CDCS CDCS Capacity Planning & Lifecycle Management 2

Question 1

What is the typical end-of-life (EOL) refresh cycle for enterprise servers in most data center lifecycle management policies?

Accepted Answer

3–5 years

Answer

Most enterprise data center policies retire and replace servers on a 3–5 year cycle to maintain vendor support, warranty coverage, and performance while managing failure risk.

Question 2

In capacity planning, what does a 'headroom' analysis determine?

Accepted Answer

The remaining available power, cooling, or space capacity before reaching design limits

Answer

Headroom analysis quantifies how much additional load (power, cooling, or space) the data center can absorb before reaching its engineered design limits, guiding safe growth decisions.

Question 3

Which document formally authorizes and tracks the planned installation or decommissioning of equipment in a data center?

Accepted Answer

Move/Add/Change (MAC) order or work order

Answer

A Move/Add/Change (MAC) order is the formal work authorization that documents, approves, and tracks each installation, relocation, or decommission activity in a data center.

Question 4

What is 'stranded power' risk that arises from using nameplate power ratings during capacity planning?

Accepted Answer

Capacity is over-allocated based on maximum rated draw instead of actual measured consumption, leaving real capacity unused

Answer

Servers rarely draw their nameplate maximum; planning exclusively from nameplate values over-allocates power budgets, creating stranded (reserved but unused) capacity and preventing new deployments.

Question 5

What tool or method is used to measure the actual power draw of IT equipment during a data center capacity audit?

Accepted Answer

IPMI/BMC power readings or inline current transducers (CTs) on PDU circuits

Answer

IPMI/BMC interfaces report real-time server power consumption, and inline current transducers or metered PDUs measure actual circuit draw, both providing accurate power data for capacity planning.

CDCS - Certified Data Center Specialist Practice Test

CDCS - Certified Data Center Specialist Practice Test

CDCS CDCS Capacity Planning & Lifecycle Management 2