Planning
Sustainable and Resilient Data Center Design
We know it, you know it: A well planned project saves a lot of time and costs. We have successfully planned more than 100 large and small Data Centers in recent years, and the trend is rising.
Conversely, this means that we have plenty of experience to respond to your requirements, to ensure conscientious cost and schedule control, and to ensure that the project runs smoothly.
In addition to the various areas such as electrical engineering, cooling and security technology, fire protection, monitoring and operations, we also deal with your individual business processes, your strategy, your company development and your growth targets. In this way we can also take into account the future requirements of your IT.
The results of the analysis result in an individual profile from which all necessary measures, possible savings potential and the optimal components of your future Data Center architecture can be derived.
Only then can the actual planning begin. In doing so, we take into account geological features, your company's development, protection goals, availability requirements, construction type and design as well as defined project milestones.
Professional Qualification and Expertise
High Knowledge is a member of the professional organization “Association of Consulting Engineers” (VBI). We are therefore obliged to only accept orders for which the necessary experience, technical equipment and qualified employees are available. The high knowledge team develops solutions that meet the established state of scientific knowledge and the requirements of economic implementation and use. Thanks to this commitment, customers of High Knowledge can always rely on neutral and professionally qualified advice and planning.
In addition to its involvement in numerous working groups in our professional organization VBI, the High Knowledge team is involved in many other organizations and institutions. We also have extensive accreditations from state and private institutions. As a member of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN), the German Electrical Engineering Commission (DKE), as well as a certified consulting company of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), our customers benefit from proven expertise.
As co-authors of numerous standards, such as the data center standard DIN EN 50600 or the reference model for a trustworthy KI (VDE AR 2842-61), as well as electrotechnical aspects in BIM (STD 1000.9.1), we are not only actively involved in the further development of the Technology in the respective specialist areas but are also constantly expanding our know-how.
This experience flows into each of our projects to take current and future developments and standards into account today. Here we focus on the planning and construction of future-proof IT infrastructure and data centers.
The Planning is Often Divided Into Different Work Phases:
Phase 0
Consulting
(cost and risk analyses, feasibility studies etc.)
(cost and risk analyses, feasibility studies etc.)
Phase 3
Design planning
Phase 6
Preparation of the tender
Phase 1
Basic evaluation
Phase 4
Approval planning
Phase 7
Participation in the awarding of contracts
Phase 9
Property management and documentation
Phase 2
Preliminary planning
Phase 5
Implementation planning
Phase 8
Object monitoring
Phase 0
Consulting
(cost and risk analyses, feasibility studies etc.)
(cost and risk analyses, feasibility studies etc.)
Phase 1
Basic evaluation
Phase 2
Preliminary planning
Phase 3
Design planning
Phase 4
Approval planning
Phase 5
Implementation planning
Phase 6
Preparation of the tender
Phase 7
Participation in the awarding of contracts
Phase 8
Object monitoring
Phase 9
Property management and documentation
Our planning services include the following components:
- Overall planning (general planning)
- HOAI work phases 1-9
- Performance tests
- Plan review
- Awarding support
- Project and construction monitoring
- Quality assurance
- Cooling and energy supply
- Safety engineering and fire protection
- Data cabinets, cabling, and network technology
- Site acceptance and function tests
Planning for Every Aspect of Your Data Center
Strategy
Every project begins with the formulation of clear goals and requirements for a Data Center project. An essential component here is the actual Data Center strategy. Questions such as georedundancy, location, availability requirements or required IT space are developed and recorded in the form of a strategy. The strategy serves as a "guideline" for all further planning and implementation steps.
Risk Analysis
As part of a risk analysis, the specific risks of a Data Center is determined and evaluated. Physical risks, such as the risk of flooding or earthquakes, play just as much a role as the risk of cyber-attacks and vandalism. The risk analysis lays the foundation and the framework parameters for the availability analysis.
Availability
The availability can be described in different ways. There is a large number of classifications of Data Centers on the market, which are intended to provide information about the availability of a Data Center. The EN 50600 or Uptime Institute’s Tier-Classification specify a framework within the required availability of Data Centers can be estimated. The further planning and configuration steps are based on this availability assessment.
Cooling
Every Data Center produces "waste heat" to the same extent as it absorbs electrical energy. If the IT server and its components have a power consumption of 100kW, 100kW of thermal energy must be cooled and dissipated. There is a multitude of cooling technologies on the market with the most varied of approaches. The aim in planning and designing the cooling concept is to keep the energy required for cooling as low as possible in order to ensure economic and ecological operation of the Data Center. We have developed patented solutions for CO2-neutral Data Centers. Contact us for further information.
Energy Supply
The energy supply is an essential part of a Data Center planning. In addition to questions about availability in the event of maintenance or failure safety, aspects of network feedback, the electromagnetic compatibility concept or the use of renewable energies are considered and transferred to the planning. The design of emergency power generators, uninterrupted power supply systems, bypass circuits or transformers play a central role in the planning of the energy supply.
Security
The basis of the security concept is the risk analysis. On this basis, an individual security concept is drawn up for the Data Center. The contents of this concept are, for example, a protection zone model for burglar alarm and access control systems, video surveillance, the use of extinguishing systems or fire alarm systems. The concept is coordinated in close cooperation with the operating staff of the Data Center and their users such as IT administrators. Security concepts must take into account the security aspects without affecting the operational processes too massively. Mastering this balancing act is a hallmark of a good security concept.
