Chapter 2. Data Center Design Criteria

"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible , whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

” Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The criteria for a data center are the requirements that must be met to provide the system capacities and availability necessary to run the business. Due to the special circumstances of each facility, it would be difficult to give a comprehensive list of all criteria involved in data center design. The possibilities are vast, and it isn't the intention of this book to give a definitive set of design plans to follow, but rather to guide you toward your final design by listing and describing the most probable criteria. The goal of this chapter is to arm you with the knowledge you need to begin the design process.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• "Scope, Budget, and Criteria"

• "System Availability Profiles"

• "Insurance and Local Building Codes"

• "Determining the Viability of the Project"