1. Name the project stage and the architecture under review.
NVIDIA describes several adoption paths, including configurations for existing facilities and future facility-scale distribution. Specify which path your proposal follows and what is changing at this stage. An architecture presentation, a vendor product proposal, and an installation package answer different questions. Ask the project owner to identify which documents represent the current plan and which describe a longer-term option.
- What decision is due, who makes it, and what information must support it?
- Is the scope a concept comparison, facility assessment, proposal review, or operational-readiness review?
- Which sites, systems, vendors, and future phases belong in this engagement?
2. Map the facility-to-rack boundaries.
Bring the available single-line diagrams, equipment lists, load assumptions, distribution concept, and physical layouts into one review. The OCP SST specification treats the product through its interfaces and expected behavior. Use that perspective to ask where the proposed SST ends and the facility, storage, distribution, and IT systems begin. Record each interface with an owner and the document that defines it.
- Which parties confirm upstream supply, downstream distribution, rack interfaces, and auxiliary services?
- What is assumed about energy storage, redundancy, cooling, space, and maintenance access?
- Where does the proposal depend on equipment or information that is still being developed?
3. Separate the reference specification from the selected product.
The cited OCP SST document is revision 0.3.0, effective June 22, 2026; its version history identifies the first draft for the OCP community. Identify the revision used by each supplier and ask for a clear account of supported features, differences, and remaining development. A published architecture or reference document does not establish what a particular product has demonstrated at your facility.
- Which product documentation, interface data, and test evidence are available now?
- Which performance statements are design targets, vendor commitments, or measured results?
- Who will resolve differences between the project requirements and supplier documentation?
4. Give system behavior and operating ownership their own discussion.
Review the proposed operating states and dependencies with the vendor, facility specialists, controls team, and operators. The OCP document covers control, communications, startup, shutdown, and transitions alongside its electrical interfaces. The advisory question is whether those behaviors, responsibilities, and required evidence are visible in the project plan. Assign equipment-specific design decisions and validation to the responsible technical parties.
- Who owns the definition and verification of operating states, protection interfaces, and recovery behavior?
- Which alarms, monitoring points, escalation paths, and maintenance responsibilities must be agreed?
- What training, support arrangements, and operating documents are needed before handover?
5. Ask for a decision brief with clear next steps.
Define the output before the review starts. A useful advisory brief connects your objective to the available evidence, the options being considered, and the assumptions that still affect the decision. It should show which questions can be answered through records and working discussions, which need specialist investigation, and which depend on later project evidence. Keep efficiency and cost comparisons tied to a stated baseline and system boundary.
- An architecture and interface summary with the review boundaries stated.
- An options comparison identifying assumptions, dependencies, and evidence gaps.
- A prioritized action register with owners and evidence required for closure.
- A stakeholder discussion to agree the next decision and the work needed to reach it.
Our team’s emerging-power experience includes an ongoing 800 VDC project involving two solid-state transformers. That work informs our questions about facility interfaces, coordination, and operational readiness. Discuss your project stage and the decision you need to support so the advisory scope can be matched to it.
Technical references
Use the selected equipment documentation and project requirements when defining your review.