The 2nd IDC Safari Hong Kong 2013

IDC Safari is a one-day business promotion and experience/knowledge sharing event for the IDC Industry. It aims to create an interactive environment for service providers, colocation providers, solution providers, consultants, agents, and end-users of Data Center services to meet and exchange information through exhibitions, conferences, and to generate new business.

Date : 9 May 2013 ( Thursday)
Time : 9:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m (Registration begin at 8:30 a.m)
Venue : Silverbox Ballroom, 1/F, Hotel ICON
Address : No. 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong


For detail, please visit - http://events.hkcolo.net/event/14/online_main.php?eventid=14


Target Audience

• Cloud Computing Companies
• Cabling and Network Solution Providers
• C-Level Executives
• (Chief Executive Officer / Chief Information Officer / Chief Operating Officer / Chief Financial Officer / Chief Technology Officer)
• Data Centre Operators
• Data Centre Solution Providers and Vendors
• Data Center Facilities Managers and Engineers
• Data Centre Managers and Directors
• Data Centre Project Managers
• Data Centre Consultants
• Data Network Cabling Companies
• Finance Directors and Managers, Business Analysts
• IT Directors, Project Managers, and Consultants
• Information Technology and Infrastructure Personnel
• ISPs / ICPs
• MEP Professionals, Design Build Consultants, and Architects
• Mechanical and Electrical Consulting Engineers
• Network, Cabling and Communication Engineers and Integrators
• NOC, SOC and DOC Personnel
• Power Management and Power Distribution Companies
• Server, Storage and Application Administrators
• Software, Systems and Applications Providers
• System Integrators
• VM Ware Service Providers

Designing a Structured Cabling System for your Data Center

Choosing the right cabling and cable management system is one of the most important aspects of data center design. Reliability, in combination with extreme density, should guide your choice of products. Data center longevity is also a consideration, an example is when it upgrades to 40G and 100G Ethernet.


Tight Buffer Cable

Cabling infrastructure is the backbone of your data center. The rugged characteristics of tight buffer cabling reduce risk of downtime caused by cable failure. With increasing density and the subsequent increased risk of strain on your cabling system, reliability is essential when evaluating cabling needs. As fiber becomes the prominent transport medium in the data center, it’s important to research and select the latest in data center products and technologies. Choose companies with experience in developing and supplying cable products perfected for the most critical communications applications.


Preterminated Fiber and Copper Cabling Systems

The sheer number of connections in the data center has increased dramatically and will continue to do so with the advent of the 40G and 100Gbit/s Ethernet standards. These new standards require increased fiber counts for a single data connection beyond the conventional duplex configuration. Look for the highest density of connectivity. There are currently products on the market that will support upward of 144 LCs for fiber optic installs and 48 ports of Cat6A copper in one rack unit. In order to accommodate this, preterminated copper and fiber cables are the preferred choice for several reasons.


First, the operator is less of a factor in the termination process required for either fiber optic or copper cables since no special skill set is required for termination or testing of preterminated cables. This eliminates the on-site polishing and termination for high count fiber optic links on the optical side, as well as the concern of alien crosstalk testing on the copper side. No external contractors are needed, saving your company both time and money.


Secondly, preterminated cables eliminate excess loops, as they are cut to specified lengths. Preterminated copper or fiber optic cables can be customized to your specific needs for easy, perfectly cabled installation, eliminating the problem of excessive slack storage.


10G Copper Cat 6A PoE Ready Preterminated Cabling System

If your data center supports PoE enabled devices, such as cameras for surveillance and security or IP telephony, then copper cabling may be an appropriate choice for your facility. Choose products that allow you to build a foundation that will support both high-speed data and provide device power simultaneously. The migration to fiber in the effort to eliminate concerns of attenuation on long cabling runs and alien crosstalk effects for high density applications leaves the need for infrastructure supporting high bandwidth PoE devices somewhat out in the cold. Preterminated Cat6A panels and cabling systems offer the foundation you are looking for to support current and future PoE devices.


