Data Centre Glossary
Aisle Containment reduces the ability of hot and cold air to mix and improves the cooling efficiency of computer room and data centres; reducing cooling costs and improving the heat load that can be removed
Air Mixing is the unintended mixing of cold and hot air in the data centre / server room
Blanking Panels are devices mounted in unused spaces in a rack / cabinet that restricts airflow
Carbon Footprintis "the total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product" (UK Carbon Trust 2008). A company’s carbon footprint is measured by undertaking a GHG emissions assessment. Once the size of a carbon footprint is known, a strategy can be devised to reduce it
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one of the branches of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the millions of calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with surfaces defined by boundary conditions
Computer Room Flooring or raised floor is a type of floor used in data centres with a high requirement for servicing to carry cables, wiring, electrical supply, and sometimes air conditioning or chilled water pipes
Data Center Solution N+1provides greater reliability. Need plus one (N+1) is a redundancy concept where capacity is configured to include planned capacity plus one additional device to enable continued operations with the failure of one system in the configuration
Data Centre Airflow issues happen when there is a high IT density in a confined area. Highlighting potential ‘hot spots’ and recommending suitable corrective actions to optimise data centre airflow is vital to improving data centre efficiency
Data Centre Aisle Layout refers to the positioning of rows of racks. Best design practice dictates racks should be arranged consistently to create ‘cold' and ‘hot' aisles
Data Centre Cabinets are devices for holding IT equipment, also known as data centre racks
Data centre coolingis needed because data centres typically contain large numbers of servers and other power-consuming devices and risk overheating if cooling measures are not taken. Often a raised floor is used so the area under the floor may be used as a large plenum for cooled air and power cabling
DCiE stands for Data Center infrastructure Efficiency and is an efficiency measure devised by the Green Grid that is calculated by dividing the IT equipment power consumption by the power consumption of the entire data centre
In-Row Cooling is a term for specific cooling technology installed between server racks in a row that delivers cooled air to equipment more efficiently
PUE stands for Power Usage Effectiveness is the ratio of total amount of power used by the data centre facility to the power delivered to IT equipment. PUE was developed by the Green Grid and is the inverse of Data Center infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE)
Server Racks contain multiple servers stacked one above the other, consolidating network resources and minimising the required floor space. In a rack filled with servers, efficient cooling is necessary to prevent excessive heat building up and damaging equipment
Server Room Generators are back-up electrical systems that operate automatically. Within seconds of a power outage an automatic transfer switch senses the power loss, commands the generator to start and then transfers the electrical load to the generator
The Green Grid is an international non-profit organization with a mandate to increase energy efficiency in the IT sector. The objectives of this organization include helping to create and promote adoption of metrics and standards to measure data centre power efficiency, as well as processes and technologies that can help data centers improve performance against those metrics. Keysource are members of the Green Grid
Uninterruptible Power Supply also known as a UPS, UPS system or battery back-up, provides emergency power by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available. It differs from a standby generator, which does not provide instant protection from a momentary power interruption. A UPS, however, can be used to provide uninterrupted power to equipment until an auxiliary power supply can be turned on, utility power restored, or equipment safely shut down