Mission Critical - Winter 2008 - (Page 32)

Instant Payback continued The previous backup power source, a 25 kW Guardian gen set in use since 2000 The data center’s automatic transfer switch pad was poured in December of 2005, and the unit was installed that month. In January, the electrical and gas contractors completed their hookups, and Luby Equipment Services, the St. Louis-area Generac industrial dealer performed the initial startup. As part of the process, the main gas service was upgraded to facilitate greater flow to the generator, which included installation of a larger regulator on the incoming gas line. For a time, the old and new data centers operated in parallel, with both generators on standby. In March, Quilogy completed its switchover to the new data center, with the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) batteries and QT generator providing seamless backup power. A 15-second (s) switch to the backup generator minimizes the amount of time that the data center equipment runs on battery power. With this integrated system, Quilogy’s mission critical functions remain operational in the event of a utility power failure. The size of the QT unit is also sufficient to accommodate future growth. Currently, the gen set is supporting 20 tons of air conditioning load and 80 computer servers. Outside the data center, the generator provides emergency power to computer stations in the operations center, as well as internal fiber communication systems, routing, and switching equipment. The wisdom of Quilogy’s decision to purchase this system was soon proven as a series of severe weather and other events caused no less than a dozen power outages over the next 18 months. Eight outages — including one that lasted more than 6 hours — occurred in 2006 and four more happened in 2007. The first one shut down power just a week after the new gen set became the primary backup, and the second one took place four days later. With the succession of blackouts that followed, it wasn’t long before the generator had paid for itself — and then some. According to Mike Howells, during each outage the QT generator supplied backup power within 15 s and operated perfectly without incident. The 25-kW Guardian unit, still hooked up to the former data center room, provided auxiliary power to the outlets there, enabling the creation of a makeshift work center during the longest of the outages. Quilogy’s experience shows the wisdom and value of having dependable standby power. After enduring repeated outages and coming through them so smoothly, Quilogy has enhanced its reputation as a reliable service supplier. “Operating a data center requires 24/7 availability,” Mike Howells says, “and our clients depend on us to provide uninterrupted service. Downtime, even for a short duration, can be very costly. Our investment in a backup generator allowed us to provide seamless operation through the worst outages in our city’s history.” ■ ◗ REPRINTS OF THIS ARTICLE are available by contacting Jill DeVries at devriesj@bnpmedia.com or at 248-244-1726. 32 | 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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