Data center commissioning 101
Transcript of Data center commissioning 101
Commissioning 101Chris Crosby
CEO, Compass Datacenters
Symposium – ColumbusNovember 11, 2014
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Reliability and Availability
There is a difference
Availability• Probability that a
system will work during required period
Reliability• Probability that
operations will be maintained during the period
Foundations of the data center
predictive performance
model
Advancing Data Center Professionals
The Bathtub Curve
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Advancing Data Center Professionals
Smoothing the Curve
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Commissioning Agent part of the design process
Enable the agent to be involved in all 5 phases
Roles:• Design Engineer—
Views the data center from what makes it work perspective
• Commissioning Agent—What makes it fail
Need both to develop an effective commissioning test plan
Commissioning Levels• Level 1:Planning
– Preparation for commissioning• Ex: Sequence of operations, scripts
• Level 2:Factory Acceptance Test– Quality/performance acceptance prior to shipping
• Level 3: Pre-functional Inspections– System installation, site acceptance testing
• Level 4: Functional Testing– Testing to spec performance per component– “Phased expansion” data centers end here
• Level 5: Integrated System Test– Full load testing of all systems– Ensure integrated operation and correct operation in case of
failure
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Level 5 Commissioning• Interlocking complexity– Static complexity: How is a system put
together?– Dynamic complexity: How does change in one
part affect other parts of the system?• Not equivalent or interchangeable• Data center systems may be simple but their
interaction isn’t• Testing components isn’t enough– Have to test the way the interoperate
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Level 5 Commissioning• Verifies reliability of design and compatibility among all
critical systems– Electrical– Mechanical– Environmental
• Must test in all modes:– Failure– Safety– Emergency
• Test in real life scenarios—not planned• Goal: Determine is systems are in line with reliability
targets
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Level 5 Commissioning• More important now than ever– Emphasis on speed of delivery and TCO
• Alternative to Level 5 commissioning– Learn by experience
• Level 5 commissioning specifically combats the “domino effect”
• “Lights out”– Phase doesn’t work• Ex: Arc flash– Low loads don’t perform the same as high loads
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Summary• Insurance of Reliability and Availability• Smooths the bathtub curve• Five levels– Build upon each other
• Phased builds only commission through Level 4– No guarantee of system interoperability under
load or in failure mode• Level 5 commissioning is essential
• Tests interoperability of all systems• In all modes
• Only way to ensure data center is suitable for its task
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