ComRent Data Center Whitepaper

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ComRent Load Bank Solutions

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• Whyloadbanktestingiscriticalforyourdatacenter• Thebenefitsofloadbanktesting• Determiningwhichsystemtypeistherightfitforyourfacility• Optimizingyourdatacenterforoptimalperformance• Theproactivevsreactiveapproach(casestudy)

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Using Load Bank Solutions to Optimize Data Center Commissioning


Why test with load banks? Datacenteroperatorswhoproperlyleverageloadbanktechnologyduringdata-centercommissioningcanvalidatetheirelectricalandmechanicalinfrastructureperformance,isolateandcorrectissuesbeforeproduction,qualifyforLEEDcertification,acceleratecommissioning,andreducetheiroveralldatacentercommissioningcosts.

Conductingloadbanktestingallowsdatacenterengineersandfacilitymanagerstominimizethelikelihoodofcostlypost-deploymentconfigurationchanges.Loadbanktestingalsovalidatesroomdesign,equipmentplacement,aswellastheoveralleffectivenessofcooling-systemsandpower-distributioninfrastructure.

Partnering with a Load Bank ProviderThroughpartnershipwithaloadbankpartner,criticalfacilitiesmanagersandengineerscanidentifypotentialproblemsearlyintheprocess.Thatway,theycanavoiddelaysaswellascostoverrunsduringcommissioningandoperationaldowntimepost-deployment.

Furthermore,fullsystemintegrationtestingofcriticalsystemsduringcommissioningestablishesanaccuratebaselineforongoingoperationalperformanceandisavaluablesalesandmarketingtoolindiscussionswithfuturetenants.

Read on to discover the benefits of load bank testing your data center.

Introduction: Why are load banks critical for my data center?

Your Load Bank Partner

Youshouldchoosealoadbankpartnerthatwillnevermakeyoufeellikeyouarealoneintheprocess.Aconsultantshouldalwaysbeknowledgeable,experienced,andavailabletoworkwithyou,side-by-side,toensureyouarehavingthebestandmostefficientexperiencepossible.

ComRent Load Bank Solutions 1


• Load bank technology provides accuracy, efficiency and safety in commissioning Thedemandforhigherserverdensityhassubstantiallyincreasedthecomplexityofdatacenterdesignandimplementation.Certaincomponents,likehighserverthermaloutput,hot-aisle/coldaislerackpositioning,andcomplexcoolingmechanisms,increasethedifficultyofdatacentersimulationmakingitexponentiallymorecriticalfordatacenteroperatorstoimplementaloadbanktestingstrategy.Precisesimulationoftheoperationalcharacteristicsofproductionserversrequirestechnologythatpreciselymimicstheactualelectricalload,heatgeneration,airflow,andphysicaldimensionsofserverracks.

• Customizing a solution tailored fit for your needs Unfortunately,traditionalsimple“suitcase”loadbanksareoftennotabletosimulateairflowproperly,resultinginthefailuretopredicthotspotsinproductiondeployments.However,havingacustomizedplatformofrackmountedloadbanksthatcanvaryelectricalload,heatandairflowandsimulate“blackstart”andmaximumoperatingconditionsisessentialtoprecisedata-centersimulation.


Benefits of Data Center Load Bank Testing

• Limit overall cost Leveragingtheproperload-banksolutionalsoensuresthatthecommissioningprocessitselfoccurswithinbudget.Laborisbyfarthelargestsinglelineitemduringthedatacentercommissioningprocess.TheabilitytomanageWi-Fi-enabledloadbankswithWindowsandAndroiddeviceseliminatestheneedtophysicallymovearoundthedatacentertomanuallyadjustloadstepsandfanspeedsinordertocompletetests.Inaddition,fortestingtheemergencydieselgenerators,medium-voltageloadbanksreducerequiredcablingbyafactoroffifteenandreducesetuptimebyafactoroffive,furtherdecreasinglaborcostswhilecreatingfewerpointsoffailure.

