网络对数据中心的各个方面都至关重要：推动配电和结构化布线 - 数据中心装修中最昂贵的部分
The network is the critical influence on every aspect of the data center: driving power distribution and structured cabling – the most costly parts of a data center fitout
By Graeme Burton
译 者 说
本文其中的一个主题是如何设计数据中心的白空间，文中提到可以通过机柜的布置，架空布局的优化，电力的分配，电缆的排布等方面来做数据中心白空间的设计。译者认为，如何合理利用白空间，首先应该从数据中心的整体规划入手，从主机房、变配电室、空调机房、冷冻站、电池室、柴发机房、钢瓶间等等机房的设计开始，就应当合理规划机房面积，在满足规范设计要求的前提下，尽可能合理并更多地使用其面积。并且，在满足机房净高的同时也应合理设计机房的净高空间，优化桥架、电缆等各机房管线的布置。在这些方面可以最大化地利用空间，并减少数据中心的白空间。
从机电设计的方面来看，尤其是电气和暖通专业对数据中心的影响很大，其电力的规划、N、N+X、2N等系统的规划、备用电源的选用，冷热源的选择、空调末端的选择等等各方面都会对数据中心的设计产生巨大的影响，包括对空间的使用。本文主要提到了网络架构的影响，译者暂不对暖通设计产生的影响做阐述，仅对电气网络架构方面的影响进行一下浅谈。
在数据中心电气强弱电及网络架构方面，整体数据中心电力的设计基本在前期能大致确定，包括10kV/20kV/35kV市政进线，到高低压变电所，再到数据中心机柜、空调等配电。依照国标来看，是A级、B级还是C级数据中心，采用N+X还是2N的方式，备用电源柴发的供电方式及容量，UPS是DR、2N还是RR等等，我们在设计的时候就已经确定，整体的电力电源设计在后期很难改变。所以如果再要考虑对数据中心完工后白空间的使用，相关的成本的控制，我们就只有着重从网络架构上入手。因此，前期做好电力的规划，后期做好机柜的布置、架空布局的优化，电力分配，电缆排布等方面，都对数据中心很重要，包括对白空间的利用，成本的控制及后面运维都会产生很大的影响。
此外，本文还提及了相关方参与的重要性，在数据中心的设计管理及后期运维方面都应当有相关方的参与，无论是否是关键相关方，是技术专家或者运维人员，其都有自身的价值所在，他们不仅有长期工作中产生的组织过程资产，同时也能提出在其工作过程中的一些问题及意见。技术专家及相关设计方能对数据中心的规划设计，包括前面提到的机电方案的采纳选用提出自身的意见。财务方能够对数据中心设计及后面运营方面提出成本方面的建议，以供管理层对预算进行决策。运维人员可以通过自身工作中遇到的一些问题提出自身的意见。由此可见，每个相关方都是必不可少的，我们在数据中心整个生命周期中都应该咨询各相关方的建议。
数据中心白空间的设计规划很重要，并且在目前越来越具备挑战性，我们不仅要在设计规划上付诸努力，也应该向各方征询意见。此外，在整个生命周期中我们需要更加灵活的思维，不论是在设计运维，还是建设交付周期方面，都应该提前做好规划，更加灵活地完成各阶段的工作。在可见的将来，数据中心会变得越来越大，越来越复杂，我们需要做好准备，以便在将来更加充分地完成数据中心相关的工作。
千里之行，始于足下。但是，在设计新建数据中心的“白空间”时，您究竟从哪里开始？
A journey of 1,000 miles always begins with the first step. But when designing the ‘white space’ of a fresh, newly built data center, where do you even start?
Align总裁兼首席执行官吉姆·杜林和Align数据中心解决方案总监汤姆·韦伯认为，第一步应该对网络架构有一个完整的理解。这将影响到项目的各个方面：设备的灵活性，识别和修复网络问题的便利性，IT维护，高效运营以及每年成本管理的能力。
According to Jim Dooling, president and CEO of Align, and Tom Weber, managing director of Data Center Solutions at Align, the first step should be having a complete understanding of the network Architecture. This impacts all aspects of your project: the flexibility of the facility, the ease with which network issues can be identified and fixed, IT maintenance, efficient operation and, ultimately, the ability to manage costs, year after year.
杜林说，“这需要从网络架构设计开始，因为这是能够最大化的影响数据中心，并有效设计关键基础设施组件及控制运营成本的方式，并且，可以通过智能电缆和电力设计来控制成本”。
“It really starts with the network design because this is where you are able to maximize your data center, and design critical infrastructure components efficiently; be able to control operational costs; and, to save money with smart cable and power designs,” says Dooling.
