Having sufficient power to run your Data Centre is essential, but it is an expensive commodity. Geoff Day, Technical Manager at CMS plc, provides a top level overview of the issues surrounding the management and monitoring of power in a Data Centre environment. 

Power is essential to the efficient and reliable running of a Data Centre, but if it isn’t managed well it can prove costly to Data Centre managers and owners. As power costs are rising and its availability is limited, Data Centre managers are working within tight constraints. This means that they need to capacity plan, manage and monitor their power usage effectively in order to provide the service levels required cost effectively. Whilst this is a tightrope to be navigated, there are a number of design and installation best practices and an array of products that can be used to optimise power usage in a Data Centre.

Estimating Power Requirements

Estimating the power requirements for a new Data Centre is by no means straightforward. In the case of a co-location environment, it is difficult to accurately predict the power usage of each client, so assumptions would probably need to be made on a “per rack” basis. But if these assumptions are incorrect, whether under or overstated, there is an ongoing cost and impact. In the case of a dedicated Data Centre owned by one organisation with a good view of their near term requirements, the rapidly shortening hardware replacement cycles, which are now typically less than three years, makes the job of predicting future power requirements increasingly challenging. The obvious answer to both of these scenarios is to build in a buffer to provision for the difficulty in accurately forecasting power requirements, but again this has an associated cost.

Data Centre Design

The design of the Data Centre will also have a significant impact on its power usage. In addition to the power required to support the IT devices, additional reserves are required to support the operation of the Data Centre in the form of cooling equipment, UPS’s, PDU’s, lighting and switchgear. Industry estimates suggest that typically less than 50% of the power supplied to a Data Centre is used to support the IT devices. The Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric has been developed to indicate the efficiency of a Data Centre and this is expressed as follows:-

PUE = Power to the Data Centre

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Power used to support IT Devices

The smaller the number for PUE the better, but in the real world, a figure of 1, whilst perfect, is not realistic as there will always need to be additional power to support the Data Centre operation.

This is where the design of the Data Centre comes into play. The design and layout of a Data Centre has a significant impact on the heat generated and consequently the cooling equipment required. Cooling and power are inextricably linked so it is important that the design of the Data Centre optimises airflow as much as possible so as to minimise the power required for cooling equipment.  The use of cold aisle containment in the Data Centre can assist the flow of hot and cold air to best effect, minimising the energy used by computer room air conditioning (CRAC). There are many additional products that can also be used to assist airflow such as blanking panels, floor grommets and roof tiles and these are relatively inexpensive and easy to install and retrofit.

Monitoring Power

Monitoring Power consumption is equally critical to the efficacy of a Data Centre. If we assume that there is sufficient incoming power, based on accurate planning and the design of the Data Centre has been optimised to manage airflow in a way that minimises the use of cooling equipment, how do we manage power consumption on an ongoing basis to prevent outages, or downtime which can be extremely costly?

The good news here is that there are many products and tools available on the market that can assist with power monitoring, and these vary in levels of sophistication and the associated price tag.

Inline meters can be installed in racks to measure and report the power usage within a rack, but as they are rack mounted they take up valuable real estate.

There are a wide range of PDU’’s available on the market place referred to as “Intelligent PDU’s” and these have varying levels of functionality including: reporting power usage, switching outlets on and off, sending alerts to software packages if triggered by an event outside pre-set parameters. These intelligent PDU’s are also configured to be used to bill clients for power consumption. They can easily be custom built to meet a specific rack requirement and can be vertically mounted so as not to use up horizontal rack space.

There are a number of software products available that enable the power monitoring and management at rack or cabinet level. These are useful mid-level products and ideal for use where racks are dedicated to specific clients in a co-location application.

At the upper end of the spectrum, Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software is available, which enables Data Centre Managers to manage pretty much every element of a Data Centre on a real-time basis. Typically these DCIM solutions enable the management of assets, provide network connectivity maps, power paths, floor plans and cabinet layouts. These software solutions assist with capacity planning and change management within a Data Centre, as well as reporting on trends and assisting with future capacity planning and provisioning of IT devices.  A number of these DCIM solutions also integrate information from third party Intelligent PDU’s so that information can be managed from one dashboard.  DCIM solutions are feature rich and obviously have a cost associated with them that can price them out of reach in some applications.

