AlfaTech Mission Critical Big Book
INNOVATIVE IDEAS | INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS | SUSTAINABLE PARTNERS
01
OVERVIEW / Profile & Services
02
Sustainability
03
Markets & Relevant Projects
OVERVIEW 01
Profile & Services
P R O F I L E
AlfaTech has built its reputation on providing the most innovative and sustainable engineering solutions from master planning through construction administration. Our presence is not only California and Atlanta, but also internationally. Our clients include numerous large multi-national firms, many ongoing clients we’ve been serving for years. We strive to provide intelligent and innovative strategies starting with project inception, in order to provide maximum benefit to our clients during the entire development process whether it be new high-rise projects, mixed use projects or revitalization of existing communities. Our team provides the most appropriate engineering design solutions which are highly efficient and cost effective, and promotes the greatest possible return on investment for our clients. Our goal is to build the most dynamic relationships, be attentive to the needs of our clients and partners, and be true team players. With this mindset, we’ve built a stellar list of clients.
Uber, Mission Bay 1 & 2
Eventbrite
eBay
UNITED STATES San Francisco San Jose Los Angeles Atlanta
INTERNATIONAL Europe Asia Middle East Latin America Africa
AlfaTech RSBG Infrastructure Dorsch Gruppe Qvest Media SecurView
Additional Resources Through Our Sister Companies
100+ locations | 55+ countries | 3,600+ staff
S E R V I C E S
DESIGN SERVICES
AlfaTech strives to provide the most cutting edge solutions to our clients needs in the most sustainable methods possible.
We provide a range of complementary services and expertise in multiple markets—all under one umbrella. This enables us to provide the most thoughtful engineering design and services that are environmentally conscious and innovative, hand-in-hand with the most forward--thinking solutions in technology and lighting design. We ensure our contribution to the built environment is flexible, sustainable, and lasting across all market segments we serve. Our expertise and services bring our data center clients back again and again. Our team has unmatched expertise in mission critical projects, and has provided a myriad of services for some of most innovative data centers operating today, and for some of the industry’s highest profile Fortune 500 firms.
S E R V I C E S
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN HVAC
ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING DESIGN Lighting and Lighting Controls Lighting Calculations
COMMISSIONING | ENERGY SOLUTIONS Early Quantifiable Energy Study Incentives
Heating Systems Water and Gas Cooling Systems / Chilled Water Dehumidification Systems Contamination Sensitive Areas Industrial Hygiene Systems Low Tolerance Temp Control Energy Code Analysis and Design Heat Recovery Systems Central Utility Plants Air Handlers HVAC System Controls PLC Programming Fire Protection and Plumbing
Customized ROI Calculations Sustainable Lighting Design
Energy Star® Assessments Retro-commissioning (RCx) Monitoring Brand Continuous Commissioning (MBCCx) ASHRAE Level 1, 2 and 3 Energy Audits Measurement and Verification (M&V) of installed projects Energy Modeling Net Zero Energy Budgeting HVAC/Chilled Water Plant Optimization
Energy Savings Analysis Custom Lighting Fixtures Design for finishes, fabrics and light sources
TECHNOLOGY DESIGN Low Voltage Design Security Design Audio Visual Design Wireless Design & Modeling
PROCESS Industrial Waste Collection Acid Neutralization Bio-Kill Waste System Process Waste Containment Ultra pure De-ionized Water Systems
Strategic Consulting Project Management Relocation & Migration
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN Power Systems
Emergency & Standby Power Lighting and Lighting Controls Security Systems 24 / 7 Power Systems (UPS) Power Monitoring Systems Toxic Gas Monitoring Graphic Control and Alarm Panels Grounding and Bonding
USP Water WFI Water Specialty Chemicals Chemical Storage
SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability Planning (Organizational and Infrastructural) LEED / Green Building Consulting Master Planning Life Cycle Cost Assessment Occupant Wellness and Comfort
Lab and Special Gas Systems Ultra High Purity Gas Piping
Bulk & Specialty Gases Toxic Materials Handling Code Compliance Process Distribution Piping Process Cooling Water Medical Gas Medical Vacuum Waste Anesthetic Gas Disposal system (WAGD)
Energy Management Energy Conservation Fire Alarm Systems Public Address Systems Plug Loads Control
Façade Engineering CFD / Wind Studies Wind Studies Thermal Stratification Studies Energy Concept Studies
Dental Vacuum System Dental Water System
S E R V I C E S
WEATHER ANALYSIS
weather trends going back as far as recorded data can be sourced, in most cases up to 50 years in the past. This trend data can identify weather pattern changes that can occur due to urbanization such as converting open field to commercial developments and industrial usage. It can also provide information related to climate change which is affecting peak weather conditions. Through detailed review of this data, additional information can be provided to influence decisions on what worst case design condition should be included in the design. The design conditions published by ASHRAE and other resources provide single points of peak weather while the additional data collected and analyzed by AlfaTech can identify trends that can result in a more cost-effective design.