Integrated Cable Management

Cable management is the key for accessibility and a clean visual appearance of any data center. In recent years, this has become even more pressing as the value of rack space has driven densities for both copper and fiber applications. Combined with the high data counts for the 40G and 100GBit/s Ethernet standards, cable management has seen an unprecedented level of interest to accommodate the densities of today and anticipated densities of tomorrow. Ideally, choose products that ensure accessibility of all ports, have horizontal and vertical management mechanisms on the front of the panel, and smooth coupling mechanisms between the cassettes and the panel chassis.


Upgradability

A solid technical roadmap is key to installing infrastructure that is suitable for your current needs, as well as accommodating both anticipated and unanticipated needs for the future. Spend some time now researching the marketplace and choose products designed specifically with this in mind. Choose fiber cassettes that are upgradable from 10G Ethernet to either 40G or 100G, and panels suitable for all technologies. Preterminated trunk cables used for 10G today can be leveraged into 40 or 100G tomorrow, simply by installing the respective new technology cassettes that suit your bandwidth needs.



Other Factors that you should consider




Airflow in and around cabling

While not typically considered green IT, cabling can impact airflow and, in turn, data center cooling costs. A well-designed cable conveyance system enables easy access for maintenance while allowing cool air to efficiently circulate where needed. Improved airflow means air conditioning doesn’t have to work as hard, which reduces power consumption and energy costs.


Don’t create problems by cost-cutting

In the quest to reduce costs, there can be a temptation to cut corners with lower quality cable and connectors. This can cause problems. For example, consolidating too much onto a single resource or cable can create a single point of failure. Invest in quality cabling to reduce total cost of ownership.Without cable and associated management, servers, storage and network devices aren’t able to communicate with each other, access the power they need or be monitored. Proper cable management can help maximize the return on your investment in technology.

Data Center Design & Critical Facilities - Join the Training Seminar & Event Series

Half Day Event on IT & Critical Infrastructure

ICT technology is widely used in a city’s infrastructure development, such as large scale data centres, building and architectural modelling, optimal electric power generation and distribution and supervisory control and data acquisition of railway and transportation systems. There are more and more stakeholders such as researchers, developers, providers, and applications/users involved in the corresponding technology development.

The half day event aims to provide a forum for government officials, university researchers, and key industry professionals to share with other fellow colleagues the latest ICT technology development and applications, as well as its potential for local ICT industry.

Date: 12 April 2013
Venue: The Hong Kong Productivity Council Building
Organizer: ICT Section of IET Hong Kong and OGCIO, the HKSAR Government

Event Detail: http://www.theiet.org/events/local/175263.cfm

Training Seminars on Data Center Facilities & HVAC Design
Bundled with Data Center Technical Visit on 28 March 2013

Further to the half day event, we introduce critical infrastructure systems that support a typical data center and prepare individuals to fully understand the main components that facilitate data center design & build by exploring the standards of TIA-942 and Uptime Tier levels.

The training seminars explain key challenges and consider different criteria, from design, testing, commissioning, sustainability and efficiency, of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system in a data center.

Part I – Data Center Facilities Design and Infrastructure Engineering
Date: 18 – 19 July 2013 (Wednesday - Thursday, 2-day)

Part II – HVAC Design and Cooling Specialist for Data Center
Date: To be announced very soon

Target Audience:
Data Center Operators, Consultants, Facilities Managers, E&M Engineers, IT Management, etc.

Time: 10:00 – 17:30
Venue: 1st Floor, Innocentre, 72 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
Special Rate: 10% Discount on Registration Fee

Speakers:

C.K. Chan, CEng, MIET, MHKIE, CSME, REW H0 C0
Edmond Fok, CEng, IntPE, MCIBSE, MIFireE, REW H0 C0
Herman Poon, CEng, Eur. Ing., CITP, MBCS, MHKIE
Joe Tang, CEng, MIET, MCIBSE, MASHRAE

Worldwide Accredited Data Center Qualification
Jointly Organised with CNet Training, UK

Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP)
Core Unit (3-day) + Advanced Professional Unit (4-day)
Accredited by BTEC, Edexcel and BICSI

Commencing Date: 19 June 2013

Instructors from UK will lead the whole program:
http://www.cnet-training.com/delivered-by-expert-instructors/

Enrolment & Registration Details

Please refer to our website (www.stmedia-asia.com/trainings.html) or a registration form attached. A data center technical visit (sponsored by KDDI Hong Kong Limited) will be arranged. For detail, please visit www.stmedia-asia.com/data-center-tour.html

Data Center CFD Modeling becomes user-friendly

Over the past several years, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling has proven to be a reliable method for optimizing the energy efficiency of the data center as well as accurately predicting the failure-mode conditions associated with cooling system failure.

