Data centers are built and sited to withstand all that Mother Nature can throw at them — or at least, is likely to throw at them — during their lifecycle. This has long been a given, practiced and understood by designers, planners and regulators. But climate change is changing everything. Recent weather events have led some governmental agencies to ask how exposed data centers are from climate, such as high winds and lightning.
These are questions data centers throughout the world should consider, as storms and other natural disasters are increasingly frequent and severe. In the last few weeks alone, the world has experienced record-shattering derechos and tropical cyclones, as well as heatwaves and wildfires (both of which can alter wind patterns). Managers must review their data center’s resiliency and disaster recovery plans in the context of the amplifying effects of climate change. As we said in the Uptime Institute report A mission-critical industry unprepared for climate change, these reviews should be conducted regularly and plans updated; the climate is, regrettably, changing rapidly and proving volatile.
Recently, Uptime Institute was asked (via our colleagues at TechUK, a UK membership body for the IT industry) to give our views on three specific issues that might arise as a result of severe storms: staff access during storms, lightning strikes, and standards. Some thoughts on these are below.
The first relates to blocked transport routes — that is, how do data centers manage if staff are unable to get to work? The answer is, most data centers have a plan for this. This is an aspect of Uptime Institute’s Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability program, and it requires preparation and budget. When bad weather is forecast, many data centers either locate personnel at the facility or in hotels nearby. Because one shift cannot leave the site until they are relieved by the next shift, staff may work overtime waiting for the next crew to arrive. All these contingencies must be considered — possibly for extended periods of time. In extremis, of course, it is possible for staff to remain on site, with sleeping accommodation and food. But this is not a practice that is advised except in the most severe situations.
Another question asked after countermeasures against damage from lightning strikes and/or power surges. The answer first lies in local guidance and regulations. All locales are a bit different, but most have some life safety codes that address power surges and lightning. Lightning protection systems are foremost geared to building protection, but other codes cover ways to prevent local lightning strikes from impacting other systems, such as power and communication systems. Typically, data centers will not only meet these codes, but also exceed them in some ways.
There are ways to design the facility to help reduce the risk of the data center itself being affected. A first step is to incorporate a lightning protection system that uses grounded lightning rods or active systems to shunt ion buildup in the immediate atmosphere to ground. This stops the local buildup of a charge that will result in a lightning strike.
Another issue to anticipate is that a lightning strike can occur near the data center and could enter the facility via the power system. Electrical systems are often designed to transfer the energy from a lightning strike to a grounding device. The efficacy of this strategy depends on the proximity of a strike to the service entry. Outdoor communications cables (telecommunications or controls) usually have devices to block increased voltage from entering the facility.
In locations where lightning is prevalent, many facilities circumvent the problem: when a storm is forecast, they transfer to on-site power production and isolate from the outside power system altogether. This underlines the need for on-site power systems; because two utility feeders are installed in relatively close proximity to one another, a single strike could impact both systems. Dual utility feeds cannot provide the absolute isolation that on-site power production can.
A third question asked after standards that cover risks from lightning and/or high winds. Local building codes address this, but such codes are intended to help ensure human life is not put at risk during such events, not that a facility operates through it. Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability addresses this by requiring the site risks from natural events be addressed.
The challenges vary based on location and threat. In the US, Texas Tech University has done research on winds and tornadoes for over 20 years. They have an air cannon that shoots things like wooden boards at buildings to see how they perform. This research is used to help structural engineers learn how to harden structures against high wind and the debris it carries. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed guidance on how to prepare for extreme weather events, as have other nations’ governments regarding threats their regions face.
There is one important thing to keep in mind: While people are quite capable of dealing with the typical or even slightly more severe than usual threats in their area, this does not mean a data center will necessarily be able to operate through it. Storms seem to be getting more severe; in August 2020, the US experienced the strongest hurricane (Hurricane Laura) ever to make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Even when storms diminish after landfall, they can do a lot of (sometimes unpredictable) damage. For example, just three years before Laura, Hurricane Harvey dumped so much rain that 500-year flood planes were inundated. This is not something most prepare for.
In such situations, even if the data center is operational, the telecommunications system may have facilities that are not. In these cases, a data center is ready to operate but can’t communicate with the outside world. And staff’s personal priorities also must be considered: few will report to work when their family’s safety is at risk — a lesson learned in several natural disasters.
Bottom Line: While we should take precautions to help ensure data centers are prepared for the foreseeable, we have to remember that just hardening a data center is not enough; Mother Nature will always show us where we stand in the grand scheme of things.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, many people have suggested that the business case for enterprises to move more workloads to the public cloud has been strengthened. Some have argued that the pandemic will accelerate the decline of the enterprise data center.