AlfaTech provides weather analysis to review historical weather data to influence site selection, for HVAC equipment sizing, and for other critical building arrangement decisions. American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) publish BIN, or analyzed “average” weather data, which is typically issued for airports and major metropolitan areas. ASHRAE also posts analyzed data for these sites such as extreme weather conditions that can be expected over a five-year period, a ten-year period, and on up to a fifty- year period. ASHRAE also publishes an Extreme Max Wet Bulb temperature which is important for design of any evaporative process such as cooling towers or evaporative cooling systems. The challenge with published data is that extreme weather conditions published by ASHRAE do not cover all cities and possible mission critical facility locations. Also, the extreme weather data represents the single worst-case conditions to be expected, but provides no information on how long that condition may last, or how often and how long weather conditions exist just below these extreme conditions. Through downloaded hour-by-hour weather data information, AlfaTech is able to provide additional insight into weather patterns, how long hot spells and cold spells tend to last, and the magnitude of these weather anomalies. We also use this information to confirm system sizing differences between sites due to weather conditions. As an example, through evaluating two sites less than 35 miles apart in the Portland, Oregon area of the US, it was determined that a cooling tower selection for the western site location would require a cooling tower fan motor increase from 3 horsepower to 7.5 horsepower to meet the same indoor design conditions. These comparisons can provide insight into optimal site locations with respect to impacts as a result of weather. These analyses can review
High Dry Bulb Occurrences
Duration
S E R V I C E S
CFD / WIND ANALYSIS
equipment placement, building arrangements, recirculation concerns, fresh air flow, and other elements to create an optimized design. Interior CFD models can be used to model airflow within a data center. Particularly when an underfloor air plenum design strategy is used, an airflow model can assess the floor height, the impact of underfloor obstructions, and the placement of air handling systems. In addition, indoor CFD models can assess the flow of air at the server rows to address hot spots, hot air recirculation, dead zones, and proposed phasing strategies. Through the use of CFD, AlfaTech can help clients optimize their design to ensure proper performance and operation of the completed design.
In order to complete a design for advanced facilities, there are often requirements to validate the design approach using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models. CFD models can simulate a variety of design conditions for both interior and exterior airflow conditions. AlfaTech has developed modeling techniques for both interior and exterior airflow modeling scenarios. Exterior CFD models can be used to analyze a building’s performance under prevailing or common wind conditions (speed and direction). These exterior models can help to influence design of outside air intakes, exhaust or relief openings, pressure sensor locations, and orientation of buildings to achieve optimal air flow. A common use of exterior wind models for mission critical data center facilities is to confirm standby or emergency generator performance. Typical diesel generators draw in combustion air and exhaust the products of combustion which can range from 500 ° F up to 1,000 ° F. The exhaust plumes can, if improperly designed and arranged, be drawn into outside air intakes or otherwise artificially influence the performance of neighboring equipment. Due to the high temperature and relatively small volume of combustion air required, these plumes tend to rise rapidly and as such, may not impact surrounding equipment performance. In addition to combustion air, a typical generator draws in and exhausts significant airflow for radiator cooling. These airflow rates can have a larger impact concerning performance of surroundings systems, and thus modeling is necessary to ensure required system performance is achieved. Through wind modeling on previous projects, AlfaTech has been able to advise on proposed
S E R V I C E S
BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM)
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a common tool referenced in the industry, but the concept covers many topics beyond just completing design in three dimensions as most people assume. 3D design is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full power and potential of BIM. At AlfaTech, we have been leading the industry using BIM for 3D design efforts, initially through the use of AutoCAD MEP and more recently through the design tool Revit. Through the use of Revit, AlfaTech can coordinate the design elements for our mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and technology designs with the balance of the building design such as architectural and structural elements. Beyond the standard usage of BIM for 3D coordination, AlfaTech uses the Revit platform to define parameters in design elements that can further influence robustness of design. Through intelligent modeling, our Revit designs can adapt and change pathways and riser diagrams as the system designs change. Importing information from Excel or other database software can also allow for rapid updating of the building model elements. An updated building model can then be used to update system design elements, energy performance of the design, and to consider design options. Through integrated viewing and coordination software such as Navisworks, Revizto, and Fuzor, the model can be further coordinated to ensure a conflict-free design with optimum system and pathway designs. This software also allows for virtual reality reviews of the project design to allow for better visualization of the completed project. Review of the proposed installations allows end users, maintenance staff, and other critical decision makers the opportunity to truly see and experience the completed arrangement in a way that renderings, section views, and elevations did not allow. AlfaTech continues to innovate in the area of BIM, and to influence the software providers and provide our extensive knowledge and experience as a benefit to our clients. This results in a better coordinated, optimized result for our clients.
