Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP)

Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP®)

CDCP® Overview

In today’s digital era, enterprises depend on IT infrastructure to deliver critical services. At the heart of this infrastructure is the data centre, where availability, efficiency, and resilience are non-negotiable. However, many data centres fall short of meeting the rigorous demands of modern workloads, from AI to high-performance computing, putting businesses at risk.

Ensuring a high-availability environment demands expertise in power management, cooling strategies, fire protection, security, structured cabling, and industry best practices.

The CDCP® (Certified Data Centre Professional) course is a comprehensive 2-day program designed to equip participants with essential knowledge of the data centre infrastructure’s vital components.

This course provides insights into power and cooling systems, security measures, cabling structures, safety protocols, and efficiency enhancements to empowering the data centre professionals to confidently support and enhance today’s data centres while preparing for future advancements.

Audience

The primary audience for this course includes data centre specialists, facilities managers and IT professionals who work in and around data centres and are responsible for ensuring and enhancing their availability and manageability.

Prerequisites

There is no specific prerequisite for the CDCP^® course. However, participants who already have at least one or two years’ experience in a data centre or facilities environment may be best suited. Those with no experience just yet are most welcome to participate.

Course Benefits

After completion of the course the participant will be able to:

Explain different types of data centres, their impact on business continuity, and the key factors affecting availability.
Examine international and national standards, industry guidelines, and compliance requirements for data centre design and sub-components.
Identify site selection criteria, building requirements, and supporting facility needs to establish a high-performance, resilient data centre.
Deploy raised floors and suspended ceilings while considering cooling, grounding, load management, and airflow optimization.
Design lighting layouts, emergency lighting systems, and positioning strategies to improve visibility, safety, and energy efficiency.
Develop power redundancy strategies, configure UPS systems, microgrids, transformers, batteries, and optimize power distribution techniques.
Assess EMF sources, shielding techniques, and best practices to protect critical IT equipment from interference and data corruption.
Deploy AI-driven cooling management, containment strategies, liquid cooling, and Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STER) to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Deploy network cabling designs, redundancy strategies, and TIA-942 cabling topologies for a resilient and future-ready data centre.
Install fire suppression systems, detection technologies, and safety signage while ensuring compliance with fire protection regulations.
Deploy physical security measures, access controls, surveillance systems, and safety protocols to protect data centre assets from threats.
Deploy BMS, DCIM, EMS, water leak detection, and alarm panels, ensuring continuous monitoring and proactive issue resolution.

Course Syllabus

The Mission Critical Site

Business organization
Types of data centres
Importance of a data centre
Elements of data centre
Causes of unavailability

Data Centre Standards

Standards and guidelines
Standards for sub-components
International vs. national standards

Data Centre Location, Building and Construction

Criteria for selecting site location the data centre location
Criteria for facility
Supporting facilities and function

Raised Access Flooring and Suspended Ceiling

Standards
Types of raised floors
Loading factors
General guidelines
Grounding
Ramp and landing platform
Suspended ceiling
Raised floor and suspended ceiling impact on cooling

Light

Measurements of light
Standards
Connecting and positioning of light fixtures
Emergency light
Types of emergency light

Power Infrastructure

Sustainability
Microgrid
Transformers
Generators
Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) and Static Transfer Switch (STS)
Power redundancy levels and techniques
Power distribution / Busbar trunking
Single phase and three phase power
Grounding and bonding
Isolation transformer
PDU form factors
Ingress Protection (IP) grades
Power quality parameters
Power sizing
High Performance Computing
UPS systems
UPS parallel configurations
Batteries
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
Thermographic scanning

Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF)

Types of EMF
Units of measurements
Standards and best practices
Sources of EMF
Shielding

Equipment Racks

Standards
Dimensions
Types of racks
Security
Power strips / rails

Cooling Infrastructure

Cooling principles
Temperature and humidity
Types of cooling systems
Raised floor cooling
Non-raised floor cooling
Supplemental cooling
Containment
Liquid cooling
Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STER)

Water Supply

Importance of water
Backup water supply

Designing a Scalable Network Infrastructure

Importance network cabling infrastructure
Planning considerations
Copper cabling
Fibre Cabling
TIA-942 cabling system topology
Testing and verification of cabling system
Redundancy
Site-to-site connectivity

Fire Protection

Common causes of fire
Requirements for fire suppression systems
Standards
Fire detection systems
Water based fire suppression systems
Gas-based fire suppression systems
Classes of fire
Best practices
Handheld fire extinguishers
Requirements for signage and safety
Regulatory requirements

Physical Security and Safety

Components for physical security
Components for physical safety

Auxiliary Systems

Monitoring challenges
Monitoring requirements
Environmental Monitoring System (EMS)
Building Management System (BMS)
Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM)
Water leak detection
Alarm panels
Notification
Best practices

Delivery Structure and Methods

The CDCP^® course is lectured by an EPI Certified Instructor using a combination of lectures and question-and-answer sessions to discuss participants’ specific needs and issues experienced in their own environment. Participants are able to tap into the trainer’s extensive experience to enable them to solve practical problems in their current environment, thus adding tremendous value.

CDCP^® course available in the following delivery methods:

ILT – Instructor Led Training (Schedule)
VILT – Virtual ILT (Schedule)
TOD – Training On Demand (More)

Exam

Exam: Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP^®)

Attendees will take a 1-hour CDCP^® exam. The exam is 40 questions, multiple-choice, closed-book. The passing mark is 27 out of 40.

Certification & Accreditation

Attendees passing the exam will be awarded the internationally accredited and recognized ‘Certified Data Centre Professional’ (CDCP^®) certificate.

CDCP^® is globally accredited by EXIN, a fully independent exam and certification institute.

The CDCP^® certificate is valid for 3 years, after which recertification is required. Please see the EPI Recertification Program for available options.

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CDCP® Resources