Computer simulation is the low risk and modern approach to ensuring data centres remain efficient and effective throughout the complete lifecycle, says Alexandra Bannerman, technical marketing engineer, Future Facilities

Data center design and management has always been a complex domain. An optimal data center configuration is essentially a moving target that owner/operators are ill-equipped to aim for. Planning for the present, guessing at the long term future - it is an uncertain process that has, unfortunately, become the norm.

The uncertainty arises as a result of the transient nature of a data center; load capacities, IT equipment designs, and facility requirements themselves are always changing. Every one of these factors has its own volatile effect on the environment within the predefined, fixed facility infrastructure. Owner/operators simply don't have the tools to evaluate their changing objectives or even define them accurately in the first place. For example:
•   'Solutions' currently employed to manage the task of load capacity planning are often insufficient. For instance, the watts/area design parameter incorrectly assumes a uniform load distribution, which rarely occurs in a modern data center. This rule of thumb therefore has little bearing on reality, but is still commonly utilised during data center design.
•   Differing IT equipment cooling patterns and the continuous growth in power densities are dictated by IT equipment manufacturers. This creates problems for facility managers, who struggle to make way for new equipment within their fixed data center infrastructures.

Environmental and economical limitations are becoming increasingly prominent in the world of data centers. Owner/ operators are looking to employ means of monitoring efficiency both in terms of energy and expenditure, and metrics such as PUE and DCiE are gradually becoming accepted. However these metrics alone give little indication of the resilience of a data center; a successful facility can have the same PUE/ DCiE measurement as a poorly functioning facility. These metrics, and indeed any other measurement of efficiency, are only relevant if a data center manager is fully educated with regards to the behaviour of the data center in its entirety.

Resilience and efficiency are vital to the success of a data center; owner/ operators must achieve this while managing the two variable factors highlighted above.

It would therefore be extremely beneficial for facility managers to understand and experiment with equipment configurations, load distributions, and any other features of their facilities. This capability together with an ability to predict facility behaviour could allow the creation of a resilient, efficient, and harmonious protective atmosphere - the ultimate goal of any owner/operator.

For such an important, indispensible industry, it is imperative to eliminate the uncertainty, and find a way forward; simulation is the only solution.

The simulation solution
An accurate, customised data center simulation is the perfect tool for design, investigation and prediction. The aforementioned transient factors and their effects can be analysed and predicted with relative ease. Equipment types and locations, data/power cables, floor voids, vents and ducts, hot/cold aisles, and all other facility features can be explored quickly and safely within the simulation. You can accurately monitor temperatures and airflow patterns at any point in your room, and any relevant information about the data center can be extracted at the click of a button! The level of detail and information in a custom simulation is up to you, and the potential is limitless.

Simulation is set to revolutionise the measurement of efficiency, as it can not only provide the data for calculation, but also highlight problems and the possible improvements that could be made within a data center. Efficiency metrics like PUE could be developed further by presenting the data center more realistically as a dynamic entity; an ever changing facility that can be safely adapted to meet the needs of the owner/operator.

Powerful simulation technologies such as Future Facilities' 6SigmaDC suite combine CFD modelling with user-friendly CAD capabilities. The end product is the Future Facilities 'Virtual Facility' - a testing ground for owner/operators to assess the thermal and environmental impact of their ideas before committing to them.

Simulation results are portrayed visually in the 3D simulation to clearly illustrate the facility environment; more detailed results are also available in tabulated form, or even as automatically generated, illustrated reports! The software suite also contains a management module, allowing owner/operators to monitor past, present and future changes in the data center, and therefore eliminate uncertainties that are rife within the design, operation and management processes.
A simulated data center poses no risk to the physical one, and so there is no danger of failing equipment, excessive power consumption or associated financial expenditure while experimenting with the virtual data center. At every stage, the owner/operator has complete freedom to investigate the efficiency and resiliency of the data centre, knowing that the real facility is perfectly safe.

“Our consultants will use Future Facilities tools to design data centers from the ‘inside out’, and use the power and thermal efficiency of Dell systems to create reliable, energy-efficient, green data centers that enable our customers to compute more and consume less,”  said Tim Webb, director of Dell’s Infrastructure Consulting Practice.  
Many now accept that simulation is the solution to the data center challenge; however it is also necessary to understand that accuracy is just as important. Simulations are only relevant if they accurately portray real conditions. The saying "garbage in, garbage out" couldn't be more relevant when building a virtual model - inaccurate input data results in poor simulations and poor results. Future Facilities’ specialist engineers prevent this by offering surveying and calibration services. Their pioneering 6SigmaDC software uses product specific equipment CAD models and cutting-edge, hi-res CFD analysis to give extremely precise results.

For a more informed management strategy, precise troubleshooting, and help in pinpointing opportunities to reduce costs and energy consumption, there is only one way forward. Simulation is the future vehicle for data center success - only it's here today, and it's time to get on board.