16 Oct 2008 ... organizations regarding industry best practices in data center cooling ... This RFI
is issued by CCSU under the provisions of the Connecticut ...
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NUMBER RFI S089045 CCSU DATA CENTER POWER UPGRADE Section 1. Administrative Overview 1.1 INTRODUCTION This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Central Connecticut State University (hereinafter referred to as the "University" or “CCSU”) seeking information from qualified individuals and organizations regarding industry best practices in data center cooling and power. . 1.2 AUTHORITY This RFI is issued by CCSU under the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes 4a-52a and 10a-151b. 1.3 RFI ORGANIZATION This RFI is organized into the following sections: Section 1, Administrative Overview -- Provides Contractors with general information on this RFI. Section 2, Scope of Work -- Provides Contractors with a brief description of the University, the objectives of this RFI and a general description of the forthcoming work involved. Section 3, Questions
1.4 SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES Contractors may submit their responses electronically to Thomas J. Brodeur, C.P.M., CCSU Purchasing Department, at
[email protected] no later than 3:00 p.m. E.S.T., on October 16, 2008. Responses may be submitted in the body of an email or as an email attachment (Word or pdf file). The subject line of the email containing the response shall be “Response to RFI S089045 DATA CENTER POWER UPGRADE” 1.5 INQUIRIES REGARDING THIS RFI Direct all inquiries relative to the conditions and specifications listed herein and any and all other communication related to this RFI to: Thomas J. Brodeur, C.P.M. Phone: (860) 832-2531 Fax: (860) 832-2523 Email:
[email protected]
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Section 2. Scope of Work
2.1
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
CCSU was founded in 1849 as the New Britain Normal School and is Connecticut’s oldest publicly supported institution of higher education. CCSU is a fully accredited four year university. CCSU enrolls nearly 7,000 full-time and more than 5,000 part-time students. There are approximately 850 full and part-time faculty and 524 other full-time personnel in clerical, maintenance, administrative and other support positions including student workers. The CCSU campus consists of 39 buildings on 165 acres. CCSU is located in a neighborhood on the northern edge of New Britain, 15 minutes from the state capital of Hartford and about two hours from New York City and Boston. For more information on CCSU, visit http://www.ccsu.edu/ 2.2
BACKGROUND/CURRENT STATUS
CCSU currently houses the majority of computer servers in a central datacenter on its campus. The current datacenter was implemented in 2004. Since that time, computer services have grown exponentially. At this time, the datacenter has reached full capacity, limited by power and cooling. Currently the datacenter consists of a single room which is approximately 1400 square feet. It is powered by a single 50 KVA UPS, which is backed up by a generator and an automatic switch. Cooling and humidification of the room is handled by two 15 ton CRAC air handlers. Each air handler works individually on alternating weeks and the “off” unit only powering up to assist when needed. The CRAC air handlers are NOT on the UPS but are supported by the generator. The generator is designed to automatically come on-line when street power is no longer available. It takes approximately 30 seconds for the generator to ramp up and cut over, during which time the datacenter is wholly supported by UPS batteries. This power and cooling provides service to approximately 200 servers and the supporting network hardware. Monitoring/control and alarms are handled by a third party environmental software package automatically and remotely from the CCSU Energy Center on a 24/7/365 basis. The current design regulates the environment of the entire room without raised flooring. Based upon discussions with the CCSU Facilities Management department and the datacenter projections of our server room usage for the next 7-10 years, it has been determined that the CCSU datacenter will need an additional 100KVA UPS to handle the anticipated load. The anticipated additional hardware for the Data Center may include 15 fully populated blade servers chassis’ such as the Dell M1000 or the HP C7000 series, 2 Storage Area Networks such as the Dell SA3040 and 2 more switches, such as the Cisco 6509 series. It has further been determined that the current generator will easily accommodate the additional 100KVA UPS load and the associated CRAC air handlers, once a new “feed” circuit is run from the Powerhouse. CCSU’s estimated budget for this project is $500,000. This figure is provided as “FYI” only in order to help focus your responses.
2.3
OBJECTIVES OF THIS RFI
NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED BASED SOLELY ON THIS RFI. RESPONSE TO THIS RFI IS NOT A PREREQUISITE FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE RESULTING RFP. CCSU is requesting input and feedback from qualified individuals and organizations in order to gather information, recommendations and budget estimates regarding current technology for power and cooling as it would apply to our current datacenter infrastructure.
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CCSU will gather the information provided and analyze it internally to determine if CCSU should expand the current design by adding an additional 100KVA UPS and the required additional cooling capacity or migrate to row and rack based cooling UPS and power distribution. Some of the areas that CCSU will consider important are efficiency, power savings, reliability, budgetary requirements and monitoring levels. CCSU intends to collect that information from the various responses, review and assemble pertinent information, and format that information into a separate Request for Proposal based on what is determined to be in the best interests of CCSU. The objectives of the resulting RFP will be to select a qualified and experienced company to develop the plan to improve/upgrade the datacenter power and cooling and clearly document it, complete with professional drawings and supporting documentation. The next step would be to implement the plan as agreed upon by CCSU. Section 3. Questions
Information Requested: Answers should be as clear and concise as possible while providing complete and accurate information. Answers shall follow the numbering sequence below. Please respond to as many questions as are applicable to your area of expertise. Remember that CCSU is gathering general information ONLY at this point. Responses should NOT include specific or proprietary information about particular hardware or services, nor should it include any language that may be construed as a “sales pitch”. Responses like “Our option would be best because…” are not being requested here and should be avoided. Enclosed you will find the current layout of our existing Data Center. Please refer to the drawings and use them to help answer the questions below. If you would like pdf files of the drawings, contact Tom at
[email protected]. Cooling Questions: 1. What are the options regarding cooling servers in the datacenter? 2. Which design is likely to be the most logical and cost effective for our scenario and why? 3. Can the rack/row based cooling support being remotely monitored and controlled? Please explain (briefly). 4. How is humidity handled in rack/row type cooling? Power Questions: 1. What are the options regarding UPS and power distribution? 2. Which design is likely to be the most logical and cost effective for our scenario and why? 3. Can the rack/row based UPS support being remotely monitored and controlled? Please explain (briefly). 4. Can the rack/row based UPS support being connected to the pre-existing Emergency Power Off (EPO) buttons, located at each of the doors and on the 50KVA UPS? Please explain (briefly). Common Questions: 1. If your selections are incorporated into the forthcoming RFP, what would the anticipated timeframe be for implementation once work commences? 2. If your selections are incorporated into the forthcoming RFP, what would the anticipated impact be on the existing infrastructure while the upgrade is going on? 3. Please feel free to add any other pertinent data you feel may be needed to better frame the RFP and why. Again, avoid specific or proprietary hardware or services information and sales pitches.
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