Exin CDCS - EXIN EPI Certified Data Centre Specialist

The cooling capacity of a raised floor tile is primarily influenced by the percentage of surface opening, the obstruction caused by the supporting construction, the pressure under the raised floor, and the damper construction. These factors dictate how much airflow can pass through the tile and how effectively cool air is distributed to the equipment in the data center.

Detailed Explanation:

The percentage of surface opening on a floor tile affects how much air can flow through, with larger openings allowing more airflow. Supporting structures beneath the floor can obstruct airflow, reducing cooling efficiency. Pressure under the raised floor impacts the velocity and volume of air that moves through the tile. Additionally, if dampers are installed, they control the airflow rate, which can be adjusted to meet specific cooling needs for the area.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

EPI guidance on airflow management under raised floors emphasizes these factors as critical for effective cooling, especially in high-density areas. Ensuring unobstructed and adequate airflow helps maintain consistent cooling across equipment.

SHR = Sensible Load / (Sensible + Latent Load); it describes the portion of the total cooling that is sensible (temperature change) versus latent (moisture removal).

Earth Leakage Protection is primarily installed to protect human lives by detecting and disconnecting power when a fault current flows to the ground. This type of protection is essential to avoid electrical shock hazards that could occur when insulation fails, or equipment is improperly grounded.

Detailed Explanation:

Earth leakage currents can occur due to insulation faults or accidental contact with live parts. Earth Leakage Protection systems, such as Residual Current Devices (RCDs), quickly detect these faults and disconnect the circuit to prevent harm to personnel. This is especially crucial in environments like data centers where high-powered equipment is continuously running and any electrical fault can pose significant safety risks.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

EPI emphasizes that human safety is paramount in data center operations. Proper grounding and leakage protection are fundamental safety measures, and EPI guidelines align with this focus, underscoring the importance of protecting personnel from electrical hazards through appropriate safety systems.

Testing smoke sensors should be conducted according to the vendor specifications to ensure compliance with safety standards and accurate results. Vendors provide specific testing procedures to account for the sensor type, environment, and operational characteristics, ensuring that tests do not damage the equipment or provide false results.

Detailed Explanation:

Smoke sensors can vary by type and sensitivity, so following the vendor's recommended testing procedure ensures the sensors function correctly without risking sensor damage. Injecting smoke or using a self-test might be insufficient or could lead to inaccurate assessments if they do not align with the vendor's testing protocol.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

EPI recommends adhering to manufacturer specifications for testing critical safety equipment, ensuring that tests reflect real-world conditions without compromising sensor integrity or reliability.

A hypoxic-based fire suppression system works by reducing the oxygen level in a room to below what is necessary to sustain combustion. This makes it effective in fire prevention, but it is not suitable for continuous occupancy by personnel. Low oxygen levels can cause discomfort or even health risks for people spending extended periods in the space. Therefore, these systems are typically deployed in areas where continuous human occupancy is not required, such as storage rooms or data halls with limited personnel access.

Detailed Explanation:

Hypoxic fire suppression systems lower oxygen levels to around 15-16%, which is safe for short periods but not sustainable for continuous occupancy without risk to health. Data center environments where staff need to spend long periods monitoring and maintaining equipment would need alternative systems, like gas-based suppression that allows for safe evacuation rather than oxygen reduction.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

The EPI Data Center Specialist curriculum emphasizes that fire suppression systems must be chosen based on occupancy requirements. Hypoxic systems are specifically noted as unsuitable for spaces requiring continuous human presence due to the low oxygen environment they create.

An End of Row (EoR) design minimizes the number of network switches, as multiple racks can share a single switch at the end of a row, reducing switch counts and simplifying management. This design centralizes network switching to fewer points, which reduces the complexity and number of switches required compared to a Top of Rack (ToR) design, where each rack typically has its own switch.

Detailed Explanation:

In EoR designs, each row has a single network switch that handles the connections for all racks within that row. This reduces the number of individual switches needed and centralizes network management, which is ideal for minimizing equipment and simplifying infrastructure in the data center.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

EPI promotes the EoR design as a way to reduce switch counts and streamline management in data centers. This configuration allows for easier scaling and maintenance while maintaining efficient network connectivity.

Design changes during the implementation phase are generally allowed only when there is a strong business and/or technical justification. Changes at this stage can lead to delays, increased costs, or compromise design integrity. Thus, a rigorous assessment is required to ensure any modifications are essential and provide clear benefits or address critical issues.

Detailed Explanation:

Changes post-design freeze should be minimized to avoid scope creep and additional costs. However, if a technical issue arises that would affect operational goals, or a business need warrants modification, justified changes are permissible, following an impact assessment and approval process.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

EPI project management guidelines recommend a controlled change management process during implementation, allowing changes only when they align with critical objectives or address unforeseen issues that affect the project's success.

In areas with frequent and extended power outages, continuous generators with at least an N+1 configuration are necessary to ensure consistent power availability. Continuous generators are designed for prolonged operation, making them suitable for scenarios where utility power is frequently unavailable, as in this case with outages exceeding 650 hours per year. An N+1 configuration ensures redundancy, which is critical for maintaining uptime in a high-availability data center.

Detailed Explanation:

Continuous generators provide reliable power over long durations, unlike standby generators, which are intended only for short-term use. The N+1 configuration ensures that there is always an additional generator available in case of failure, thus maintaining power supply even if one generator goes offline.

EPI Data Center Specialist References:

EPI best practices recommend continuous generators with redundancy for data centers located in areas with high power instability to maintain reliability and continuous operation.

Perforated tiles with integrated dampers are common in raised-floor data centers because they allow airflow regulation at the rack level. However, even when the damper is fully open, the mechanism inside the tile restricts airflow. This typically reduces the delivered airflow by around 10% compared to a non-dampered tile of the same type.

Option A is incorrect because dampers do not affect supply temperature; they only throttle volume.

Option B is wrong since dampers cannot increase volume—they only add resistance.

Option D is partially true that dampers help with temperature balancing, but the main effect (in open position) is volume reduction.

Thus, the technical impact of dampers in open position is a slight airflow reduction, usually quantified as ~10%.

The Open Compute Project (OCP), initiated by Facebook in 2011, focuses on open designs for servers, storage, racks, and power systems. The goals are:

Reduce energy consumption by using efficient hardware.

Save materials by eliminating unnecessary components.

Lower costs by standardizing and sharing open designs.

Option B is wrong—OCP hardware can be adopted by enterprises as well. Option C is unrelated (OCP is hardware, not OS). Option D is broader cloud adoption, not OCP’s direct mission.

Thus, the primary focus is energy, material, and cost savings through open-source hardware.