The document discusses the relevance of Uptime Institute (UTI) standards for AFCOM members, detailing UTI's role in improving data center reliability and the relationship between UTI and TIA/EIA tier levels. It outlines how to choose an appropriate UTI tier based on business needs and the importance of the UTI operational sustainability standard for long-term data center performance. The document also covers the UTI tier certification process and provides resources for further information.

1. How are Uptime Institute (UTI) Standards Relevant to AFCOM Members? Jonas Sadauskas IPP Consulting 17 th March 2011

2. Topics to be covered What is the Uptime Institute (UTI)? Why is UTI relevant to AFCOM members? How are UTI Tier levels and TIA/EIA Tier levels related? How to pick an appropriate UTI Tier UTI Operational Sustainability Standard UTI Operational Sustainability Standard inclusions & exclusions How is the UTI Operational Sustainability Standard relevant? UTI Tier Certification Process Where to from here? 17 March 2011

3. What is the Uptime Institute (UTI)? Formed by Data Centre Owners, Operators and Managers Focus on improving Data Centre reliability and availability UTI collects and analyses failures amongst their network members and provides feedback Was acquired in 2009 by the 451 Group Consequently, UTI now provides a Data Centre Certification Service 17 March 2011

4. What are the currently recognised main Data Centre Standards? TIA/EIA-942: Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers UTI: Data Centre Site Infrastructure Tier Standard: Topology UTI: Data Center Site Infrastructure Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability AS, BS, Vendor (IBM, HP, Fujitsu) etc. 17 March 2011

5. What is TIA/EIA 942 (with amendments)? TIA/EIA is a Standards Organisation TIA/EIA Standard can be summarised by a tick sheet summary table TIA/EIA standard finishes with the design and build Tier Levels are 1, 2, 3 and 4 17 March 2011

6. What is the UTI Tier Standard? Blend of design, build and run considerations UTI is focused on operational outcomes UTI design principles need to be incorporated upfront into the specification/design/phase of the build De-facto industry standard Both UTI and TIA/EIA 942 (as amended) both aim for high availability commensurate with client requirements Tier Levels are I, II, III and IV 17 March 2011

7. How are TIA/EIA Tier Levels and UTI Tier Levels Related? Similarity is mainly superficial Not competing, they are complementary TIA/EIA defines how many capacity elements or systems are required UTI is an outcome based Standard; design requires detailed analysis UTI defines how the capacity elements or systems are connected For best results, both TIA and UTI Tiers should be defined for a site 17 March 2011

8. How to pick an appropriate UTI Tier Need to determine the owner’s business needs, typically: 17 March 2011 Criteria Appropriate UTI Tiers Tactical business objectives: Time to market Start up cost driven Availability not business critical I, II Strategic business objectives: Life cycle cost driven Rigorous availability requirements Growth unlimited by site infrastructure topology Site infrastructure needs to out live current IT requirements Source: Uptime Institute III, IV

9. Tier rating is per separate Data Centre Infrastructure block What is more resilient, two Tier II with real-time mirroring, or one Tier IV + one Tier II? What is the cheaper option? Does not consider installed IT infrastructure such as mirroring Does consider dual corded IT equipment for Tier III and IV “A Chain is only as strong as its weakest link” when it comes to Tier Certification 17 March 2011 How to pick an appropriate UTI Tier

10. What is the UTI Operational Sustainability Standard? It is a methodology for aligning the Facility Management program within the selected Tier level to achieve business objectives Establishes behaviours that impact the long term data centre performance Rating levels are Gold, Silver and Bronze 17 March 2011

11. What does the UTI Operational Sustainability Standard contain? 17 March 2011 Included Excluded Staffing and Organisation Safety Maintenance Environmental (external emissions) Training Security Planning, Coordination and Management Personnel Management Building Features DC Infrastructure Operating Conditions Pre-Operational (Commissioning) Source: Uptime Institute

12. How is the UTI Operational Sustainability Standard relevant? The Operational Sustainability Standard is about the ongoing management of a Data Centre UTI statistics show that the root cause of 70% of Data Centre incidents resulting in a service outage are a result of human error or lack of action Management decisions form a major component of these incidents Much attention is paid to processes, procedures and incident response plans Initial site commissioning is included under this standard 17 March 2011

13. UTI Tier Certification Process Two stages of Certification: Design Certification Constructed Facility Certification Presently more certified designs than facilities Using an Accredited Tier Designer upfront should: Speed up the design process Save money by reducing the need for design rework End up with a more operationally resilient site To become a UTI Accredited Tier Designer: Have an approved engineering degree Be a member of IEAust Have your CV signed off by a Chartered Engineer Pass the UTI Accreditation Examination 17 March 2011

14. References for further information The UTI URL for document downloads is: http://uptimeinstitute.org/content/view/302/281/ The IPP Consulting item on the certification process is available at: http://www.ipp.com.au/uptime-tier-certification-talk-to-one-of-our-exper/w1/i1002175/ Questions? 17 March 2011