Certified Data Centre Expert (CDCE)

CDCE – Certified Data Centre Expert

CDCE is the premier certification for data centre professionals in the data centre design/build and related fields. This 5-day course is designed to prepare participants to analyse a given business case and perform technical evaluation for a project plan and a set of designs for implementation of a mission critical data centre.

The course also engages participants in product evaluations and demonstrates how to select equipment and develop equipment test scripts (IET) and integrated performance and validation testing (IPVT). CDCE builds upon knowledge gained in CDCP and CDCS courses. Participants who pass the exam will join the industry’s elite data centre project design experts.

CDCE is the highest level training in the EPI Design and Build training track under the EPI Data Centre Training Framework. Participants must hold a valid CDCS certificate in order to be able to register for the CDCE class.

 

Intended Audience:

The primary audience for this course is any IT, facilities or data centre professional, who are involved in the design/build, renovation or relocation of a mission-critical data centre.

Prerequisites

Participants must hold a valid CDCS certificate in order to register for the CDCE class.

Course Benefits

  • After completion of the course the participant will be able to:
  • Choose an optimum site for mission-critical data centres based on current and future needs.
  • Describe all components important for high-availability in a data centre and how to effectively setup the data centre.
  • Understand the design lifecycle stages for data centre build projects and the phases involved in project execution.
  • Analyse a business case and develop a project brief that is aimed at fulfilling the business resilience, site selection and design requirements for a fit-for-purpose and suitably redundant mission-critical data centre.
  • Conduct technical level design reviews for a given set of preliminary design documents and perform a technical compliance audit of a set of final design development documents compliant to TIA standards.
  • Understand how to read electrical Single Line Diagrams (SLD) and other related design documents, and be able to detect the most common design mistakes.
  • Evaluate product datasheets and discriminate amongst technical specifications and functional requirements for suitability against a set of given design requirements for a given site and business case.
  • Correlate equipment specifications to site design constraints, such as room size and space, floor loading capacity, cooling capacity, power quality conditions and maintenance requirements while ensuring equipment selection does not compromise desired tier level compliance.
  • Develop Individual Equipment Test (IET) and Integrated Performance Validation Test (IPVT) plans for a mission-critical data centre.
  • Develop guidelines and checklists for handover of a mission-critical data centre facility, its architectural, mechanical, electrical, IT elements and documentation.
  • Develop retirement plans for decommissioning and handover of an aged mission-critical data centre facility.

Course Syllabus

Module 1

– Data Centre Life Cycle

  • Data centre lifecycle stages and phases
  • Exercise: Stage/Phase/Milestone/Document mapping

Module 2

– Design Preparation

  • Creation of a SON – Statement Of Need
  • Technology review
  • Conceptual sizing
  • How to calculate for computer room space
  • How to calculate facility space
  • How to calculate incoming power
  • Exercise: Conceptual sizing building and power
  • Analysing capacity of existing facility
  • Analysing investment options
  • Site selection
  • Permits and approvals
  • Exercise: Site selection
  • Conceptual design
  • Budget and project timeline
  • Business case preparation
  • Project delivery structure
  • Project management options
  • Project manager and team

Module 3

– Design Planning

  • OSRA – Operational Systems Requirement Analysis
  • TFRA – Technical Facilities Requirement Analysis
  • Operations and maintenance review
  • RFP – Request For Proposal process
  • Vendor selection

Module 4

– Design Development

  • Project planning
  • Design development
  • PDR – Preliminary Design Review
  • Equipment selection
  • FDR/V – Final Design Review/Validation
  • Exercise: Full design validation of power, cooling, floor plans, fire suppression
  • Design freeze and LLTI
  • Creation of construction documents
  • BOM/BOQ – Bill Of Material/Bill Of Quantity
  • Exercise: Equipment selection

Module 5

– Acquire

  • Requirements of purchase orders
  • Shipping terms
  • FWT/FAT – Factory Witness Test/Factory Acceptance Test
  • Sequencing
  • Incoming goods inspection and handling
  • Asset management

Module 6

– Construct

  • Temporary essential services
  • Erection of the building
  • Permanent essential services
  • Building inspection
  • Snag list
  • COF – Certificate Of Fitness

Module 7

– Fit-Out

  • Fit-Out
  • Builders cleaning
  • As-Built Drawings

Module 8

– Test & Commissioning

  • IET – Individual Equipment Test
  • IPVT/IST – Integrated Performance Verification Test/Integrated Systems Test
  • Common mistakes with IET/IPVT
  • Deep cleaning
  • Exercise: IET/IPVT scripting

Module 9

– Hand-Over

  • Facility hand-over requirements and documents
  • PCC – Practical Completion Certificate
  • DLP – Defect Liability Period
  • Defect Management
  • ICT Systems Installation
  • ICT Systems Testing
  • Hand-Over/DLP Expiry
  • FCC – Final Completion Certificate

Module 10

– Retirement

  • Reasons and definitions of retirement
  • Building the business case and project plan
  • Sequencing
  • Transfer of site
  • Demolishing of site
  • Legal matters
  • FCC – Final Completion Certificate

EXAM: Certified Data Centre Expert

Exam

The CDCE exam is in two parts: Part A is a 90-minute closed book exam, with 60 multiple-choice questions. For Part A, the candidate requires a minimum of 45 correct answers to pass the exam. Part B is a 90-minute closed book exam, with 25 open questions. For Part B the candidate needs to obtain a minimum of 75% to pass.

Attendees who pass the exam will be awarded the internationally accredited and recognised ‘Certified Data Centre Expert’ certificate (CDCE).

The CDCE certificate is valid for 3 years, after which recertification is required.  Please see the EPI Recertification Program for available options.

Accreditation

CDCE is world-wide accredited by EXIN.