For the past 30 years, CFD has been heavily used in industries such as aerospace and F1 racing, as the systems are complex, exotic and expensive. But things are beginning to change. Using advanced graphical user interfaces (GUIs) combined with a “SaaS” (software as a service) methods of application delivery, data center designers and facility managers are able to use the same technology to design data centers that the Ferrari F1 team uses to design its race cars, and at a much lower cost of entry. This approach greatly broadens access to this technology, which has been well proven in optimizing energy efficiency, reducing hot spots and accurately predicting cooling failure.

 

Benefits of CFD Monitoring

 

PUE Prediction

 

The energy to power a data center is composed of the power to drive the servers plus the power to cool the servers and any other ancillary devices such as PDUs, pumps and lighting. A common method for measuring the energy efficiency of a data center is PUE (power utilization effectiveness). The PUE of a data center is expressed in the relationship shown in Figure 1. A “good” data center is represented by a PUE of 1.2 or lower, suggesting that an additional 20% of the total power to operate the data center is powering non-IT equipment.

 

 

When reviewing the items that constitute the non-IT components of the calculations, the dominant parameters are related to the power required to drive the cooling systems. The role of CFD modeling in any of these designs is to insure that the cool air coming from the ducts, tiles or CRAH outlet reaches all the servers uniformly. This process of modeling the airflow and the resulting convective heat transfer is essential to the overall design and operation of a data center, particularly as it relates to failure-mode studies.

 

Cooling Failure Prediction

 

Failure model prediction is a key benefit that CFD modeling can provide. All cooling units need to be serviced periodically, and they completely fail occasionally. Predicting the thermal condition of the room ahead of the failure is vitally important to the data center operator. Knowing which servers will need to be shut down, or which cooling units are the most critical to the room, can be accurately and precisely predicted well in advance, and procedures can then be developed to follow in those cases.

 

 

What to Look for in a CFD Model

 

Here are some key factors to consider when seeking a CFD model:

 

• User friendly: The last thing you need is another complex system—be sure to choose a model that is easy to use, is easy to understand and can be easy displayed to others (such as the C-Suite) who may not be as tech savvy.

• Scalability: Be sure to choose a solution that will scale with you as new components (files, CRACs, racks, tiles, servers and so on) are added.

• Cloud-Based: The cloud enables lower upfront investment, as it doesn’t require a dedicated server in your data center.

• Flexible and Extensible: Be sure the system is flexible and extensible for integration with either upstream or downstream applications. For example, data from other DCIM applications can be fed directly into the system to speed model preparation.

• Maximum Output: Look for a system that has options for output reports to ensure variety in how the information can be presented (graphs, charts, etc.). Every organization has its own methods, and this feature will benefit the usefulness of the data—it is meaningless unless it can convey the message to decision makers.

Adopted from http://www.datacenterjournal.com

Worldwide Data Center Qualifications are going launch in Hong Kong with CNet Training, UK

Strategic Media Asia (SMA) believes each professional is different. This is a reason we provide more choices of training seminars and worldwide accredited courses in data center. Any of the seminars or courses will be bundled with a Data Center Technical Visit in Hong Kong every month.

• Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP)
• Certified Data Center Design Professional (CDCDP)

 

Strategic Media Asia (SMA) is an authorised regional agent of CNet Training, UK (www.cnet-training.com) in Hong Kong, Macau and Great China.

 

For detail, please visit the official website of CNet Training http://www.cnet-training.com/course-locations/hong-kong/

 

 

 

Season's Greetings

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

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.

 

 

 

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

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

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.