S E R V I C E S
INTEGRATED BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (IBMS)
not considered. Security breaches and threats have sharply increased both IT and facilities manager’s concern about allowing these ‘unknown’ devices on the corporate network. The vulnerabilities of OT systems can leave organizations and critical infrastructure at risk of industrial espionage and sabotage. IBMS is a network and applications architecture that enables IT/OT integration between facilities sub-systems through open protocols and open source application program interface (API). The key to successful intelligent buildings is to establish secure integration between sub-systems to enable collective monitoring, reporting, analytics and automation. A successful implementation can reduce cost by optimizing operational and energy efficiencies. These capabilities allow for more strategic space planning and enhance the employee experience and productivity. AlfaTech is uniquely positioned to guide and assist our clients through this complex process. With combined MEP and technology design and consulting services, we understand how to engineer these solutions from both the building facilities systems and the IT network, server and applications perspective. Intelligent Buildings require a close partnership and shared strategic vision between Facilities and IT. Through our experience and technical expertise, AlfaTech continues to guide clients through this evolution, helping them embrace and navigate the complexities of truly integrated building management systems.
The ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) is creating new possibilities for building owners, product manufacturers and systems integrators, allowing the evolution of intelligent buildings to move at a rapid pace. IoT and analytics can be defined as a large number of data points brought together into a networked environment using one common Internet Protocol (IP) platform, allowing connected devices in a building to exchange and analyze information to optimize building and end-user efficiencies through automated controls. This evolution is how Smart Buildings are taking operational and energy efficiency to the next level through an Integrated Building Management Systems (IBMS) approach. The convergence of information technology (IT) systems that includes any use of computers, storage and networking devices and operational technology (OT), traditionally associated with manufacturing and industrial environments is reshaping how companies embrace IT/OT. Operational technologies seen in commercial office buildings consist of a number of facilities sub-systems including BMS, EMS, lighting controls, shade controls, security systems, conference room schedulers and more. Historically, all of these sub-systems operated independently of each other. Today we are seeing building sub-systems become network-enabled at an increased rate, creating a new generation of intelligent buildings. This transformation is placing new demands on the traditional corporate IT network, as all of these systems must communicate over a converged managed network. OT’s modernization through IT integration brings with it the required consideration of network and information security. Many OT systems were never designed for network security, as a result, the risk of connectivity was
S E R V I C E S
GREEN BUILDING
SUSTAINABILITY
LIFE
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN
OF A BUILDING RETRO COMMISSIONING
ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING
TECHNOLOGY
COMMISSIONING / ENERGY SOLUTIONS
CONSTRUCT I ON
OCCUPANCY
END OF USE
DES I GN
C L I E N T S
JDS Uniphase Corporation John Muir Medical Center Johnson & Johnson Johnson Controls JP Morgan Chase JRH Biosciences Juniper Networks Junipero Serra High School Kaiser HealthConnect Kaiser Permanente Kasowitz, Benson, et al
Novell Novellus Systems NVIDIA Ohlone Community College OptiSolar Oracle Orchard Properties Oread Pacific Bell PDL BioPharma PG&E Panattoni Europe Pfizer Philips Semiconductor Pitney Bowes Polycom Port of San Francisco Presidio Trust Price Waterhouse Coopers Qualcomm Queens Medical Center Rambus Raytheon Company
Scripps Memorial Hospital Sequoia Hospital CHW Sequoia UHSD Siemens SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Solectron Corporation Sony America Spansion Sprint SRI International (Stanford Research) Stanford Healthcare & Clinics Stanford University Stanford University Medical Center
365 Main 3M Company AARP Abbott Biotherapeutics Abbott Laboratories Abbvie Abgenix Abt Associates ACCO Engineered Systems Adaptec AOC Adobe Systems Advanced Micro Devices Advantest America Advent Software Aetna Affymetrix Agilent Technologies Agnes Medical Center Akamai Technologies Alcoa Allen, Matkins, et al Alliance Bernstein, LLP Alta Bates Health System Altera Corporation Alum Rock School District Alza Amazon/Lab 126 Ambiance Associates Ambience Interiors Amdocs American Express Company Amgen Amprius
Bingham McCutchen, LLP Bio-Rad Laboratories BioGenex Biomarin Pharmaceutical BioMed Realty Trust Bloom Energy BMC Software Booz Allen Hamilton Inc
County of Sacramento County of San Mateo County of Santa Clara Credence CSAA
CSU Northridge Cupertino USD Daughters of Charity Health Dell Deloitte Consulting Digital Realty Trust Dignity Health Dominican Hospital Dropbox Dupont East Side Union HSD eBay Eil Lilly & Company Elsevier Inc Emirates National Oil Empire State Development Equinix Equis Corporation Ericsson Ernst & Young LLP Exelixis Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley Fidelity Investments Fireman’s Fund Insurance First Franklin Financial Corp Flextronics Foundry Networks Franklin Templeton Investments Genencor Genentech General Dynamics General Electric Genzyme Corporation Gilead Sciences Goldman Sachs Good Samaritan Hospital GSA Harbor UCLA Medical Center Hayward USD
