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Myth-of-the-Month: Data Center Tiers
Very often what was once a good idea lives on after its usefulness has passed. In some instances the Tier system that defined the data center industry for years fits this description. In this video Digital Realty Trust Senior Vice President of Technical Services, Michael Manos, discusses the how the Tier system should be viewed within your data center planning.
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david hester Said,
September 21, 2009 @ 8:33 am
Agree Michael’s prospective…but Tier 2 facilities by definition are not concurrently maintainable. I believe the point is that operational process and regimen is essentially on par with a MEP design resiliency in the delivery of “reliability”…
Chris Nicolini Said,
September 22, 2009 @ 4:20 am
David, I disagree. One of the problems with the Tier Rating system is that to be compliant with a certain tier you must meet one 100% of the listed requirements to be in that tier. So a center could be Tier IV in every respect except one area (let’s say they rate Tier II in that area), they are then only a Tier II center by the Uptime Institute’s standards. So, in fact, they could be concurrently maintainable and still only be Tier II.
Dennis Kniery Said,
September 26, 2009 @ 5:35 am
I wholy agree that you don’t need so much a Tier IV data center but more the concept of concurrent maintainability. I also believe there is a missing link today between the infrastructure creators and the “contract” or SLA with the User community. I have seen many large, “sophisticated” companies that spend the money to have a robust infrastructure and don’t allow or make the actual maintenance difficult if not impossible. I believe we need to challenge the Tier ratings by determining appetite to randomly and frequently “go off the grid” on purpose when wheather and environmentals are ideal. A no-live-load transfer scheme misses the whole point and ironically whispers an inherent fear that all is not well but ignores it by making procedures difficult under the guise of reliability.
We are in Dallas and would like to visit with you and Jim Smith sometime in October. I will reach out to you when time permits. Dennis Kniery, DFW Consulting – 214.674.6388