Is this actually the case? And if so, why? This is one of many issues explored in the recently published Uptime Institute report entitled, “Post-pandemic data centers”.
The case for an accelerated move to the public cloud may be summed up in one sentiment: Data centers were difficult enough to run even before the pandemic, and the costs, risks and complexity have all now increased. With the threat of new pandemics in future, it will be easier, even if not cheaper, to move to the cloud.
There is some evidence that many enterprise operators are thinking along these lines — but it is not strong. In a July 2020 Uptime Institute survey of 260 operators, a fifth (19%) said they are likely to accelerate their move to a public cloud or use public cloud services more as a result of the pandemic. Just one in twenty (5%) thought the pandemic would slow their move to a public cloud. (Three-quarters said it would make no difference or that they did not know; see the figure below.)
What lies behind this? There are many reasons why the use of cloud services has or will increase as a result of COVID-19.
First, during the pandemic, many enterprises found they do not have the network infrastructure, or necessarily the applications, to support all their remotely situated staff and all their customer interactions on their networks. As a result, they have rapidly adopted or stepped up their use of cloud and other third-party services. Enterprise use of cloud platform providers (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform) and of software as a service (Salesforce, Zoom, Teams) has significantly increased in the space of a few months.
Second, many operators foresee that the loss of an entire site due to staffing issues is a possibility in the future — and they are planning for this with a range of strategies, including more remote working, greater resiliency and more automation.
The pandemic will also likely increase the use of distributed, active-active-active availability zone approaches. Building and managing the IT infrastructure for this is always challenging and expensive. One of the “easier” ways, for many applications and services, is to make use of existing infrastructure run by cloud providers, their software infrastructure partners, and some colocation companies.
In spite of all this, it would be simplistic to state that the pandemic will trigger a significantly accelerated decline in enterprise data centers or increase in the migration of existing workloads. One of the reasons for cloud adoption, and certainly for the use of software as a service, is to enable relatively easy adoption of new services, such as teleconferencing. Few organizations have, in recent years, contemplated hosting such services in their own data centers.
The role of the pandemic as a catalyst of change, or an accelerator, has to be put in context. There is already a strong disposition among business and organizational leaders to make more use of the cloud. But migration can be a difficult process, involving re-platforming or rewriting applications, changing security and compliance processes, and foregoing corporate control for limited transparency. Uptime Institute’s research shows the balance of workloads shifting gradually, over time, in a cautious fashion.
A further issue: Chief Information Officers are facing cost constraints, with a global slowdown (if not recession) already underway. Cloud adoption usually involves a short-term spending increase, even if costs fall over time (which, depending on scale, they may not).
So, what is the takeaway? Public cloud adoption by enterprise is a strong trend with multiple adoption drivers. The pandemic will add to the rationale but will not make a decisive difference.
>>> Want to know more about this cloud adoption and other essential topics that affect data center and digital infrastructure professionals? Consider joining Uptime Institutre’s community.
https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/blog-cloud-sm.jpg7001890Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uptime-institute-logo-r_240x88_v2023-with-space.pngAndy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]2020-09-21 06:00:272021-05-04 10:18:25Will the pandemic accelerate the move to public cloud?
As will be discussed in our upcoming note about managing data center with the severe weather caused by climate change, we continue to highlight the need for data center managers to not only review existing emergency plans but also anticipate previously unforeseen challenges. The need to understand the new ‘Normal’
Which brings us to wildfires… For any organization, the health and safety of their workers is the first priority. As we’ve learned through the pandemic, tiered responses and good communication are key to managing unexpected risks. Wildfires, however, present a range of specific challenges to mission-critical facilities. Below we’ll discuss a few key concerns.
The fire itself
To ensure clean, inexpensive electricity, many data centers are sited near hydroelectric power sources. That generally means nearby mountains and forests — areas increasingly at risk of wildfire in an age of climate change.
Road closures and the evacuation of towns in the path of the fire could pose immediate risks to staffing levels: workers may not be able to get to the site or may need to deal with their own emergency situations. Regularly review your contingency plans, and ensure personnel are advised of updates. Stay abreast of construction, road repairs or other impediments that might impact alternate routes. Develop and test notification plans in advance.
There are other risks as well. Wildfires could burn transmission lines, interrupting the flow of power to the facility. Post-fire, burn scar erosion can cause landslides that take out fiber cable — sometimes in multiple areas and in so doing, thwart redundancies. With climate change, the risks extend beyond the imminent, and preparation is key.
