Space vs. Power: Understanding Colocation Options

The growing importance of power is remaking the business of leasing data center space. With new higher-density data centers supporting more equipment in a smaller footprint, buyers of colocation services are increasingly likely to run out of power before they run out of space. For this reason, expressing colocation requirements in square footage is no longer a feasible method. A complete understanding of power and cooling requirements leads to better capacity planning, improved budgeting and reduced risk.

This white paper from SunGard examines this relationship between wattage and floor space in data centers, and the reality that all data center "space" is not the same. It describes the benefits of prioritizing power density and availability over physical space as purchasing criterion, and how a data center can put the concept into practical use. It goes on to demonstrate the calculations an IT organization can perform in order to determine its power needs, detailed figures and examples of how to best calculate wattage per square foot calculation, and the difference between draw power and actual power usage. Finally, it discusses cooling distribution calculations based on wattage and physical space, and the importance of identifying the lowest-cost providers of colocation space for a data center.

Learn the fundamentals of deciding where and how to effectively collocate IT infrastructure and determining how much square footage is truly necessary. Click here to download this white paper on the importance of power usage over physical data center space in choosing a colocation provider.

Please visit the Data Center Knowledge White Paper Library for all the latest expert insights on technologies to run your data center.