DATA CENTRES
Cooling needs heat up
Recent record temperatures have left us all feeling a little hot under the collar, not least so for anyone involved in data centres. It started on the 10th
July when Amazon in London declared a ‘thermal event’ had caused a power outage, and the following week Cloud services and servers hosted by Google and Oracle in the UK dropped offl ine due to cooling issues. There are rumours that some NHS Trusts had also been hit and two weeks later are still operating on paper-based system as they are still trying to get servers up and running after a total melt down. ACR News talks to Richard Cliff ord, director of solutions at Keysource about the growing data centre heating crisis.
Why does the industry need to rethink its We must
develop some smarter ways of dealing with the
extreme, but short term, weather conditions.
approach to cooling? The industry needs to rethink its approach to cooling due to the growing trend of extreme temperatures and the increased risk of data centre downtime. Recent incidents, such as the power outage at Amazon and cooling issues with Cloud services and servers hosted by Google and Oracle, highlight the vulnerability of data centres to heat- related disruptions. With global temperatures on the rise, data centres must adapt to ensure uninterrupted operation. Traditional design approaches based on historical weather data may no longer be suffi cient to address the rapid changes in weather patterns. Additionally, there’s a need to align cooling strategies with sustainability goals and reduce the environmental impact. As extreme weather events become more frequent, reevaluating cooling solutions and adopting smarter, more resilient strategies is essential for the data centre industry.
So how can we ensure data centre availability and address the growing trend of extreme temperatures to minimise the impact? Operators and data centre designers have been aware of the risk of rising temperatures for some time, but with global temperatures now clearly on the rise, the issue is becoming more pressing. However, it is worth remembering that many data centres have been designed with a level of inbuilt security and resilience, and many of them operate below the designed capacity. So, from a power and cooling perspective there is some comfort as often a proportion of the heightened conditions can
26 November 2023 •
www.acr-news.com
be absorbed as a drop in performance will still be able to satisfy the required demand. Ensuring data centre availability in the face of extreme
temperatures requires a multifaceted approach. Data centre operators and designers must consider the impact of rising temperatures on their infrastructure. While many data centres have inherent resilience, they should also plan for scenarios where performance may drop due to extreme conditions. One strategy involves temporarily reducing non-essential loads to ease the strain on cooling systems. This approach, as demonstrated by Oracle and Google, can help maintain supply without signifi cant disruption. Advanced Building Management Systems (BMS) and Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platforms play a crucial role by providing historical data and analytics for data-led decision-making. Long-term planning should also address power sourcing and the impact of extreme weather on power and water supply. Geographical diversity in data centre locations can reduce risks and ensure sustainability in the face of extreme conditions.
Designers have typically used N=20, which is the most
extreme weather conditions in the local area over the last 20 years, but such big jumps in the maximum, 38.7 to 40.3 degrees in the UK in only three years, may mean that this needs to be reconsidered. Easily said, but with pressure to meet net zero sustainability goals simply upping the cooling spec is unlikely to be sustainable. We must develop some smarter ways of dealing with the extreme, but short term, weather conditions. Having a robust BMS which provides historical data and analytics is key to providing the required intelligence,
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