杜林和韦伯在过去的36年里同各大规模的企业合作，目前Align团队在全球有30个大大小小不同的项目，项目总功率超过150MW。
Both Dooling and Weber have worked with hyperscalers and enterprise organizations of all sizes over the past 36 years, Currently the Align team is working on 30 different projects across the world, large and small, totalling more than 150MW of power.
Align团队的吉姆·杜林说，“我们可以看到每个机柜的布线成本从2500美元到50000美元不等”。
We have seen per-cabinet costs from $2,500 to $50,000 per cabinet for cabling.Jim Dooling, Align.
不同领域的客户需求差异很大，他们为项目团队带来的专业知识可以帮助客户实现其特定的需求。
The requirements of different client verticals vary widely, and the expertise they bring to the project team help the client achieve their specific needs.
“对于超大规模而言，他们有自身针对于机柜的解决方案，知道自己在计算和存储方面的需求。整个方案经过详细设计，并且在成为新设备和新市场的过程是可以复制的”，杜林补充说到，大规模企业有资源聘请顶尖的专业人士对数据中心进行详细的规划。他们设计了一种“模块化的形式”，这样随着数据中心的增长和扩张，通过单个机柜设备基础的增长方式，将会形成一种极具竞争力的投资方式。
“For hyperscale, they already have their solution marked down to the cabinet, and they know what their needs are with compute and storage. The whole thing is worked out in detail and is repeatable as they grow into new facilities and new markets,” says Dooling. Indeed, he adds, hyperscalers have the resources to employ the smartest professionals who plan their data centers to the last detail. They design a “cookie cutter model” so as they grow and expand it creates data center investments that are highly competitive on a per cabinet basis.
但对于规划和建设新的基础架构数据中心的组织来说，这将是一个艰难的挑战。
But for organizations planning and building new data centers on a more ad hoc basis, the challenge can feel daunting.
杜林说，“我们很多客户找到我们说，‘看这些空白的地方，我们将拿来做什么？’他们会思考在这些白空间里电缆应该怎么布置，网络交换机的最佳放置位置在哪。他们会根据维护的便利、可适应程度、今后的试验调试以及成本等方面来考虑设备的布局”。
“We have a lot of clients that come to us and say, ‘Wow! Look at all this white space. What are we going to do with it?’ They’re looking at it and wondering where the cables should run, the best places to locate network switches. They’re thinking about their layout in terms of maintenance, adaptability and future-proofing, as well as the budget,” says Dooling.
事实上，企业数据中心运营通常最需要帮助，因为距离他们上一次投资数据中心可能已经过去了10年或者20年。数据中心不仅在技术方面发生了很大变化，对于运营人员来说，他们将更加困难地去掌控需要承包的不同服务的基础市场价格，并且服务供应商也知道这一点。
Indeed, it’s the enterprise data center operators that often need the most help because it might have been a decade or two since their last data center investment. Not only will much have changed since then in terms of technology, but it is much harder for them to keep track of something as basic as the market prices for the many different services they will need to contract – and service providers know this.
战略规划
Strategic planning
我们的关注点在于网络架构而不是电源的原因很简单：在整个数据中心全生命周期中，电源的变化不会像网络架构那么大，也不需要很多持续的关注。
The reason for the focus on network, rather than power, is quite simple: power won’t change nearly as much as the network during the life of the data center, nor demand as much ongoing attention.
韦伯说，“对于机柜的电源而言，我们总是设计的很保守，所以能够具备一定灵活性。你不会在每个机柜上运行16或者35千瓦的功率，但是如果有需要，你可以进行此选择。所以从电源的角度来看，电源的变化不会太大，如果你考虑周全，你能够在设计的开始阶段对机柜增加额外的一些裕量，这样你就可以在某些区域转移或者增加负荷，同时也可以在其他区域减少负荷。”
“We always try to oversubscribe at the cabinet, in terms of power, so that you have flexibility. You're not going to run 16 or 32 kW per cabinet on every cabinet, but it's nice to have the option, should you need it. So, from a power perspective, things don’t change that much and, if you’re smart, you can always build-in some extra capacity at the cabinet level from the start so that you can shift and increase capacities in some areas while decreasing in others,” says Weber.