Boston Properties Boston Scientific Bradford Schools Bristol-Myers Squibb Broadcom Broadreach Capital Partners Brocade Buck Institute Stem Cell Research Lab Cadence Design Systems Cal Pacific Med Center California Department of Mental Health CarrAmerica Development Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Chabot Las Positas CCD Charles Schwab Chevron Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles County Children’s Hospital, Oakland Children’s Hospital, Orange County Children’s Hospital, San Antonio Chinese Hospital Cisco Systems Citigroup Realty Services
Kimpton Hotels KLA-Tencor Corp La Clinica De La Raza
Stion Corporation Stryker Endoscopy Stubhub Sun Microsystems SunPower Sutter Health
Lam Research Laney College
Lawrence Berkeley Lab Letterman Digital Arts Levi Strauss & Company Linear Technology LinkedIn Lockheed Martin Corp Logitech Longs Drug Stores Los Gatos Saratoga HSD Lumentum Marriott International Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital Marvell Semiconductor Maxim McKesson Medarex Menlo Park City School District Mercy Southwest Hospital Microsoft
Sybase Inc Symantec Synopsys Inc Sysorex T-Mobile Tencent Tesla Motors The Gap Twitter Uber UC Berkeley UC Davis UC Davis Medical Center UC San Francisco
Regional Medical Center Riverbed Technologies Robert Half International Roche Bioscience Ross Stores Sacramento Municipal Utility District Safeway Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Saint Joseph Hospital Saint Louise Regional Hospital Saint Mary’s Hospital Samaritan Medical Center Samsung San Francisco City Hall San Francisco International Airport San Francisco USD San Jose Medical Center San Jose Redevelopment Agency San Jose State University San Jose USD San Mateo CCCD San Mateo County Office of Education Sandia Laboratories Santa Clara County Health Dept. Santa Clara County Library Santa Clara County Office of Education Santa Clara USD Santa Clara University
City of Cupertino City of Foster City
UC Santa Cruz UC Los Angeles UCLA Outpatient Surgery/Oncology Center UCSF Mission Bay Medical Center Ultratech University of Colorado Hospital
City of Fremont City of Monterey City of Mountain View City of Newark City of Oakland City of Palo Alto City of Sacramento City of San Jose
Amstein + Walthert Anderson Architects Anixter Applied Dynamics Applied Materials Aradigm AT&T Park Clinic Atmel Corp Autodesk Avaya Avid Technology Avidex BAE Systems Bank of America Banuazizi Architects Bayer Healthcare Bechtel Corporation Bell, Rosenberg, et al Berryessa USD
Mills/Peninsula Hospital Mission Oaks Hospital Molecular Devices Monterey Peninsula College Morgan Hill USD Morgan Stanley Morrison & Foerster Motorola Mountain View School District MW Zander NASA-Ames National Semiconductor Network Appliance Nokia Nortel Networks North Bay Medical Center Northrop Grumman Novartis
University of Nevada University of Virginia URS Valley Medical Center Verisign Verity Health Verizon Communications Veteran’s Administration Visa International Vivus VMware Wachovia Bank
City of San Mateo City of Santa Clara City of Saratoga City of South San Francisco City of Sunnyvale College of Contra Costa College of Marin Colliers International Computer Associates Int’l Compuware CoreSite County of Monterey
Hewlett Packard Highland Hospital Hitachi America IBM Impax Laboratories Informatica Corporation Intel InterMune Intuit J&W Scientific
SAP Labs LLC Saratoga USD Savvis
Washington Hospital Xoma Therapeutics Yahoo
We believe making the world a better place is a responsibility we all share. And being able to do our part in the way we work is one of the best ways we can give back and have a positive effect on our environment. This means, not only do we always strive to provide the most sustainable solutions for our clients, but we are also always working on new, innovative and pioneering methods to bring sustainability to the next level, staying ahead of the curve in all types of projects in all the markets we serve.
Let’s leave the world a better place than we found it.
SUSTAINABILITY 02
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
At AlfaTech, we have a multidisciplinary team of experts to assess and design projects with a holistic approach. Working alongside owners, architects and other stakeholders, we examine every project in a comprehensive, systematic way to meet the client’s sustainability, energy, water and environmental quality goals. AlfaTech goes beyond engineering – our suite of energy, water and sustainability assessment services creates projects that benefit the bottom line. We provide expert studies in all qualitative aspects of the built environment such as day lighting, thermal comfort, advanced lighting control design, and technology integration.
We examine every project with a comprehensive systematic approach to meet the client’s sustainability, energy, water and environmental quality goals.
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
ADVANCED SIMULATIONS
We provide various advanced computer simulations to study wind patterns, thermal stratification and comfort issues in spaces, building façade studies and energy modeling to aid architects and owners make key decisions during the early stages of design.
