Data Center Skills
Coming November 2026
Data Center Core
Course 1: Introduction to Data Centers & Critical Facilities
Prerequisites: None.
Description: This course introduces the modern data center environment and the critical facility systems that support it. It explains the role of IT equipment, electrical power, cooling, monitoring and controls, redundancy, reliability, and the skilled-trades workforce responsible for maintaining mission-critical infrastructure. The course also introduces the operating discipline, communication, and situational awareness expected when working in a data center.
Objectives:
- Explain the basic purpose and function of a data center
- Identify the major infrastructure systems that support the IT load
- Describe how electrical power, cooling, monitoring, and controls work together
- Explain the concepts of critical load, availability, redundancy, and resiliency
- Recognize why procedures, communication, and configuration awareness are important in mission-critical environments
Course 2: Data Center Electrical Power Systems
Prerequisites: This course is designed for participants familiar with basic electrical fundamentals. Introduction to Data Centers & Critical Facilities is recommended.
Description: This course explains how electrical power is received, conditioned, backed up, distributed, and monitored within a data center. It introduces utility service, switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, batteries, generators, transfer equipment, downstream distribution, and A/B power paths. The course emphasizes how redundancy, system configuration, and maintenance activities affect the availability of critical electrical loads.
Objectives:
- Trace the major stages of electrical power distribution from the utility source to the IT load
- Identify the roles of switchgear, transformers, UPS systems, generators, transfer equipment, PDUs, and downstream distribution
- Explain critical and noncritical loads and the purpose of redundant power paths
- Describe how electrical-system configuration can change during maintenance or abnormal conditions
- Recognize how failures or switching actions can affect downstream critical loads
Course 3: Data Center Cooling & Mechanical Systems
Prerequisites: Introduction to Data Centers & Critical Facilities is recommended. Familiarity with basic HVAC or mechanical fundamentals is helpful.
Description: This course explains how data centers remove the heat generated by IT equipment and maintain appropriate environmental conditions. It introduces airflow management, hot-aisle and cold-aisle concepts, containment, CRAC and CRAH equipment, chilled-water systems, pumps, chillers, and heat-rejection equipment. The course also explains how cooling redundancy, monitoring, and system interdependencies support reliable data center operation.
Objectives:
- Explain why continuous heat removal is critical to data center operation
- Describe basic airflow-management and hot-aisle/cold-aisle concepts
- Identify the roles of CRAC/CRAH equipment, chillers, pumps, and heat-rejection systems
- Explain the basic operation of a chilled-water cooling architecture
- Describe how cooling redundancy and monitoring support critical-facility reliability
Course 4: Data Center Monitoring, Controls & Infrastructure Systems
Prerequisites: Introduction to Data Centers & Critical Facilities is recommended. Familiarity with basic controls or instrumentation concepts is helpful.
Description: This course introduces the monitoring and control systems used to maintain visibility into data center operating conditions. It explains the application of sensors, transmitters, controllers, alarms, trends, Building Management Systems (BMS), and Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) at a technician level. The course emphasizes how monitored information supports operating decisions and why field verification remains important.
Objectives:
- Identify common electrical, mechanical, and environmental conditions monitored in a data center
- Explain the roles of sensors, controllers, alarms, and automated sequences
- Describe the purpose of Building Management Systems and Data Center Infrastructure Management systems
- Explain how trends, setpoints, and alarms support facility operations
- Recognize when monitored information should be verified against actual field conditions
Course 5: Data Center Operations, Reliability & Maintenance
Prerequisites: Introduction to Data Centers & Critical Facilities is recommended.
Description: This course explains the operating discipline required to perform maintenance and respond to abnormal conditions in mission-critical facilities. It introduces standard operating procedures, methods of procedure, emergency operating procedures, maintenance planning, change control, configuration awareness, rounds and inspections, communication, escalation, and incident response. The course emphasizes that technically correct work must also be performed within the current operating configuration and approved site procedures.
Objectives:
- Explain why mission-critical maintenance requires formal operating procedures and planning
- Differentiate the roles of SOPs, MOPs, and EOPs at a practical level
- Describe how maintenance activities can change system redundancy and operating configuration
- Explain the importance of communication, escalation, documentation, and shift handoffs
- Recognize appropriate technician actions when actual conditions do not match expectations
Data Center Technical
Course 6: Data Center UPS, Batteries & Energy Storage
Prerequisites: Data Center Electrical Power Systems is recommended. Familiarity with basic electrical fundamentals is helpful.
