Preparing for Natural Disasters with Modular Data Centers
by Steve Wong
Director of Marketing, Wave2Wave
It is often said that disasters, by their very nature, cannot be predicted. Who could have foretold the timing of the recent 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan or the effects of the powerful tornadoes that swept through and wiped out an entire town in the Midwest?
It is this very fact that compels most enterprises to implement some level of disaster recovery (DR) strategy for their data and Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. Without such strategy and planning in place, if a catastrophic event occurs and takes down the data center and IT systems, the business could face financial disaster and even its valued reputation. Depending on the size of the company and the industry, the cost could be in the millions of dollars per hour. A disaster recovery plan could involve frequently backing up important business data onto tapes or other inexpensive storage media. It could also involve maintaining a redundant or failover system located in a different geographic region that can go online when something happens to the primary IT system.
Recently, there has been a great deal of analyst and media attention focused on modular and containerized data centers, particularly because they are rapidly deployable and energy efficient. These qualities have propelled these solutions to the forefront of data center news headlines even before the networking giant Cisco entered the market in May of this year.
Organizations implementing DR strategies are taking important steps to bringing their IT operations back online after an unplanned event. But having a DR strategy in place is akin to having insurance; it is great to have when you need it but never having the need in the first place is even better. Modular data centers provide proactive and preventive measures so when a natural disaster does strike, the data center and IT systems can be protected from its hazards, making it less likely that you will have to call upon a DR strategy.
This article describes the features and capabilities present in many modular data centers that could insulate an IT infrastructure from the perilous effects of natural disasters.
Fighting Fires
During and often soon after just about all types of natural disaster events, fires can erupt. Typically these fires are started as the result of broken gas lines or downed power lines. The sheer number of fires that are ignited can easily overwhelm the resources required to fight them, thus putting human life and property in jeopardy.
An example of the business threats that fires pose in a data center occurred on the evening of July 2, 2009. A fire broke out in a Seattle multi-tenant data center and shut down several leading web sites, including Microsoft's Bing Travel. A blown transformer at the Fisher Plaza center where the data center facility was housed was identified as the source of the fire. In the aftermath, data center tenants were seen carrying their servers and IT equipment out of the premises hoping to relocate them to another location and bring their servers and web services back online. Until that happened, their businesses were essentially "non-operational."
The majority of data centers are equipped with fire suppression systems, which activate when a fire breaks out. These systems often use water (in sprinkler systems) as the fire suppression agent. Because water conducts electricity, water on electrical fires may indeed worsen the fire. Furthermore, water will also damage sensitive electronic gear putting large investments in IT infrastructure and the data it holds at risk.
Some modular data centers employ an active fire suppression system that uses a dielectric substance, 3M Novec 1230, as the fire extinguishing agent. The fluid is a totally "clean" (non-toxic) and eco-friendly substance and, most importantly, it does not harm electronic equipment. If a fire does occur inside the cabinet, the system activates immediately. The 1230 agent floods the inside of the cabinet and extinguishes the fire. Once the IT equipment has been properly aired out, it continues to operate as before.
For fires that occur in the data center or the facility, some modular enclosures are insulated and protected with a heat-resistant material. One product type, known as AerogelŪ , is particularly effective. This unique silica-based substance was invented in the 1930s and is still recognized as having remarkable thermal protective properties used for modern applications. Because the material is mainly composed of gaseous compounds, it is not only lightweight, but also an extremely poor conductor of heat. This makes it an ideal substance to protect equipment housed inside an enclosure from heat produced from a fire emitting from outside the enclosure. Aerogel products typically come in sheets allowing installation by data center enclosure manufacturers reasonably easy. The material is also very cost-effective. The Pyrogel XTF branded product, at a thickness of only .40 in (10 mm), can withstand temperatures of up to 1200o F (650o C).
Protection against Earthquakes
If any developed country is known for its preparedness and readiness for a major earthquake, it is Japan. This country of about 128 million people and owner of the third largest economy in the world sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an extremely active and danger seismic region. Japan is in a constant state of readiness for the next big earthquake. When the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit there in March, the disaster killed more than 15,000 people and caused widespread disruptions to everyday life. The event underscores that despite all the preparation in the world, it is simply just not possible to adequately plan for all natural disaster events.
For modern data centers, the biggest risk of damage from comes from shocks and vibrations that can harm sensitive IT and electrical equipment such as servers and storage arrays. Power lines can also be severed shutting down air conditioning units that cool equipment, leaving them vulnerable to danger overheating conditions.
