APC has announced a new set of courses and educational partners for its Data Center University by APC program, an online educational institution for IT professionals, engineers, and others involved in building or operating server rooms and data centers. The company says the vendor-neutral courses focus on the critical technologies and best practices relevant to the implementation of scalable, modular data center infrastructure.
According to the company, since its launch in January 2006, the Data Center University program's on-line courses have become a valuable resource for IT professionals seeking "real world" training on the fundamental issues surrounding the network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI) of data centers.
Initially consisting of twenty courses in the subject areas of data center design, building, and operations, the program has added 15 new courses, which are, for a limited time, available free online at www.datacenteruniversity.com.
Topics for the new courses include: calculating total cooling requirements; advantages of row and rack-oriented cooling architectures (parts 1 and 2 in a series); fundamentals of cooling architecture; calculating total power requirements; inter-system ground noise and impact on data center availability; generator system requirements for data centers; maximizing RFID network system availability; specifications of data center power density; fundamental principles of network security; standardization in the data center; emergency power off; guidelines for specifications of data center power density; power distribution techniques (part 1); and financial planning for NCPI assets in U.S. data centers.
ADC notes that "actual data center executives with decades of combined experience" participated in the development of the courses. Further, in addition to maintaining its original partnership with IEEE, the Data Center University by APC program recently agreed to new educational partnerships with several technology and professional organizations including the Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS), the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers, and Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI).
Additionally, state engineering boards from 18 different U.S. states will award credit for completion of courses in the program toward maintenance of state board licenses. The company says the program will also offer certification paths beginning in the fourth quarter of 2006.
"The response APC has received to the Data Center University by APC curriculum with its foundational level and advanced courses has been overwhelmingly positive, leading to this quarter's course expansion," comments Dave Johnson, APC's vice president, Americas. "In just a few months, the program has been able to meet a critical need for standardized training on the core issues of data center management and design."