Datacenter Co-locationPresented by:

William Kyrouz,Goodwin Procter LLP

Raymond Beaulieu,Bingham McCutchen LLP

ObjectivesHelp determine if co-location is right for youKnow how to kick off a search for a co-location vendorHow to pick a winnerUnderstanding the pitfallsDesign Considerations

Why Co-Lo?Your floor and ceiling tiles falling apartFire Suppression system needs to be updatedEnvironmental (HVAC) maintenance and worriesPhysical security poor or non-existentBuilding power/water maintenance bringing you downYou’re centralizing into a single datacenter, and you want all of your eggs in a better basket (or two)

Why Co-Lo?

Why Co-Lo?

After 2 YearsAvoided 5 shutdowns due to building maintenanceReclaimed 2000 Square feet of office space in Boston, 2500 Square feet of space in San Francisco.By moving the engineering team with the servers, time spent on projects near 85%.Completed iManage centralization. (full failover capabilities within 15 minutes)

Put it down in an RFPGet these people on the same page:

CIO, Technology Committee, Network Manager,Business Continuity, Telecom, Application Support, Development

So that the above, and your potential vendor understand:Where you want your stuff to live, what is you stuff?Your need for managed services (or lack thereof)How much you care about the three P’s

RFP Components

Confidentiality (get NDA sign-off)Introduction – Tell your storyEvaluation and Selection MilestonesHow you want responses handledDescribe your environmentYour evaluation criteriaDraft requirements for cage capacity

RFP Components Cont.

Q&ACooling techniquesUPSPower DistributionPoints of entry into the buildingMaintenance/Testing schedulesFuel supply, storage and contracts

References

Things to ponderLocation(s)Telecom costs (Dark Fiber, Bandwidth Usage, Diverse paths)Latency issues (Citrix, or WAN acceleration)Racks or a cage? (Room for growth)Will managed services be desired now, later or never? What kind?Is office space a requirement?

Things to ask/see in your site visitsTour from roof to basementChilling towers, water/glycol feeds, pumps Generator locations, proximity to fuel supplyTransformers, UPS battery stringsMonitoring systems, security, NOCWarm spots in the cage areaProper temperature and humidityFans and Move-n-Cools laying around?

Common Water Supply

12 U 12 U 12 U

Making The MovePlanning

Meet with the stakeholdersDraft cage planTest redundant systemsVM’s, Blades?Schedule downtime

Move in phases (e.g. voice, file services, Exchange…)Over-communicate to IT and User Community

Setup Considerations (power)Run True A/B power (Should the A side fail, the B side will need to pick up the load with wiggle room)Distribute power evenlyUse SNMP manageable PDU’s, configure to send traps if any circuit goes above the thresholdConsider using Automatic Transfer Switches for those devices with a single power supply

Setup Considerations (power)20 Amp Circuit

8 Amp Actual Draw20 Amp Circuit

8 Amp Actual Draw

Setup Considerations (power)This side Fails 20 Amp Circuit

16 Amp Actual Draw

Setup Considerations (Airflow)Most servers cool front to back , Colo’s should be setup in hot isle/cool isle setupMost larger switches and routers cool either left to right, or right to left. Use open racks if possibleNote where the CRAC’s draw in the hot air, try and keep any equipment from blocking a path to the intakeColo’s with a failed A/C heat up fast, have an emergency shutdown plan ready.

Setup Considerations (Cabling)Cabling looks great day one, but gradually get messy as equipment moves in and outOpt to not use the servers swing arm cable manager. Use short cables instead.Don’t forget your fiber.Label EVERYTHING.Lights out AdministrationStick to a cabling plan, make someone in charge

Stick to a Standard

Now how much would you pay?Providers price

For comparison, Bingham has 250 Square feet of cage space and draws ~ 50,000 watts

Provider1 – 33k NRC, 33k MRCProvider2 – 9k NRC, 23k MRCProvider3 - 6k NRC, $800 MRC for each circuit (16k)Provider4 – 30k NRC, 5k MRC (power costs are passed thru, 10k)

Cross-Connect Fees (Monthly)$125 per SMF or MMF pair$100 per COAX$75 per copper

SummaryKnow what you need.Set expectations (this takes a long time)Move in PhasesTest test testTrust No one!

Co-Location Providers365 Main NaviSite

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