I got several comments on my predictions for 2011, specifically on containers and innovations. Addressing manufacturer innovation, I believe what really started the trend was a drive to differentiate. The Eaton 9395 UPS power module drive many to multi-mode operation with their introduction of their Economy mode. That, and Eaton FINALLY produces a 750+ kVA [Read more]

I was reading the Data Center Dynamics Focus Dec 2010/Jan 2011 edition, and they had several touts speak to what the biggest developments in 2010 and what they feel is in store for 2011. Here’s my two cents on that one:   Cloud Computing With the rise on location independent content, specifically in the social [Read more]

In a parallel blog, we’ve been discussing the death of the modern data center. It’s not as dire or alarmist as it sounds – merely the realization that data centers are evolving as both real estate-based solutions outside the enterprise and the use of cloud computing for social media, entertainment and now more traditional corporate [Read more]

Many of us in the industry have discussed why data centers of the past are changing. I contend that it’s not an unanticipated shift, but merely a return to either a generic or highly bespoke solution for a mainfame computing environment. And if you ever worked in a Cray shop, you know how specific the [Read more]

I’m not the most radical person on the planet. After some consideration, I’ve come to the realization that in an effort to drive energy efficiencies into the data center, we may have inadvertently changed how users view the relationship between the critical utility infrastructure and the hardware and systems they power and cool. While this [Read more]

For those of you who have been following additions to the NEC and have missed the impact of the new Article 708. The intention has been to protect facilities and to provide a certain level of survivability to buildings focused on national defense or vital civil operations. What we have found is that this requires [Read more]

Sorry for the break everyone, but I had some trouble with my Blogspot account, now solved! This post is about the EPO. There’s been a major shift in the industry considering EPO. Presently, the EPO is being negotiated out with the Jurisdiction or, in a longer plan, being excluded as a requirement to NEC 645. [Read more]

I can hear it now. I got equipment from People’s Republic of East Bejesus and I’m worried it will fail! Well, most of what we buy is industrial-grade equipment that bears a lot of 3rd party scrutiny, such as UL or independent lab, not to mention the commissioning we do to systems before we turn [Read more]

No Detail Is Too Insignficant Short blog today. While sitting a series of large-scale cutovers and work arounds for a client, we had a generator fail while one of 14 systems was in maintenance bypass. The facility is preapring for a retrofit, and we were installing some much needed repairs for the site to hold [Read more]