Wind
There doesn’t need to be a fire for high winds to affect data centers. After the disastrous 2018 Camp Fire in California that killed 86 people, PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric Company) announced a policy of pre-emptively interrupting service to at-risk areas when forecasts indicate conditions may increase the risk of wildfire (e.g., high winds in an already hot, dry environment). These planned outages may continue for a decade, as the utility company upgrades and hardens its systems to deal with the risks more extreme conditions bring.
On-site power generation is one option data center operators might consider as a hedge against uncertain utility power supplies. However, a smooth transition to on-site power is never a given, no matter the amount of preparation. As a result, utility power outages — planned or unplanned — increase the risk of failure for data center operators.
Facility managers need to consider not only their risk from the direct line of fire but also from blown embers. Wind-blown embers can spark dry grasses at fence lines, collect near fuel tanks and even ignite employee vehicles in the parking lot (e.g., a canvas pickup bed cover). Think expansively about the possible risks and mitigation strategies.
Smoke and ash
Facilities many miles away from an active wildfire can be affected by it, potentially for weeks at a time.
All data centers are required to have some form of fresh air supply. This is necessary to replace the carbon dioxide we exhale with oxygen. That means managing the flow of ash and other particulates into the facility via the ventilation system. Beyond that, ash can be transported into the facility on workers’ clothes, maintenance tool kits, equipment and more – even slight movements can cause it to become airborne. All data centers near a wildfire are at some risk from smoke and ash infiltration and should take action to mitigate contamination.
Engine generators — which may well be pressed into service — pose particular concerns. Most have filters on the combustion air intake (and those will likely need to be replaced more often than usual), but there is rarely any filtration on the intake for the engine cooling. Consult with manufacturers to learn more about appropriate remedial measures that do not impact performance or affect warranties.
The fuel storage tanks and the fuel itself also require attention. Almost all diesel tanks are atmospheric types, which means they have vents. These vents allow air into the tanks when fuel is withdrawn and allow a path for air to escape when fuel is added. With the anticipated increased generator operation, the vents will be pulling in more air — which means ash can get into the tanks. Over time the ash will settle to the bottom of the tank but in the short term, it can be picked up by the fuel pumps and clog fuel filters. Longer term, the impact on fuel quality should be assessed.
The cooling system of almost all facilities will be affected in some way. Condenser units for air conditioners, air-cooled chillers, or cooling towers are all susceptible to ash in the air, as it will either contaminate the water in a cooling tower or clog condenser coils. This will result in less cooling capacity, and backup units may be similarly affected. Direct air-cooled data centers need to monitor air quality and adjust their filter maintenance schedules as conditions dictate.
Data center managers experiencing the impact of wildfires should document conditions and actions taken in response, then share lessons learned with others. As in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, knowledge sharing through organizations like the Uptime Institute Network can be invaluable in learning to cope with the new reality of a climate-changed world.
https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/pexels-sippakorn-yamkasikorn-3552472-blogsm.jpg13943764Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uptime-institute-logo-r_240x88_v2023-with-space.pngAndy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]2020-09-16 06:00:542020-09-14 09:43:03Data Centers and Wildfires
Data center managers, on both the facilities and the IT side of operations, are known for their preparedness. Even so, the pandemic caught most by surprise. Few had an effective pandemic plan in place, and most had to react and adapt on the fly, as best as they could. A small but significant number suffered outages or service brownouts as a result of changed traffic patterns, component shortages and staffing problems.
Operators do not intend to be caught out again. Virtually all (94%) of the respondents to a July 2020 Uptime Institute COVID-19 impact survey said they will improve their pandemic readiness and business continuity planning (see figure below).
Against a background expectation that another pandemic will occur, pandemic awareness and planning have already been added to the business continuity playbook at many organizations, both as an extension to management and operations and to disaster recovery planning.
Some of the procedures and processes that managers expect to have in place in two to three years’ time require changes in technology and strategy and may involve major investments. For example, more are planning to adopt remote monitoring and some automation, and to strengthen resiliency — all of which require investment and planning.
But more routinely, operators expect to clean more regularly, to separate workers into teams, to conduct health screening for visitors, to change air filters more often, and to store more spare parts. These are all part of pandemic awareness and amended processes; they are not short-term measures, but long-term adaptations. Some plan to add emergency accommodation and food storage on-site.
