A properly conducted audit provides you with a full range of information, conclusions and recommendations on how to maintain the continuity of data processing at a facility. Conclusions are based on the series of tests conducted in order to check proper and safe operation of technical infrastructure in accordance with globally recognised standards, such as Uptime Institute and ANSI / TIA-942 (Telecommunications Industry Association).
Audit service is mainly carried out at existing facilities in order to spot operational errors and deficiencies in infrastructure. Audits are usually held when a building is to be sold, rented or subjected to major modernisation. The scope of an audit usually depends on a general condition of a building and its systems, however a standard report usually contains analysis of a building, HVAC systems (ventilation, cooling and air conditioning) power supply, cabling, telecommunications, fire protection, hydraulics and efficiency of data centre infrastructure.
Power supply and energy consumption are key issues for data centers, that is why power supply audit concentrates on taking measurements of basic energy consumption components in CPD: UPS systems, IT systems, HVAC systems as well as losses in transformers and UPS feeders. Measurement results allow to determine energy consumption efficiency expressed by a coefficient (PUE) as well as operational efficiency of a data centre (DCIE), which is an opposite of PUE, expressed in percent.
Power supply and energy consumption is a key issue for data centers, power audit focuses on measuring the basic components of energy consumption in CPD: UPS systems, IT systems, HVAC systems and losses in transformers and UPSs. The measurement results allow you to determine the efficiency of energy consumption expressed as a factor (PUE) or the efficiency of the data center infrastructure (DCIE), which is the inverse of PUE and is expressed as a percentage.
A properly conducted audit provides you with all the necessary information for increasing systems performance across the data centre. Better system performance does not only optimise entire CPD performance but also reduces operational and maintenance costs, decreasing energy consumption.
Our company has conducted a lot of audits both in Poland and abroad. Due to cooperation with our partners, we can provide a complex audit of both project documentation and existing infrastructure at a facility.
For audits conducting we use guidelines set out by:
- Uptime Institute
- TIA-942 Datacenter Infrastructure Standards
- ASHRAE
- The Green Grid standardization in terms of energy efficiency
- Data Center Design and Implementation Best Practices ANSI/BICSI 0002-20101 Guidelines
Uptime Institute is an unbiased independent organisation in the field of research, education and counselling, which concentrates on increasing performance and effectiveness in data center environment. Uptime Institute activities can be applied to any entities related to data Center, including enterprises, service, manufacturers, suppliers and engineers. Being an only entity of this kind, it issues certificates of compliance with Tier as well as operational stability standards. Uptime Institute Professional Services supports customers around the world, offering consulting services, certification and accreditation in more than 50 countries.
Tier classification assigned by Uptime Institute originated from the late 90s publication highlighting the distribution grading Data Center performance dependence based on the applied infrastructure. Currently, Tier segmentation defines project and investment standards for data centres all around the world. It is a standardized methodology used to determine the availability and reliability of the object. It offers companies a way to measure their return on investment (ROI) and performance. There exist two types of certificates:
- Tier Certification of project documentation
- Tier certification of an existing facility
Tier certification applies only to physical topology of infrastructure in data centre, which directly influences the functioning of computer room. Certificates are awarded at 4 levels.
Tier IV - consists of many active power installations, includes redundant components resists to damage and provides 99,995% availability. No failure will be noticeable at final acceptance.
Tier III - consists of multiple power installations, however only one of them includes redundant elements and has competitive position offering 99, 982 % availability.
Level II - consists of a single line distributing power with redundant components; ensuring availability at 99.741%.
Level I - consists of a single line distributing power without redundant components; ensures 99,671 % availability. In case of maintenance, you may assume that the system will be inactive for at least 24 hours a year.
Being an addition to Tier classification, Operational Sustainability issued by Uptime Institute may be defined as a methodology dedicated to an assessment of long-term reliability of an object from existing labour policy perspective, management and applied processes, also taking into account the type of building and location. The system is designed to help owners and operators to manage human and financial resources of their company optimally.
Loadbanks.pl cooperates with BCA Group Ltd and an Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Specialist (ATS). We offer our clients documents verification as well as the preparation of guidance documents, specifying which standards should be met by a given facility in order to acquire an appropriate certification. We also guarantee the presence of a specialist during testing and the preparation of appropriate documentation upon its completion.
Since recently our organisation has been also cooperating with EPI company.
The range of data centre services offered by us in collaboration with EPI includes assessment of your data centre set-up through our consultation service, design evaluation and validation of your data centre set-up, surveys and assessments, auditing and audit certification. All our services are based on standards such as SS507, ANSI/TIA-942 and other relevant international data centre standards.
ANSI/CSA/EIA/TIA TIA-942 (PN PN-3-0092) Datacenter Infrastructure Standards is an official standard describing the infrastructure of data center premises. The document contains recommendations for cabling infrastructure, server room building scheme as well as requirements related to architectural solutions and electrical power installations, air conditioning and physicals security system.
There are a number of clear advantages of benchmarking and certifying your data centre based on this standard.
- ANSI/TIA-942 is an open standard. The specifications/requirements of the standard are public. The advantage is that once you are certified your customers will have great confidence as they know what you have done to protect their critical IT investment.
- At the same time, ANSI/TIA-942 is the most popular standard for data centres. A recent study showed that in 78% of the cases designers would take the ANSI/TIA-942 standard as the basis for their data centre design. ANSI/TIA-942 does not only address power and cooling. The standard addresses all aspects of the data centre such as the data centre location, architecture, security, safety, fire suppression, power, cooling and telecommunication.
- ANSI/TIA-942 is the most cost effective conformity certification.