Most modern and newer data centers are designed to withstand the jarring and shaking force of a powerful earthquake. Almost all the data centers in Japan escaped major damage. This is primarily because building codes have become stricter, particularly in earthquake active areas such as California and Japan.
There is little risk of IT racks toppling over even during moderate earthquakes because they are typically bolted down to the floor. Similarly, IT equipment that is secured onto the racks with screws and bolts should remain in place in the racks during such an event. And here is where the irony lays. Because the IT equipment and racks are "rigidly secured" onto the data center floor, vibration forces from any magnitude of an earthquakes are transferred from the building structure to the data center floor, to the racks and subsequently to the IT equipment. Depending on the magnitude of the quake and the amount of force transferred, the unintended effects that may rise include power and network connectors being dislodged to equipment actually getting damaged.
There are shock and vibration dampening platforms for traditional data center racks that work on the principal of seismic isolation. This is a technique which decouples seismic shock and vibration from the equipment. One such product, called the ISO-Base Seismic Isolation Platform, has been deployed at nearly 1,000 companies in Japan, according to a statement by WorkSafe Technologies, the manufacturer, on the company's website . Shortly after the earthquake, WorkSafe contacted their Japanese customers and learned that their products did in fact protect the racks and equipment as designed.
While many seismic isolation products are aftermarket solutions, a few modular data center enclosures have built-in suspension and shock absorbing systems that protect rack equipment housed in them. At the factory, the enclosures are equipped from day one to withstand the jolting forces of all but the most catastrophic earthquakes. These protective modular data centers will carry a seismic zone rating of 1, 2, 3 or 4. The higher the rating, the more protection the enclosure offers.
If an enterprise's data center facility is located in an older building and a seismic active region, the organization may want to consider relocating the data center. Older structures may not be able to withstand a powerful quake. If circumstances do not allow for relocation, some modular data center enclosures can offer a solution. Many modular enclosures are armor plated and steel reinforced. Such enclosures can protect enclosure content against crush force greater than tens of thousands of pounds. Thus, if the IT equipment was located in an older building that collapses during an earthquake and the equipment was housed in one of these specialized shielded enclosures, the IT equipment and application data stored there could survive such an event. With standard racks, the likelihood of survival for the IT gear could be low.
Some modular data centers also are equipped with a mission critical venting feature, where if power is lost, vents on the enclosure will automatically open up. A high powered fan, driven by a rechargeable battery system, will remove the hot air inside the enclosure and protect the IT equipment.
Fires are also a major earthquake hazard. Active fire suppression capacities and Aerogel insulated enclosures provide strong protection against fires that are characteristic of earthquake activity.
Coping with Hurricanes and Tornado-Induced Floods
Hurricanes can create enormously powerful winds and rain water; widespread fires can also occur in the aftermath. Many modern data centers can withstand the force of a category 3 or below hurricane. Hurricane categories are defined by the force of the wind generated. Category 3 hurricanes generate very danger wind force in excess of 111 mph.
It has been more than five years since Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, swept through the Gulf Coast states leaving a path of insurmountable destruction. A category 5 rating is assigned to a hurricane with more than 18 hours of sustained winds at or above 175 mph. The ensuing surge flooded 80% of the city of New Orleans, due largely to the levee system failing. This left large parts of the city submerged in flood water for weeks; total property damage reached nearly $81 billion. The human toll was great with nearly 2,000 people losing their lives.
With much of New Orleans underwater, a critical data center located in a downtown office building served as a lone communication link to and from the devastated city; but it took extra ordinary human effort to keep it operating. After gale-force winds took out windows to the server room, the data center personal made improvised sandbags to hold back rain and flood water that could have put the vital but completely exposed IT equipment at risk. They also kept diesel generators operating to supply the data center equipment with power. Meanwhile, just outside the building, fireman and military personal were struggling to put out fires.
Modular data center enclosures engineered with to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) enclosure standard could have help in these flooding scenarios. A NEMA rating represents a data center enclosure's ability to protect the equipment housed inside the enclosure from environmental hazards such as rain water, dust and debris. The scale ranges between 1 to 13 (see Table 1). A NEMA 1 rated enclosure is the least costly option but it also offers minimum protection against water and dust. To adequately shield and protect IT equipment from rain or flood water during and after a hurricane event, an enclosure with a rating of between 3 and 8 is indicated. For example, a NEMA 6P rated unit can be fully submerged in water where types 4 and 5 provide only some basic levels of protection against rain and splashing water.