• Keep an eye on your analytics and monitoring for optimal accuracy and efficiency Newpower-qualitymonitorshaveimprovedcapabilitiestocollectadatasetmorerichthanwhatcouldbeachievedjustafewyearsago-measurementscanbetakenattherack,aisleorroomlevelfromindefinitecollectionpoints.Inadditiontoaccuracyandefficiency,loadbanksolutionsmustnotjeopardizethesafetyoftheelectricalandcoolingsystemstheytest.Toavoiddisasterduringcommissioning,itisessentialtoleveragesystemsthatprovidewrong-voltagedetection,power-supplyshutdown,andthermaloverloadprotection.


Additional Benefits of Load Bank Testing

Long-term Benefits of Structured Room Validation TestingAlthoughloadbank,cableandswitchgearrentalisnotinexpensive,thesecostsareeclipsedbythecapitalsavedthroughtheavoidanceofexpensiveproblemspost-deployment.That’swhyidentifyingproblemsduringthecommissioningphaseprovidestheopportunitytofixissuesbeforeafacilitygoesintooperation.

EvenifanenterprisereducesbyjustafewpercentagepointsitstotalITlaborcostsoverthelifespanofatypicaldata-center,thenloadbanktestingwillprovidepositivereturnoninvestment.Itisalwayslessexpensivetofixaproblembeforedata-centeroperationsbeginthanafterserversareputintoproduction.Peaceofmindisavaluablethingtoconsider,especiallywhenitcomestomaintainingyourreputationwithyourclients.

Beyondtheobviousadvantageofensuringoperationalsuccessofanewlyconstructeddatacenterviavalidationofsystemdesignandperformance,loadbanktestingiscriticaltosuccessinotherareas,including:

• Documenting thermal and electrical load requirements» Reassuresclientsofprotectionagainstuninterruptedservicebyconfirmingthat

equipmentmeetsalltestspecifications(e.g.,validationofbackup-generatorandUPSperformance)

» ProvidestheabilitytooptimizerackplacementorHVACsettingstooptimizefacilityenergyefficiencyperformance

» Reducestechnicalandfinancialriskoffuturedatacenterupgradesorexpansions

• Ensuring accuracy of budgetary data» Validatescapitalexpenditure(CAPEX)budgetbyconfirmingthatequipment

meetsalltestspecifications» Confirmspowerandcoolingrequirementsforincorporationintooperating

expense(OPEX)budget» Reducesfinancialrisktoclients–reducingthelikelihoodofunbudgetedcost

increases

• Simplifying compliance with regulatory requirements» Providesintegratedcommissioningplantofulfillrequirementsofcontactaward/

negotiationprocess» Ensurescompliancewithlocal,stateandfederalenvironmentalregulations–

vitaltoconstructionpermits

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification» AssistsclientsinattainingLEEDcertification» Demonstratescommitmenttoenvironmentalstewardship–

generatingfavorablepublicity» Demonstratescommitmenttoenvironmentalstewardship–

generatingfavorablepublicity» Ensuringcoordinationandcommunicationamongcommissioningagentsand

general,electricalandmechanicalcontractors



Determining Which System Type is the Right Fit for Your Facitility


• Load Banks for UPS SystemsInaddition,loadbankscanbeusedtotestthebehaviorofUPSsystemsduringasimulatedpoweroutage.LinkableloadbanksforUPStesting(ofteninthe400Kwrange)areavailablethatcanbeusedtotestresistiveandreactiveloadsatavarietyofpowerfactors(PFs).BatterystringscanbetestedusingDCloadbanks.

• Power Distribution TechnologiesNotonlymustpowergenerationbetested,butalsopowerdistribution.Newsystemsareavailablethataccommodatepowerdistributionunittestinginavarietyoflocations,includingundertheraisedfloortrack,inaremotepowerpanelorinanoverheadbustrack.Newbustrackadaptersallowforfastersetupandshortercableruns.