Description: This course provides a deeper introduction to uninterruptible power supply systems and stored-energy systems used to support critical data center loads. It explains major UPS components, normal and battery operation, bypass concepts, battery systems, monitoring, inspection, maintenance considerations, alarms, and common abnormal conditions. The course focuses on how UPS and battery systems fit within the overall critical-power architecture.
Objectives:
- Explain the role of UPS systems in maintaining critical electrical loads
- Identify major UPS components and describe basic power flow through the system
- Describe normal, battery, static-bypass, and maintenance-bypass concepts
- Explain the role and basic configuration of battery and energy-storage systems
- Recognize common inspection, maintenance, alarm, and safety considerations associated with UPS and battery systems
Course 7: Data Center Generators & Transfer Systems
Prerequisites: Data Center Electrical Power Systems is recommended. Familiarity with basic electrical and mechanical fundamentals is helpful.
Description: This course explains how standby generators and transfer systems support data center operation when normal electrical power is unavailable or degraded. It introduces generator components, starting and control systems, fuel systems, automatic transfer equipment, generator paralleling concepts, load testing, routine maintenance, and failure scenarios. The course emphasizes the relationship between generation, transfer equipment, UPS systems, and critical loads.
Objectives:
- Explain the role of standby generation in data center resiliency
- Identify major generator subsystems and their basic functions
- Describe the purpose and basic operation of automatic transfer systems
- Explain generator paralleling and load-bank testing at a conceptual level
- Recognize common inspection, maintenance, and abnormal-condition considerations for generator and transfer systems
Course 8: Data Center Electrical Distribution & Switching
Prerequisites: Data Center Electrical Power Systems is recommended. Familiarity with electrical fundamentals and basic electrical diagrams is helpful.
Description: This course provides technician-level knowledge of the electrical distribution systems used to connect incoming power, critical-power equipment, and data center loads. It introduces switchgear, switchboards, transformers, breakers, bus systems, PDUs, RPPs, A/B distribution paths, simplified one-line diagrams, and switching considerations. The course emphasizes how switching actions can change redundancy and why equipment identity, status, and configuration must be verified before work is performed.
Objectives:
- Identify major medium- and low-voltage distribution components used in data centers
- Explain the roles of switchgear, switchboards, transformers, breakers, PDUs, and RPPs
- Describe A/B power paths and how they support redundant distribution
- Interpret the major elements of a simplified data center one-line diagram
- Explain why switching activities require configuration awareness, verification, and approved procedures
Course 9: Advanced Data Center Cooling & Liquid Cooling
Prerequisites: Data Center Cooling & Mechanical Systems is recommended. Familiarity with basic HVAC or mechanical fundamentals is helpful.
Description: This course introduces advanced cooling approaches used in high-density data center environments. It explains the limits of conventional air cooling, enhanced air-cooling approaches, rear-door heat exchangers, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, cold plates, cooling distribution units, facility-water and technology-cooling loops, leak detection, water-quality considerations, and hybrid air/liquid environments. The course focuses on technician awareness, system relationships, and operating considerations rather than equipment-specific engineering design.
Objectives:
- Explain why high-density computing can require cooling approaches beyond conventional air cooling
- Describe enhanced air-cooling and rear-door heat-exchanger concepts
- Explain the basic operation of direct-to-chip liquid cooling and cold plates
- Describe the role of cooling distribution units and separate cooling loops
- Recognize basic leak-detection, water-quality, inspection, and reliability considerations in liquid-cooled environments
Course 10: Data Center BMS, DCIM & Critical Facility Monitoring
Prerequisites: Data Center Monitoring, Controls & Infrastructure Systems is recommended. Familiarity with basic controls or instrumentation concepts is helpful.
Description: This course provides a deeper technician-level introduction to Building Management Systems, Data Center Infrastructure Management, and critical-facility monitoring. It explains dashboards, alarms, priorities, setpoints, trends, sequences of operation, electrical and mechanical system dependencies, and the use of historical information to support operating decisions. The course emphasizes that monitoring systems support technician judgment but do not replace procedures, communication, or field verification.
Objectives:
- Explain the practical roles of BMS and DCIM in data center operations
- Interpret common dashboard, alarm, setpoint, and trend information at a technician level
- Describe how monitoring systems show relationships between electrical and mechanical infrastructure
- Explain the importance of alarm prioritization, escalation, and sequence-of-operation awareness
- Recognize when field verification is required before acting on monitored information