R&M Data Center Handbook

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3. Data Center Overview
The purpose of this section is to provide a comprehensive overview of the relevant standards and prevailing
technologies in data centers. It discusses data center layout, its overall infrastructure, zones and hierarchies. In
addition to active components and network and virtualization technologies, this section primarily deals with transmission
protocols and media in data centers. It also examines current and future LAN technologies as well as
cabling architectures. This is because data center planners, operators and managers can successfully manage
current and upcoming tasks only through a holistic view.
3.1. Standards for Data Centers
In earlier times, a room in which one or more servers, a telephone system and active network components were
located was often called a computer room. However, because of the development of cloud computing, virtualization
technologies, and an increased tendency to use outsourcing, “computer room” requirements became more
complex. The one room was replaced by a room structure, whose individual rooms are assigned defined functions.
The data center is now divided up into an
entrance area, the actual computer room
and a work area for administrators, right
through to separate rooms for UPS batteries,
emergency power generators and cooling.
In addition, attention must be given to
matters like access control, video monitoring
and alarm systems. An emphasis on active
and passive components requires an
improved infrastructure that includes such
equipment as a cooling system and power
supply, which in turn affect installation and
construction as well as the data cabling
structure. The point-to-point connections
that were used previously are being replaced
by a structured cabling system, which
allows for rapid restoration in case of a fault,
effortless system expansion and easy administration.
The data center layout, hierarchical structure and individual zones and their functions are described in detail in
sections 3.2 and 3.3 below.
3.1.1. Overview of Relevant Standards
Increasing demands on data centers have led standardization bodies to take this development into account and to
take a close look as this topic. Cabling standards issued from international and national committees describe the
structure and characteristics of a cabling system almost identically, but differ in terms of content. There are three
big organizations in the world which are concerned with the standardization of data centers.
The ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission) develops
international standards, the CENELC (Comité Européen de Normalisation Électrotechnique) European standards
and the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) American standards. There are other organizations for the
area of data centers, though these play a subordinate role to the ones above.
The standardization bodies also remain in contact with one another in an attempt to avoid differing interpretations
on the same topic, but this is not always successful. To achieve harmonization in Europe, CENELEC and ISO
exchange information with national committees (SEV/SNV, VDE/DIN, ÖVE, etc.). Data center cabling is covered
by the following standards:
• ISO/IEC 24764 • EN 50173-5 • TIA-942
All three standards focus on cabling, but describe the requirements for a data center in different ways. New
standards were developed for this area so as not to change the general (generic) cabling structure all too greatly.
The central focus of these standards is to cover the structure and performance of data center cabling. The goal
was to move away from the general point-to-point connections normally used in data centers and construct a
structure that is flexible, scalable, clear and permits changes, troubleshooting and expansion.
Page 46 of 156 © 08/2011 Reichle & De-Massari AG R&M Data Center Handbook V2.0