May/June 2019 I 27
and cooling, are fairly constant due
to their use within most industries,
data centers also provide an
interesting mix of unique
disciplines and conditions. Until
2010, most data center standards
focused on one segment of a data
center, occasionally providing
insight into related areas. For
example, ANSI/TIA-942 provided
some environmental and power
distribution information as it
related to telecommunications
infrastructure in and around
the computer room.
In 2010, the first of a new type
of data center standard was released
in ANSI/BICSI 002. Rather than
looking at any particular vertical,
its focus brought all of the different
data center disciplines together
to provide common connection
points, serving as a Rosetta Stone.
This approach has since been
mirrored in other standards,
such as EN 50600.
Over the years, ANSI/BICSI 002
has been revised and expanded,
balancing the needs of the current
data center while looking ahead
at oncoming trends. In 2014,
ANSI/BICSI 002 was expanded
in a number of aspects, including
emerging cooling methods, modular
data centers, and the use of multiple
data centers as part of an overall
availability and redundancy plan.
The newest entry, ANSI/BICSI
002-2019, continues that tradition.
During revision work, several areas
were addressed. The first was
colocation planning, as hyperscale
concepts and methods can present
interesting challenges for even the
Over the years, ANSI/BICSI 002
has been revised and expanded,
balancing the needs of the current
data center while looking ahead
at oncoming trends.
most experienced data center
designers, consultants, or owners.
While the planning information
is new, existing content with
planned updates were sufficient
to complete the material. Since OCP
is now established, several volunteers
provided additional information.
While information on open racks
and some foundational concepts are
new in the 2019 version, most of the
architectural and space requirements
were already sufficient and required
only minor edits.
Given that without power, there
is no operation, refinements to dc
power distribution and information
about lithium-ion batteries was
added. Since cooling is the other
ingredient for a “happy” computer
room, the mechanical chapter was
restructured for flow, providing
insights into adding further support
for liquid cooling and other potential
cooling methods.
Other major changes were focused
on building systems and commissioning.
Given the evolution of
building systems to utilize network
power, share data, and be integrated
into a larger whole, additional
cabling may be present in both the
computer room and adjoining
spaces. While some disciplines,
like security, are already “riding
the network,” low-voltage lighting
and lighting management, sound
masking, and first-responder
and emergency services communications
are some of the many
other systems which are being
incorporated in the style of an
intelligent premise.
As there is always a need for
commissioning information,
which is not found within any
one document, the commissioning
section was expanded to provide
more detail about planning and
structure. In the structure section,
roles and responsibilities were
defined, thereby providing a guide
to explain who needs to perform
which functions and when.
The revision of ANSI/BICSI
002-2019 would not be complete
without some larger restructure
or relocation of content. With the
parallel development of BICSI 009
for data center operations, those
sections with operation materials,
such as security and maintenance,