Data Centre Infrastructure Certification Online Training

Syllabus of Data Centre Infrastructure Certification Online Training

• Understand the history of the data centre, from its humble beginnings as a computer room to the football field sized behemoths of today
• Understand the critical services data centres provide and how they are embedded across most things we do throughout a typical day without us knowing
• Understand the important role data centres play and how they enable the digital, and likely low carbon economy, of the future
• Identify the relevant industry bodies, and the associated standards and regulations
• Describe and explain the most used definitions in the data centre industry
• Understand how the efficiency metrics are calculated – explain how legacy data centres performed and current trends
• Explain the market forces that are shaping the industry and how they are impacting today’s designs
• Understand the design process and how criticality, the importance/impact of downtime, and the needs of the business informs the design
• Understand resilience vs. business need
• Identify the options available to those seeking data centre designs including the types of data centres for the different computing architectures and business models

• Understand the standards recommendations
• Explain how the availability of resources affects a design, including power, connectivity and water
• Understand how geography influences the location of a data centre, including air-quality and localised risks
• Understand how business needs can override other site selection criteria, e.g. communications latency
• Be aware of what future influences on design are likely to be.

• Align design and architecture to business strategy today and into the future
• Business impact of decisions – looking at design from a TCO perspective over lifecycle
• External Shell design
• Space considerations
• Structural Specifications
• Applicable Standards – including fire resistance, fire suppression and security
• Codes & Regulations – including legislative requirements across different countries and voluntary initiatives (e.g. EU CoC, building sustainability – LEED, BREEAM)
• Other types of data centre design – covering modular data centres, scalable data centres, container based systems, fast provisioning, pre-fabricated data centres, Pods
• Future thinking on data centre design

• Understand the history of the access floor and debate whether a raised floor is still needed
• Define the relevant standards and regulations
• Understand floor loading
• Explain the design considerations with regard to flooring
• Explain where air grille tiles and ramps should be sited and the role played in airflow management and management of the data centre
• Be aware of the implications of cutting floor tiles and build up of zinc whiskers
• Understand current cabling standards and why they are important
• Describe the various methods of cable containment and associated benefits
• Understand the design principles of communication cabling
• Be aware of recent/future developments in this area

• Identify the roles and terminologies of servers
• Understand the issues surrounding low server utilisation and the benefits of virtualisation
• Understand the various types of storage equipment
• Understand the various types of communications equipment
• Be aware of technology developments, today’s challenges and the associated standards & regulations around IT hardware – think about what the next 4 – 5 next generations of equipment could look like in the interest of future proofing data centre design
• Understand the number of generations and versions that will be accommodated in the data centre throughout its lifecycle
• Understand container based systems and the benefits to IT hardware and data centre systems
• Understand provisioning guidelines associated with IT, and how they affect managing data centre capacity
• Be aware of innovative designs – Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Deutsche Bank, Kyoto cooling, eBay
• Be aware that future IT loads will be more variable than in the past. Consider how to manage this, in a dynamic consumption world, through workload management

• Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamentals of cooling
• Understand what cooling options are available and the advantages\disadvantages of each method, especially with respect to risk management
• Understand different monitoring and control strategies including associated benefits
• Be aware of the evolution of ASHRAE temperature, humidity and contamination recommendations around cooling and why they have changed
• Understand how cooling is affected by design considerations across the world
• Understand how to make cooling systems more efficient – understand CoP/EER and operational efficiency across the whole lifecycle of the data centre including part load efficiency
• Be aware of codes and regulations covering cooling
• Be aware of likely future developments in this area
• Heat re-use use and possible applications

• Understand electrical basics
• Identify what is meant by power quality for the ICT load and understand the ITIC/CBEMA Power Quality Curve
• Explain the term ‘grid power supply’
• Understand AC and DC power solutions
• Identify the various types of UPS including scalable & modular designs for energy efficiency and eco-mode operation
• Identify the various forms of energy storage, particularly battery and flywheel, and understand the limitations of each
• Explain standby/backup power and understand emerging technologies in this area – including fuel cell technologies
• Be aware of the codes and regulations covering electrical installation
• Managing UPS capacity throughout the lifecycle of the data centre
• Maintenance considerations
• Renewable power – low carbon generation and its applicability to the modern data centre

• Understand equipment considerations
• Identify IT cabinet types and their installation – including rack mount and blade configurations
• Explain what is a hot aisle/cold aisle configuration and understand the benefits of air management
• Understand how to incorporate non-standard equipment
• Be aware of applicable standards
• Future considerations aligned to IT roadmap, including liquid cooled servers

• Explain the importance of fire regulations, how to prevent fire and identify the prime reasons for a fire suppression strategy
• Understand the various systems for fire detection, warning and fire suppression; including water, water-mist & gaseous suppressants
• Identify how any system design needs to consider fire
• Understand the elements of a security plan
• Understand the difference between physical security and electronic security
• Be aware of surveillance policy and procedures along with associated regulations and standards

• Define BMS & EMS
• Understand what is involved in building automation protocols
• Understand integrated systems and interfaces
• Be aware of measuring and monitoring, and reporting systems and the minimum requirements for a high energy-efficiency strategy
• Identify applicable standards and likely future thinking
• Understand the drivers in infrastructure management and why it is important
• DCIM technology and future (IT and Facilities Management converging)

• Understand what the minimum commissioning scope of works
• Identify project phases and the involvement of a training element for the future operational staff
• Understand the elements of a commissioning plan
• Be aware of the likely documentation needed
• Understand the elements of maintenance plans, both planned and emergency including OEM & third-party contracts and SLAs
• Understand how to deal with equipment moves, adds and changes