The good news for Data Centre Managers is that there are products available at all levels to assist with the efficient management and monitoring of power in a Data Centre. From the simplest to the most sophisticated application, there are products available that are fit for purpose.

The process of planning, managing and monitoring power in a Data Centre is not for the faint hearted, and there are some general best practice principles I would recommend.

1. Planning – detailed planning is essential

2. Estimate Power requirements at rack level

3. Optimise airflow to minimise energy spent on cooling

4. Deploy monitoring tools that are appropriate to the application

5. Ensure you are able to monitor power consumption at rack level

The Fluke Networks LinkRunner AT Network Auto-Tester from CMS plc allows network managers and IT technicians to troubleshoot connectivity problems in a matter of seconds. This product can help to solve problems on copper and fibre network links.

The LinkRunner-AT tester is available in two versions. The LinkRunner-AT 1000 is the entry level version and can test  copper  network connectivity up to 1GB/s, identify key devices, acquire a network address using DHCP (where available), Ping a catalogue of IP addresses, and configure custom ‘Autotests’ specifically for different parts of the network, then save and store 10 Autotest reports. The LinkRunner-AT 2000 has additional functionality including: 100/1G fibre testing, IPv6 Support, TruePower PoE testing with circuit loading, , and the facility to store up to  50 Autotest reports which can be downloaded onto a PC for documentation purposes. Both versions boot up in under three seconds allowing swift identification and resolution of problems if they occur

These testers can be purchased individually or as part of troubleshooting bundles, which include a variety of other Fluke Networks copper and fibre cable, and WiFi testers and accessories, providing the user with a comprehensive tester kit for network connectivity troubleshooting.

One year and three year support packages are also available for the LinkRunner-AT products. They are available ex-stock from CMS plc and can be delivered on a next day delivery service.

For more information on the LinkRunner testers go to http://www.cmsplc.com/fluke-networks-linkrunner-at-9.html

Mike has worked for manufacturers, distributors and installers in the industry in both sales and project management roles. He feels this multi-channel experience enables him to understand the different needs of all parties and how to best satisfy them.  Mike said:

“I am delighted to be joining CMS and see huge potential with the company. As the need for products in networking environments increases dramatically, there is huge potential for distributors of these products to grow, as long as they can provide the service levels clients require. CMS has an excellent reputation for customer service and impressive logistics enabling it to provide truly nationwide cover”

Andy Harris, Managing Director of CMS plc added

“Mike is a great fit for our company, having worked in both of our core markets and in different channel roles. With his skills, we are looking forward to seeing a more integrated sales approach and for our revenue growth to continue to exceed market rates”.

About CMS plc

CMS plc is a leading UK distributor of IT infrastructure, Network and Security products. For over 20 years, the company has provided products from leading manufacturers. With its head office and main distribution centre located in Farnborough, Hampshire and fully stocked trade counters in London, Northampton and Manchester, the company is well positioned to provide excellent customer service on a nationwide basis.

For more information about, please call on + 44 (0)1252-379379 or email us on sales@cmsplc.com

Today’s network requirements place ever increasing demands on the cabling infrastructure to perform both reliably and consistently. 40G and 100G Ethernet installations are becoming an increasing reality in high speed applications such as data centres and, as such, result in a greater use of fibre optic cabling.

But if the cabling fails in these environments the impact is even more dramatic. Lots more data doesn’t get transmitted, meaning that even the shortest element of downtime prevents essential “transactions” which can cost the data centre owner and end customer significant losses of revenue and profit.

Clearly all potential points of failure need to be eliminated to avoid downtime and all its costly after-effects, and this is why the cleaning of fibre optic connectivity and cabling is so important and shouldn’t be underestimated. The investment in good cleaning practices at the front end of an installation can really pay dividends in the long run.