• Testing in Unique EnvironmentsManydatacenterfacilitiesrequirea‘pindrop’quietworkingenvironment.Luckily,therearehighlyattractivealternativestotraditionalair-cooledunitsavailablethatconsideryouruniquesituation.Forexample,watercooledloadbanksareonealternativethatisquiet,butalsoallowsforindoorinstallationsincontrolledenvironmentsversusoutdoorswhereunitsareexposedtotheelements.

Besidesbeingcompletelyinaudible,thesesystemsarehighlycompact,virtuallymaintenancefree,andidealforinstallationinbuildingsincentral-cityareas,industrialparksorofficecomplexeswhereanoutdoorair-cooledunitwouldbearchitecturallyobtrusiveorimpossibletoinstallduetospaceornoiserestrictions.

• Real-Time ReportingSimilarly,advancesinpowermonitortechnologyofferanalogousflexibilityandoptimization.Themostmodernpowermonitorsprovidemechanismsforsimplelinkagetoavarietyofreal-timereportingsystemsandoftencontainanumberofadvancedfeatureslikeharmonics,currentsummationandtemperature/humidityreadings.

• Advanced Cooling SystemsThetestingofcoolingsystemsisjustascriticalasthatofpowersystems.ItisessentialtoensuretheCRAC’scapacitytoprovideoptimalthermalconditions(constanttemperaturesandhumiditylevels)athighserverloads.Testingsystemsmustbeusedthatmeasureroomairflow(incubic-feetperminute)androomtemperaturechange(“deltaT”)inavarietyofroomconfigurationsandcontainerenvironments.

Read on to learn more about the latest in monitoring technologies and cooling systems.

Therearevariousstate-of-the-artloadbanktestingsystemsforalltypesofinfrastructure.Duringdatacentercommissioning,you’llneedtopayspecialattentiontotheperformanceofthefollowingtypesofsupportinginfrastructure:

• Back-Up Generators• UPS Systems• Automatic Transfer Switches• Power Distribution Units (PDUs)• Computer Room Air Conditioning

(CRAC) systems• Server Containers and Layouts

Testing Equipment Available:Generally,themoreadvancedtheloadbanktechnology,themoreaccuratethetestingresults,andthemoremoneythatcanbesavedinlaborduringthecommissioningprocess,whichiswhyit’simportanttobecomefamiliarwiththelatestdevelopmentsintestingequipmentforalltypesofdatacenterinfrastructure.Hereareafewofthem:

• Medium-Voltage Emergency Diesel GeneratorsFordatacentersdeployingmedium-voltageemergencydieselgenerators(arelativelycommonoccurrencetoday),commissioninglaborcostscanbereducedthroughtheuseoftransportablemedium-voltage(13.8kv)loadbanksthatdonotrequireseparatetransformers.

Systemsarecommonlyavailablethatdissipatefivemegawattsandarelinkableforloadsupto100megawatts.Setuprequiresasmallernumberofmedium-voltagecables(asfewasoneperphase)–drasticallyreducingset-uptime.


Optimizing Your Data Center for Optimal PerformanceMostdatacenterthermalissues–suchashotspotsorovercooling–stemfrompoorairflowmanagement.Asubstantialamountofcoldairdoesnotreachtheserverduetobypassandrecirculationairflow.Beingabletolocateandeliminatethecoldairwasteattheservercanleadtoanenergyefficientdatacenter.Todosorequireseffectiveenvironmentalmonitoring.

Manydatacenterengineersuseinfraredguns,wirelesssensors,DCIMorBASsystemstomeasureoverallperformanceoftheirdatacenter’stemperatureandairflow.Howeverthesesystemstypicallyrequiresignificantinvestment,installationtime,andbackendmanagement,orsacrificeaccuracyforaquick,cheapsnapshot.

Luckily,ComRentusesinnovativeandcost-effectivetools,suchastheAUDIT-BUDDY™portableenvironmentalmonitoringsystem,thatcanpinpointanddiagnosethermalissuesattheserver,rackandaisleleveltoprovideturn-keydatacentercommissioningandsolutions.

