Introduction to the TIER classification system
The Tier classification system developed by the Uptime Institute for assessing the reliability of data centers is approaching the milestone of two decades. Since its creation in the mid-90s. The system has gone from general terminology to a global standard for data center infrastructure testing.
The Uptime Institute has developed Tier classification standards for assessing data center capabilities in terms of uptime. Levels of Tier (I-IV) are progressive, that is, each new level includes the requirements for the previous ones.
')
Tier I: basic level. Data center class Tier I is focused on the support of information technology for solving office tasks. The infrastructure includes allocated space for IT systems, uninterruptible power supplies for filtering voltage interruptions, cooling equipment that does not turn off at the end of the work day, and a generator to protect against long-term interruptions.
Tier II: spare capacity. Tier II grade equipment includes spare power for critical power and cooling components, which provides the ability to be repaired and increases safety margins against problems associated with equipment failures.
Tier III: parallel repair. Tier III data center does not require stops for maintenance and repair. A backup power and cooling channel is added to the critical components of Tier II, so each element needed to support the IT process can be disabled and repaired without affecting the operation of the data center.
Tier IV: fault tolerance. The Tier IV infrastructure is built on the Tier III base with the addition of the concept of fault tolerance to the topological scheme. Fault tolerance means that failures of individual pieces of equipment or interruptions in the work of the backup channel will not affect the operation.
Infrastructure costs and project complexity increase with the rise of the Tier class. Tier does not set specific technological or design criteria. This is not to say that the Tier IV class is “better” than the Tier II class. The infrastructure of the data center must meet the objectives of the business, not requiring excessive costs and not putting the company at great risk.
In 2009, the Uptime Institute removed the “expected downtime per year” from Tier standards. The current standard does not assign a Tier class based on predictions. The changes are due to the understanding that user actions can have a greater impact on the availability of the site than the physical infrastructure.
The Tier certification process usually begins with the introduction of new data center facilities. The owner of the data center decides to reach a certain Tier class in accordance with the needs of its business and appeals to the Uptime Institute for an unbiased and independent analysis, ensuring that designers, contractors and service providers fulfill their obligations.
TIER certification card
The first step in this process is the Tier Certification of Design Documents (TCDD). Uptime Institute consultants review 100% of the documentation, including electrical, mechanical, monitoring, and automatic subsystems, become familiar with the fundamental concepts and check for weak links in the circuit.
Over its history, the Uptime Institute has conducted more than 400 inspections, analyzing the most complex data centers around the world. One of the important lessons learned from this is that companies can undergo certification of project documentation and avoid subsequent certification of equipment. The Uptime Institute never assumed that TCDD would be the final step of certification. It is rather a reference point to demonstrate that the first part of a capital project meets the requirements. Stopping the process at the project certification stage damages the integrity of the program, so the Uptime Institute introduced the expiration date for the TCDD certificate. All TCDDs issued after January 1, 2014 are valid for 2 years from the date of issue.
The next stage is the certification of installed equipment (Tier Certification of Constructed Facility (TCCF)). The Uptime Institute consultancy team visits the site and identifies inconsistencies between the drawings and the actual installed equipment. Uptime Institute consultants conduct tests and demonstrations proving compliance with Tier. It is in finding white spots and weak points that the value of certification lies.
The reliability of the data center is determined not only by the project and equipment. Current operations play a huge role in maintaining the availability of data center services, so in 2010 the Uptime Institute developed management guidelines (Tier: Operational Sustainability) and began certifying the current work of data centers. The process includes a comparative analysis of the capabilities of the management team according to a special evaluation sheet with the obligatory visit of consultants to the site. Key areas of analysis are description, observation and confirmation of the main processes, including recruitment, training and maintenance.
Recently, Tier certification has become increasingly popular. Now there are more companies in the certification process than ever before in a 20-year history.
Innovative giants like Google, Facebook, eBay, Apple are completely self-sufficient and not certified, which is why the actual number of data centers of a corresponding level of reliability can be much more. For example, according to the Uptime Institute in Finland, there are no certified data centers. However, it houses one of the creations of Google - the data center in Hamina.
If we talk about the statistics of the institute, at the moment 490 data centers have passed certification, which is about 10% of all known today. A record country in the number of data centers remains the United States, there are 67 certified data centers. In second place is Brazil, with 23 centers. The honorable third place is occupied by Canada, where 19 data centers operate.
In the post-Soviet space, the undoubted leader is Russia, where there are 14 data centers (including 13 Tier III and 1 Tier IV). The second place was taken by Lithuania with three data centers, on the 3rd Kazakhstan with two. One more was erected in Ukraine and Latvia.
