Dough Re Mi
Posted by Sara Beth Duyck on Fri, Apr 08, 2011
By Steven Manos
Now let’s not start singing along like we just left an Austrian convent to teach a bunch of lederhosen-clad rich kids how to sing. Instead, take a trip with me all the way back to January 14th, 1972 when the world was forever changed by the angelic, almost other-worldly sound of The Brady Bunch Kids. Dough Re Mi was the title to episode 65 where Peter Brady and the rest of the gang belted out its timeless second single Time to Change.
Aside from being a public service announcement on how awkward in can be to be a pre-pubescent teen, this harmonic vocal symphony could easily become the anthem for the modular data center revolution.
Let’s face it, when the Brady kids were telling us that “when it’s time to change, you’ve got to re-arrange,” it was like they had Nostradamus-like seer ability as it relates to our industry. With the almost daily refinements in container/modular data center design and the pace at which new products/services are popping up to support this new way to deploy, the industry is doing its best to “re-arrange.”
For those who anticipate having to provide the maintenance and support of these new fandangled gadgets (that one’s for you Grandma), I’m sure many of you feel as though you are stuck on the Starship Enterprise, being buried by a pile of propagating Tribbles. Because of this, I have grown acutely interested in how this alters/differs in how we manage/maintain these solutions vs. traditional raised floor.
Sure, I know a 225kVA UPS is a 225kVA UPS whether it’s sitting in an electrical room or in a metal box, but what ARE the idiosyncrasies that exist in maintaining and supporting containerized or modular data center solutions? Are there differences? Any subtle nuances? Are there enough of either to warrant an article that summons the likes of the Brady Bunch or one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek? My initial assumption would be that with modularity promoting simplicity, that if anything, we should see less complexity of systems that foster easier maintenance and support.
Well, while it is impossible for me to know all of the adjustments in maintenance and support for every solution out there, here are a few of the simple/blatant ones come to mind:
- Micro Climate: Like my mother used to always say in the summertime, “Shut the door! Were you born in a barn?!” The container/module is an extremely controlled environment, simple issues such as leaving a door open could significantly compromise hot/cold aisle dynamics.
- Spatially Confined: Much like my swim trunks from last summer, things can be a little tight. Staff must operate under OSHA confined space requirements. With containers being treated as equipment, regulations would be similar to working on an air handler, etc.
- Harsh working conditions: I was just in a colo where the temp was in the high 70’s and it felt hot. Like poor more water on the pile of sauna stones and don’t sit too close to that guy over there hot.
For those that work in container hot aisles though, high 70’s would feel as if they were working in shorts… in Duluth…in February. Here too there are a number of OSHA considerations with hot aisles reaching 105 degrees.
Obviously these examples are primarily environmental due to the dynamics inherent in working within a smaller scale. I would love to get feedback from those out there to determine what other differences you have seen or assume one would see in maintaining container or modular based solutions.
By the way, if anyone finds a shirt like Peter is sporting in the video, I wear a XXL.
Sha, na, na, na, na ,na , na, na, na…
Shan a na na na!
-SM