韦伯说，“但是从电缆的角度来看，网络架构影响了数据中心的光纤和铜缆的成本。您可以围绕网络架构和存储结构对电缆设备进行建模，这决定了你需要分配到计算单元和存储阵列的电缆数量和类型。”
“But from a cable perspective, what we see is that it’s the network that drives the fiber and copper costs of the data center. You model the cable plant around the network architecture and storage fabric, and that dictates the quantities and cable types that you need to distribute out to the compute units and the storage arrays,” says Weber.
换句话说，对网络架构和存储的技术的选择对成本方面有着很大的影响，包括布线的成本。
In other words, technical choices over network architecture and storage can have big implications in terms of costs, including the cost of cabling.
韦伯提到，“我们的工作包括机柜的布置，优化架空布局，电力的分配，缆线的排布等等。”
We work on the cabinet layouts, the overhead convenience layouts, power distribution, cable distribution and so onTom Weber, Align.
例如，更新的尖端的网络架构可能意味着更昂贵的网络交换机，以及更便宜电缆成本。此外，例如供应商对于机柜电缆的报价比比皆是。“我们可以看到每个机柜的电缆成本从2500美元到50000美元不等”杜林说到。
Newer spine leaf networks, for example, might mean more expensive network switches, but less costly cabling. Moreover, the quotes from providers for something as straightforward as cabling a cabinet, for example, can be all over the place, “We have seen per-cabinet costs from $2,500 to $50,000 per cabinet for cabling,” says Dooling.
虽然网络架构和存储技术对布线产生了一系列的影响，但它实际上只是为每个房间、机柜和设备提供足够的电力，并让所有设备组件都可以有冗余电力的方式供电。
While network and storage technology provides a range of options that have implications on cabling; for power, it really is just about providing sufficient power per room, cabinet and device and presenting it in such a way that all equipment components can be powered in a redundant fashion.
利益相关方参与
Engaging stakeholders
一个成功项目的关键点在于早期阶段就让各相关方参与。无论相关方的大小，无论数据中心的大小、规模和重要性，这都是必不可少的部分。
A key component of a successful project is engaging the stakeholders at an early stage. Whether it be large or small, it is an essential ingredient no matter the size, scale and importance of data center.
韦伯说，Align和其数据中心设计师以及客户相关组织的技术专家会议通常涉及计算、存储和网络，但许多关键决策并不一定由他们决定。
Very often, says Weber, the meetings that Align and its data center designers have with clients involve the organization’s technology specialists – typically covering compute, storage and the network – but many key decisions aren’t necessarily in their capable hands.
这些关键相关方不仅包括做出重大设计决策的技术专家，还包括日常运营和维护数据中心的技术人员。其他关键相关方包括依附于新型设备的部门领导，当然还有需要批准支出的业务财务主管。
Those key stakeholders won’t just include the technology specialists who are making the big design decisions, but also the technical staff who will operate and maintain the data center on a day-to-day basis. Other key stakeholders include the department leadership who will depend on the new facility and, of course, the business and finance heads who will need to approve the expenditure.
杜林说，“虽然财务总监不太可能直接参与日常会议，但他们可以向技术专家提供基本的预算信息，使项目团队能够将一系列设备设计选型与运营成本结合，供高级管理层批准。”
“While a finance director will not likely be directly involved with the day-to-day meetings, they can give the technology specialists essential budgetary information that will enable the project team to put together a range of design options with operational costs for senior management approval,” says Dooling.
“我们团队确保我们为他们提供了一个经过深思熟虑的计划及设计方面的选择。我们确保所有相关方都理解决策过程，以及他们为什么要做这个决定。”杜林说，“他们需要有信心，这样当他们必须在预算获得批准的同时，也能够向管理层证明他们决策的正确性。”他补充到。
“It’s our job to make sure that we are giving them a well-thought-out plan that provides options in terms of design. We ensure that all stakeholders understand the decision process and why they are making their decisions,” says Dooling. “They need to feel confident so they can justify their decisions to management, down the line, when they have to get the budget approved alongside implementation,” he adds.
然而，使数据中心白空间的设计变得具体化的不一定是单个的技术，而是各种技术的融合。
However, what makes fleshing out the design of the data center white space today more complicated isn’t necessarily the technology, but the convergence of the various technologies.
