Facility DevelopmentBuilding Data CentersFrom Concept to Operations

John R SavageauChief Technology OfficerCRG WestLos Angeles

HighDensity

Computing

Topics

• Introduction – CRG West business• Market selection• Facility acquisition process• Due diligence• Importance of green planning

What is CRG West?

• Data centers and carrier hotels• 2 million+ sqft data center space• 100MW+ power• 11 Facilities in 7 major US markets• More than 600 tenants and customers• Any2 Exchange

The One Wilshire Meet Me Room is one of theMost densely interconnected locations in the world, with more than 350 carriers, networks, and CDNs

Interconnecting in a single physical location

CRG West Facilities

Market Requirements

• Proximity to CBD• Access to cable routes• Need for telecom carrier hotels• Need to support large Internet or

entertainment industries• Heavy financial-related services industry

Market Selection

• Data center business requires absorption– Enterprise– Internet-related– Telecom/Network

• Each category has different objectives– Internet exchange– Facility management– On-demand and cloud computing

How Do We Make Money?

• Revenue per cabinet model– Cabinet is base unit – Power added– Interconnections added

• Sqft sold model• Kwh sold model

– Breakered amp– Usage-based billing

Facility Acquisitions

• HQ team dedicated to facility deals• Prefer to buy• Lease only where purchase may not be

justified– Manhattan– Washington D.C.

• Preliminary financial due-diligence and on-site walk-through

Power Trends – Market Snapshot

• Customer power usage– 2003 @ 4kw/rack– 2005 @ 9kw/rack– 2008 @ 20kw/rack

• Current facility could not support expansion• Tough choices

– Convert another campus building– Lease space in, or acquire an existing data center– Outsource to 3rd party colocation data center– Develop greenfield data center

Facility Requirements

• Greenfield or existing structure• Property size• Facility size in SQFT• Separation of M&E –vs- USF• Floor loading• Slab-to-slab• Column layouts• Zoning• Environmental risks

Requires use of “the book”

The “Book”

• The facility bible for data center development• Sets standards for all aspects of data center

acquisition and construction• Generic enough for local differences• Used as a basis, with the facility specifics, to bid

construction contracts

CRG West Data Centers

SantaClaraEXCHANGE

Q2’09

Getting Started - Planning

• Facility design• Electrical design• City planning

– City Planner– Environmental impact study

• Environmental concerns• Zoning restrictions • Soils report

– Fill? – Bedrock? – Water table? – Flood zone?

Permitting

• City building department plan check review

• Fire Department plan check review• HAZMAT review

– Diesel storage– Refrigerants– Chemical handling

Working with Utilities

• Ensure adequate sub-station capacity exists (due-diligence)

• Planning delivery of power to site– On site transformers– On-site substation

• Negotiating costs• Delivery/availability of industrial water and

sewage capacity

Access to Telecom Carriers

• Telecom carriers– PTT– Competitive metro/long distance

• Wireless providers• CATV networks

Staffing

• Union requirements• Mechanical/electrical/facility engineering

– In-house?– Outsource?

• Security– Local security company?– National contract?

• Local HR availability– Required skills– Competition

• Requirement to transfer staff from existing site to new location

Impact of Green Sites

• Prefer to build energy efficient sites• Select “Energy Star” equipment• Green site design• Strive for lower PUE/Power Usage

Effectiveness

A Word on PUE

• Hot topic in data center industry• Gives a snapshot on power and resource

efficiency• How much power does your facility consume?

– customer-facing– Equipment MEP-facing

• Lower PUE rating means higher margins and more efficient/greener facility

owerEquipmentPITityPowerTotalFacilPUE

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The Construction Process

• Selecting the GC– Data center experience– Prior projects/familiarization– Geographic experience– Proposal management (based on “The Book”)

• Managing the project• Acceptance

– Project manager– Operations manager– City and Fire Department inspections

Aggressive Modeling

Cooling and HeatDynamics in Data Center

Data Center Sales and Operations

• Strict adherence to installation standards– BICSI Cabling– Cabinet/rack installation

• Spatial planning– Hot Aisle/cold aisle– Cage and cabinet maintenance

• DON’T WASTE COLD AIR!!!

Summary

• Higher densities drive more sophisticated site selection and planning

• As in all real estate – location, location, location• The greening of datacenters saves money, builds

efficiency, and is good for the planet• Operations science is essential to keep data

center running at best PUE factor

Questions?visit www.crgwest.com

for more information