One of the standard statistics circulated around the structured cabling industry is that up to 50% of network failures are due to connectivity issues and when drilling down further a significant proportion of these failures are due to unwanted dirt and contamination in the fibre optic components.

Contaminants

When fibre works well, it transmit’s great volumes of data at high speed. To achieve this, the glass cores of the fibre need to be perfectly aligned and clean to ensure the signal can be transmitted with minimal loss. Any contaminant can have a significant impact on performance.

Dirty Fibre viewed through a scope

Putting this into context: If we take a single-mode fibre, the actual fibre core is only 8 microns thick. If we compare this with other items such as a human hair which is typically 50 microns or a particle of sand which is 90 microns, we can easily begin to see how very small contaminants can have a serious impact on performance, and, in some cases, can completely obstruct signal transmission.

The existence of particles between two fibre connectors, which should be in direct contact with each other, can cause “back reflection”, where a portion of the original signal is reflected back to the originating laser. The problem can usually be detected using an OTDR and sometimes via visual inspection.

There are numerous contaminants, that exist in the typical workplace environment that can impact on fibre performance and these include: dirt, grease, hand lotion, skin oil, skin cells, food and lint. Putting this another way there are many opportunities for fibres to become contaminated in the course of normal installation activities.

One of the biggest challenges of contamination is that it cannot be seen with the naked eye and a specialist inspection microscope is required to view the cleanliness of the endface and ensure that the connections will perform to their maximum potential.

So for trouble-free network installation and continuous performance it is essential to adopt best practice when handling and cleaning fibre components in order to prevent performance problems due to dirty fibre elements.

The Cleaning Toolkit

Before you can start the cleaning process you need to have your fibre cleaning “toolkit” in place and it makes sense to invest in good specialist fibre cleaning products which are available from a number of suppliers in the marketplace. These products have been widely tested and proven to give the best possible results.

So what do you need in your toolkit?

Canned Air: this is ideal for blowing loose particles from optical fibre connector endfaces or for drying cleaning fluid residue from the endface after wet cleaning.

Dry wipes: these are used to clean exposed connectors (as opposed to ports on hubs) and bare fibres. However if used in isolation they can cause a build up of static which is not desirable so these should be used in conjunction with a cleaning fluid which will dissipate the static

Cleaning fluids: these are used to dissolve oils that may be found on the fibre and dissipate static. However if used in isolation they can leave salt remains behind in the form of a white residue which can be very difficult to remove. It is generally accepted that the best practice is to use a “wet/dry process” to obtain optimum results, more of this later.

Selection of the correct cleaning fluid is critical to the results you will be able to obtain in the cleaning process. You should avoid using aqueous (water-based) solutions as they can be slow to dry and can leave moisture on the endface. In cold ambient temperatures the moisture may actually freeze on the endface and alignment sleeve. If the moisture is not completely removed before the fibre is connected to the sleeve, the laser-energised fibre can vapourise the remaining fluid into a gas causing an explosion. You should avoid the use of IPA (isopropyl alcohol) for cleaning as it is highly flammable and hazardous. It is also slow-drying and hygroscopic (attracts water) which can dilute its cleaning properties.

Swabs: you will need swabs to clean optical ports and devices as these fibres are often recessed. Swabs are available in different sizes to suit different connector types.  They are dry and also need to be used in combination with the cleaning fluid for best results.

You will also need an inspection microscope to examine the results of your cleaning work.

The Cleaning Process

When cleaning exposed connections you should take a clean dry wipe and apply a minimum amount of cleaning fluid to it. Next you should place the endface of the connector perpendicular to the wipe. To clean you should move the connector in a wiping action, moving from the wet to the dry area of the wipe using a gentle pressure. You then need to check your work with an inspection microscope and repeat if necessary, but make sure you use a new section of the dry wipe if you repeat the cleaning process.