韦伯说，“回到10年或者12年前，数据中心可以分为存储区域、网络区域、计算区域等。但是现在情况不一样了。现在是一个技术非常融合的环境。在过去，我们有一个核心网络，把一切都连接起来。现在，我们有了尖端网络，我们可以把网络链接放在我们想要的任何地方，如存储控制器、服务器群中的交换机，并通过这些设备共享资源。”
“Go back even just ten or 12 years ago and your data center could be stripped down into storage area, network area, compute area and so on. But that’s not necessarily the case anymore. It’s a very converged environment. In the old days, we had a core network that connected everything up. Now, with the spine leaf network, we can put ‘leaves’ wherever we like, as well as storage directors, switches within the server farm and share resources,” says Weber.
但对韦伯来说，这是一个很好的机会能让所有的技术决策者聚在一起，并研究出适合所有人的解决方案，包括那些不得不穿上厚衣进入数据中心冷通道的技术人员。
For Weber, though, it’s a great opportunity to get all the technical decision-makers into the same room and to thrash out solutions that work for everyone, including the technicians who have to put on their thick fleeces and venture into the cold aisle.
“有时候，最好的想法来自每天在数据中心工作的专业人士。他们能够切身实地地看到问题。我喜欢较早地和这些人交谈，听取他们的一些建议，并且试着想出更好的，更优化他们工作的设计。”韦伯说，“最终，当工作完成后，你想要团队搬到新的数据中心，并能够舒适进行运维工作。”
“Sometimes, the best ideas come from the professionals who work in the data center every day. He or she sees the problems and has feet on the ground. I love talking to these individuals early on in the process, taking some of their suggestions and using them to see whether we can come up with a better design that also works well for them,” says Weber. “Ultimately, when the job is done, you want the team to move into the new data center and feel comfortable supporting it.”
专家建议
Expert advice
事实上，目前设计数据中心的白空间比以往任何时候都更具挑战性，这就是为什么像Align这样拥有专业知识的专家是必不可少的，特别是当还需要考虑全球供应链问题时。
Indeed, today, designing the data center white space is more challenging than ever, which is why having the expertise of a specialist like Align is essential, especially when global supply chain issues also need to be considered.
完全专注于数据中心的设计，Align可以在墙面的抹灰还没有干之前就开始进行技术基础设施设计。
Focused purely on what makes a data center a data center, Align can start work on the technology infrastructure design before even the plastering on the walls has dried.
“我们的设计和建造服务专注于空白区域。我们没有使用预制混凝土墙，也没有安装灭火系统。我们负责机柜布置、架空布局优化，电力的分配，电缆的排布等工作。”韦伯说到。
“Our design and build services are focused solely on the white space. We are not tilting up pre-cast concrete walls, we’re not installing fire suppression systems; we work on the cabinet layouts, the overhead convenience layouts, power distribution, cable distribution and so on,” says Weber.
此外，为了在截止日期前加紧完成任务，可以在Align设备仓库中进行自定义机柜布置，并预先安装所需的面板、布线和其他元素，这样不论遇到什么客户，都可以快速且效率地构建大型数据中心。
Moreover, to hit tight deadlines, custom rack layouts can be built-out in Align warehouses with the desired patch panels, cabling and other elements all pre-installed so that a build can proceed with all the speed and efficiency of a hyperscaler, regardless of the client.
尽管许多国家都在努力应对高消费价格增长，但韦伯看到了全球数据中心设备市场通胀正在减弱的迹象，过去两年严重影响该行业的价格上涨在最近几个月里趋于平稳。
And, despite the uncomfortably high rates of consumer price increases many countries are currently grappling with, Weber sees signs that inflation is abating in the global market for data center equipment, with the price increases that had battered the industry for the past two years levelling off in recent months.
尽管如此，他补充到，设备生产交付时间依然很长，因此数据中心建设者必须根据设备交付就绪的日期灵活地安装。在某些情况下，如果不这样做，就只能等待。
Nevertheless, he adds, lead times remain stubbornly high, and data center builders may therefore have to be flexible in terms of the precise equipment they install in readiness for ‘day zero’. In some cases, it will either be that, or an uncomfortable wait.
总之，虽然数据中心增长的越来越大，越来越复杂，全球环境也越来越不确定，但在可预见的未来，对数据中心空间的需求不太可能改变。
After all, while data centers have become increasingly bigger and more complex, and the global environment more uncertain, one thing that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future is demand for data center space.
深 知 社
翻译：
Jon
电气工程师
DKV（DeepKnowledge Volunteer）计划成员
校对：
王谋锐
城地香江(上海)云计算有限公司 电气架构师
DKV（DeepKnowledge Volunteer）计划精英成员
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