CDCP Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP) Question and Answers

For safety and emergency egress, doors should swing outwards (towards the exit). This is a common building code and best practice in data centers.

Patch cables of a lower class than the structured cabling can degrade the overall link performance, so it is best practice to use the same or higher class.

A physical infrastructure in a Data Center consists of racks, which are metal frames used to store and organize server and other IT equipment. The racks are usually arranged in rows and columns, and they can be used to hold servers, storage devices, and other pieces of IT equipment. The racks can also be used to organize cables and other components to ensure that the Data Center is kept organized and efficient.

According to the EPI Data Centre Professional (CDCP®) Reference Materials, the recommended number of monitoring points for temperature measurement in a data centre is 3 per rack: one at the top, one at the middle, and one at the bottom1. This is to ensure that the temperature distribution within the rack is uniform and within the acceptable range for the equipment. The temperature sensors should be placed at the front of the rack, where the air enters the equipment, and not at the back, where the hot air exits1.

The fire triangle is a simple model that illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and combined in the right mixture. A fire can be prevented or extinguished by removing any one of the elements in the fire triangle.

The last stage in stages of combustion is flaming fire, which occurs when the fuel vapors and oxygen are mixed in the right proportion and ignited by a flame or a spark. Flaming fire is characterized by visible flames, intense heat, and rapid oxidation. Flaming fire can cause severe damage to the data center equipment, personnel, and business continuity. Therefore, it is important to prevent or suppress flaming fire as soon as possible using appropriate fire detection and suppression systems.

Shielded twisted pair cables (STP) are Ethernet cables that feature additional protection against electromagnetic interference from external sources, such as radio waves, microwaves, or other network cables. This is achieved by wrapping each pair of wires with a conductive shield, usually made of foil or braided wire, and then enclosing the entire cable with another shield layer. However, this shielding is not effective against low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) from power cables, which can induce currents and voltages in the network cables and cause signal distortion or data loss. Low frequency EMF can only be reduced by increasing the distance between the power and network cables, or by using a tre-foil cable arrangement, which is a special configuration of three power cables twisted together to cancel out the magnetic fields they generate.

8760 is the number of hours in a year (24 hours × 365 days). Dividing annual revenue by 8760 gives a basic average revenue per hour, commonly used in downtime cost calculations.

Optical fiber cables are composed of a core, a cladding, and a coating. The core is the central part of the fiber that carries the light signal. The cladding is the layer surrounding the core that reflects the light back into the core and prevents signal loss. The coating is the protective layer that covers the cladding and provides mechanical strength and environmental protection. The specifications of an optical fiber cable indicate the dimensions of the core and the cladding in microns (μm), which are one millionth of a meter. For example, a 50/125 μm cable has a core diameter of 50 μm and a cladding diameter of 125 μm. The coating diameter is usually 250 μm, but it is not part of the specifications.

The requirement of Concurrently Maintainability becomes relevant starting from Rated-3, according to the Uptime Institute Tier Classification System1. Concurrently Maintainability means that any component or system in the data centre can be maintained or replaced without affecting the availability of the IT equipment. This requires having redundant capacity components and multiple independent distribution paths serving the IT equipment. Rated-3 data centres are designed to achieve Concurrently Maintainability and have a minimum uptime of 99.982%. Rated-4 data centres also have Concurrently Maintainability, but they also have Fault Tolerance, which means that they can withstand any single unplanned event without affecting the availability of the IT equipment. Rated-4 data centres have a minimum uptime of 99.995%. Rated-1 and Rated-2 data centres do not have Concurrently Maintainability, as they have only one distribution path serving the IT equipment and no redundant capacity components. Rated-1 data centres have a minimum uptime of 99.671% and Rated-2 data centres have a minimum uptime of 99.741%.

A service corridor is a dedicated space within or adjacent to a data centre that allows access to the supporting facilities, such as power, cooling, fire suppression, security, and cabling systems, without interfering with the computer room operations. A service corridor helps to isolate the noise, vibration, heat, and dust generated by the supporting facilities from the sensitive equipment in the computer room. A service corridor also enhances the safety and efficiency of the maintenance and monitoring activities, as well as the flexibility and scalability of the data centre design.