To clean optical ports that are usually recessed, firstly you need to select the appropriate sized swab for the fibre connector. Then dampen the tip of the swab by applying a small amount of cleaning fluid. Next insert the swab into the optical port and rotate 5 or 6 times in one direction, applying a gentle pressure. Inspect the endface and repeat the process if necessary.

When cleaning bare fibres, take a dry wipe and fold it in two, then dampen the wipe with a small amount of cleaning fluid. Next wrap the wipe around the fibre and squeeze gently, sliding the wipe towards the end of the fibre. You should then be able to hear the fibre “squeak” when it is clean.

To clean bulkhead adaptors you can spray a cleaning fluid into the ports and use canned air to help with drying.

It is also important to ensure that all other associated equipment such as microscope lenses, test heads and adaptors are also regularly cleaned to ensure you are getting an accurate reading of your results.

Summary

Whilst fibre offers superior network performance it is also more susceptible to contaminants that can dramatically reduce its performance. Investing in the right cleaning tools and adopting best practice when cleaning fibre products can mitigate costly failures post installation.

We will be exhibiting at the Data Centre World Conference and Expo which takes place at the ExCel centre in London on 27^th & 28^th February.

On our stand we will be showcasing the following Data Centre solutions from some of our key partners:

Why not come and see us on Stand E55, view these solutions and chat through any specific project or product requirements you may have with one of our experts.

To register please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Preterminated cabling solutions have been around for a while, but have seen dramatic growth in recent years, which can be primarily attributed to their use in Data Centre environments, which seem to have a never ending demand for bandwidth. The demand for fast and reliable delivery of critical applications is driving Data Centre technology at an ever increasing pace.

Pre terminated solutions have been available for both copper and fibre cabling with fibre coming to the fore in recent years by virtue of its bandwidth capabilities. These solutions have been available in two forms: factory terminated solutions supplied by OEM’s and products terminated off-site by System Integrators and installers. They offer a number of advantages over traditional structured cabling solutions including:-

• Minimum on-site disruption
• Minimum waste and disposal costs
• Reduced security risks
• Fully tested product delivered to site
• Consistent product quality
• Reduced installation time
• Improved return on investment.

These attributes made them particularly attractive for Data Centre Applications. Another primary driver which has contributed to the accelerating adoption of preterminated solutions is the increasing need for higher density cabling in the Data Centre. Cabling blocks airflow so the higher the density of the cable, the better the thermal management – an important consideration for Data Centres applications. The development of MPO (Multi-push-on) fibre trunk cables significantly increases cable density and addresses the 40 and 100Gbps bandwidth requirements of the latest Ethernet protocols.

Architecture and Planning

When planning Data Centres, designers need to provision both for flexibility and scalability for future growth. Data Centre architecture has altered significantly in recent years leading to the modular “pod” design which can be a top-of-rack (TOR), middle-of-row (MOR) or end-of-row (EOR) configuration. This pod design allows the minimum investment to meet the current requirements, but permits the flexibility and scalability to build additional pods when required. This approach spreads the financial investment on a “pay as you grow” basis and improves payback. It is possible for entire pods to be built off-site and delivered as and when required.

The advent of MPO solutions years ago provided a level of modularity and ease of configuration of cables within the data centre environment. Most good pre-terminated solutions comprise a range of trunk cables, array cables, plug-and-play cassettes ,which, when combined with high density frames and modular panels, give network managers a choice of cable configurations to suit their specific needs.

Just as Data Centre architecture and design has evolved over the years MPO solutions have also undergone a number of changes. Some of the first generation MPO solutions were regarded with caution by some network managers as they were not considered completely reliable. The products were not seen as sufficiently robust and durable and they also seemed vulnerable in low temperature environments and so their use was perceived as limited. In order to overcome these vulnerabilities most manufacturers of pre-terminated solutions have revamped their products to ensure they are fit for purpose in the data centre environment, which is one of the most demanding. Connectors and cable assemblies have been refined to improve performance and durability in the field. It is easy to see how this technology will be adopted in more traditional networking environments. Network Managers are replacing their existing infrastructure with MPO cassettes and running a 12 fibre MPO cable from a cassette from one side of the building to a cassette on the opposite side, which is a really simple way to supply data for 12 connections in an instant. The high fibre count of MPO solutions creates numerous possibilities.

