Sometimes articles inMission Critical and presentations at conferences describe issues or applications that may seem far from the real world, at least to some readers. The data centers seem perfectly managed, and the systems were well thought out initially and not compromised by poorly managed changes. We’ll describe facilities with very high reliability demands and very low PUEs. As an industry we certainly talk more about Tier 3 and 4 solutions than we do about Tier 1 facilities, especially those plagued by comatose servers, unlabeled wire runs, and under-floor obstructions.

By that measure, the articles and columns in this issue are very different. In fact, our cover story describes not a high-density facility but a power protection scheme protecting essential systems at the Women’s Hospital at Edinburg, TX. In a different part of the magazine, our legal expert Peter Funk addresses how litigation stemming from Hurricane Katrina could force hospitals nationwide, even the Women’s Hospital, to spend millions re-doing perfectly good backup systems to protect against the nearly unimaginable or risk high liability costs in the courts.

Generators take center stage later in the issue, too, with a story describing how UPS and Verizon survived post-hurricane flood conditions in Louisiana and Texas. There is more, of course, but I was struck by how much of this issue addresses the kind of real-world situations that typically do not take center stage.


Also to Come

In JanuaryMission Critical announced four webinars, totaling six broadcasts, including five sponsors, and almost 30 industry speakers to be held before the summer. Registration should be open for all these events by now, and I am hoping that February will see even more webinars announced for later this year. Yes, we’ve been busy. Please visit webinars.missioncriticalmagazine.com for more information or to register for these events.

First, I hope this issue reaches you in time to remind you to register for a our February 25th webinar on Data Center Cooling Trends. The speakers are Gilbane’s Dennis Cronin and Syska Hennessy’s Vali Sorell, and the sponsors are AdaptivCool and CoolSim.

Soon after that we are holding our long-planned three-part webinar on Building a Greenfield Data Center, which has been scheduled for March 17, April 15th, and May 13th. Siemens is sponsoring this event. This webinar takes place over three 60+ minute sessions and includes more than 20 speakers. Our goal is to provide information on the whole range of topics faced by everyone considering building a new data center.

A webinar sponsored by PDI on April 25th will take a closer look at a very special way of building a new data center. As containers become a more viable solution for more enterprises, the need for objective information becomes greater. Gilbane’s Cronin and a not-yet-announced speaker will try to explain how these units are best used in the field.

Future Facilities will sponsor the most recently signed of these webinars on April 6th. We’re still in topic development as of today, but by the time you read this full details should be available atwebinars.missioncriticalmagazine.com.