According to Gerhard Nel, product manager at Standard Bank, we can draw upon the teachings of the ancient art of feng shui to look at data centre design with renewed appreciation:
"Feng shui is an ancient Chinese system of knowledge, thought to be about 5 000 years old. In China, millions of people live their lives according to the natural forces and principles of feng shui.
"With its combination of science, philosophy and nature, feng shui has become very popular in the Western world. Simply defined, feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of placing objects within an environment to bring balance and harmony to a physical space, or simply put 'the art of knowing where to place things to maximise benefits'.
"There are many styles of feng shui, but the goal of all forms is to create the most beneficial environment in which one can live, work, and play, based on the individual's goals.
"In the business world it is used to boost productivity, reduce stress and improve relationships between colleagues."
And in the data centre world?
"While data centres would definitely not have been in anyone's mind when feng shui was first practised thousands of years ago, I believe there are many similarities to the data centre's infrastructure. The feng shui practice (literally translates to "wind-water" and written as ??) discusses architecture in abstract terms of 'invisible forces' that bind the universe, earth, and society together, known as qi (or Chi, written as ?). Just as in data centres, balance is required in feng shui between the three elements - wind (airflow), water (chilled water) and energy (power) - to yield an optimal environment in which to function.
"Taking this metaphor further, we can apply the laws of feng shui to the data centre. The physical space is the data centre site: the 'feng' which needs a peaceful balance between the energy 'chi' which moves throughout and the cooling system, represented by the water 'shui'.
"Transferring energy through the space creates heat that in turns cools down the water, a cycle which comprises the essential components of feng shui. This is the same for combining the critical components of infrastructure, servers and applications in order to achieve harmony in the data centre.
"With these thoughts in mind, I believe it is time to look back and draw upon the teachings of the ancient art of feng shui and look at data centre design with renewed appreciation.
All about harmony
"In Figure 1 (below) I have taken the classic Feng Shui principles (see first and second inner circles) and have expanded them to compare with modern data centre principles (outer circle).
"Meeting the rising and ever-changing power density of the IT equipment loads is all about creating harmony. At the core of designing a new data centre for any of my clients in Africa, it is very important to balance the requirements of costs, space limitations, maximum number of cabinets and flexibility. Most of my clients are particularly concerned about aesthetics and how it will look (and feel) when a visitor enters the room. They want to feel the cold air, because if the data centre is hot then either the cooling systems are not working or something is very wrong with their data centre.
"Inefficient infrastructure is a major element of waste (written in Chinese as ?? meaning garbage or trash). The increasing cost of energy is probably the greatest operational cost of the data centre, accounting for half of operational expenditure. This is due to the over-sizing of power and cooling equipment combined to create waste. The time has come to introduce Lean IT and for data centre operators in Africa to apply these principles. In doing so, they will reduce PUE and eliminate electrical losses.
"The sudden rise of cloud computing has however created new requirements for the way that data centres are designed and built. This is particularly true in the data centre's ability to scale to meet the needs of evolving IT equipment and user demand in an ever-changing market and provisioning public, private and hybrid cloud architectures.
"In many countries we are given space in an existing office building. This is never an ideal place for a data centre, but many of my clients need to operate this way, so it is my task to provide a design that fits into a less-than-perfect space, yet fully supports the client's IT requirements. Easy enough isn't it?
"Since the introduction of the next-generation data centre concept almost a decade ago, data centre planning and design have significantly progressed. Today's data centres must support the dynamic environment of the IT equipment, but also be in harmony with the external environment.
"Data centre construction brings many challenges to customers who require a comprehensive skills planner who not only understands the architecture of the building but also IT, power and environment.
Hot aisle/cold aisle design
"It is evident that data centres have their own art of feng shui, and arguably one of the more critical elements to maintaining such a harmonious environment is the hot aisle/cold aisle design concept.
"In its simplest form, the hot aisle/cold aisle configuration lines up server racks and other computing equipment in alternating rows. Cold air intakes are positioned in one direction - typically facing air conditioner output ducts - while hot air exhausts are installed in the opposite direction, usually turned to face air conditioner return ducts.
"In addition, a containment system may be used to physically isolate the hot aisles and cold aisles from each other, preventing the hot and cold air from mixing.
"There are several advantages to hot aisle/cold aisle data centre design. Firstly, you will considerably reduce energy costs. By channelling the cooler air closer to equipment inlets you will be able to create higher temperature set points. Hot aisle/cold aisle designs combined with containment solutions can reduce fan energy use between 20% and 25%.
"Secondly, you will extend your equipment life. Aisle containment enables IT systems hardware to operate at optimal temperatures, eliminating hot spots (which can trigger server failures) and extending the equipment's operational lifecycle.
"And lastly it will account for stronger security. Many aisle containment systems include manual or electronic security locks, ensuring that only approved employees can access the containment zone and the IT systems installed within.
Applying the art of feng shui to your data centre architecture is not nearly as difficult as it may sound because basically you're doing the same thing: determining the best location for each component in the data centre based on a set of organisational (business and operational) needs or goals. Will it be onsite, off site, virtual or in the cloud?
"The underlying theory of feng shui is that location matters, and it is certainly true in the data centre.
"I am not suggesting glass-enclosed water features and wind chimes to create the Feng Shui effect. My aim is to suppress the idea that Feng Shui is 'airy-fairy' and not applicable to the data centre, and I am hoping to get the conversation trending and my fellow data centre specialists thinking outside the box when applying their minds to data centre design. The next time your client approaches you to design a data centre, think about using feng shui to improve your data centre's 'harmony' and perhaps its 'chi' efficiency."
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