C H A P T E R 1

Site Preparation

This chapter provides an overview of the site planning process. It also describes some of the services that are available from Sun to help you plan and monitor your data center. This chapter offers basic information about issues relating to the data center location, system configurations, and the route to the data center.

This manual includes information only about these Sun servers:

Sun Enterprise^TM 250

Sun Fire^TM 280R

Sun Fire V480

Sun Fire V880

Sun Fire V440

Sun Fire V890

Go to this web site for more information about these servers:

http://www.sun.com/servers/entry

Industry Guidelines for Site Planning

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has published guidelines for equipment manufacturers and data center designers to standardize on the following issues relating to a data center site:

Operating environments for classes of equipment

Equipment layout for optimum reliability and airflow

Tests of the operational health of the data center

Evaluations of equipment installations

Mechanism for reporting power, cooling, and environmental specifications

These guidelines were developed by an industry consortium, of which Sun is a member. These guidelines are discussed in detail in the 2004 report "Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments," which was generated by the ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9. For information about ASHRAE and the report, go to:

http://www.ashrae.org

Site Planning Assistance From Sun

Sun takes a preemptive approach to maximizing system performance by providing services that can help you to properly evaluate your data center site, and install and configure your systems. With the appropriate Sun^SM Services agreement, you can choose the best services for your installation, which might include the following:

Sun Enterprise Installation Services

Sun Environmental Services

Sun Enterprise Installation Services

Using the Sun Enterprise Installation Services methodology, Sun technicians and engineers can help you to develop a stable data center site and equipment installations that provide the foundation for system reliability, availability, and serviceability. Sun Enterprise Installation Services are delivered in these phases:

Site audit - (via telephone) Sun reviews your data center environmental and installation requirements.

Installation planning - (via telephone) Sun and customer plan and document the installation schedule, resources, delivery dates, installation dates, and system setup requirements.

System installation specification - Sun maps out the systems' installation requirements, confirms your installation acceptance criteria, and verifies that preinstallation tasks are complete.

Installation and configuration of Sun hardware and software - Sun performs the following installation tasks:

Reviews the packing list

Installs all internal and external components

Sets SCSI devices for all drives

Powers up and tests all hardware components

Partitions the operating system disk(s) on defined defaults

Installs and configures the Solaris^TM Operating System as an NFS file server

Installs all applicable software patches

Configures system hostname, IP address, NIS/NIS+ domain, and netmask, as applicable

Adds heterogeneous file systems support

Installs and configures CDE or NFS mount if remote

Sets up log host and system controller

Installs up to three unbundled software products

Sets up standard UNIX mail host and default routes

Configures as Domain Name Service client

Installation verification - Sun performs level-0 backup of system disk(s) and mails installation data files to appropriate Sun aliases.

System turnover - Sun and customer review the installation and associated documentation, and customer signs off that the installation is acceptable.

For more information about Sun Enterprise Installation Services, go to:

http://www.sun.com/service/support/install/index.html

Sun Environmental Services

To help you monitor, analyze, improve, and control environmental conditions in your data center, Sun provides Sun Environmental Services. By assessing your environment and finding potential causes of downtime, Sun can help you maintain the operating conditions in your data center so that your systems can perform optimally. Sun Environmental Services include the following:

Environmental System Inspection Services - Provides you with a detailed evaluation of select Sun machines, outlining possible effects that the physical environment has on system availability. An environmental specialist will collect specific environmental, infrastructure, and planning information regarding your site to identify potential issues that could increase the threat of degraded performance. This service includes an inspection of the data processing area for temperature, humidity, airflow, cabling access to equipment, physical specifications, contamination, cleaning activities, and electrostatic discharge procedures. The result of the inspection is a report that outlines the data, provides recommendations for improvement or further inspection, and gives a summary of Sun data center best practices.

Environmental Assessment Services - Provides a comprehensive evaluation of your data center environment. Unlike the Environmental System Inspection Services, which target specific Sun systems, the Environmental Assessment Services encompasses all systems, regardless of manufacturer, and the entire data center. By conducting detailed tests, making field observations, and interviewing site personnel, environmental experts focus on conditions that can impact the reliability of your systems, either by determining sources of existing problems or identifying potential susceptibilities before they impact hardware operations. An onsite environmental assessment measures and analyzes temperature, humidity, cleanliness, environmental monitoring and control equipment, hardware placement and configuration, contaminants, and equipment grounding. The results are compiled in a report that includes detailed recommendations for an improved data center environment and system performance.

Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Services - Further environmental services might be recommended as a result of findings in your Assessment Services. Based on your needs, you can choose from a full complement of monitoring and remediation services to help eliminate existing and potential threats to system reliability and uptime.

For more information about Sun Environmental Services, go to:

http://www.sun.com/service/support/environment

Site Planning Considerations

Customer facility managers, system administrators, and Sun account managers need to discuss site planning, preparation, and system installation before delivery of the systems. A common understanding of environmental requirements and how the systems will be delivered, configured, installed, and maintained will help to create a suitable facility and successful installation of the servers and related equipment.

However, it is important to plan the data center as a whole and not based solely on shelf-level or cabinet-level calculations of system requirements. There are too many interdependencies in a modern data center that can make simple calculations unreliable. Designs and plans need to be made for the data center as a whole, and all of its equipment, with the recognition that implementing one change in the data center environment can affect many other physical, mechanical, and environmental aspects of the facility.

Factor in requirements of third-party equipment and support equipment in the room. Consider where dense computing locations might have high power and cooling demands that could affect power and environmental constraints. Consider rack positioning and airflow patterns. Ensure that the raised floor space, air conditioning, power supply equipment and generators, and related support equipment meet the demands of all the servers and other mission-critical equipment.

Keep in mind that flexibility, redundancy, and expandability of the site can extend the life of the working environment.

System Configurations

The first step in the installation process is to determine the hardware configuration for each server you plan to install. You can obtain advice about your system configuration from your Sun account manager or Sun authorized sales representative. You can obtain system documentation before receiving your system by downloading product information and manuals from the Web. See Accessing Sun Documentation. Alternatively, you can consult the documentation provided with your systems for information about supported configurations.

In some facilities there will be many different configurations of the same server model; in others, multiple configurations of different server models. Each server should be accounted for separately because each server requires a specific amount of power and a specific amount of cooling. Future server upgrades and other modifications will be easier if you keep a written record of each server's configuration.

Planning for Maximum System Configurations

It may be prudent to plan your facility using data for maximally configured systems. There are several ways in which maximum system configuration data is useful.

Facility managers can use this data to quickly calculate the most demanding set of conditions for weight, power, and air conditioning load. This data is helpful for planning purposes early in a facility construction cycle.

Many customers buy servers configured for present needs but realize that future demands will require server upgrades. Since the specifics of such upgrades are often difficult to predict, some customers elect to make facility planning decisions based on maximum configuration data from the start. One benefit of this approach is that it minimizes subsequent facility disruptions that might be needed to accommodate upgraded or new systems.

Maximum configuration data also can help you when you select and lay out racks and cabinets. For example, racks planned for high-density servers can be distributed throughout the data center and laid out in hot-aisle/cold-aisle rows to minimize hot spots.

Maximum configuration data can help you determine how to route electrical circuits and plan for power, cooling, and other equipment needed to support a full-capacity data center. In addition, maximum configuration data can help you plan for auxiliary power or backup power, and plan for power grid independence if continued uptime is required.

Planning for Actual System Configurations

Some experts estimate that only half or less of the power, cooling, and other support equipment is used in the data center when systems are originally installed. In addition, experts report that electrical and mechanical equipment can account for nearly two thirds of the initial capital costs of the facility. This results in high up front design and construction costs for electrical and mechanical equipment, and ongoing operating and maintenance costs that are higher than actually needed to support the installed systems. (For in-depth discussion of these topics, see "Data Center Power Requirements: Measurements From Silicon Valley," J. D. Mitchell-Jackson, J. G. Koomey, B. Nordman, M. Blazek, Energy-The International Journal, Vol. 28, No. 8, June 2003, p. 837-850; "Design Guidelines for a High Density Data Center," R. Hughes, The Data Center Journal, Dec. 14, 2003.)

Therefore, some data center designers prefer to build the facility in a way that maximizes expandability and flexibility. Designers estimate initial infrastructure requirements using the actual power, cooling, and environmental specifications that the systems incur when installed. This provides the minimum requirements that the data center must meet. As systems are upgraded or added, power, cooling, and other infrastructure equipment is installed in a modular architecture that supports scalable growth without interruption of data center functions. It is important to design the data center so that it can accommodate infrastructure upgrades without adversely affecting the continuous operation of the installed systems.