A number of operators also told Uptime Institute they will also enhance their rapid response plans so they will be ready to move to a high alert status at any moment. This will involve immediate implementation of staffing plans, organizing emergency fuel supplies, and changing maintenance processes, for example. To help, they may store personal protective equipment, pay for third-party services, buy reserve cloud capacity, and move to pre-agreed maintenance and management procedures. Staff are likely to be routinely trained in pandemic control and response — an area rarely touched upon before COVID-19.
https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/chess-blog-sm.jpg10002700Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uptime-institute-logo-r_240x88_v2023-with-space.pngAndy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]2020-09-14 06:50:202021-05-04 10:17:30Pandemics: Operators plan to be ready next time
One of the emerging trends in data centers is the use of lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries, both for distributed and centralized uninterruptible power supplies. Research by Uptime Institute and others predicts high levels of adoption in the years ahead. The primary reasons for this are technical, relating to energy density, rechargeability and management. But Li-ion energy storage is also regarded as a key component in renewable energy distribution, which is being adopted primarily to reduce carbon emissions.
But one question keeps coming up that has, on occasion, put proponents of Li-ion on the defensive: How “green” — and how ethically responsible — are Li-ion batteries? Is there an environmental dimension to the use of Li-ion technologies?
Before considering this question, we should note that data centers will probably only ever account for a tiny proportion of demand for Li-ion batteries. Even in 2019, with electric vehicles still in early infancy, the automotive sector accounted for 60% of Li-ion battery use. Demand overall is expected to grow tenfold (1,000%) to 2030, according to mining analysts Roskill, driven primarily by mobile applications. That notwithstanding, big data center operators, such as Google, Microsoft, Equinix and others, use a lot of batteries. They pride themselves on sound environmental policies, and they are paying attention. Indeed, activists may give them no choice.
There are two issues with these batteries: first, the use of rare or expensive metals, and the environmental impact of mining these; and second — related to this — the current lack of recycling.
In a Li-ion battery, there are two elements that are a concern: lithium and cobalt. It is possible to do without the latter, but at a cost of some energy density — a critical factor in deployment. Analysts in the mineral sector say that there are sufficient reserves of both metals to meet medium-term demand, although cobalt reserves are less plentiful. But there is strong commercial pressure among battery makers, car manufacturers and other big industrial consumers to secure access to the main reserves, extract the minerals profitably, and meet current demand. This led to some big speculative price rises in 2019, although increased mining activity since has brought prices (and price forecasts) down.
For lithium, half of the world’s resources are in the “lithium triangle,” mostly in pristine salt flats spanning areas of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. Mining companies have been accused of exploiting local populations, extracting excessive amounts of valuable water, and damaging unspoiled habitats. For cobalt, more than half of the world’s reserves are in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining companies have been accused of child exploitation and serious health and safety violations. In 2019, a human rights groups filed a suit against Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla on behalf of 14 families in Congo.
For the data center industry, and the renewable energy industry, many of these concerns may seem far up the supply chain. But buyers can move the market: They can favor suppliers who source their components responsibly and pressure vendors to improve their supplier’s practices. They could also choose suppliers who pursue alternative sources of these metals in regions with more robust monitoring of environmental and health and safety concerns.
Recycling and extending the life of batteries also plays a role. At present, while almost all lead-acid batteries are recycled, Li-ion batteries are not. The most common way to get rid of an old Li-ion battery is to burn it — they burn exceedingly well.
There is a big effort underway to improve Li-ion technology. Tesla and GM are both working on million-mile batteries, designed to outlast the car, as well as designing batteries for easier reconditioning and recycling. Such technical advances can also be applied to stationary Li-ion batteries (which mostly have a different chemistry). Tesla is among the battery suppliers now targeting the data center market.
Although currently few Li-ion batteries are recycled, there are now dozens of companies with Li-ion recycling services or technologies. This activity will eventually reduce the pressure on mining companies to extract the minerals at such a rapid rate, and in such a damaging way.
Repurposing second-use batteries from mobile use to stationary applications, such as solar battery farms, is also likely to prove economic; this may lead to a “residual value” market in batteries and more renewable applications. Although some tests have proven favorable, data centers are unlikely to be suitable for this. The best way for data center operators to reduce the impact of Li-ion use will be to open a serious dialog with suppliers.
https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Lithium-Element-Blog.jpg8302255Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uptime-institute-logo-r_240x88_v2023-with-space.pngAndy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]2020-09-06 06:00:082020-08-27 10:49:33Lithium-ion batteries in the Data Center: An ethical dimension?
Increasingly, data centers cannot find qualified candidates for open jobs. Companies that commit to diverse and inclusive workplaces are more likely to have better financial performance; greater innovation and productivity; and higher employee-ambassador recruitment, employee retention and employee job satisfaction rates.
