future facilities announces release 5 of 6sigmadc,
data center design and operations simulation software

new cfd-based software release models much wider range of cooling scenarios with greater ease, from equipment design to data center planning and operations

london, july xx 2009 – with the introduction of release 5 of 6sigmadc, future facilities has added new software modules and plug-ins to its data center design and operations software suite, increasing the usability, functionality and scope of its modelling capabilities. 6sigmadc is a leading software package which enables data centre designers, owners and operators to make the most effective and efficient use of facility power, cooling and space, whilst minimising risk of thermal shutdowns.

hassan moezzi, ceo, future facilities said “in addition to being substantially easier to use, release 5 extends the virtual facility, 3-d modelling concept to everything from the design of it equipment to the design of the data center, continuing to assist with load capacity planning throughout the facility lifecycle.”

a major new feature of the software package is the inclusion of 6sigmaet to address the cooling design of it equipment. hassan moezzi said “there is a need for equipment designers to model and assess the behaviour of their products in data center environments because the end user demands assured it performance. 6sigmaet bridges the gap between original equipment design and its placement and performance within the data center.”

moezzi continued “the use of 6sigmaet means that we can replace ‘design assumptions’, which are outmoded and have no place in 21^st century data center design, with solid mathematical predictions. there is a great advantage to using the same software concept from one end of the process to the other, not least of which is data center designers knowing they’re basing their decisions on the same scientific principals as the equipment designer.”

the 6sigmadc integrated software suite also includes 6sigma room for design and layout of new and upgraded facilities; 6sigmarack for rack and cabinet configuration, and 6sigmafm (formerly 6sigmamanager) to test new layouts and configurations as the data centre evolves throughout the engineering lifecycle.

a key new feature in the 6sigmaroom enables variable volume cooling systems to be modelled. the feature includes extensions to maximum capacity characterizations for air conditioning units (acus) so that cooling delivered by an acu at reduced flow is limited in accordance with the flow. another improvement allows resistances representing perforated plates or registers to be made in otherwise solid obstructions, making modelling of ductwork easier and more robust.

new features in 6sigmaroom include:

• modelling internally cooled cabinets so they can be registered for inventory purposes and accounted for in the power system as well as for power scaling needs
• modelling equipment weight to assess whether any given layout will breach floor loading limitations
• cable penetrations can now be attached to the raised floor to account for the situation where they are installed before racks and cabinets
• the addition of an installed/ planned status flag for infrastructure such as acus, which makes it easier to change the model to investigate design performance at different stages in the data center lifecycle
• new modelling features including doors with potential for infiltration in perimeter walls; the ability to rotate built-in acu scoops, and automatic bridge creation for data cables, power cables and cooling pipework.
• the infrastructure outside the facility can now be included in graphical views and animation can be generated to demonstrate how airflows develop.

the 6sigmafm module has undergone a major change to make it easier to use. for example, with a single click the user can add equipment to every cabinet and fill it to capacity for simulation. this makes it easy to check whether changes made today will help or hinder performance in the future. a new 6sigmaitm module provides the capabilities needed by it managers to enable effective separation of tasks and responsibilities with facility managers.

6sigmarack has been upgraded with new features to make rack and cabinet modelling easier and more accurate. a new cable arm virtual component makes it much easier to represent the obstruction of airflow caused by cable arms. it equipment without airflow can now be included in the model to complete the inventory and heat input and power draw simulations. the heat exchanger can now be placed outside the cabinet.

the 6sigmacad plug-in module has been extended to support import and export of cad drawings in the ubiquitous dxf and dwg formats using the autocad realdwg environment.� this means that cad drawings can be imported from and exported to many more cad tools without the need for any further plug-ins. in addition to line drawings, solid definitions of complex parts can now be imported using the stl format. the data can also be used both in 6sigmaroom and 6sigmafm.

to learn more about release 5 of 6sigmadc and how it can help increase data centre availability and efficiency please call the company on 0207 840 9540 or visit www.futurefacilities.com.

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about future facilities

future facilities (http://www.futurefacilities.com) is a leading provider of powerful design, optimization and management software for mission critical facilities and data centers. the company’s solutions are applied to ensure all capacity, efficiency and reliability criteria are met throughout all phases of the facility lifecycle.