplies are required for fewer servers.

  • Get cooling and heating equipment to work together. Some inefficiencies are caused by CRAC units that operate independently and often fight each other, Fairbanks notes. Heating systems can conflict with air conditioning and humidifiers sometimes defeat the purpose of dehumidifiers. Bluestone offers software that has sensors and controls that monitor temperature and humidity all over a data center and aggregate information from all the units to a central point that monitors and manages all the set points. The company also provides fan trays that pull air from the floor efficiently into racks where wires or other obstacles are impeding the flow of air.

Adopted from http://www.wallstreetandtech.com


Cold / Hot Aisle