March 20, 2008 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Data center research organization The Uptime Institute (uptimeinstitute.org) has reportedly authored a new paper that defines data center grades to help enhance its tier standards that differentiates data center availability.
These “operational sustainability” grades include A, B and C, where A is considered the highest rating. The rating system was developed to help those companies whose availability lies in between tiers. For example, a facility may be better than one level’s minimum but not high enough to qualify for a higher tier.
Uptime determines the operational sustainability of a site through five categories. Site selection explores the building’s susceptibility to natural disasters, availability of the workforce and utility rates. Building characteristics examines whether a building is up to code and has support spaces. Fitness for use looks at the facility’s scalability and technology.
Investment effectiveness measures the building’s energy efficiency, resale value and ability to align with business goals. Finally, management and operations examines the company’s support employee training and ongoing education about data centers.
The group hopes the new grading system will prevent companies from misusing the tiers with phrases such as “a Tier 3-plus data center” or “a near-Tier 4 facility.” The grades are intended to complement Uptime’s four-tier classification system, which assesses the robustness and redundancy of a data center facility.
The new system will help clear up any confusion between two data centers that have been categorized as the same tier rating. For example, two data centers may be designated as Tier 3 facilities because they have dual-powered IT equipment fed by dual uninterruptible power supply devices. However, one might garner an A grade for using vented-lead-acid batteries in its UPS devices, while a site that uses inferior valve-regulated-lead acid batteries might fetch an operational sustainability grade of a B or C.
“It addresses incremental level of investment within the tiers,” says Hank Seader, an engineer at Uptime Institute, who helped develop the original tier system. “There are many ways to achieve objectives within a certain tier. With operational sustainability, we recognize that they get an additional value from that additional investment.”
Uptime’s tier system gives companies a standardized method to express their level of investment and performance, particularly in regards to data center availability. The highest level, a Tier 4 site, is considered a fault-tolerant site with redundant capacity components in every aspect of the data center. There are less than five Tier 4-certified sites in the world and just a little more than two certified sites in total.
Uptime will start examining sites at both the tier level and the operational sustainability level. The company says that sites will begin using the new letter grades in the next few months.
