Data centers at risk when temperatures exceed more than 40º

July 14 (Portaltic/EP) –

The data centers (‘data center’, DC) can be affected by the heat outside, to the point that temperatures of more than 40 degrees put their operation at risk.

This was highlighted by the experts from fdata, fibratel’s data center unit, who have highlighted that heat is one of the main enemies of data centers, due to the fact that your infrastructure needs to maintain a temperature between 17 and 21 degrees to guarantee optimal operation.

In fact, if it exceeds 25 degrees, an increase that can be influenced by external agents such as a heat wave, must be solved immediately to avoid affecting the installation.

Because Spain has just gone through another heat wavewith temperatures that in many territories exceed 40 degreesthe fibratel specialists have highlighted that the main risk posed by the heat of these CPDs is the overheating of the equipment that forms it.

In the event that this happens, it affects both physically and digitally, since the systems fail, making it impossible to fully function or causing a drop in performance and periods of inactivity.

This translates into economic and data losses, as well as a reduction in the credibility of the guarantees offered by the company that owns the facility.

On the other hand, because the facilities need more cooling of the equipment to deal with the high temperatures, they consume more energy and resources. This is key, according to the experts, since a mild climate outside favors the cooling of the DPCs, with thermal savings of 50 percent. Likewise, heat waves also generate a greater risk of fires, so that infrastructures can also be in danger.

HOW TO FACE HEAT WAVES

To deal with heat waves, from fibratel they propose to these data centers that they have an action plan containing basic points such as risk assessment, responses to different scenarios and staff training in this regard.

It is also convenient perform monitoring and analysis of the situation. Thus, if an abnormal increase in temperatures is observed in certain equipment, the necessary measures can be taken to prevent the problem from worsening.

Finally, it is convenient to focus on infrastructure designsince in its configuration solutions must be taken into account that give answers to the problems that the systems may pose.

First of all, one must assess the location of the CPD, as well as the refrigeration systems available to you, the power, the security and the tolerance to errors.