Faster Data Centres

Most forward-thinking network managers will want to future-proof their installations such that they will accommodate the next generation of networking equipment. Already we are seeing 40 & 100 Gigabit Ethernet equipment available on the marketplace, and current predictions forecast shipments of 40 Gigabit Ethernet servers to grow by more than 40% in the short term. Network managers will want to provide for this technology with their new data centre builds. Fibre is the medium that supports 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet and logically it follows that MPO solutions are well suited to support the next generation requirements. However these new Ethernet speeds place considerably higher demands on the cabling technology required to support them.

Let’s look at this in more detail: If we take a 10 Gigabit Ethernet system installed today using trunk cables and breakout cassettes with MPO to LC connectors, the upgrade path would seem simple – just swap the cassette for an MPO coupler. But in practice it isn’t that straightforward. As an example, a 12-fibre MPO trunk cable can be broken out at the cassette to provide six 10 Gigabit Ethernet channels with LC connectivity, providing an aggregate of 60 Gigabits. But if you replace the cassette with an MPO coupler you would have a single 40 Gigabit Ethernet channel (four transmit and four receive fibres), with four dark fibres within the trunk cable and no capability to provide a 100 Gigabit Ethernet channel. It is apparent, therefore, that network managers who intend to use MPO solutions for their data centre cabling infrastructure need to plan very carefully to ensure that they have sufficient high speed channels to meet their future requirements and to understand how the architecture may impact on the number of cassettes in the channel. It is important to note that when redeploying your cabling to support the higher speeds of the next generation Ethernet protocols it is necessary to re-test the channels.

Impact of return loss on high speed solutions

Many systems on the market today struggle to deliver 10 Gigabit performance when the channel comprises four or six MPO cassettes. The predominant reason for this is poor optical performance which is primarily due to return loss (RL). The maximum return loss for a 10 Gigabit Ethernet channel is 12dB at the optical receiver. Each cassette that is added to the channel generates more reflection and consequently reduces the RL budget. Increasing the fibre bandwidth has no effect on the RL budget as it is directly related to the number of connections in the channel.

So how can this constraint be overcome so that 40 and 100 Gigabit performance levels can be achieved? The key to overcoming these issues is to improve the performance of the connectors and developing products with extremely tight tolerances. What does this mean in reality? It means controlled end-face geometry in the connector and the precise location of fibres within the connector interface and very tight tolerances. These tight tolerance requirements are recognised in the new Ethernet standards: to achieve 150m with an OM4 cable the maximum return loss is 1dB.

Clearly the manufacturers of MPO solutions need to ensure that their connectors are up to the task. TE Connectivity have invested significantly in the design and performance of their MPO products, resulting in a solution that will support 10Gbit/s for any architecture design using between two and six cassettes for distances up to 300m. Their solution provides an upgrade path to 40 and 100Gbit/s for OM3 (100m) and OM4 (150m) cable, thus “ticking all the boxes” in terms of flexibility of design and future-proofing.

Checklist

So for the discerning Network Manager, needing to design their next Data Centre I would offer the following advice:-

1. Remember you still need to fully test the solution, as once it has been shipped from the manufacturer’s factory, it is transported, stored, bent and pulled during installation. Testing on-site, post-installation is the only way of guaranteeing performance.
2. Decide how much you want to future-proof the system and design your cabling system to support this.
3. Determine the architecture you plan for the Data Centre as this will impact on the channel and return loss budgets for high speed solutions.
4. If provisioning for 40 and 100Gbit performance levels check the product performance level of the manufacturer’s to ensure that their products can support this.
5. If you reconfigure your fibre cabling to support 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet, you will need to re-test the channel.

Bob Hinder, Northern Regional Account Manager at CMS plc in Manchester, was recently awarded the “Unsung Hero” award by Salford Sports network for his longstanding contribution to Bar Hill JFC in his capacity as club secretary and coach. Bob was unaware that he had been nominated by fellow club members. Bob was presented with his award at the Annual Awards Dinner which took place on 21^st September at the Novotel in Worsley.