Whenoptimizingyourdatacenter,partnerwithaloadbanksolutionsproviderwhousesproducts,liketheAUDIT-BUDDY™system,thatallowformoreprecisemeasurementofyourdatacenter’sperformanceandoveralltemperatureataminimalcost.


AUDIT-BUDDY™

• Portabletemperatureandhumiditymonitor

• Spotcheckairqualityanddiagnoserack-levelcoolinginefficiencies

• Recordsreal-timeandlongtermscanswithouttouchingtheserverracks

• Operationalrightofthebox;noinstallorimpactoninfrastructure

• ReadandanalyzedatadirectlyinMSExcel

Developing a Structured Commissioning PlanForadatacentertorunatoptimalcapacity,developingastructuredcommissioningplanthatconsiderstheeffectofloadbanktechnologyiscritical.

Regardlessofthetypeofloadbanktestingsystemsincorporatedintoadatacenter’scommissioningprocess,itisessentialtodevelopagranular,comprehensivetestingblueprintthatanticipatesfuturecomputationaldemandsontheserverinfrastructure.

When should load testing occur?Loadbanktestplanningshouldoccurasearlyintheoverallprojecttimelineaspossible,becauseloadbanktestingpromotesaniterativedesignmodel:Testspecificationsthatarenotvalidatedinitiallycanbereferredbacktoengineersforredesignandoptimization.Thisproactive,structuredapproachidentifiesproblemsbeforethefacilitybecomesoperational,ensuringthattheITinfrastructureisabletoperformatcapacityupondeployment.

An integrated commissioning plan supports a thorough risk assessment that focuses on:

• Verifyingsystempower-consumptionandthermalperformancepriortoproductionusingasimulatedoperatingenvironment

• IdentifyingpathtowardLEEDcertification• Collectionofdatatosupportfutureexpansions/upgrades• Reducingfinancialandtechnicalrisksofre-engineering


A Case Study Example of Reactive vs Proactive Data Center Commissioning

Note: In the following comparative analysis of approaches to load bank testing, the names of two actual companies performing data center construction are changed to “Enterprise A” and “Enterprise B”.


Enterprise A EnterpriseAwaiteduntilitsdatacenterconstructionprojectwasnearcompletiontofinalizetheloadbanktestingplan.Engineersfailedtoadequatelyplanfortotalloadrequirements,equipmentplacementandcablesruns.Whentheequipmentarrived,theloadbanksdidnotfitinthefreightelevatorandhadtoberelocatedoutside.

Asaresult,thecablerunswereshortandtheschedulewasdelayed.Itrainedonthedaythetestwasscheduledtobeginandasindoorloadbanksdon’tfunctionwellintherain,theschedulewasdelayedagain.ItwasalsoassumedthatunforeseendeficienciescouldbeaddressedasITequipmentwasactuallybeingdeployed,sothetestdidnotfullyvalidatehot-aisle/coldaislelayoutandCRACperformance.

Asaresult,therewerenumerouscostlydatacenterconfigurationchangesanddelaysinraisedfloordelivery.Torecover,acomprehensiveandexpensiveinitiativeinvolvingelectricalandmechanicalcontractorswasrequiredtorectifynumerouselectricalandmechanicalperformanceissues.

Intheend,thelackofcoordinationbetweenthedesignfirm,generalcontractor,electricalcontractor,mechanicalcontractorandcommissioningagentresultedinaprojectthatwasoverbudgetanddeliveredbehindschedule.

Enterprise B EnterpriseBstarteddevelopingthecommissioningplanalmostayearbeforecommissioningwasscheduledtostart.Withtheinvolvementofthedeveloper,theGeneralContractorworkedwiththeElectricalContractor,themechanicalcontractor,thecommissioningagentaswellastheloadbanksuppliertodevelopanintegratedcommissioningplan.

