The application of international certification standards to the development of data centres

Russia may still be at the stage of developing its data center sector but demand for top tier data facilities in the region is expanding rapidly. According to optimistic forecasts the Russian market for this sector will double in size by 2014.

Russian construction standards, rules and recommendations unfortunately provide no reliable guidelines for developers to follow when constructing a data center (DC). Statutory construction standards are often outdated and make no provision for the inclusion of modern data processing facilities. By way of example, the only recommended guidelines for the design of buildings and premises housing data processing machines dates from 1979 and was updated only in 1989 and 2000. Consequently, Russian companies wishing to construct corporate DCs offering the quality of provision and IT facilities expected nowadays at international level are required to have the DCs certified in accordance with international standards.

It is therefore not surprising that Russian DC developers try to rely on foreign experience and solutions. There are three core standards used by the industry:
£ ANSI/TIA-942: The Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard
for DCs, which is considered to be most complex relevant set of
standards;
£ BICSI 002-2011: The DC Design and Implementation Best Practice
Standards;
£ Tier Standard: a system developed by the Uptime Institute.
These core standards are extremely comprehensive and are used
in conjunction with more specific European standards that mandate
certain requirements covering, for example, generic cabling
systems (BS EN 50173-5, ISO 11801 and CELENEC 50173),
information security management (ISO/IEC 17799) and fire safety
(EN 1047/2) etc.

The standards mentioned above prescribe general compliance requirements for data center reliability and fault-tolerance levels. However, only the Uptime Institute Tier Standard provides for mandatory certification concerning (i) design documentation; (ii) construction facilities; and (iii) operational sustainability. Such certification confirms that a DC conforms to Tiers I – IV, which set out different levels of reliability and fault-tolerance.

To date, the design documentation for only five Russian DCs has passed the Uptime Certification for Tier III and only only facilities have received Tier III certification (one of these being the Mega Data Center 1 developed by Sberbank - the largest Russian state owned bank).

Certification of Russian DCs with the Uptime Institute may not, however, be the most convenient, practical or cost-effective procedure because the certification involves additional expenses and does not guarantee that the design documentation, even where certified for Tier level, will be implemented in a way that ensures that the developed DC complies with the Tier requirements. Technical experts who have analyzed Russian construction projects claiming to satisfy Tier 3 or Tier 4 reliability levels that have been benchmarked against the Uptime Institute standard or the TIA-942 standard have noticed that such reliability levels have not been reached for all aspects of a DC’s operations. For instance, developers applying Tier 3 requirements to projects do not install diesel-generators, which automatically means that the guaranteed power supply system conforms only to the Tier 1 standard.

These difficulties arise not just for financial reasons but also because the Russian regulatory framework is not consistent with international practice. For example TIA-942 is oriented towards the US telecommunication networks and therefore application of this standard in Russia is limited to the extent permitted by regulatory requirements. The TIA-942 requirements concerning power
supply and fire-safety do not correspond precisely with Russian regulations.

However, this does not constitute a complete obstacle to the application of international standards because examples exist of attempts by Russian DC developers to localize the application of those standards. For instance, in its tender documentation for the preparation of the design component of its DC, Rostelekom (the largest Russian telecommunication networks operator) referred both to Russian mandatory requirements (partly related to carcass structures) and TIA-942 (partly related to other structures).
The current trend to harmonize Russian standards with foreign best practice is a positive step in the right direction. The Federal Law “On Technical Regulation” provides specifically that international standards can be applied as recommended best practice. The National Standard (“GOST”) R 1.7-2008 “Rules of Presentation and Indication by Development on the Basis of Application of International Standards” directly provides opportunities for the development of Russian standards based on international ones.

One practical example of the harmonization initiative relating to DCs is the incorporation of the EN 1047/2 standard within the National Standard GOST R 52919-2008, however, there is still no unified Russian standard which consolidates all requirements for DCs in a way that is similar to TIA-942. Russian certification authorities are unable to certify DCs in accordance with international standards.

That said, developers who are contemplating the construction of DCs that meet international standards still have to apply either to international certification entities, such as the Uptime Institute, or just apply foreign best practice without receiving the relevant confirmation of conformity.