Bob said

“I’ve been involved with the club for over 15 years and over that time have seen a lot of changes. I really enjoy coaching the juniors and we now have over 24 teams playing for the club. I am honoured to have won this award”

Having won this local award, Bob has now been put forward for the Greater Manchester regional award which takes place in November

About CMS plc

CMS plc is a leading UK distributor of IT infrastructure, Network and Security products. For over 19 years, the company has provided products from leading manufacturers. With its head office and main distribution centre located in Farnborough, Hampshire and fully stocked trade counters in London, Northampton and Manchester, the company is well positioned to provide excellent customer service on a nationwide basis.

For more information about, please call on + 44 (0)1252-379379 or email us on sales@cmsplc.com

Geoff Wilde, Northern Region Sales Manager for CMS plc, said

“It’s hard to believe we have been operating for a year. We are really pleased with our performance over the last twelve months. We have built up a good customer base with a significant number of customers visiting our trade counter on a daily basis. I put our success down to the service and technical support we offer.”

About CMS plc

CMS plc is a leading UK distributor of IT infrastructure, Network and Security products. For over 19 years, the company has provided products from leading manufacturers. With its head office and main distribution centre located in Farnborough, Hampshire and fully stocked trade counters in London, Northampton and Manchester, the company is well positioned to provide excellent customer service on a nationwide basis.
For more information about, please call on + 44 (0)1252-379379 or email us on sales@cmsplc.com

The RHINO™ range of Labelmakers are specifically designed for industrial applications, with built in rubber impact  bumpers to protect the unit from damage and backlit displays to ease visibility in poorly lit areas. The RHINO range is feature-rich and contains an in-built library containing common industry symbols used in electrical and cabling applications. It will also print barcodes (39 and 128) and can be used to print directly onto heat shrink tubing.  The RHINO Connect software has an integral memory function which lets users create their own custom libraries of logos, labels and symbols. It also allows the uploading and downloading of label files for on-demand printing. The software is compatible with Windows® and has a user-friendly step by step wizard which guides the user through the label creation process. RHINO labels are available in a variety of widths ranging from 6-24mm with all RHINO models accepting labels from 6-19mm, and the 6000 model accepting 24mm labels. RHINO labels are available in vinyl, polyester and nylon materials in a variety of colours. Additionally RHINO heat shrink polyolefin tubes provide clean and permanent marking for a wide range of cable diameters. The RHINO products can be purchased as individual items and the top models are available in portable kit cases containing the handheld units along with mains adaptors and tapes.

About CMS plc

CMS plc is a leading UK distributor of IT infrastructure, Network and Security products. For over 19 years, the company has provided products from leading manufacturers. With its head office and main distribution centre located in Farnborough, Hampshire and fully stocked trade counters in London, Northampton and Manchester, the company is well positioned to provide excellent customer service on a nationwide basis.

For more information about, please call on + 44 (0)1252-379379 or email us on sales@cmsplc.com

This edition details new solutions available from Corning Cabling Systems and Telegartner, Austin Hughes and Sticklers, along with product additions from 3M, Cannon, Dallmeier, Dymo, Fluke, Genie,  GeoDesy, Hellermann Tyton,  Imsis, Marshall Tufflex,  Panasonic, Planet, Sharpie and TE Connectivity.

This is a must-have for installers of Data Networking, IT Infrastructure or Security products and can be ordered by phone on 01252 379379 or online via our catalogue request form

About CMS plc

CMS plc is a leading UK distributor of IT infrastructure, Network and Security products. For over 19 years, the company has provided products from leading manufacturers. With its head office and main distribution centre located in Farnborough, Hampshire and fully stocked trade counters in London, Northampton and Manchester, the company is well positioned to provide excellent customer service on a nationwide basis.

For more information about, please call on + 44 (0)1252 379379 or email us on sales@cmsplc.com