Façade Engineering CFD/Wind Studies
• • • • •
Thermal Stratification Studies
Energy Concept Studies
Energy Modeling
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
CASE STUDY:
UBER MB 1 & 2 MISSION BAY HEADQUARTERS
San Francisco, CA
AlfaTech is currently involved in this Uber’s new San Francisco presence which is a new 420,000 square-foot, ground up office building in the Mission Bay area in San Francisco. Our scope of work includes mechanical, electrical, plumbing, technology, security, and sustainability services. AlfaTech assisted the architectural design team with optimizing performance by assessing various utility, façade and wind studies. The project is designed as an innovative, ultra- high performance building that includes a façade that responds to programmatic needs, an under floor air distribution system, a “winter garden” which acts as the main social space incorporating natural ventilation, and a proposed geothermal system to substantially reduce cooling equipment needs. AlfaTech has been providing MEP Engineering and Technology services for this client in the US and Globally for ten sites, including the new corporate headquarters in San Francisco. This is a state of the art new campus with over 420k SF of offices, a full kitchen and cafeteria. The project will include evaluation of all available sustainability features. Sustainability goals: • Significant reduction of building energy cooling needs by the use of geothermal exchange systems • Aggressive rainwater capture and retention • Natural ventilation for main atrium social areas, creating a pleasant, open experience for employees and visitors • Maximize use of day lighting to optimize workspace quality
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
CASE STUDY:
LENNAR CANDLESTI CK POINT & HUNTER’S POINT MASTER PLAN San Francisco, CA
The Candlestick Point and Hunter Point Shipyard is a 702-acre development that has the potential to bring most dynamic companies into the area and develop whole communities. This area will house R&D facilities, commercial spaces, multi- use buildings and retail spaces. Parks, trails, and open spaces will be additional features that will attract and enhance the community. The new development will add over 10,000 new residential units in the form of condominiums and low-, mid- and high-rise buildings. There will be over a million square feet of commercial space made available, over three million square feet for Research and Development, as well as over 300,000 square feet of property devoted to community activities. AlfaTech views this holistic approach to community development as an opportunity for Lennar Urban to be at the vanguard of urban design by creating a community infrastructure focused on environmental sustainability, technology, and self- sustaining. This means taking advantage of existing technologies to generate energy with the lowest environmental impact. We conducted a series of sustainable mechanical studies in a master plan scale to help the owners understand the options available to explore the feasibility of Net Zero energy for the new development. Proposed strategies involve:
Geothermal heat rejection systems
•
• High performance chillers and thermal energy storage • Biodigestion system for heat recovery and energy generation • Solar photovoltaic array for electricity generation • Rainwater and gray water capture and treatment
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
CASE STUDY:
DELTA PRODUCTS HEADQUARTERS Fremont, CA
Delta Products desired a new headquarters highlighting sustainability and energy efficiency with primary goals to showcase Delta Products’ innovation in a state of the art building blending the natural surroundings with sustainable building design. The Delta Americas Headquarters is a three-story 250,000 SF campus consisting of private offices, administrative, open workspace, conference/auditorium facilities, kitchen/dining areas, labs, office and warehouse. AlfaTech provided sustainable mechanical electrical plumbing engineering design services for this project focusing on the client’s desire to maximize natural ventilation and daylighting reduce water and energy consumption with a geothermal central plant and utilize radiant systems for primary space conditioning. AlfaTech conducted extensive CFD modeling to assist with sizing and locating windows around the building and their integration into a thermal tower ventilation strategy. The project also encompasses a photovoltaic system to balance energy consumption and achieve Net Zero Energy.