Diversity and Data Center Hiring
https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/blog-infographic-aug2020sm.jpg7502025Rhonda Ascierto, Vice President, Research, Uptime Institutehttps://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uptime-institute-logo-r_240x88_v2023-with-space.pngRhonda Ascierto, Vice President, Research, Uptime Institute2020-08-31 05:00:132020-10-22 14:27:22Data center workforce diversity makes good business sense
Data Centers and Thunder, Lightning, Wind and Rain
/in Design, Executive, Operations/by Chris Brown, Chief Technical Officer, Uptime InstituteData centers are built and sited to withstand all that Mother Nature can throw at them — or at least, is likely to throw at them — during their lifecycle. This has long been a given, practiced and understood by designers, planners and regulators. But climate change is changing everything. Recent weather events have led some governmental agencies to ask how exposed data centers are from climate, such as high winds and lightning.
These are questions data centers throughout the world should consider, as storms and other natural disasters are increasingly frequent and severe. In the last few weeks alone, the world has experienced record-shattering derechos and tropical cyclones, as well as heatwaves and wildfires (both of which can alter wind patterns). Managers must review their data center’s resiliency and disaster recovery plans in the context of the amplifying effects of climate change. As we said in the Uptime Institute report A mission-critical industry unprepared for climate change, these reviews should be conducted regularly and plans updated; the climate is, regrettably, changing rapidly and proving volatile.
Recently, Uptime Institute was asked (via our colleagues at TechUK, a UK membership body for the IT industry) to give our views on three specific issues that might arise as a result of severe storms: staff access during storms, lightning strikes, and standards. Some thoughts on these are below.
The first relates to blocked transport routes — that is, how do data centers manage if staff are unable to get to work? The answer is, most data centers have a plan for this. This is an aspect of Uptime Institute’s Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability program, and it requires preparation and budget. When bad weather is forecast, many data centers either locate personnel at the facility or in hotels nearby. Because one shift cannot leave the site until they are relieved by the next shift, staff may work overtime waiting for the next crew to arrive. All these contingencies must be considered — possibly for extended periods of time. In extremis, of course, it is possible for staff to remain on site, with sleeping accommodation and food. But this is not a practice that is advised except in the most severe situations.
Another question asked after countermeasures against damage from lightning strikes and/or power surges. The answer first lies in local guidance and regulations. All locales are a bit different, but most have some life safety codes that address power surges and lightning. Lightning protection systems are foremost geared to building protection, but other codes cover ways to prevent local lightning strikes from impacting other systems, such as power and communication systems. Typically, data centers will not only meet these codes, but also exceed them in some ways.
There are ways to design the facility to help reduce the risk of the data center itself being affected. A first step is to incorporate a lightning protection system that uses grounded lightning rods or active systems to shunt ion buildup in the immediate atmosphere to ground. This stops the local buildup of a charge that will result in a lightning strike.
Another issue to anticipate is that a lightning strike can occur near the data center and could enter the facility via the power system. Electrical systems are often designed to transfer the energy from a lightning strike to a grounding device. The efficacy of this strategy depends on the proximity of a strike to the service entry. Outdoor communications cables (telecommunications or controls) usually have devices to block increased voltage from entering the facility.
In locations where lightning is prevalent, many facilities circumvent the problem: when a storm is forecast, they transfer to on-site power production and isolate from the outside power system altogether. This underlines the need for on-site power systems; because two utility feeders are installed in relatively close proximity to one another, a single strike could impact both systems. Dual utility feeds cannot provide the absolute isolation that on-site power production can.
A third question asked after standards that cover risks from lightning and/or high winds. Local building codes address this, but such codes are intended to help ensure human life is not put at risk during such events, not that a facility operates through it. Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability addresses this by requiring the site risks from natural events be addressed.
The challenges vary based on location and threat. In the US, Texas Tech University has done research on winds and tornadoes for over 20 years. They have an air cannon that shoots things like wooden boards at buildings to see how they perform. This research is used to help structural engineers learn how to harden structures against high wind and the debris it carries. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed guidance on how to prepare for extreme weather events, as have other nations’ governments regarding threats their regions face.
There is one important thing to keep in mind: While people are quite capable of dealing with the typical or even slightly more severe than usual threats in their area, this does not mean a data center will necessarily be able to operate through it. Storms seem to be getting more severe; in August 2020, the US experienced the strongest hurricane (Hurricane Laura) ever to make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Even when storms diminish after landfall, they can do a lot of (sometimes unpredictable) damage. For example, just three years before Laura, Hurricane Harvey dumped so much rain that 500-year flood planes were inundated. This is not something most prepare for.
