The Art of the Data Center

369 Pages·2012·19.63 MB·English

The ArT of
the Data
Center
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The ArT of
the Data
Center
Douglas alger
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Images of the Data Centers of Affordable Internet Services online (Chapter 2), Bahnhof (Chapter 3),
Barcelona Computing Center (Chapter 4), Calcul Québec (Chapter 5), Digital realty Trust (Chapter 8), eBay
(Chapter 9), Green house Data (Chapter 11), Intel (Chapter 13), Io (Chapter 14), NetApp (Chapter 15),
Syracuse University (Chapter 16), Terremark (Chapter 17) and Yahoo! (Chapter 18) provided courtesy of the
respective organizations.
Image of boiler room piping and closeup image of server cabinets within ACT’s Data Center (Chapter 1) are
provided courtesy of KJWW engineering Consultants. other images provided courtesy of Neumann Monson
Architects.
Image of the building exterior and image of the concrete areaway of Cisco’s Data Center (Chapter 6) by
Douglas Alger. Image of the rooftop solar panel array by Andy Broer. other images provided courtesy of Cisco;
photography by Cyclone Interactive.
Image of the building exterior of Citi’s Data Center (Chapter 7) provided courtesy of Citi. other images by
Christian richters Photography.
Images of facebook’s Data Center (Chapter 10) by Alan Brandt Photography.
Images of IBM’s Data Center (Chapter 12) provided courtesy of IBM Corporation, all rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58714-296-3
ISBN-10: 1587142961
Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Courier in Westford, Massachusetts.
first printing September 2012
To Andy Broer, for thinking a reporter could do
Data Center work, and to Melynda, my reason why.
s
t
n
e
t
n
o
c
Chapter 1: aCt Chapter 2: affordable Chapter 3: Bahnhof
Internet Services Online
(aISO)
Chapter 4: Barcelona Chapter 5: Calcul Chapter 6: Cisco
Supercomputing Center Québec
Chapter 7: Citi Chapter 8: Digital Chapter 9: eBay
realty trust
Chapter 10: Facebook Chapter 11: Green Chapter 12: IBM
house Data
Chapter 13: Intel Chapter 14: IO Chapter 15: Netapp
Chapter 16: Syracuse Chapter 17: terremark Chapter 18: Yahoo!
University
Visit www.informit.com/title/9781587142963 to learn how to register this product and gain access to additional content.
viii
er Preface
nt
e
C
a
Dat Welcome to the engine rooms of the Internet.
e
h
t Filled with rows of sophisticated computing equipment, massive air conditioners and elaborate electrical
Art of soyustt ecmoos,l —Dautlatr Camenotdeerrsn p toewchern tohloe gIyn tcehranmetb, eforss twerit phr podetuacfltoivpist yo, fa pnrdo dcersivsien tgh aen gdlo mbaelg eacwoantotsm oyf. eThlecetyri’rcea la lcsaop flacaitt y.
e
h
T I began working in Data Centers more than 15 years ago, first stocking supplies and inventorying hardware,
and eventually designing and managing dozens of these specialized computing environments for Cisco. I also
visited hundreds of other Data Centers during those years, taking tours and chatting with their designers and
managers whenever possible. Data Center folks are all trying to wrestle the same set of physics to the ground,
and I’m always curious to see what elegant (or maybe not so elegant) solutions people have implemented.
The idea for The Art of the Data Center orginated in 2009 while I was working on a different book, Grow a
Greener Data Center. I was writing about geothermal cooling and wanted to provide examples of Data Centers
constructed underground and discovered Bahnhof’s co-location facility in Stockholm. Housed in a former
nuclear bunker, it was dubbed “The James Bond Villain Data Center” by several technology websites thanks to
unique features such as man-made waterfalls and a glass-walled conference room that looms over its data hall. I
smiled at the cinematic touches such as dramatic lighting and artificial fog and wished I knew more about it.
Why did they build the Data Center to look like a super-villain’s headquarters? How much did those features cost?
How did they get standby generators into that underground space? Wait—is that a fish tank in one picture?
None of those details were relevant for my book on green Data Center design, so I moved on. The idea stayed
with me, though. Find the most compelling Data Centers, explore their innovations and ask the people who
built them to share their insights and lessons learned.
And so, a few years later, here we are. Bahnhof’s Data Center finally gets its due in Chapter 3, as do 17 other
server rooms that are also notable for their unique features and groundbreaking technologies.
Who should reAd this book
The Art of the Data Center is for anyone intrigued by architecture, sustainable design, computing environments
or technology. Although IT, Facilities, and Data Center professionals will be most familiar with some of the
topics that are discussed, a background in those fields is not required. You don’t have to be a civil engineer to
appreciate San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and you don’t need to be a Data Center person to marvel at
these impressive facilities.
hoW this book is orgAnized
The Data Centers profiled in this book are displayed in alphabetical order, typically by the name of the
organization that operates them.
ix
Acknowledgments
Several Data Center professionals generously shared their time and wisdom for this book. Thank you to Don
Atwood of Intel; Sergi Girona of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Jon Karlung of Bahnhof.; John Killey
and Jerry Walsh of Citi; John Manville of Cisco; Shawn Mills of Green House Data; Chris Molloy of IBM;
Phil Nail of Affordable Internet Services Online; Dean Nelson of eBay; Christina Page, Nick Holt, Paul Bonaro
and Bob Lyte of Yahoo!; Marc Parizeau of Calcul Québec; Jay Park of Facebook; Chris Sedore of Syracuse
University; Mark Skiff of NetApp; George Slessman of IO; Jim Smith of Digital Realty Trust; Ben Stewart of
Terremark; Tom Struve and Lon Andersen of ACT, Inc.
Thank you also to their colleagues and associates who scheduled interviews, obtained images and clarified
infrastructure details for each Data Center profile, patiently fielding my e-mails for “just one more thing.”
These included Xavier Gonzales of Terremark; Scott Gomer, Nancy Owen and Steve Kayser of ACT;
Sara Ibáñez Leciñena and Renata Giménez Binder of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Alex Kirschner
of The OutCast Agency; Elizabeth Kubycheck, Lourdes Pagan and Lisa Krueger of IO; Mike Lewis and
Monica Penrose of eBay; Bruce McConnel and Todd Traver of IBM; Debbie McIntyre, Tina O’Mara and
June Szymanski of Syracuse University; Rich Miller and Lauren Williams of Digital Realty Trust; Kristine Raabe
of Intel; Denise Schmitz of Neumann Monson Architects; Janis Tarter of Citigroup; Amy Thon of KJWW
Engineering Consultants; Kristian Thorin of Bahnhof; and Dyani Vanderhorst of Voce Communications.
About the Author
douglAs Alger is a newspaper reporter turned Data Center guy who has worked for more than 15 years in
Data Center operations, physical design, architecture, project management, and more. He hosts the Data Center
Deconstructed blog and has written two other books, Build the Best Data Center Facility for Your Business and
Grow a Greener Data Center.
Doug is an IT Architect at Cisco. He previously was a writer and editor in the News & Publications office of
Syracuse University and a full-time stringer for the Los Angeles Times, where he was part of the team that won
a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Northridge Earthquake. Doug has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from
San Jose State University.