Legacy
A RUNNER’S GUIDE
TO DATA CENTRES
Is there life after legacy? asks ‘Ian’, a data centre expert from GCHQ (and one time keen athlete!)
A
good few years ago, if you
had asked me how I was,
like many, I would have said
simply, ‘OK. How are you?’
What precisely does that
mean? How do you define OK?
At that time I was fit. Very fit.
Athletic. I was training hard and
running every day, sometimes twice
– putting the miles in and pushing
my performance to the next level.
You could say I was optimised
for performance; my muscular
and cardio-vascular systems ready
for high performance when it was
asked – on demand.
Fast forward to today and ask
me the same question. Funnily
enough, I’d probably answer the
32 | May 2017
same way, I’m OK! However, a
lot has changed in that time. My
answer masks a noticeable and
steady decline caused by the
passing years, a change of lifestyle
and a certain amount of neglect.
Am I still fit for purpose? Most
definitely, but that purpose has
changed; However, I’m sure that
my wonderful wife would prefer
the leaner, fitter version and my
mother points out the weight
I have put on, but how is this
relevant to data centres?
Twenty years ago, one of
the data centres that I operate
was commissioned. We began
operation in 2002 with 10,000m 2 of
pristine data centre space. Flush
with the optimism and excited by
the journey, we had a grand plan
for the seemingly vast area that we
would surely never fill!
We considered ‘fallow space’
allowing us to install, remodel
and refresh as we grew. We had
structured cabling to provide
connectivity – on demand. We knew
our power, space and cooling limits
and we had sufficient measures (we
thought) to keep on top of it all. We
were fit. Very fit. We were optimised
for the time. We were OK.
Again, fast forward to today. The
halls appear full, the idea of ‘fallow
space’, a distant memory. The
structured cabling and containment
is burgeoning at the seams. We have