Table 1 NEMA Enclosure Ratings
| NEMA Enclosure Rating |
Description |
| 1 |
General purpose. Protects against dust, light and indirect splashing but is not dust-tight |
| 2 |
Drip-tight |
| 3 and 3S |
Weather-resistant |
| 3R |
Intended for outdoor use |
| 4 and 4X |
Watertight (weatherproof) |
| 5 |
Dust-tight |
| 6 and 6P |
Submersible |
| 7, 8 and 9 |
For hazardous environments as defined in the NEC |
| 10 |
Meets the requirements of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), 30 CFR Part 18 (1978) |
| 11, 12, 12K and 13 |
General purpose |
In hurricane and tornado-prone cities, emergency essential services rely on functioning IT and data centers. A NEMA rated enclosure can provide protection for data center equipment against water and flood damage in the wake of a hurricane or a tornado, thereby preventing disruption of any vital emergency services that require the support of data center services. Table 2 summarizes the various strategies one can deploy to migrate the risk from various natural disasters.
Table 2 Strategies to migrate the risk from various natural disasters
| Type of Natural Disaster |
Data Center Risks |
Reducing the Risk with Modular Data Center Enclosures |
| Earthquakes |
1. Buildings collapsing on and falling on top IT equipment
2. Shocks/Vibrations damaging IT equipment
3. Fires and heat harming IT equipment |
1. Armored and steel reinforced enclosures
2. Shock dampening capabilities
3. Active fire suppression systems using 1230 Novec agent; heat insulating materials such as Aerogels |
| Hurricanes and Tornadoes |
1. Flooding
2. Fires & heat harming IT equipment |
1. NEMA appropriately rated enclosures
2. Active fire suppression systems using 1230 Novec agent; heat insulating materials such as Aerogels |
| Fires |
Fires and heat harming IT equipment |
Active fire suppression systems using 1230 Novec agent; heat insulating materials such as Aerogels |
Disaster Recovery
For businesses that cannot, for whatever reasoning, retrofit or redesign their data center facility with these solutions, there is still a way for these organizations to benefit from newer data centers technologies.
The DR Gold Standard is to entirely create a failover or redundant data center by replicating the primary IT equipment and storage arrays along with the critical business applications. The redundant data center would be deployed in a different facility in a different geographic location (see Figure 1) and a network link (Wide Area Network or WAN) would connect the primary system to the redundant system to keep the data on the two separate sites synchronized.
Because of the cost considerations of building and supporting what is essentially another data center, this strategy is often a consideration to a limited number of larger organizations and corporations with measurable financial resources. Many enterprises can achieve similar benefits by using modular data centers (see Figure 2). These all-inclusive and self-contained data centers in-a-box enclosures can utilize standard off the shelf equipment, support high IT loads and accommodate virtualized environments. Yet, the cost to deploy these modular data center as a redundant data center is dramatically lower than the above mentioned solution, often up 60% on a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) basis.
Since they are modular, additional units can be added as storage and IT requirements grow making them a cost-efficient alternative when an offsite data center to support the DR strategies is called for.
These systems also have built-in air conditioning as well as tamper-proof security, 3M Novec 1230 fire suppression systems, Aerogel heat insulation, water proofing (NEMA rated) and many other important capabilities found in a facility that would house a failover data center or for that matter in any data center. These failover systems do not need to be housed inside a building and can be set up outdoors and also in harsh environments.
Steve Wong is a Product Management and Marketing professional with over 18 years of experience in the fields of data communications, storage networking, enterprise networking, telecommunications, optical components, brand marketing, publishing, e-commerce, consumer package goods, and management consulting. Prior to Wave2Wave, Wong served as vice president of marketing for ClearSight Networks, a leading provider of enterprise network management solutions. He spearheaded global marketing (both inbound and outbound) and program management efforts before the company was acquired by Fluke Networks. Wong was previously the director of product management and marketing for Finisar's network tools division (the division since has been acquired by JDSU) and was responsible for the management and marketing of the company's market leadership product portfolios that serve the storage networking and computing industries. Before Finisar, he was responsible for product management at Anritsu, where he led initiatives to develop SONET/SDH and Ethernet/IP technologies for the company's high-speed LAN/WAN analyzer and traffic generation test platforms and solutions. He began his career in investment banking at Bear Stearns (now part of JP Morgan) and then served as a member of technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories (now part of Alcatel-Lucent) working on the UNIX operating system. Wong holds a BA in computer science from New York University and a MBA with concentrations in marketing, finance and managerial economics from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.