Damaged brand perception is an example of an indirect cost because it is not directly related to a specific product or service, but rather to the overall reputation and image of the company. Damaged brand perception can result from various factors, such as poor quality, customer dissatisfaction, security breaches, or negative publicity. Damaged brand perception can affect the company’s ability to attract and retain customers, partners, and investors, and thus reduce its profitability and competitiveness.

According to the EPI Data Centre Professional (CDCP®) Reference Materials, a core objective of a Business Value in an organization is to create value for customers and stakeholders1. This means delivering products or services that meet or exceed customer expectations, while also generating profits or benefits for the organization and its shareholders. Reducing costs, reducing the deficit, and increasing sales are possible ways to achieve this objective, but they are not the core objective itself.

The most damaging type of floor load for raised floor tiles in a data centre is the rolling load (RL), according to the CDCP Preparation Guide1 and various web sources234. A rolling load is the load that is applied by a moving object, such as a pallet jack, a forklift, or a rack on wheels. A rolling load can cause more stress and fatigue on the raised floor tiles than a static load, such as a concentrated load (CP) or a uniformly distributed load (UDL), because it creates dynamic forces and impacts that can crack, dent, or deform the tiles. Moreover, a rolling load can also damage the pedestals and stringers that support the tiles, and cause the tiles to become loose or misaligned. Therefore, when designing and installing a raised floor system, it is important to consider the maximum rolling load that the tiles can withstand, and to use appropriate materials and methods to enhance the strength and durability of the tiles. For example, some possible solutions include using steel or concrete-filled tiles, reinforcing the edges and corners of the tiles, and using locking or gravity-held systems to secure the tiles.

MTBF stands for Mean Time Between Failures, and it is the arithmetic mean of time between the failing and the subsequent running of the system in a particular time period. MTBF is a measure of reliability that indicates how often a system or component fails during its operation. MTBF can be calculated by dividing the total operating time by the number of failures over a given period. For example, if a system operates for 1000 hours and experiences 5 failures, the MTBF is 1000/5 = 200 hours.

Availability is the degree to which a system, product or component is operational and accessible when required for use. It is one of the attributes of reliability, which is the ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. Availability can be calculated as the ratio of the expected value of the uptime (the time when the system is functional) to the total time (uptime plus downtime) of a system or component. Availability can also be influenced by factors such as maintainability, fault tolerance, redundancy, diagnostics, and logistics.

The expected time to recover or repair from a system from a failure is defined as MTTR (mean time to recovery or mean time to repair). MTTR is the average time it takes to restore a system or product to its normal operation after a failure. MTTR includes the time spent on detecting, diagnosing, and fixing the problem. MTTR is an important metric for measuring the reliability and availability of a system or product, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of the incident management process. A lower MTTR indicates a faster and more reliable recovery or repair process.

Class C fires involve energized electrical equipment, such as computers, servers, switches, cables, and wiring. These fires require the use of non-conductive extinguishing agents, such as carbon dioxide, dry chemical, or clean agent, to prevent electrical shock and damage to the equipment. Water-based extinguishers, such as Class A or K, are not suitable for Class C fires, as water can conduct electricity and cause electrocution or short circuits.

High relative humidity in a data center can lead to corrosion of metal parts and electronic contacts, potentially causing failures. Electrostatic discharge is a risk with low humidity, not high.

As per Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP®) reference materials, Common Mode Noise (CMN) is a type of electrical noise that appears equally on the line and neutral wires with respect to ground, and it can negatively affect sensitive ICT equipment. Excessive CMN at the rack level can lead to data errors, communication problems, equipment malfunctions, or even hardware damage.

The CDCP® training and the official exam preparation guide specify that the preferred level of Common Mode Noise at the rack should be less than 1 Volt, and under no circumstances should it exceed 3 Volts. Keeping CMN at these levels helps ensure the stable and reliable operation of critical data center infrastructure. Higher CMN levels indicate grounding or bonding issues, or possibly interference from electrical or mechanical sources, and must be addressed promptly.

Options A and B (CMN above 5 or 10 Volts) are not acceptable and would present a serious risk to ICT equipment operation and data integrity. Option D is incorrect, as CMN absolutely does affect ICT equipment.