Unit 5: Environmental Design

Question 1

What do under-floor plenum serve as?

Answer 1

1. Cable management. ( It often serves as both a duct and a wiring chase).

Question 2

What does the use of overhead variable air volume (VAV) allow?

Answer 2

It allows hot air to escape without mixing with the cold air.

Question 3

What minimum effective (clear) height should be provided for raised-floor installations?

Answer 3

24 inches or 2 feet

Question 4

Describe a Tier 1 data Center

Answer 4

1. No redundancy on equipment
2. No redundant paths for access
3. Not fault tolerant
4. Does not have compartmentalization of assets
5. Cannot be maintained without downtime.

Question 5

What is included in Tier 1 infrastructure?

Answer 5

• a UPS to filter power spikes etc.
• Dedicated cooling equipment
• an engine generator to protect IT functions from extended power outages.
• twelve hours of on-site fuel storage for engine generators

Question 6

Describe a Tier II data Center

Answer 6

• has N+1 redundancy on the equipment
• has one path
• No continuous cooling
• No compartmentalization of components
• Not concurrently maintainable - downtime is to be expected in maintenance

Question 7

What are the redundant components of a Tier II data center?

Answer 7

Redundant components: 
-extra generators
-UPS modules
-energy storage
-chillers
heat rejection 
-pumps
-cooling units
-fuel tanks

Question 8

Describe a concurrently maintainable data center

Answer 8

A concurrently maintainable data center has redundant capacity components and multiple independent distribution paths serving the critical environment. Only one distribution path is required to serve the critical environment at any time.

Question 9

Describe a Tolerant Data Center

Answer 9

A fault Tolerant data center has multiple, independent, physically isolated systems that provide redundant capacity components and multiple, independent, diverse, active distribution paths simultaneously serving the critical environment. The redundant capacity components and diverse paths shall be configured such that ‘N’ capacity is providing power and cooling to the critical environment after any infrastructure failure.

Question 10

What can hotspots be promoted by in a data center?

Answer 10

Under-floor and over-head obstructions and cable congestion in raised-floor plenums