Key Performance Indicators
KPIs are key figures that provide information about different activities around the Data Center, such as availability and resilience. One of the best-known KPIs is the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) factor. This gives an assessment of the effectiveness of the Data Center. For the calculation, the energy supplied to the data center is divided by the energy used by the IT equipment. Modern data centers have a PUE of 1.3 or better. Today, however, the PUE is often no longer sufficient. There are a large number of additional KPIs that provide even more detailed information about the general condition of a Data Center. Some examples are:
- Sustainability (REF/ERE)
- Inherent and operational availability (Ai / A0)
- Resilience Level (RL)
- Redundancy in a system
- Reliability (R(t))
- Single and Double Point of Failure (SPoF / DPoF)
- Mean Down Time (MDT)
- Mean operating Time Between Failures (MTBF)
- Mean Time Between Maintenance (MTBM)
- Mean Time to Restoration (MTR)
- Water consumption (WUE)
- CO2 emissions (CUE)
- Annual performance factor (JAZ)
- Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE/pPUE)
- Key Performance Indicators for Data Center Efficiency (KPI4DCE)
- Data Center Maturity Model (DCMM) and many more
Safety and Health Coordinator for Data Centers and IT Infrastructure
The use of a certified safety and health protection coordinator (SiGeKo) is legally prescribed for almost every construction project in accordance with the requirements of Section 3 of the Construction Site Ordinance and Section 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
One of the tasks of the SiGeKo is to identify any health and safety risks on the construction site during the planning phase. In this way, measures for the safety and health of the people working on the construction site can be taken during the planning process.
During the construction phase, the SiGeKo controls the corresponding measures, which are recorded in a safety and health protection plan (SiGe plan).
Data Center projects involve a very high individual risk. We also incorporate our experience from over 200 Data Center projects into our work as certified health and safety coordinators. So we bet on tried-and-tested solutions that do not delay the construction process and always guarantee a very high level of security for all trades.
The special dangers and challenges in a construction project in connection with Data Centers and IT infrastructure include:
- UPS system
- Powerful battery systems
- Energy storage systems
- Gensets
- Electrical switchgears
- Cooling systems
- Fire protection systems
- Perimeter protection
Correctly assessing the systems during the ongoing construction process and considering the safety measures in safety and health integrating a plan is one of our core competencies as an approved SiGeKo.
Our SiGeKo Services
- Carrying out inspections on construction sites
- Creation of security concepts in coordination with all project participants
- Analysis of possible safety and health risks
- Elaboration of the SiGe-plan according to § 4 BauKG
- Creation of the construction site safety plan
- Creation of the documents for later work in accordance with BaustellV
- Establishing and defining the safety devices
- Constitution of the building site regulations
- Examination of the construction work for safety aspects
- Participation in construction meetings
Building Information Modeling
Building Information Modeling (BIM) stands for interdisciplinary, networked planning on the basis of shared databases. BIM thus represents a digital planning method and accompanies a Data Center throughout the entire life cycle. Compared to conventional planning steps, BIM requires modified work processes and offers open communication with all project participants. The entire BIM planning process is accompanied by the BIM manager as the overall coordinator.
Resilient Infrastructure Design
BIM and DCIM are elements that are inseparable. While BIM describes the physical infrastructure such as buildings, cooling technology and electrical systems, DCIM primarily revolves around IT applications and properties.
DCIM and BIM overlap. This has to be recorded and used for the Data Center process. In order to map a complete “digital twin” of the Data Center, DCIM and BIM must work hand in hand and be designed for this challenge. Only in this way the efficient operation of a Data Center is possible.
AI and HPC are Transforming Data Centers
The COVID-19 pandemic and AI research has driven the demand for High Performance Computing (HPC) to new heights. For instance, modelling the COVID virus’ spike protein and finding sites on those spikes that could be drug targets are done with HPC-powered simulation.
Running a high-power-density HPC deployment generates significant heat. In fact, due to the size of the compute workloads and density, servers in an HPC environment can run approximately 30 percent hotter than traditional computing platforms. Especially in an older data center where the cooling systems were designed to accommodate significantly lower power densities, HPC will expose ineffective or insufficient cooling capacity.
Liquid- and immersion cooling will increasingly become the norm in Data Centers and these possibilities must be taken into account today in order to take account of the changing requirements in the future.
The Uptime Institute recently confirmed the average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio for a Data Center in 2020 is 1.58, which is only marginally better than it was seven years ago.
We are part of the Open Compute Project (OCP) which aims to reimagining hardware, making it more efficient, flexible, and scalable.
Get Your Free Data Center Planning Guide
Fill in your details below and get access to a free, comprehensive white paper with details on how to get started with an efficient Data Center.
Schedule a Meeting
Would you like to take the next steps with us?
"The conception and development of a prototype does not only require comprehensive know-how, but also a lot of experience and solution competence. We found this in the High Knowledge team and therefore we decided to give the project management in the hands of High Knowledge. The prototype was recently put successfully into operation and on time. We are looking forward to future projects."
"The data at the locations of Thales DIS AIS Deutschland GmbH are subject to high security requirements. While ensuring availability, the team around the High Knowledge GmbH has developed an excellent concept that ideally covers the local conditions and the protection goal for the server rooms, hardware and data. The most economical solution was worked out and our expectations were met in every aspect."
"Our established structures require a differentiated focus, which we find very well represented at the High Knowledge GmbH. In the cooperation, our requirements for economy and professionalism were clearly taken into account."
Our Services
How We Can Help
Consulting
Consulting services are generally not standardized, and expert knowledge is seldom comprehensible or documented. Therefore, we rely on certified knowledge and proven quality. Our company has been accredited by the German Federal Office for economic Affairs as accredited Management Consultants. For this reason, our customers enjoy special subsidies in certain areas.
Solutions
We offer you the entire spectrum in the field of IT infrastructure and Data Centers. From turnkey modular and EDGE Data Centers such as IT safes to infrastructure components such as UPS and energy systems, generators, monitoring systems or our patented cooling systems.
