So you need a new data centre, one that will answer the twin requirements of energy conscientiousness and company expansion. Not to mention, of course, security and cooling. How do you begin to create a new data design?

In a perfect world you will be able to start from scratch at a consultation stage. In such case, you can start by workshopping the requirements that you have of your new data - what you want it to do now, and what you want it to be able to do in the future. With technology consistently moving forwards, it is best to plan a centre design that takes potentially rapid expansion into account.

Once you have outlined your objectives, you can do an environmental survey of your office space. The environmental survey does two things - it identifies the best location for your new centre, and it points out problems that will need solving during the data centre design and construction phase.

Now you have your data centre location pinpointed you can use its physical dimensions to help you design the centre itself. This is the key stage of the process. The design you commission must take your current and future needs into account; it must be secure; and it must be capable of adequately cooling your existing servers without blocking off room for the servers you may need to add to your system in the future.

One of the most space effective methods of cooling a data centre is called "cold aisle containment". This method separates a cold aisle (at the front of the servers) from the warm exhaust air expelled behind the servers. This is done using sealed doors and a refrigerated floor.

A data centre design incorporating cold aisle containment will need to be on a false floor, with refrigerated air circulating underneath it. This air comes from refrigeration units kept outside the contained cold aisle. The units chill the hot air, which is expelled from the cooling fans in the servers, and recirculate the cooled air under the false floor.

Because the cooling units in this data centre design are not in the "room" with the servers themselves, you have more room to install more servers, as your company expands and your data storage needs increase. By maintaining a predictable flow of cool air right where it is needed, you also cool the whole data centre with an even flow of energy - rather than the constantly rising energy use that is associated with continual adding of more air conditioning units.

Once your data centre design has been realised, you need to keep it working properly. Regular maintenance visits, to attend to the cooling units and the seals on the doors, are advised - as is a remote monitoring contract or service, which can send out advance warnings of any rise in power use (which may indicate a failing cooler).