Some of the features included are:
Ecological ponds
• • •
Ground source heat pumps
• • • • • • •
EV chargers
Solar energy system Natural ventilation Active chilled beam
Rainwater harvesting
• Elevator power regeneration systems • Energy efficient HVAC system • Energy storage solutions • Hydronic bidirectional heating/cooling flooring systems
LED lighting
Spectrally selective glazing Grass and native plants
MISSION CRITICAL 03
& Relevant Projects
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
COMMITMENT TO MISSION CRITICAL
With the seemingly exponential explosion of data and the associated requirements for servers and storage, it isn’t surprising that many organizations, both public and private, are struggling to keep up with the ever- changing technologies and the immediate and constantly increasing requirements of IT and Facilities departments. AlfaTech has been on the frontlines of this trend for the past twenty years and has been a leader in the design and construction of state-of-the-art mission critical facilities. We implement the latest design methods for our clients to support emerging technologies and to assure energy efficiency and scalability for growth and changes in technology. We’ve made a corporate commitment to providing training and continuing education to a growing staff of engineers and project managers dedicated to the design and construction of mission critical facilities. Our esteemed team of professionals are educated in all areas of IT and Facilities operations and sustainable design for mission critical facilities, and are active members of the AFCOM, ASHRAE, The Green Grid, OpenCompute, 7x24 Exchange, SVLG and the USGBC. This commitment to continuous learning encourages growth and innovation to assure that our facilities are designed with the latest technologies, best practices, operational efficiencies and total cost of ownership in mind. Many members of our mission critical team were formerly employees in charge of IT and Facilities departments of large corporations, giving them a unique and practical perspective from which to interface with our client's management team, technical staff and end-users. These critical staff members are integral in bridging the gap between the facilities staff, IT staff and the executive leadership; bringing a common language and voice to all parties so each group is critical in assuring a successful program and implementing a solution that satisfies the current and future needs of the IT staff while providing clear and practical cost evaluations and controls to satisfy the fiscal constraints of the executive staff. Our firm’s commitment to designing cutting-edge mission critical facilities begins with a meeting-of-the- minds and is carried through the project’s completion and commissioning of the facility to assure everything is performing as intended and the facility meets or exceeds the design intent of the stakeholders. This is our Mission Critical Commitment and our commitment to our clients.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
DATA CENTER STRATEGY
Developing a Data Center Strategy is not about planning or designing a specific data center facility, rather it is about developing an understanding of why the Data Center(s) exist in the first place. Companies who experience rapid growth or those that have been in business for many years often find themselves with a fragmented data center portfolio. This can include multiple server rooms, labs housing production systems, multiple colocation facilities, etc. All of these locations were likely established to accommodate growing demands for data center capacity. Most companies with established data centers lack a formal strategy that defines how to provide the business with the agility it requires to enable growth while maintaining a cost-effective data center footprint. The development of true Data Center Strategy begins with executive sponsorship. Our process is intended to work with key stakeholders to establish meaningful priorities, goals and objectives that align with the business plan and strategy. Having a strategy in place provides objectivity when making value driven decisions. An effective strategy will leverage strengths and encourage collaboration across the company. One key goal of the Data Center Strategy development process is to establish common ground between all stakeholders by using a common language everyone understands. This process draws attention to the business needs and strategies rather than departmental or even individual preferences. The results of an effective strategy will optimize OPEX and CAPEX by minimizing non- performing assets and establish buy-in from the onset of future Data Center initiatives.
The key sections of a Data Center Strategy include:
Introduction
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Terms and Definitions Business Requirements
Strategy Challenges and Risks
Global Strategy Security Strategy Facility Definitions Platform Definitions
Service Level Agreements
Current Environment
Data Center Procurement Options Future Deployment Strategy Hardware Planning Strategy Capacity Planning and Forecast
Implementation Strategy
Revision History
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
DATA CENTER PROGRAMING
Technical Requirements – Focused on IT, defines the requirements that drive plans for network, servers and storage that will ultimately be supported. Strategies around these technologies have significant impacts on design considerations. Operational Requirements – Focus on Facilities and Operations. Defines support strategies, physical security, maintenance and operational requirements for a successful facility. Design Considerations – Based on all of the above, the design considerations serve as instructions to the design team to point them in the right direction. This section includes all required design disciplines. While AlfaTech has the capability and experience to take clients from concept to move-in, we believe the most important step in this process is initial programming. This is where the true business requirements are defined and put into proper perspective regarding competing priorities such as budget, schedule or location. The programming process guides our clients through all necessary considerations to effectively define data center needs and capabilities. This is often measured with parameters such as size, capacity, reliability, efficiency, scalability and sustainability. The process we have developed combines years of both Facilities and IT experience into an effective Data Center planning methodology.
Data center programming is fundamental in understanding the true business requirements and ensuring the design, and ultimately the construction, meets the business and end-user needs. AlfaTech has developed an extensive data center programming process and methodology that combines IT and Facilities requirements and objectives into a collaborative approach. The programming process consists of individual and/or group interviews, collaboration workshop combined with industry best practices. The programming effort produces a formal Owner Program Requirements (OPR) document that is then used throughout the design and construction process to maintain alignment with the defined business objectives and requirements. The OPR Development Process is intended to facilitate collaboration between stakeholders and bridge Facilities and IT organizations by aligning individual departmental objectives with overarching business requirements and strategies. An effective OPR is organized into the following sections: Business Requirements – Defines how the data center will support and or enable the business to meet the goals and objectives for the enterprise, focus on applications, service levels and business impact. Functional Requirements – Based on business requirements, defines the capacity, reliability, efficiency, scalability and modularity required to meet business needs.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
DATA CENTER DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Location : The philosophy of design must take into account local weather and atmospheric conditions as well as utilities. Weather conditions of extreme cold or hot ambient temperatures, humidity and other considerations such as high atmospheric dust content in farming communities will need to be accounted for in the design. Utilities data such as power capacity, reliability and cost; and similar information for data fiber, fuel oil, water … etc. Local building codes may have a large impact on the types of HVAC systems allowed (efficiency), Power generator operational hours and pollution control, sound level and structural design requirements. Redundancy : The philosophy of redundancy must be based on and satisfy the operating philosophy of the data center company. Therefore, if the data center operating philosophy is to mirror all data between two distant sites, the loss of power, a large earthquake or other such events, would require the operation be run from a second site. This condition would require a lesser level of redundancy than an independent site requiring all redundancy be located on site which requires consideration for equipment redundancy when a generator or other major piece of equipment is down for maintenance.
