DIN EN 50600-4-2:2017-06

In the modern information society, data centers are the switching and storage centers for the electronic exchange of information. The steadily increasing performance requirements for data centers and the still unchecked increase in their energy demand call for recognized technical specifications that enable the planner and the operator to plan, expand and operate a data center in accordance with the state of the art in a future-proof manner. These include requirements for the availability of the data center's services, its energy efficiency and economic aspects. Although there are in fact standards for the components and subsystems used in data centers (for example, for uninterruptible power supplies), a standard suitable for the European market for the design, planning, procurement, integration, installations, operation and maintenance of facilities and infrastructures within data centers is still missing. To fill this gap, Germany has therefore requested CENELEC/TC 215 "Electrotechnical aspects of telecommunications equipment" to prepare the EN 50600 series of European standards. The primary function of a data center is typically to house a large number of computing and telecommunications devices, which has implications for design, operation and physical security. Most data centers may have special security requirements. Therefore, the design of a data center needs to be carried out by the designer and the various technical disciplines supporting him or her in the planning and execution of the data center design, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, security, and so on, in collaboration with the IT and telecommunications staff, network experts, the building engineer, the IT end users, and any other staff involved. Part 4-2 specifies the so-called Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) as a value determined over a period of 12 months as well as various derivatives for intra-year considerations (iPUE), for example, or the consideration of subsystems in the data center (pPUE). The content is based on ISO/IEC 30134-2:2016, but is not identical to it. This standard has been prepared under the standardization mandate (mandate) M/462 "Standardisation in the field of ICT to enable efficient energy use in fixed and mobile information and communication networks" issued to CENELEC by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association. The responsible committee is DKE/GUK 715.5 "Data centers" of the DKE (German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies) at DIN and VDE.