How Would You Make a Small Shoplot Data Centre Actually Stand Out?
Hi, I’m a final-year engineering student working on a project to design a data centre within three commercial shoplots in a warm and humid climate, with ambient conditions of around 30°C and 80% relative humidity. At the moment, the design uses 20 server racks, with rear-door heat exchangers (RDHx) as the main method of removing IT heat.
My lecturer feels that I’m following the project brief too closely and not thinking far enough outside the box, especially when it comes to creating a clear competitive advantage or unique selling point for the facility. I have tried arguing about my estimated PUE, however he thinks its a weak arguement and wanted me to redesign/modify some infrastructure within the data centre.
I’m therefore looking for ideas from people with experience in data-centre design, operation, cooling, or MEP systems. What would you redesign, modify, or add to a small shoplot-based data centre to make it genuinely more attractive than a conventional design?