Entries by Kevin Heslin

The Calibrated Data Center:  Using Predictive Modeling

Better information leads to better decisions By Jose Ruiz New tools have dramatically enhanced the ability of data center operators to base decisions regarding capacity planning and operational performance like move, adds, and changes on actual data. The combined use of modeling technologies to effectively calibrate the data center during the commissioning process and the […]

Retainers Improve the Effectiveness of IEC Plugs

These small devices prevent accidental disconnection of mission critical gear By Scott Good Today IEC plugs are used at the rack-level PDU and the IT device. IEC plugs backing out of sockets create a significant concern, since these plugs feed UPS power to the device.  In the past, twist-lock cord caps were used, but these did […]

Avoiding Data Center Construction Problems

Experience, teamwork, and third-party verification are keys to avoiding data center construction problems By Keith Klesner In 2014, Uptime Institute spoke to the common conflicts between data center owners and designers. In our paper, “Resolving Conflicts Between Data Center Owners and Designers” [The Uptime Institute Journal, Volume 3, p 111], we noted that both the […]

Improve Project Success Through Mission Critical Commissioning

Rigorous testing of data center components should be a continuous process By Ryan Orr, with Chris Brown and Ed Rafter Many data center owners and others commonly believe that commissioning takes place only in the last few days before the facility enters into operation. In reality, data center commissioning is a continuous process that, when […]

Case Study: Italy’s First Tier IV TCCF

System efficiency proves more important than equipment efficiency By Paolo Barberis, Leonardo Sergardi, and Ferdinando Ciardullo FastWeb is an Italian telecommunications operator, 100% owned by Swisscom, providing ultrabroadband services to the Italian consumer and corporate markets, in which it holds a 35% market share. Since its founding 15 years ago, FastWeb has invested in infrastructure. […]

Proper Data Center Staffing is Key to Reliable Operations

The care and feeding of a data center By Richard F. Van Loo Managing and operating a data center comprises a wide variety of activities, including the maintenance of all the equipment and systems in the data center, housekeeping, training, and capacity management for space power and cooling. These functions have one requirement in common: […]

The Making of a Good Method of Procedure

Good MOPs (method of procedure) help humans manage the complexity inherent in data centers By Alfonso Aranda with Lee Kirby Data centers are complex techno–human systems. The number of interrelated and interdependent elements (including the human element) that interact in the normal operation of a data center and the large number of interactions that take […]

Empowering the Data Center Professional

Five questions to ask yourself, and five to ask your team By Fred Dickerman When Uptime Institute invited me to present at Symposium this year, I noticed that the event theme was Empowering the Data Center Professional. Furthermore, I noted that Uptime Institute described the Symposium as “providing attendees with the information to make better […]

Sun Life Plots Data Center Facilities and Operations Roadmap to Meet Application Demands

An imminent return of service causes a top-to-bottom examination of data center facilities and operations By Rocco Alonzi and Paolo Piro When Sun Life Financial completed a return of service for its data center operations in 2011, the Enterprise Infrastructure (IE) and Corporate Real Estate (CRE) teams immediately saw an opportunity to improve service stability, […]

RagingWire’s Jason Weckworth Discusses the Execution of IT Strategy

In this series, Uptime Institute asked three of the industry’s most well recognized and innovative leaders to describe the problems facing enterprise IT organizations. Jason Weckworth examined the often-overlooked issue of server hugging; Mark Thiele suggested that service offerings often did not fit the customer’s long-term needs; and Fred Dickerman found customers and providers at […]