Cost of Downtime can be classified as .
Cost of downtime is the total amount of money lost due to a data centre outage or disruption. It can be classified into two categories: direct and indirect. Direct costs are the immediate and measurable expenses incurred during or after an outage, such as lost revenue, lost productivity, recovery costs, compensation costs, penalties, etc. Indirect costs are the long-term and intangible impacts of an outage, such as reputation damage, customer dissatisfaction, loss of market share, legal liabilities, etc. Both direct and indirect costs can vary depending on the type, duration, and severity of the outage, as well as the industry, size, and location of the data centre.
* EPI Data Centre Training Framework1
* EPI Data Centre Competence Framework2
* Understanding the Cost of Data Center Downtime3
* Uptime Institute's 2022 Outage Analysis Finds Downtime Costs and Consequences Worsening
* [INFOGRAPHIC] The Cost of Downtime: 21 Stats You Need to Know
What factor should be considered when placing fluorescent lighting in the data centre?
The UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is a device that provides backup power to the ICT equipment in case of a power outage or a power quality issue. The UPS should be dedicated to the ICT equipment only, and not to other loads, such as lighting, cooling, or security systems. This is because connecting fluorescent lights to the same UPS as the ICT equipment can cause several problems, such as:
* Reducing the battery runtime of the UPS, which may not be enough to support the ICT equipment until the backup generator kicks in or the utility power is restored.
* Increasing the harmonic distortion of the UPS output, which can affect the performance and reliability of the ICT equipment and the UPS itself.
* Creating electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI), which can disrupt the communication and data transmission of the ICT equipment.
* Triggering false alarms or tripping the circuit breakers of the UPS, which can cause downtime or data loss.
Therefore, fluorescent lights should not be connected to the same UPS that supports the ICT equipment. Instead, they should be connected to a separate power source, such as the utility power, the backup generator, or a different UPS.
1: CDCP Preparation Guide, page 17, section 2.3.1 2: Data Center Lighting Design Considerations3, page 1, section 3 4: Data Center Lighting Solutions5, page 1, section 1 6: Going beyond energy savings in data centers with LEDs7, page 1, section 2
Starting from which Rating does the requirement of Concurrently Maintainability becomes relevant?
The requirement of Concurrently Maintainability becomes relevant starting from Rated-3, according to the Uptime Institute Tier Classification System1. Concurrently Maintainability means that any component or system in the data centre can be maintained or replaced without affecting the availability of the IT equipment. This requires having redundant capacity components and multiple independent distribution paths serving the IT equipment. Rated-3 data centres are designed to achieve Concurrently Maintainability and have a minimum uptime of 99.982%. Rated-4 data centres also have Concurrently Maintainability, but they also have Fault Tolerance, which means that they can withstand any single unplanned event without affecting the availability of the IT equipment. Rated-4 data centres have a minimum uptime of 99.995%. Rated-1 and Rated-2 data centres do not have Concurrently Maintainability, as they have only one distribution path serving the IT equipment and no redundant capacity components. Rated-1 data centres have a minimum uptime of 99.671% and Rated-2 data centres have a minimum uptime of 99.741%.
1: Uptime Institute Tier Classification System2, page 1, section 1 2: Data Center Tiers Classification Explained: (Tier 1, 2, 3, 4)3, page 1, section 1 3: Data Center Tier Standards4, page 1, section 1
What is the main advantage of busbar trunking compared to stand electrical cabling?
Busbar trunking systems are a method of power distribution using rigid copper or aluminium conductors to distribute the power around a building. Busbar trunking systems have many advantages over cables, such as lower space requirements, higher short-circuit strength, lower fire load, and easier installation. One of the main advantages of busbar trunking is that it allows for flexibility in terms of power transmission and distribution. Busbar trunking systems can be easily relocated, modified, or expanded to accommodate changes in the building layout or load demand. Busbar trunking systems can also be fitted with various components, such as tap-off units, elbows, tees, and end feed units, to provide power to different locations and consumers. Busbar trunking systems can also be installed both overhead and under the raised floor, depending on the design and preference of the building.
Does shielded twisted pair network cabling provide protection against EMF from power cables?
Shielded twisted pair cables (STP) are Ethernet cables that feature additional protection against electromagnetic interference from external sources, such as radio waves, microwaves, or other network cables. This is achieved by wrapping each pair of wires with a conductive shield, usually made of foil or braided wire, and then enclosing the entire cable with another shield layer. However, this shielding is not effective against low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) from power cables, which can induce currents and voltages in the network cables and cause signal distortion or data loss. Low frequency EMF can only be reduced by increasing the distance between the power and network cables, or by using a tre-foil cable arrangement, which is a special configuration of three power cables twisted together to cancel out the magnetic fields they generate.
