Prevention of fire in Data Centres

23rd March 2013 Matt Schofield matt.schofield@isolcell.it

Roberto Cella r.cella@inasset.it

Stefano Chiti STCH@cowi.no

Data Centre operators can lose >$1M*/hour if fire causes outage

• Technology:

– Blade servers running hotter in denser configurations

– Data centre consolidation widening impact of outages

• Regulation:

– Sarbannes Oxley/Data Protection increases liability of CEO/CFO for losing critical records

• Consumer visibility:

– Mobile, internet and telephone access makes outages visible (c.f. Claro Arg fined >USD 2M for partial outage)

Fuente: Proteccion contra el fuego. * Para un cliente de InAsset un outage de 17 minutos costo 660,000 euros

Traditional NFPA fixes leave a gap • Redundancy/continuity plan:

– Good solution for critical systems with huge impact of any outage (e.g. United Airlines, 1999: 24,000 flights, 300,000 people) but cost USD M+

• Physical barriers around Data Centre:

– Block 75% of causes of fire from outside Data Centre, but not the 25% which are due to internal overheating/failure

• Detection and extinction:

– Agents are themselves noxious (noise and peak pressure of discharge can damage hardware, and take up to a day to clean up), and faster air circulation for cooling makes detection harder

Fuente: Protegiendo la TI

Prevent fire with low oxygen • Proven:

– Data Centre: Allianz, BMW, British Airways, Daimler Crystler, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Lafarge, Siemens, TUV etc

– Fruit: Isolcell storing 350,000 tonnes worldwide including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay

• Secure:

– 14.5% oxygen (vs. 21% normal) is equivalent to being at 3,300m

– Safe for human operators , but completely prevents ignition

– Air is clean and low humidity, so it doesn’t damage hardware

• Environmentally friendly:

– Low energy process to reduce oxygen continuously

Fuente: Brochure Firefighter en, or_reference list

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