Re: DATACENTER: Specs for data centers

[Sean Donelan <SEAN@SDG.DRA.COM>]

>Why not use Bellcore standards with a mix of adaptations
>of your own, which is what the big telco's do..

That's also the problem with what big telco's do.

There are several fundamental assumptions in the Bellcore NEBS
documents which are not be appropriate if you are housing mostly
computer equipment.  Standard computer equipment has a very hard
time in a "normal" telco central office environment.

If you must have a spec for a computer center, may I suggest using
the IBM Physical Planning/Installation Manuals.  Although IBM wrote
the manuals only for specific pieces of IBM equipment (e.g. System/360),
because the IBM equipment was *the* important computers in the majority of
early computer centers, most other computer vendors built their hardware
to match IBM's specs.  No matter engineers don't know the original source
of the specifications, or the fact IBM is no longer a dominant power
for setting computer standards,  most of the recommendations have
been carried forward in modern computer equipment.

A couple of rules of thumb:

If you are installing telephone stuff, follow Bellcore recommendations.
If you are installing computer stuff, follow IBM recommendations

Things get more interesting when you install lots of computer equipment
inside a telephone central office.  Or when you install lots of telephone
equipment inside a computer center.
-- 
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO
  Affiliation given for identification not representation