Dynamically Changing Environments

Just as in nature, change is constant in data centers. While this is not new, it’s always the same issues that seem to cause trouble―growing too fast, making changes without understanding the consequences, and putting off fixes of known issues―often because of limited budgets.

In recent years, virtualization, consolidation, and the continuous treadmill of refresh cycles have dramatically changed the operation of data centers. Typically, a tremendous amount of planning goes into the network and application framework of an IT system without much regard being paid to the physical infrastructure. Part of the problem is that many do not have a clear understanding of what is included in the physical infrastructure and how critical it is to the functioning of an IT system. Encompassing such elements as power, cabinets and racks, network cabling, cabling pathways and management, thermal management, and telecommunications bonding, the physical infrastructure is the foundation on which an IT system is built. It is often taken for granted until there is a problem with power, space, cooling, link speed, or data throughput, and data center operators usually respond by launching into break-fix mode.

However, at some point, a data center operator is forced to face the fact that just fixing specific problems as they occur is fighting a losing battle and that physical infrastructure is incapable of supporting IT operations. Following this realization, the first challenge is to prioritize the physical layer issues to determine which problems have the largest impact on the company’s business initiatives and long-term direction and whose remediation will provide the highest levels of return.

Panduit’s assessment services provide detailed objective information on the current state of your physical infrastructure, based on industry standards and best practices. Our assessments don’t just pick the low hanging fruit but identify the underlying physical infrastructure issues that adversely affect your current operations and your readiness for the future. We also provide guidance for remediation to resolve those issues and to ensure success in the long haul. Many elements of a data center’s physical infrastructure have a life span of five to ten years, so even if no problems are evident now, strategic planning is required to ensure that the foundation of your IT system remains sound and can continue to support your dynamically changing needs. Panduit’s assessment services can give you the information you need for that planning.

Panduit Advisory Services offerings include:

• A broad array of assessment services focused on the physical layer foundation (thermal management, power, telecommunications bonding, space utilization, cabling and cable management) that are based on industry standards and best practices
• Enterprise network and data center design services based on proven reference architectures
• On-Site project management services that facilitate the commissioning of designs
• Implementation services of Panduit’s Physical Infrastructure Manager™ (PIM™) software to quickly unlock the value of PIM™
• Thermal optimization services that take into the latest ASHRAE guidelines and use of advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to identify the root cause of cooling problems and to determine the optimum remediation