Why Your Data Center Buildout Should Be Managed by Infrastructure Experts

When it comes to building out a data center, it’s important to partner with a solution provider who has expertise in power, cooling, cabling and other aspects of the physical infrastructure. It also makes good sense to have that solution provider involved in the implementation of the IT equipment.

Unfortunately, many customers bring in specialists to deploy servers, storage devices, or network gear. These people may be very good at what they do, but they don’t always understand the big picture. If the specialists don’t follow the guidelines and best practices established for the infrastructure, the customer is going to end up with an unmanageable data center.

Here’s an example. The Rahi Systems’ team was in charge of building out a data center and implementing the cabling. We completed our work and handed it over to the customer. Then the customer had specialists come in to deploy the network gear and storage. The customer’s in-house staff deployed the servers.

When we visited the site again, we saw that the network team had laid cables in a way that would hurt the fiber. The storage systems weren’t properly connected to the patch panels. Cables were mislabeled or not labeled at all. The servers were not labeled and were improperly connected to power. The customer wound up bringing us back in for a three-day engagement to fix these problems.

The moral here is that whenever you do a data center buildout, have someone who understands the infrastructure oversee the entire project. He or she can check the work of the specialists to make sure it’s done properly.

This attention to detail is critical to the proper operation of the data center. To give just three examples:

• Cabling needs to be properly documented and labeled so that anybody can quickly find the right cable. Otherwise, you may be looking at an extended outage or causing other problems as you try to troubleshoot issues.
• Many servers have dual power supplies but if they’re both connected to the same circuit you’ve lost the benefit of redundancy. Downtime can result if power cords are plugged into the wrong PDU.
• When devices are deployed without documentation, your inventory is no longer correct. You could reach capacity without knowing it or provision equipment you don’t need.

If you’re experiencing these kinds of problems, or if your data center has grown organically, Rahi Systems can help. We can conduct a data center audit and take inventory of your equipment so that your documentation is up-to-date. If we determine that you could benefit from consolidation and upgrades, we can implement new solutions, perform the migration and decommission unneeded equipment.

For data centers that have “spaghetti” cabling, our team can go in and salvage what is reusable and redo the rest so that you have a well-organized and properly labeled cabling plant. We can also provide “smart hands” services to assist with debugging in case of an outage.

Of course, Rahi Systems can provide turnkey services, from the design and buildout of the data center infrastructure to ongoing management and support. We rack and stack the equipment, label everything according to the agreed upon scheme, and provide complete documentation. Everything goes through a centralized project manager, so there’s “one throat to choke” if something goes wrong.

We are invested in our team and they are invested in our processes and commitment to the customer. This is evident in our delivery methodology, which emphasizes engineering expertise, quality workmanship, and total customer satisfaction. Our methodology draws upon our years of experience and understanding of the critical details that ensure your data center will be manageable and operationally efficient.

Dirk Achenbach

Dirk Achenbach has more than 17 years of experience in Data Center Management and various roles covering the EMEA region. At Rahi Systems, he has assisted with the growth of our Europe team through creating and developing an agile and passionate team. Dirk currently supervises the Service & Support department in EMEA, as our Director of Engineering.

• Dirk Achenbach

  https://rahisystems.com.au/author/dirk/

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