If you're not
familiar with it already, Data Center Knowledge (DCK) is
one of the industry's leading online sources for daily news and
analysis for everything data center. Just named one of the
50 Must-Read IT Blogs by Biz
Tech Magazine, DCK also provides a great platform to measure
the pulse of what really excites (and worries) data center managers
and staff at large as the industry continues to evolve.
Just recently, DCK published the results of their 2011 Data Center
Market Insight Report, a detailed analysis and survey of data
center operators on all manner of topics, including growth strategy
and pain points.
Throughout the coming days and weeks, Chatsworth Products, Inc.
(CPI) is going to count down the top six issues important to our
fellow data center enthusiasts and explore in detail how CPI excels
in each. Let's start with the sixth-most important rated issue
according to the DCK survey, Running Out of
Space.
These days, it's hard to drive a mile in either direction without
seeing a "big-box" storefront. You know the ones, bright colors,
larger-than-life logos, and names we all know by heart. And just as
you might suspect, the "bigger is better" mantra applies to each -
create a space large enough to house nearly everything under the
sun, and offer consumers the convenience of a one-stop shopping
experience.
Now, apply that logic to the data center and you begin to see some
parallels, and some vast differences. For starters, space is a huge
commodity. And while the large scale enterprise players can and
will afford to create new (large) space as needed, there are just
as many hard-working small and mid-level data centers, equipment
rooms and premise network environments out there that need to make
do with their lot in life… not matter how small that lot may
be.
Is your
data center or network room bursting at the seams due to lack of
space?
For these folks, running out of space is more about
when than if. And as new data piles up, archives
become digitized and the cloud rolls in, it's not just servers that
need more volume, its every last square foot of the room where
those servers sit - down to the cabinet footprint, cable management
and wall-mount rack space.
To that end,
CPI offers a wide variety of cabinet solutions that not only meet
industry sizing standards such as EIA-310-E, they adapt easily to
specific architectural concerns like access floor height, ceiling
height and overall layout challenges. Furthermore, many cabinet
solutions pair with thermal management
accessories that reduce the need for obtrusive and
space-hogging cooling equipment.
Another
excellent opportunity for maximizing space resides in intelligent
cable management and cable
pathway. Better organized cables within and surrounding
cabinets and racks means less clutter and more room for supporting
equipment, while CPI's cable pathway products offer solutions to
route cable below raised floor or overhead using tray or
ladder-rack style configurations, each making practical use of
space far too often underutilized.
And for those
extra small spaces (you know the ones, sharing space with the
janitor's closet!), CPI offers a wide range of both open and
enclosed wall-mount systems that feature
small exterior dimensions to fit nicely in the tightest of spaces
while offering easily accessible swing gates for even easier access
in close quarters (such as CPI's EasySwing™ Wall-Mount Rack, seen
here).
When it comes to running out of space in the data center, CPI
products and solutions have room to spare.
Be sure to stay tuned for our recap of the fifth-most important
issue according to DCK, Running Out of Power.
Jeff Cihocki, eContent
Specialist