Tier Certification

Explained
Keith Klesner
Senior Vice President North America
Uptime Institute

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The Global Data Center Authority

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Summary
• What is the Tier Certification Process?
• The vast majority of data centers do not
perform as designed on day one.
• What are the common mistakes or
deficiencies that lead to project failures?
• How can companies prepare for project
success when considering a Tier and
Operations Certification?

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Tier Classification System vs Tier Certification

• Uptime Institute’s Tier Classification System

was developed two decades ago as a flexible
system to rate data center facility infrastructure
based on performance criteria.
• Tier Certification is a performance-based
evaluation of a data center’s specific
infrastructure, solely performed by Uptime
Institute. The process ensures that a data
center has been constructed as designed, and
is it capable of meeting the defined Tier
requirements.
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Summary Tier Requirements
The Tiers (I-IV) are progressive; each Tier
incorporates the requirements of all the lower
Tiers.
 Tier I – Basic Capacity
 Tier II – Redundant Components
 Tier III – Concurrently Maintainable (Applies to EACH and
EVERY component and path)
 Tier IV – Fault Tolerant
 See Uptime Institute Tier Standard: Topology for more
information

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Why Tier Certification?
With multiple vendors,
subcontractors, and typically
more than 50 different
disciplines involved in any
data center project—
structural, electrical, HVAC,
plumbing, fuel pumps,
networking, and more—it
would be remarkable if there
were no errors introduced or
corner cut during the
construction process.

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Tier Certification: How it Works, Part 1
Data Center Owner Defines Tier
Requirement
Uptime Institute reviews design
documents, ensuring that each
and every electrical, mechanical,
monitoring, and automation
subsystem meets the Tier
objective requirements.
Uptime Institute reports findings to
the owner, noting any deficiencies.
The owner’s team revises the
drawings to address any
deficiencies.

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Tier Certification: How it Works, Part 2

Uptime Institute evaluates revised

design drawings and ensures any
deficiencies have been corrected.
Tier Certification of Design
Documents foil may be awarded at
this time.
Following commissioning, Uptime
Institute Consultants conduct a site
visit, with live system
demonstrations under real-world
conditions, validating performance.

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Benefits of Tier and Operations Certification
• Ensures data center facilities investment meets
business requirements
• Enterprise—Recognizes organizational
accomplishment
• Service Providers – Use for competitive
differentiation and supporting tenant due
diligence
• Operations certification addresses the human
factor and drive continuous improvement

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1000+ Certifications in over 80 Countries

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New data from surveys and field reports
Outages and errors are still rampant

© 2016 Uptime Institute, LLC

Survey Stats: Outages Still Rampant
Nearly 50% of Enterprise IT organizations
responding to Uptime Institute’s Annual
Industry Survey experienced a business
impacting outage in their own data centers
in a 12 month period.

Nearly 1/3 had experienced a business

impacting outage at a colocation provider’s
site.

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Recent Analysis of 200+ Tier Certifications:
• Uptime Institute Consultants found system
faults in nearly every Tier Certification site visit.
• The vast majority of data center sites do not
operate as designed/installed on day one.
• Data center owners comment that the Tier
Certification demonstrations were more rigorous
than their commissioning program.
• Tier Certification is a failsafe against a data
center that doesn’t work day 1, or worse in year
5.

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There is a data center somewhere…

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What goes wrong
Avoiding common points of project failure

© 2016 Uptime Institute, LLC

The Devil is in the Details
Common shortcuts that would defeat the Tier objective
include:
• Eliminating valves needed for Concurrent Maintainability
• Reducing the number of automatic transfer switches
(ATS) by consolidating equipment onto a single ATS
• Deploying one distinct panel rather than two, confounding
Fault Tolerance
• Integrating economizer and energy-efficiency systems in
a way that does not allow for Concurrent Maintainability
or Fault Tolerant operation

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Ensure adequate commissioning
• Time and budget must be dedicated to a full
commissioning program
• Representative load banks should be installed
in the data center for the design IT load
• Test power and cooling together to ensure that the data
center operates as designed in all specified maintenance and
failure scenarios.
• All equipment and systems should be functioning as
specified, and changes from the design intent should be
minimal and insignificant.

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 Operation focus is key to long-term success
• Integrate operations concept as part of the project
planning and design process
• Involve operations staff to influence design and
learn from commissioning
• Follow industry Operational Sustainability model
• Don’t underestimate value of regular assessment
and certification to acknowledge operations drive
continuous improvement

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 Conclusions
• There are more ongoing Tier Certifications
today than at any point in history.
• The vast majority of even the world’s most
elite data center sites do not operate as
designed/installed on day one.
• Tier Certification is achievable if you follow
Uptime Institute’s guidance.

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Thank you

Keith Klesner, Uptime Institute

kklesner@uptimeinstitute.com

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