Mission Critical - Winter 2008 - (Page 26)

Legal Perspectives Continued from page 24 dence in the center. Even short outages to critical systems UPS units are essential equipment for data centers but can cause great harm to operations or customers. Further, can only provide short-term power and are not a substitute due to the business-critical nature of many of the computer for backup power generation, which must be activated to systems housed in data centers, customers may not be will- assume the task of supplying power in the event of a coning to tolerate any outages and may bring their business tinuing electric utility failure to provide electricity. Data elsewhere or pursue the data center for damages. centers may elect to install emergency power systems that Loss of service to customers may also lead to potential include both UPS units and standby generators. financial liability on the part of the data centers, as customManufacturers’ and installers’ warranties for backup geners try to recoup losses from the data center for damaged erators may limit their liability to one year or less and may hardware and lost revenue, In addition, outages may result only provide for restoring the generator to working order or in liabilities to customers who have specified service level replacement of parts. Even maintenance packages may only agreements that may result in the data require that the maintenance provider be center’s being in breach of agreements on site within a certain period of time To protect themselves with customers. Thus, customers may with no guarantees as to when power attempt to seek compensation for losses may be restored. Following is an examand their investments, from the data centers under either conple of an emergency service provision: data center operators tract or negligence theories. Emergency Service shall be available should maintain their The data center may not, however, 365 days per year, 24 hours per day. be able to recoup from the electric The response time for Emergency Calls data centers in top utility the data center’s own damages shall be within 4 hours of notification by condition and perform or damages paid by the data center to Customer to Maintenance Provider or regular testing of the data center’s customers. This may Maintenance Provider being informed be the case even when the utility is by its Remote Monitoring Service. backup systems. responsible for the outage. This is so “Response time” means arrival at the because many utilities operate under Service Site of an authorized technician tariff provisions that deny liability for ordinary negligence or remote diagnosis of the Equipment, and notification and for voluntary outages the utility makes to protect the to Customer of corrective actions to be taken by Mainteoverall distribution system. nance Provider. An example of a typical electric utility tariff provision is To protect themselves and their investments, data center as follows: operators should maintain their data centers in top condition The Company will endeavor at all times to provide a and perform regular testing of backup systems. Personnel regular and uninterrupted supply of service, but in case should be properly trained to handle power outages and the supply of service shall be interrupted or irregular or proper procedures should be in place for handling power defective or fail from causes beyond its control or through outages. In addition, data centers should ensure that the ordinary negligence of employees the Company will not appropriate personnel are on-hand to handle a power outage be liable therefor. The Company may, without liability based upon the assumption that an outage will occur. therefor, interrupt service to any Customer or Customers Data centers should also approach contract provisions in the event of emergency threatening the integrity of its with customers realistically, realizing that no plan or equipsystem, if, in its sole judgment, such action will prevent ment can provide 100% protection against outages. or alleviate the emergency condition. Data centers should ensure that their facilities are insured A UPS maintains a continuous supply of electric power for losses due to power outages. Courts in some states to computers and related equipment in data centers by sup- have been willing to consider an outage as “damages” to plying power from a separate source when utility power a computer system for purposes of insurance coverage. fails. The primary types of UPS devices are off-line and Other states require proof of actual damages to computer line-interactive. An off-line UPS device commences provid- hardware. Regardless, a well thought-out contingency plan, ing electric power “instantaneously” upon the occurrence regularly tested equipment, properly trained personnel and of a utility power failure. Conversely, an on-line interactive well-documented procedures can help to avoid potential UPS provides continuous power, typically from battery outages or reduce their severity. ■ (lead acid) power and is charged on a continuous basis by utility power. This also provides protection to the data ◗ REPRINTS OF THIS ARTICLE are available by concenter against problems relating to the quality of the power tacting Jill DeVries at devriesj@bnpmedia.com or at supplied. 248-244-1726. 26 | Mission Critical Winter 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mission Critical - Winter 2008

Mission Critical - Winter 2008 Table of Contents Editorial: What Have We Been Doing? Cronin’s Workshop: Imagining the Perfect Data Center Power And Cooling Solution Digital Power: The Next Edge in Business Resiliency Zinc Whiskers: Keeping Up With The Green Movement Mission Critical Care: Shipping, Staging, and Installation Legal Perspectives: “A Reliable Energy Supply Is Key to Data Center Success” Continued Payback, Instant Protection Beyond the Nines The Green Information Technology Revolution Health Care Network Offers Glimpse of the Future of Backup Power High-Density Data Centers – Discuss, Design, Deploy High Performance Data Centers Call for Innovative Cooling Techniques More Data in the Data Center Five Considerations for Powering Data Center Racks New Products Industry News Events Classifieds Letters Ad Index Datacenter Wiki: wiki-Mission Critical

Mission Critical - Winter 2008

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