TIA vs UTI vs BICSI vs CEEDA (EUCoC) vs ASHRAE .......DCs classification systems
These day we have found a new that could shake the DCs industry / market two main organizations players TIA and UTI had begun a play where somebody could be hurt.
One of them is claiming that the other must cease to use a word in a DC classification system (TIER is the word)
We could discuss in terms of:
Law
Common sense
Technical
Ethical
and a lot of different approches that each one can carry on the discussion. But I would like to approach in a more integral way of this situation.
As we have walking more & more the last 8 -10 years in the mission critical facilities and among those the Data Centres, we have found that exist several conditions that are needed to consider those as "Mission Critical" maybe the national security or health or highway transit or....... there are plenty of those facilities that each society and country can tag as Mission critical ones.
Each day the information is more and more an asset to keep secure and the DCs are those vault that keep it safe and secure. So each industry / market need a reference to know where to keep this valuable asset and that is the main reason to set a classification system. However what we need to take in consideration for awarding the highest class to a specific DC´s building among others?
Each organization involved (that are not neccesary commit with) the mission critical data centre facilities like ASHRAE, BICSI, BCS CEEDA(that uses the EUCoC), NFPA, TIA, UTI among several others have set a DC´s classification rating system to guide, steer the different incumbents in our industry / market to find out how to OPErate, CONstruct or DESign a data centre.
All of them if you read their documents are just a part of a DC facility because their approaches are relevant in one or two or more systems inside the Data Center building; however none of them has the INTEGRAL
view (maybe BICSI & TIA are quite closer) to define totally a unique facility like the Data Centre.
We -as operartors, constructors and designers- will like to assure that our building is the best available to deliver to the end investor/operator, considering the resources (Time, Money, Time) so at this moment we have to look not only in those documents developed by such organizations but several others that comply with different industries (v.gr. Health, Finance) or to get the sustainability and energy efficency that all shouuld comply not only in financial terms but as social responsability enterprises.
All of these different scopes can be achieve if we have an INTEGRAL planning with Commissioning as the key activity that assure to the owner / investor that its money will be invest in the best way, not only because we follow and mark a "check list" or we submmit to a board our energy / cooling design, but because we find out how to fulfill those requirements that the owner/investor business is needing to compete in a market or industry, where they (owners/ operators) have the reponsibility and commitment to win and report to stockholders and consumers.
So classification rating systems are a good tool but they are not the only one.
Or what do you think?
roberto sanchez, RCDD
México
I agree. Data center tiers have become ubiquitous with data center classifications. I think that it would be difficult at best to break this association as it is, in my opinion, the most common and most recognized classification system. Also, i see these organizations playing in uniquely different spaces within our industry.
ReplyDeleteDefinition of tier: a row, rank, or layer of articles; especially : one of two or more rows, levels, or ranks arranged one above another.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I have yet to see how a common word in an English dictionary can be debated from one to another, since that is what the discussion seems all about.
It is almost if one is accusing the other of stealing a cookie out of the jar which we are all eating from, it is too pathetic for words.
Yes, maybe what we have to pursue is to get the best possible OPEration requirement fullfilled with tje resources we get for a project to refurbish or build a new one
ReplyDeletethanks for you opinion
roberto sanchez, RCDD
México
Sure Roberto, focusing only at 1 site to classify a mission critical asset is not enough.
ReplyDeleteWith new technos of networking and approch like SDDC (software define data centers) the sites become just redundant containers that work at a global resiliency.