Staging Area

At least one dedicated staging area should be part of the data center design. Staging is an area between the loading dock and the equipment's final destination, and is often used for equipment configuration. Equipment coming from receiving on its way to the data center, as well as equipment moving from the data center out to storage or shipping, will usually be processed in the staging area.

This area should be outside the data center, but should be maintained within similar parameters. Contamination will be generated by packing, unpacking, and component handling and this must be isolated from the operational equipment. The staging area also involves a lot more human and machine traffic that can add to and stir up contaminants .

• Videotaping of the packing and unpacking process is good for having a record of how things fit into place.

• Equipment should go through a verification process (also known as "burn-in"). Verification test suites (VTS) are sometimes available from the company supplying the equipment. This process is usually separate from the burn-in done later after racks are placed in the data center and the operating system and software is loaded.

• The packing and unpacking of equipment can create a lot of contaminants, so this should always be done in the staging area.

• Equipment should be stored, if even for a short time, in the staging area. The same security measures that limit and monitor physical access should be used in the staging area just as they would be used in the data center itself.

Packing and Unpacking Area

One of the things often overlooked in a staging area is the space required to pack and unpack equipment. A Sun Fire 15000 server requires a minimum of 18 linear feet to unpack the machine from its shipping material. Just to pack or unpack this machine, you need a clear area 18 feet long by 10 feet wide (180 sq ft). It's better to have too much space than not enough, so consider allowing 20 feet by 10 feet (200 sq ft) for this process.

This area must also be able to handle the weight requirements of all the equipment. Consider the amount of packing and unpacking you might do in parallel. There is usually more than one rack for a single configuration in the data center, and these racks often arrive at the loading dock at the same time. Realistically, if you only have one area of 200 sq ft, you can only unpack one of these racks at a time.