In such situations, even if the data center is operational, the telecommunications system may have facilities that are not. In these cases, a data center is ready to operate but can’t communicate with the outside world. And staff’s personal priorities also must be considered: few will report to work when their family’s safety is at risk — a lesson learned in several natural disasters.
Bottom Line: While we should take precautions to help ensure data centers are prepared for the foreseeable, we have to remember that just hardening a data center is not enough; Mother Nature will always show us where we stand in the grand scheme of things.
Will the pandemic accelerate the move to public cloud?
/in Executive, Operations/by Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, many people have suggested that the business case for enterprises to move more workloads to the public cloud has been strengthened. Some have argued that the pandemic will accelerate the decline of the enterprise data center.
Is this actually the case? And if so, why? This is one of many issues explored in the recently published Uptime Institute report entitled, “Post-pandemic data centers”.
The case for an accelerated move to the public cloud may be summed up in one sentiment: Data centers were difficult enough to run even before the pandemic, and the costs, risks and complexity have all now increased. With the threat of new pandemics in future, it will be easier, even if not cheaper, to move to the cloud.
There is some evidence that many enterprise operators are thinking along these lines — but it is not strong. In a July 2020 Uptime Institute survey of 260 operators, a fifth (19%) said they are likely to accelerate their move to a public cloud or use public cloud services more as a result of the pandemic. Just one in twenty (5%) thought the pandemic would slow their move to a public cloud. (Three-quarters said it would make no difference or that they did not know; see the figure below.)
What lies behind this? There are many reasons why the use of cloud services has or will increase as a result of COVID-19.
First, during the pandemic, many enterprises found they do not have the network infrastructure, or necessarily the applications, to support all their remotely situated staff and all their customer interactions on their networks. As a result, they have rapidly adopted or stepped up their use of cloud and other third-party services. Enterprise use of cloud platform providers (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform) and of software as a service (Salesforce, Zoom, Teams) has significantly increased in the space of a few months.
Second, many operators foresee that the loss of an entire site due to staffing issues is a possibility in the future — and they are planning for this with a range of strategies, including more remote working, greater resiliency and more automation.
The pandemic will also likely increase the use of distributed, active-active-active availability zone approaches. Building and managing the IT infrastructure for this is always challenging and expensive. One of the “easier” ways, for many applications and services, is to make use of existing infrastructure run by cloud providers, their software infrastructure partners, and some colocation companies.
In spite of all this, it would be simplistic to state that the pandemic will trigger a significantly accelerated decline in enterprise data centers or increase in the migration of existing workloads. One of the reasons for cloud adoption, and certainly for the use of software as a service, is to enable relatively easy adoption of new services, such as teleconferencing. Few organizations have, in recent years, contemplated hosting such services in their own data centers.
The role of the pandemic as a catalyst of change, or an accelerator, has to be put in context. There is already a strong disposition among business and organizational leaders to make more use of the cloud. But migration can be a difficult process, involving re-platforming or rewriting applications, changing security and compliance processes, and foregoing corporate control for limited transparency. Uptime Institute’s research shows the balance of workloads shifting gradually, over time, in a cautious fashion.
A further issue: Chief Information Officers are facing cost constraints, with a global slowdown (if not recession) already underway. Cloud adoption usually involves a short-term spending increase, even if costs fall over time (which, depending on scale, they may not).
So, what is the takeaway? Public cloud adoption by enterprise is a strong trend with multiple adoption drivers. The pandemic will add to the rationale but will not make a decisive difference.
>>> Want to know more about this cloud adoption and other essential topics that affect data center and digital infrastructure professionals? Consider joining Uptime Institutre’s community.
Data Centers and Wildfires
/in Design, Executive, Operations/by Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]As will be discussed in our upcoming note about managing data center with the severe weather caused by climate change, we continue to highlight the need for data center managers to not only review existing emergency plans but also anticipate previously unforeseen challenges. The need to understand the new ‘Normal’
Which brings us to wildfires… For any organization, the health and safety of their workers is the first priority. As we’ve learned through the pandemic, tiered responses and good communication are key to managing unexpected risks. Wildfires, however, present a range of specific challenges to mission-critical facilities. Below we’ll discuss a few key concerns.
The fire itself
To ensure clean, inexpensive electricity, many data centers are sited near hydroelectric power sources. That generally means nearby mountains and forests — areas increasingly at risk of wildfire in an age of climate change.
Road closures and the evacuation of towns in the path of the fire could pose immediate risks to staffing levels: workers may not be able to get to the site or may need to deal with their own emergency situations. Regularly review your contingency plans, and ensure personnel are advised of updates. Stay abreast of construction, road repairs or other impediments that might impact alternate routes. Develop and test notification plans in advance.