Space Allocation : Each data center operator/owner will have a desired operational layout concept that must be incorporated into the Basis of Design for a given property providing building flexibility, along with local code requirements, building owner requirements, city requirements, and needs of any co-inhabitants in the building. This might include separation of batteries into dedicated rooms, EMF considerations , rack/row lengths, racks or cabinets to house servers, floor and roof seismic loading limits, raised floor height considerations, security concept, equipment access to data floor, generator and equipment yard sighting on a given lot, or other requirements. It is interesting that some clients are moving away from using raised floors. The overall concept of the data center usually starts with definition of operator philosophy on wire management such as data routes and power routes above or below raised floor or split; type of power distribution and power usage of a typical server rack. Power Systems : The philosophy of design for the data center power systems is either a radial or a distributed distribution system. Radial systems are used less frequently and typically on smaller facilities of less than 4000 amps because of the high cost and size of equipment above 4000 amps. Distributed distribution systems provide the opportunity to disperse power and keep equipment under 3000 amps and generator sets to a maximum size of 2 megawatts. The distributed distribution system is more reliable since a single point of failure will not necessarily bring down an entire system. A distributed system must be properly designed to include UPS loads, and HVAC loads to generator ability to start these loads. HVAC loads must be evenly spread across the distributed power busses to balance loads and ensure that all HVAC units serving an area are not taken off line when one bus goes down. Owner preference may be for use of PDUs or individual transformers and panels to distribute power to power strips on individual racks. Monitoring and power management can be done at rack level or 480 volt level with significant cost variation.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
Some of our clients desire a design using hot and cold aisles between alternating rows of server racks; however this brings the problem of short circuiting of hot air into cold aisles on ends and at top of racks. If server cabinets are used, the specifics of the cabinets will effect the air delivery method and temperature control selected. The need for redundancy and reliability has led many data center operators to utilize PLC based controls over DDC based controls. AlfaTech has extensive experience providing detailed design of both systems types. Humidity Control : The philosophy of humidity control in the data center is driven by two parameters: range of operation and speed of control response. Range is usually between a low of 25% to 35% RH and a high between 65% and 80% RH; the lower the low, and higher the high, the easier the control and less expensive the operation. Speed of response will dictate the type of system required, the faster the control, the higher the cost, and the more energy used. Fast response is normally not a factor unless the user is unaware of the implications; servers do not care what the humidity is as long as it is below 80% to reduce corrosion and above 25% to reduce static charge potential for dissipation. Fire Protection : Is the client standard a VESDA detection system? Does the client desire an FM-200 system as a standard? It is assumed that a zoned preaction dry pipe distribution system will be used to feed fire sprinkler heads. Fuel Oil : Design philosophy is based on rate of use, timing for deliveries, and length of time the data center must remain functional. Other design considerations are actual capacity that
can be extracted from tankage, fuel filtration requirements, and redundancy of fuel delivery system to generators. Calculations and Diagrams: Alfa Tech’s design philosophy is to diagram systems for purpose of discussion and to provide options to allow the owner to make educated decisions on systems they want implemented in their data center facility. Initial calculation spreadsheets are set up to allow us to easily modify inputs to perform what-if system variations. During this phase of development, we like to identify cost and schedule implications to eliminate non-feasible solutions. AlfaTech is experienced in data center commissioning and understands the problems to include sequencing to failure and assuring system design allows this failure to occur. Maintenance : One of the key elements in designing a data center is the ability to allow maintenance of equipment to take place without effecting operating systems. Maintenance can be very difficult in a minimally designed system, therefore install dollars must be expended to ensure the ability to take equipment off line.
HVAC Systems : The philosophy of design for the data center cooling systems is primarily dependent on three things: local codes; the physical restraints and opportunities of the facilities such as ability to place equipment in exterior yard or on roof; and the preferences of the data center operator. AlfaTech designs have included: on floor CRAC units with DX cooling in yards and on roofs; CRAC units with chilled water cooling using both air cooled chillers and dry coolers located in yards and on roofs; rooftop air cooled package air handling units serving air through duct down to under floor; interior mezzanine located air handlers with ducted air down to floor; rooftop air cooled chillers to provide cooling; and floor mounted built up air handlers supplying air under floor. The ideal power efficient system will incorporate air side economizers to use free cooling and/or wet side economizers such as dry coolers. Wet towers and other evaporative based cooling solutions are a problem due to the necessity of storing large quantities of water. If a large source of water is available, such as a lake or ground water wells, this ia a plausible option. Air discharge pattern to underfloor or into cabinets can present design problems if improperly implemented, as the venturi effect can pull air from the data room back under the raised floor. Temperature Control : The philosophy of controlling temperature in the data center has been driven by data center operator concerns and desires to manage this function. A sophisticated operator may desire zone temperature control based on loading of given areas of the data floor; this may include modulation of air volume (savings on fan power usage) and or modulation of air temperature, but usually not both because of control cost.
