Data centre blackouts

4. USE OF SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Batteries are the heart of a UPS. Cost-effective leadgel technology is mainly used at present, but lithium- ion technology is also becoming more popular in UPS systems and is already considered the state of the art in some areas. Customers opting for this technology benefit from high availability and efficiency, but it is more expensive than the lead-gel option.

“Using fuel cell technology to supply power is still a long way off, but Rittal is already working on practicable solutions,” reveals Kreiling. This technology is set to power the generators of large data centres in the future. As a result, users will no longer need to worry about the size of their diesel tank, which is still used to power generators at present. The shrinking supply of fossil fuels is another reason why fuel cell technology could become an attractive alternative to current solutions. It has a positive impact on a data centre’s energy balance.

• 

  Differential current measurement – identifying fault currents

  A data centre’s integrated differential current monitoring detects and reports fault currents in the power supply or server/power supply units before IT personnel are put at risk or the data centre grinds to a halt. These issues could be caused by wiring insulation defects that develop over time or components that are faulty or affected by premature aging, for example.

  An RCM (residual current monitoring) solution can prevent operations from being disrupted due to a power failure or a fire. Integrating several RCM sensors into the PDU (Power Distribution Unit), directly in the IT rack, enables faster, more detailed fault analysis than centralised RCM solutions in a sub-distributor.