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Future Facilities To Hold User Conference

Feb. 12, 2010
The Future Facilities International 6SigmaDC User Conference and Training Event March 4 and 5 in New York City will feature a presentation showing how Cisco Systems used 6SigmaDC data center design and operations simulation software to reduce energy ...

The Future Facilities International 6SigmaDC User Conference and Training Event March 4 and 5 in New York City will feature a presentation showing how Cisco Systems used 6SigmaDC data center design and operations simulation software to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent in a major data center. The two-day event will also feature user presentations by Alcatel-Lucent and Wrightline, advanced tutorials, and workshops on efficiency, calibration, troubleshooting, and industry standards using the 6SigmaDC software suite.

The first day of the conference will include a presentation by Chris Noland and Vipha Kanakakorn of Cisco Systems on how the company achieved an estimated saving of $120,000 per year in energy costs by simulating a data center using Future Facilities' Virtual Facility (VF) simulation methodology. The simulation results were used to guide the placement of floor grilles and blanking panels that lowered information-technology (IT) equipment inlet temperatures, making it possible to raise the chilled-water set point by 8°F.

Brent Goren of Wrightline will present a cold-aisle-containment study conducted at a Baycare Health Systems facility. The initial cold-aisle installation was unsuccessful, so Wrightline, in conjunction with Future Facilities, conducted thorough field measurements of the cold-aisle-containment region and formulated finite boundary computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) models in 6SigmaDC. The resulting model highlighted the root cause of the problem and made it possible to resolve the underlying issue.

Majid Safavi of Alcatel-Lucent also will present a case study. The first day will conclude with a 6Sigma Product Roadmap session on the subject of what lies in store for Future Facilities and 6SigmaDC. New 6SigmaDC features will be demonstrated, and users will have input into the future of the software. Industry standards for simulations, including calibration and data transfer, will be discussed.

The second day of the conference will begin with an interactive energy-efficiency tutorial explaining how to make data centers more efficient and determine in advance how much money can be saved. The second day will continue with a surveying, calibrating, and troubleshooting tutorial. The tutorial will provide tips and tricks for easier creation of a VF for an existing data center and show how to overcome differences between measured and simulated data.

Reservations for the user conference can be made by visiting www.futurefacilities.com/newsarticles/news/Userconf2010/Userconf2010body.htm. The 30 available places will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. For questions please call Sherman Ikemoto at 408-436-7701 or e-mail [email protected].