MISSION CRITICAL
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
FACEBOOK – LEED GOLD Fort Worth, TX
Type: Data Center Size: Confidential
AlfaTech provided site selection support services and continues to provide overall design team project management as well as MEP, Architectural, Structural, Civil, Fire Protection, Controls, Wind Study, LEED Consulting, and Life Safety services for this extremely energy efficient Data Center project. Key design changes to this data center include a redesign of the building arrangement from single data center facilities with support office to a single facility with an office space bridging the equivalent of 2 data center facilities in past projects. In addition to the layout revisions, another major revision to the Core IT spaces was made to address current needs as well as future proofing the space for anticipated technology changes. The MEP system design includes a highly energy efficient design concept divergent from past data center cooling techniques at other project sites. This project represents the fifth data center site (in addition to the Prineville site in Oregon, Forest City site in North Carolina, Lulea site in Sweden, and the Altoona site in Iowa) which were also under AlfaTech project management and design services). The Client achieved LEED Gold Certification for this building.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
CONFIDENT I AL CLIENT Several Confidential USA and International Locations
Type: Data Center Size: Confidential
AlfaTech has provided site selection support services, master planning, construction administration, and overall design team project management as well as MEP, Architectural, Structural, Civil, Fire Protection, Controls, Wind Study, LEED Consulting, and Life Safety services at several sites for this ongoing client ranging from 500,000 – 1,200,000 SF each. These extremely energy efficient Data Center projects which have direct evaporative cooling and N+1 block redundant electrical topologies, penthouse level direct evaporative cooled air handling equipment, rooftop condensing unites, and outdoor standby diesel generators,
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
EQUINIX SV5 – LEED GOLD San Jose, CA
Type: Data Center Size: 170,000 SF data center with 40,000 SF support space.
AlfaTech has provided full project management and MEPT design services for this greenfield data center project.
The project includes 25MW of total power 18MW of critical power as well as parallel path designs for 5,000 ton chilled water plant utilizing pre-packaged modular chiller plant and full air side economizer air handling solution and an alternate, proprietary, refrigerant based cooling system. This project achieved LEED Gold status.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
CORES ITE – TARGET: LEED GOLD Santa Clara, CA
Type: Data Center, Offices Size: 72,000 SF (data center), 18,000 SF (office)
AlfaTech provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design and engineering services for this fast-track project completed in 2011. The project consists of the replacement of an existing single story concrete tilt-up building with a new 2-story building including 72,000 SF of Tier III Data Center space and 18,000 SF of building common, core, and office. The design incorporates hot and cold-aisle containment strategies and is intended to obtain LEED Gold level certification.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
ADOBE NA1 DATA CENTER – LEED GOLD Hillsboro, OR
Type: Data Center Size: 70,000 SF
Adobe Systems selected AlfaTech to perform design services for its DC1 data center project located in the State of Oregon.
This project is a greenfield design of a LEED Certified 70,000 SF steel and precast or tilt-up data center. The data center consists of approximately 30,000 SF of “data hall” space for IT/Server equipment, electrical, mechanical, and mezzanine rooms for critical infrastructure, office space, loading dock, and equipment storage. The design included 7,500 kW of critical IT power to the data hall, which was fed from 12kV main switchgear, new transformers and new UPS modules, new PDU’s and new distribution. HVAC is evaporative cooling plus supplemental direct expansion cooling.
Design of hot aisle and cold aisle containment was also included. The construction included the complete building shell and a single 3MW POD with accommodations for expansion of the remaining 4.5MW.
ADOBE DATA CENTER ( PHASE 2) Hillsboro, OR
Type : Data Center Size : 100,000 SF
AT-PD provided full project management services for over 100,000 SF of mission critical data center infrastructure. This includes configuration of 5+1 block redundant electrical topology with RTU indirect evaporative cooling. Phase II expansion consists of 1.8Mw block and addition of supporting IDEC units, multiple UPS units and generator.
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ADOBE OR1 San Jose, CA
Type: Data Center Size: 10 0,000 SF
Full project management services for over 100,000sf of mission critical data center infrastructure. Configuration of 5+1 block redundant electrical topology with RTU indirect evaporative cooling. Currently closing out additional Phase II expansion of 1.8Mw block and addition of supporting IDEC units, multiple UPSs and generator.
M I S S I O N C R I T I C A L
CLIENT R Santa Clara, CA
Type : Data Center Size : 160,000 SF
AT-PD provided full project management for 160,000 SF multistory mission critical data center in Silicon Valley.
This is a fully base isolated steel and concrete structure and the project included full buildout of electrical and mechanical infrastructure. The project configuration is multiple N+2 block redundant electrical topologies with standby generators and over 16MW of critical load.
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