What is a tier?
The Uptime Institute has developed Tier classification standards for assessing data center capabilities in terms of uptime. Levels of Tier (I-IV) are progressive, that is, each new level includes the requirements for the previous ones.
')
Tier I: basic level. Data center class Tier I is focused on the support of information technology for solving office tasks. The infrastructure includes allocated space for IT systems, uninterruptible power supplies for filtering voltage interruptions, cooling equipment that does not turn off at the end of the work day, and a generator to protect against long-term interruptions.
Tier II: spare capacity. Tier II grade equipment includes spare power for critical power and cooling components, which provides the ability to be repaired and increases safety margins against problems associated with equipment failures.
Tier III: parallel repair. Tier III data center does not require stops for maintenance and repair. A backup power and cooling channel is added to the critical components of Tier II, so each element needed to support the IT process can be disabled and repaired without affecting the operation of the data center.
Tier IV: fault tolerance. The Tier IV infrastructure is built on the Tier III base with the addition of the concept of fault tolerance to the topological scheme. Fault tolerance means that failures of individual pieces of equipment or interruptions in the work of the backup channel will not affect the operation.
Infrastructure costs and project complexity increase with the rise of the Tier class. Tier does not set specific technological or design criteria. This is not to say that the Tier IV class is “better” than the Tier II class. The infrastructure of the data center must meet the objectives of the business, not requiring excessive costs and not putting the company at great risk.
In 2009, the Uptime Institute removed the “expected downtime per year” from Tier standards. The current standard does not assign a Tier class based on predictions. The changes are due to the understanding that user actions can have a greater impact on the availability of the site than the physical infrastructure.
Tier Certification
The Tier certification process usually begins with the introduction of new data center facilities. The owner of the data center decides to reach a certain Tier class in accordance with the needs of its business and appeals to the Uptime Institute for an unbiased and independent analysis, ensuring that designers, contractors and service providers fulfill their obligations.
TIER certification card
The first step in this process is the Tier Certification of Design Documents (TCDD). Uptime Institute consultants review 100% of the documentation, including electrical, mechanical, monitoring, and automatic subsystems, become familiar with the fundamental concepts and check for weak links in the circuit.
Over its history, the Uptime Institute has conducted more than 400 inspections, analyzing the most complex data centers around the world. One of the important lessons learned from this is that companies can undergo certification of project documentation and avoid subsequent certification of equipment. The Uptime Institute never assumed that TCDD would be the final step of certification. It is rather a reference point to demonstrate that the first part of a capital project meets the requirements. Stopping the process at the project certification stage damages the integrity of the program, so the Uptime Institute introduced the expiration date for the TCDD certificate. All TCDDs issued after January 1, 2014 are valid for 2 years from the date of issue.
The next stage is the certification of installed equipment (Tier Certification of Constructed Facility (TCCF)). The Uptime Institute consultancy team visits the site and identifies inconsistencies between the drawings and the actual installed equipment. Uptime Institute consultants conduct tests and demonstrations proving compliance with Tier. It is in finding white spots and weak points that the value of certification lies.
The reliability of the data center is determined not only by the project and equipment. Current operations play a huge role in maintaining the availability of data center services, so in 2010 the Uptime Institute developed management guidelines (Tier: Operational Sustainability) and began certifying the current work of data centers. The process includes a comparative analysis of the capabilities of the management team according to a special evaluation sheet with the obligatory visit of consultants to the site. Key areas of analysis are description, observation and confirmation of the main processes, including recruitment, training and maintenance.
Recently, Tier certification has become increasingly popular. Now there are more companies in the certification process than ever before in a 20-year history.
Some statistics
Innovative giants like Google, Facebook, eBay, Apple are completely self-sufficient and not certified, which is why the actual number of data centers of a corresponding level of reliability can be much more. For example, according to the Uptime Institute in Finland, there are no certified data centers. However, it houses one of the creations of Google - the data center in Hamina.
If we talk about the statistics of the institute, at the moment 490 data centers have passed certification, which is about 10% of all known today. A record country in the number of data centers remains the United States, there are 67 certified data centers. In second place is Brazil, with 23 centers. The honorable third place is occupied by Canada, where 19 data centers operate.
In the post-Soviet space, the undoubted leader is Russia, where there are 14 data centers (including 13 Tier III and 1 Tier IV). The second place was taken by Lithuania with three data centers, on the 3rd Kazakhstan with two. One more was erected in Ukraine and Latvia.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/243109/
All Articles