Asthespecificationswerereviewed,itwasdeterminedthattherewasarequirementforalevelofhotaisle/coldaisletestinggranularityforwhichtherewasnoavailablesolution.Whatwasneededwasarackmountedserversimulatorthatsimplydidnotexist.TherewerealsointegratedsystemstestsinvolvingthegeneratorplantandUPSthatrequiredmultipleloadbanksolutionsandtestcoordination.

However,becausethecommissioningplanwasdiscussedanddevelopedveryearlyintheconstructionprocess,therewastimetodevelopandbuildasolutionthatmetthestringentcommissioningspecificationsthedeveloperrequiredaswellasdevelopacoordinatedtestingschedulethatenabledthefacilitytobecommissionedasatotalsystemvs.independentanddisparatecomponents.



ApproAch EntErprisE A - rEActivE EntErprisE B - proActivE

Planning Thecommissioningplanfinalizedlateinconstructionprocessandloadbanksprocuredatthelastminute.

CommissioningplancoordinatedwithGC,EC,MC,Cxandloadbankvendormonthsbeforestartofcommissioning.

Commissioning RulebyMurphy.SignificantProblemsResultinginScheduleDelaysandcostoverruns.Multipleindependentsystemtests.

Integratedsystemscommissioningplanwithsimulationofthermal&electricalloadstovalidatedesignspecs&operationalperformance.

Schedule Numeroustechnicalissuesidentifiedpost-delivery,requiringexpensiveretrofits.Deliverydelayed.

Highlyreliabledatacentercompletedontime.

Financial Projectoverbudget.Revenuemodelnotachieved. Provendatacenterdeliveredwithinontime,onbudget.Revenuemodelachieved.

ConclusionDevelopingacomprehensivecommissioningplanearlyinthedesignandconstructionphasehelpsensurethatallcommissioningspecificationsareadequatelyplannedforandmet.Employingadvancedloadbanktestingequipmentandpartneringwitharespectedequipment/servicesproviderisessentialtoreducingoveralldata-centercommissioningcosts.Byvalidatingsystemdesignandperformancebeforeproduction,loadbanktestingensurestheoperationalsuccessofanewlyconstructeddatacenterandreducesthelikelihoodofcostlypost-productiondatacenterreconfigurations.

SummaryThisproactiveapproachenabledEnterpriseBtofullyvalidatedesignspecificationsandoperationalperformanceoftheentirefacilityasasystem,beforethefacilitywasoperational.Simulationofdatacenteroperationalthermalandelectricalloadsrevealedseveralissuesthatwereabletobecosteffectivelycorrectedwhilestayingwithininitialscheduleandbudget.


Purchasing vs Renting

Althoughloadbanksystemscanbepurchased,itisoftenmorecosteffectivetorentthesystemsinstead,asthesystemsaretypicallyusedonlyonce(duringcommissioning).Inadditiontothesignificantinitialcapitalexpenditure,loadbanksmustbeserviced,maintainedandstored.Thereisalsotheaddedcostoflogisticsmanagementandpersonalpropertyinventorytaxes.Whenaddedup,thetotalcostofownershipissignificantlyhigherthanisexpected.

Furthermore,rentedloadsystemshaveahigheron-sitereliabilityfactor;powermonitoringtoolsarecalibratedbeforeeachrentalandoftenhaveupgradedfirmware/software,ensuringbetteraccuracyandloweroverallcost.

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Wehopeyoufoundthiswhitepaperusefulandlookforwardtoprovidingadditionalpublicationsthroughouttheyeartohelpyourbusinessstayaheadofthecurve.

With18strategicallylocatedcentersandNorthAmerica’slargestinventory–over2,500piecesofequipmentand90milesofcable–ComRentcanmeetawidevarietyofloadrequirements,regardlessofyourindustryandtestingobjectives.Andwithover30,000loadtestsperformedanda99.99%onsiteperformancerecord,there’snobetterormoreexperiencecompanyinthebusiness.ComRentisyoursinglesourceforelectricandthermalloadtesting.

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ComRent Data Center Whitepaper

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