These optional full-day tutorials provide attendees with professional training and insight into today’s key data center management issues. Tutorials will take place on Monday, March 8, 9:00am–3:00pm and include a continental breakfast and lunch.
Tutorials run concurrently. Please choose only one.

 

Tutorial 01: Optimizing Data Center Infrastructure to Reduce Cost, Maximize Performance and Deliver High Availability
Given by Don Blackman, VP Marketing and Domestic Sales, ASCO/Emerson, Fred Stack, VP Marketing, Liebert/Emerson along with their customers and partners

Budget cuts, demands to support more equipment, new codes and standards imposed by Homeland Security and pressures to reduce energy use are plaguing most data center managers. But, even as resources are stretched to their limits, availability is still the number one measurement of success. As the data center evolves into a strategic business asset, there is no room for compromise. Pressures to cut costs or energy usage will never excuse unplanned downtime.
This session will take a comprehensive look at how to maximize availability even as you reduce costs. It will present strategies to help you design your data center for flexibility, address rising density, bullet-proof your availability, and gain valuable data from your infrastructure, including financial information. Experts from six of Emerson Network Power’s centers of expertise, as well as customers and partners, will present strategies that relate to the complete data center life-cycle: design and deployment, operation, and ongoing management and planning. The session will also focus on strategies that relate to UPS and precision cooling systems, monitoring and management systems, batteries, surge suppression, power switching and controls, and generators.

 

Tutorial 02: Complete Data Center Redesign and Upgrade: A Case Study
Scott Jeppsen, Data Center Specialist, JR Simplot Company
Chad Forrey, Data Center Manager, JR Simplot Company
Mark Sachs, Telecommunications Manager, JR Simplot Company

One company upgraded its entire infrastructure from the floor they walk on to the air they breathe. A most impressive aspect of this process is that it was implemented in its entirety on top of the existing data center operation and with absolutely minimal downtime. This tutorial includes actual photographs and video of the installation and replacement of major data center operational and environmental components, along with the timeline. The upgrades included: replacing raised flooring; thermal dynamic testing; upgrading air conditioning units and the system itself from overhead to under floor; upgrading the power infrastructure, including an additional power feed, new transformers, a new generator, and new green flywheels, FPC distribution panels, and rack-mounted PDUs; new rack enclosures, KVMs, PDUs, and switches; new cable management systems; and new enforced data center standards.

 

Tutorial 03: Developing a Data Center Policies and Procedures Manual
Kelly Kleinfelder, Manager Network and Data Center Operations, StoneMor Partners LP
Jeffrey Bissonette, Vice President IT, StoneMor Partners LP

In today’s world, with threats of cyber-terrorism, Web security breaches and other problems brought on by ingenuity and technology, a comprehensive policies and procedures manual is critical for data center survival. This tutorial will provide attendees with the information necessary to develop a comprehensive data center policies and procedures manual applicable to their own data center. It will cover what to include and how to address each area. Topics to be discussed are: data center and operations procedures, backup and recovery, network security, change management, and more.

 

Tutorial 04: The Data Center Interactive Forum
Moderated by Bick Group: Chris Scaglione, VP & IT Infrastructure Strategy Consultant and Jon Jonz, VP and Facilities Infrastructure Consultant

Inspired by the overwhelming positive feedback from last fall’s conference, this session is being offered again this spring. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to collaborate with other data center managers on a wide variety of subjects and to listen, learn and share solutions to today’s top technological challenges. Breakout groups will be formed and participants will be exposed to unique experiences. Groups will present their findings and moderators will synthesize the discussion and provide a complete summary to all attendees. Be a part of this extraordinary opportunity to share information and establish valuable connections with your peers.

Print pdf of all educational sessions