Smart Data Centers: Not a One-Size Fits All Solution

Greg Galitzine : Green Blog
Greg Galitzine
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Smart Data Centers: Not a One-Size Fits All Solution

With convergence now a critical focal point for IT decision makers looking to
increase business flexibility, data centers need to achieve unprecedented levels of uptime to keep pace with business demands. The amount of data in the world is doubling at an astounding rate of every 18 months, and there is no "one-size fits all" solution for companies to manage these precious assets.

Ensuring minimal interruptions, and thus designing and implementing the right data center solution, is vital for enterprises today - and every solution is not quite the same. That said, industry standards dictate that products must be of a certain quality, however given the rapid pace of growth in this area, the industry norm may in fact not be enough as it pertains to the heightened dependence on data centers.

According to a recent article written by Panduit's Tom Turner, there are certain standards and testing for products to ensure they are safe, but not necessarily for performance and reliability. The Tinley Park, Ill.-based company implicitly understands that ensuring consistent connectivity - which depends on a reliable grounding system - demands a higher benchmark.
 
Turner wrote: "Agencies such as UL and CSA create standards and perform testing to help ensure that products are safe. However, demanding applications have forced some industries to go beyond UL and CSA safety test requirements and create their own performance and reliability tests. This test criterion is known as Network Equipment-Building Systems Level 3.
 
To put that into greater context, to date, NEBS Level 3 has the most stringent test requirements in the connector industry, going well beyond what is required for UL listing and CSA certification, Turner explained.
 
Given that the NEBS requirements roots are in the telecommunications industry, the rigor of NEBS Level 3 ensures that connectors passing the test are ideal for a wide variety of applications in many industries. In the end, the only way to know that a connector can perform is to run the tests. Why does this matter? As Turner answers in this article, "The grounding system can be no more reliable than the connectors that are used in its creation. Yet, the grounding system is relied upon to protect business continuity every day for the life of the facility."
 
NEBS Level 3 is all about minimizing risk, and as the experts can attest, that is what Panduit's UPI vision is all about as the company aggressively strives to set the industry standard.
 
To drive that point home, K.G. Anand, the firm's director of global product marketing concedes: "We have all the latest and greatest technologies for connectivity and cable, but this is not a one shot thing."


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