ABR's Fabulous Links

ABR'S FABULOUS LINKS

The links on this page will take to technical and other information found on the ABR Consulting Group website. There are lots of categories and links so please scan down the entire page. We're certain these links can assist you with your facility and IT activities.

BUDGETING

1.     A 2001 Draft Budget For a Legacy IBM Data Center
        A draft budget developed as a result of a customer call. The data center was 10,000 sq.ft.
2.     A 2003 Budget to Relocate a 100,000 sq.ft. Data Center
        An ABR project as part of a World Trade Center project to estimate what costs would be incurred to
        plan and relocate a major data center assuming that the equipment was on the dock and not in
        another building. Note the high hourly labor costs. This was reflective of a major equipment
        vendor doing the work and for the exceptionally high costs for the Local #3 Electrical Workers
        union in New York. No equipment purchases were involved.
3.     A 2003 Budget to Relocate a 15,000 sq.ft. County Data Center with Equipment
        An ABR project to budget the cost of relocating a County data center. This project included
        complete construction costs as well as equipment upgrade and replacement costs.  Note the
        dramatic difference in consulting rates between the ABR/J&M team and the consulting rates for the
        major vendors.

FACILITIES

1.     Sample Program Requirements for a Major Data Center
        A sample 45-page document that outlines program requirements to the Architect and Engineers on
        the design requirements that YOU want for your new data center. This is an actual document with the
        customer name removed. It is also a data center that has a large printing and paper distribution area
        as part of it's operations. Just revise to your needs and SURPRISE your design team.
2.     Watts and BTU's Per Square Foot for Data Centers
        Computing Power and Heat Loads for Your Data Center Project
        We reveal the big secret. A NEW ABR utility that explains watts and BTUs/sq.ft for a
        computer room. Answer two questions and the utility does the rest. Finally, you can
        provide the engineers with the information they need to design your power and
        HVAC.
3.     Steps to Locating and Designing a Large Data Center
        Looking for that great new large data center site? How about criteria that you need for a 5-nines data
        center. Click on the above link to see our 5-page checklist on this subject.

CABLING DESIGN

1.     Designing the Cabling Rooms (IDFs) for Voice-Over-IP Telephone
        Important changes in physical cabling room design to prepare for voice-over-IP telephone systems.
2.     We Recommend Running 3-Cables Per Run and Not 4
        We make the case for running 3-cables per user station run instead of 4.
3.     Designing a Cabling System for the Colocation Data Center
        A great article that we wrote just as the dot com bubble was beginning to burst.

INDUSTRY CODES AND STANDARDS

1.     New 2002 National Electric Code Requirement to Remove Abandoned Cable
        The 2002 edition of the National Electric Code (NEC) now requires the removal of abandoned electrical
        telecommunications cable. An excellent article by Frank Bisbee of Communications Planning
        Corporation describes the details and the lists the specific code articles.
2.     Toxicity Testing on Communications Cables. Surprisingly, it's not done
        Another nice article by Frank Bisbee who follows this subject.
3.     Ethernet Topology Guide

VENDOR PRODUCT INFORMATION

1. Avaya Announces New Code Structure for Ordering Fiber Cables (Jan 8, 2004)
Downloadable .pdf file showing new code structure and new fiber material IDs

DATA SPEEDS

1. SONET standard fiber line speeds with DS1 and DS3 equivalents

SPECIFICATIONS

1. Under Development

DATA GATHERING TOOLS

1. Under Development

CONVERSIONS

1. Converting Microsoft Visio Drawings To Autodesk AutoCAD
2. Electrical conversions. Find kilowatts, kilovolt-amperes. Convert one to the other.