There are other risks as well. Wildfires could burn transmission lines, interrupting the flow of power to the facility. Post-fire, burn scar erosion can cause landslides that take out fiber cable — sometimes in multiple areas and in so doing, thwart redundancies. With climate change, the risks extend beyond the imminent, and preparation is key.
Wind
There doesn’t need to be a fire for high winds to affect data centers. After the disastrous 2018 Camp Fire in California that killed 86 people, PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric Company) announced a policy of pre-emptively interrupting service to at-risk areas when forecasts indicate conditions may increase the risk of wildfire (e.g., high winds in an already hot, dry environment). These planned outages may continue for a decade, as the utility company upgrades and hardens its systems to deal with the risks more extreme conditions bring.
On-site power generation is one option data center operators might consider as a hedge against uncertain utility power supplies. However, a smooth transition to on-site power is never a given, no matter the amount of preparation. As a result, utility power outages — planned or unplanned — increase the risk of failure for data center operators.
Facility managers need to consider not only their risk from the direct line of fire but also from blown embers. Wind-blown embers can spark dry grasses at fence lines, collect near fuel tanks and even ignite employee vehicles in the parking lot (e.g., a canvas pickup bed cover). Think expansively about the possible risks and mitigation strategies.
Smoke and ash
Facilities many miles away from an active wildfire can be affected by it, potentially for weeks at a time.
All data centers are required to have some form of fresh air supply. This is necessary to replace the carbon dioxide we exhale with oxygen. That means managing the flow of ash and other particulates into the facility via the ventilation system. Beyond that, ash can be transported into the facility on workers’ clothes, maintenance tool kits, equipment and more – even slight movements can cause it to become airborne. All data centers near a wildfire are at some risk from smoke and ash infiltration and should take action to mitigate contamination.
Engine generators — which may well be pressed into service — pose particular concerns. Most have filters on the combustion air intake (and those will likely need to be replaced more often than usual), but there is rarely any filtration on the intake for the engine cooling. Consult with manufacturers to learn more about appropriate remedial measures that do not impact performance or affect warranties.
The fuel storage tanks and the fuel itself also require attention. Almost all diesel tanks are atmospheric types, which means they have vents. These vents allow air into the tanks when fuel is withdrawn and allow a path for air to escape when fuel is added. With the anticipated increased generator operation, the vents will be pulling in more air — which means ash can get into the tanks. Over time the ash will settle to the bottom of the tank but in the short term, it can be picked up by the fuel pumps and clog fuel filters. Longer term, the impact on fuel quality should be assessed.
The cooling system of almost all facilities will be affected in some way. Condenser units for air conditioners, air-cooled chillers, or cooling towers are all susceptible to ash in the air, as it will either contaminate the water in a cooling tower or clog condenser coils. This will result in less cooling capacity, and backup units may be similarly affected. Direct air-cooled data centers need to monitor air quality and adjust their filter maintenance schedules as conditions dictate.
Data center managers experiencing the impact of wildfires should document conditions and actions taken in response, then share lessons learned with others. As in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, knowledge sharing through organizations like the Uptime Institute Network can be invaluable in learning to cope with the new reality of a climate-changed world.
Pandemics: Operators plan to be ready next time
/in Executive, Operations/by Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]Data center managers, on both the facilities and the IT side of operations, are known for their preparedness. Even so, the pandemic caught most by surprise. Few had an effective pandemic plan in place, and most had to react and adapt on the fly, as best as they could. A small but significant number suffered outages or service brownouts as a result of changed traffic patterns, component shortages and staffing problems.
Operators do not intend to be caught out again. Virtually all (94%) of the respondents to a July 2020 Uptime Institute COVID-19 impact survey said they will improve their pandemic readiness and business continuity planning (see figure below).
Against a background expectation that another pandemic will occur, pandemic awareness and planning have already been added to the business continuity playbook at many organizations, both as an extension to management and operations and to disaster recovery planning.
Some of the procedures and processes that managers expect to have in place in two to three years’ time require changes in technology and strategy and may involve major investments. For example, more are planning to adopt remote monitoring and some automation, and to strengthen resiliency — all of which require investment and planning.
But more routinely, operators expect to clean more regularly, to separate workers into teams, to conduct health screening for visitors, to change air filters more often, and to store more spare parts. These are all part of pandemic awareness and amended processes; they are not short-term measures, but long-term adaptations. Some plan to add emergency accommodation and food storage on-site.