When building the data center, the costs of sizing the site for maximally configured systems must be weighed against the costs of sizing the site for actual resources used and adding infrastructure equipment as needed.

Using System Configuration Data

TABLE 5-3 presents some of the components of sample base configurations of the servers. There are many more standard and optional components associated with these configurations, depending on what you choose for your servers. Do not use the systems' nameplate power ratings when calculating existing power consumption and heat load. Nameplate ratings indicate the servers' hardware limits for maximum power draw that the systems can support. Nameplate ratings note higher levels of power consumption than systems require at installation. The additional power capacity is available for system upgrades. Nameplate power ratings are useful if you add components that significantly affect power demands.

Instead, for current data center planning, rely on measured system configuration data, which you can obtain from your Sun account manager or Sun authorized sales representative. TABLE 5-4 presents measured power ratings for the sample base configurations of the servers described in this guide.

Data Center Location and Design

Whether a dedicated facility or part of a multipurpose building, the location and design of the data center need special consideration. When determining the location and design of the data center, consider the following issues:

Moisture and air leakage - Ensure that the data center is not located below any room that could cause water or moisture to leak into the data center. Exclude plumbing from the room, except plumbing that supports the fire suppression and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. To prevent air and moisture leakage, do not install windows that open to the outside of the facility.

Contaminants - Isolate the data center from activities that could contaminate the environment. Ensure that the air intake for the data center is clean. Maintain airborne dusts, gasses, and vapors within defined limits for data center environments to minimize their impact on the systems.

Access - Ensure that there is adequate access to the data center from the loading dock, freight elevator, or other equipment entrances.

Security - Provide secure points of entry to the data center so that only the proper personnel have access to the equipment. Equip data center doors with secure locking mechanisms that can remain operational during a power failure.

Room temperature and humidity - Ensure that the data center has the required air conditioning equipment to adequately cool the systems. Install an automatic, online alarm system to notify personnel if temperature or humidity exceeds the specified thresholds.

Airflow - Consider the intake and exhaust airflow of the systems in the data center. Ensure that the airflow in the room facilitates cooling of equipment.

Raised flooring - Design the raised flooring to consolidate cabinets and racks and to maximize access to support equipment and cables.

Ceiling height - Locate the data center in a facility that provides a floor to ceiling minimum height of 8 feet 6 inches (259 cm). This space lets you install a 7-foot (213.4-cm) equipment rack.

Aisle space - Provide adequate room at the front and back of cabinets and racks to allow unobstructed servicing of the systems and clear passage for personnel.

Expansion room - Design the data center in a way that can accommodate future equipment expansion. Include resources that can provide additional power, environmental support, and floor usage.

See the related sections in this guide for further descriptions of these criteria.

Route to the Data Center

Ideally, the data center and loading dock should be located in close proximity. The access allowances for the path from the loading dock to the data center include:

A minimum 96-inch (243.9-cm) height (greater is recommended)

A minimum 60-inch (152.4-cm) width (greater is recommended)

Most cabinets and racks ship in their own containers on a pallet. Make sure that the facility loading dock and unloading equipment can accommodate the height and weight of the cabinets, racks, and servers while in their shipping packages. See TABLE 5-1 for shipping specifications for the servers and TABLE 5-11 for shipping specifications for three Sun cabinets.

Inspect all shipping cartons for evidence of physical damage. If a shipping carton is damaged, request that the carrier's agent be present when you open the carton. Save the original shipping containers and packing materials in case you need to store or ship the system.

When you plan your route to the data center, make sure that the boxed cabinets, racks, and servers can fit through doors and hallways, and on elevators. Also make sure that the route floor and elevators can support the weight of the cabinets, racks, and servers. The route to the data center should have minimal ramps, minimal sharp angles, few bumps, and no stairs.

Provide a room that is separate from the data center in which to open equipment cartons and to repack hardware when you install or deinstall the systems. Do not unpack the servers or racks in the data center. Dirt and dust from the packing materials can contaminate the data center environment. See Acclimatization for further information about moving the systems into the data center.