A number of operators also told Uptime Institute they will also enhance their rapid response plans so they will be ready to move to a high alert status at any moment. This will involve immediate implementation of staffing plans, organizing emergency fuel supplies, and changing maintenance processes, for example. To help, they may store personal protective equipment, pay for third-party services, buy reserve cloud capacity, and move to pre-agreed maintenance and management procedures. Staff are likely to be routinely trained in pandemic control and response — an area rarely touched upon before COVID-19.
For more detailed guidance on pandemic preparedness, see our report Pandemic planning and response: A guide for critical infrastructure. The full report Post-pandemic data centers is available to members of the Uptime Institute Network here.
Lithium-ion batteries in the Data Center: An ethical dimension?
/in Design, Executive/by Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute, [email protected]One of the emerging trends in data centers is the use of lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries, both for distributed and centralized uninterruptible power supplies. Research by Uptime Institute and others predicts high levels of adoption in the years ahead. The primary reasons for this are technical, relating to energy density, rechargeability and management. But Li-ion energy storage is also regarded as a key component in renewable energy distribution, which is being adopted primarily to reduce carbon emissions.
But one question keeps coming up that has, on occasion, put proponents of Li-ion on the defensive: How “green” — and how ethically responsible — are Li-ion batteries? Is there an environmental dimension to the use of Li-ion technologies?
Before considering this question, we should note that data centers will probably only ever account for a tiny proportion of demand for Li-ion batteries. Even in 2019, with electric vehicles still in early infancy, the automotive sector accounted for 60% of Li-ion battery use. Demand overall is expected to grow tenfold (1,000%) to 2030, according to mining analysts Roskill, driven primarily by mobile applications. That notwithstanding, big data center operators, such as Google, Microsoft, Equinix and others, use a lot of batteries. They pride themselves on sound environmental policies, and they are paying attention. Indeed, activists may give them no choice.
There are two issues with these batteries: first, the use of rare or expensive metals, and the environmental impact of mining these; and second — related to this — the current lack of recycling.
In a Li-ion battery, there are two elements that are a concern: lithium and cobalt. It is possible to do without the latter, but at a cost of some energy density — a critical factor in deployment. Analysts in the mineral sector say that there are sufficient reserves of both metals to meet medium-term demand, although cobalt reserves are less plentiful. But there is strong commercial pressure among battery makers, car manufacturers and other big industrial consumers to secure access to the main reserves, extract the minerals profitably, and meet current demand. This led to some big speculative price rises in 2019, although increased mining activity since has brought prices (and price forecasts) down.
For lithium, half of the world’s resources are in the “lithium triangle,” mostly in pristine salt flats spanning areas of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. Mining companies have been accused of exploiting local populations, extracting excessive amounts of valuable water, and damaging unspoiled habitats. For cobalt, more than half of the world’s reserves are in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining companies have been accused of child exploitation and serious health and safety violations. In 2019, a human rights groups filed a suit against Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla on behalf of 14 families in Congo.
For the data center industry, and the renewable energy industry, many of these concerns may seem far up the supply chain. But buyers can move the market: They can favor suppliers who source their components responsibly and pressure vendors to improve their supplier’s practices. They could also choose suppliers who pursue alternative sources of these metals in regions with more robust monitoring of environmental and health and safety concerns.
Recycling and extending the life of batteries also plays a role. At present, while almost all lead-acid batteries are recycled, Li-ion batteries are not. The most common way to get rid of an old Li-ion battery is to burn it — they burn exceedingly well.
There is a big effort underway to improve Li-ion technology. Tesla and GM are both working on million-mile batteries, designed to outlast the car, as well as designing batteries for easier reconditioning and recycling. Such technical advances can also be applied to stationary Li-ion batteries (which mostly have a different chemistry). Tesla is among the battery suppliers now targeting the data center market.
Although currently few Li-ion batteries are recycled, there are now dozens of companies with Li-ion recycling services or technologies. This activity will eventually reduce the pressure on mining companies to extract the minerals at such a rapid rate, and in such a damaging way.
Repurposing second-use batteries from mobile use to stationary applications, such as solar battery farms, is also likely to prove economic; this may lead to a “residual value” market in batteries and more renewable applications. Although some tests have proven favorable, data centers are unlikely to be suitable for this. The best way for data center operators to reduce the impact of Li-ion use will be to open a serious dialog with suppliers.
Data center workforce diversity makes good business sense
/in Executive, Operations/by Rhonda Ascierto, Vice President, Research, Uptime InstituteIncreasingly, data centers cannot find qualified candidates for open jobs. Companies that commit to diverse and inclusive workplaces are more likely to have better financial performance; greater innovation and productivity; and higher employee-ambassador recruitment, employee retention and employee job satisfaction rates.
Diversity and Data Center Hiring