Power Outages

A

AbbieRose

New member
What happens during a power outage, at a data center? Are most centers just running on the grid, or do any of them have back up power sources so that they don't lose all of the servers during a power cut?
 
They will have generators ready to provide backup power. Though it happened more than once for these to not work as supposed to. Pretty unpleasant situation.
 
Yep thats happaned to us before. ADSL Broadband circuits went down for about 11 hours. Was not a happy bunny! Nor were our customers...
 
I would agree with you Rob. We have seen this too, especially coming from the UK. Most of the bigger data centers have a backup diesel generator ready at a moments notice, but few ever actually use them. I have seen entire data centers go down for more than 5 hours at a time. Not something you want to get caught up in.
 
DC's

Every top dc i've been to is set up on multiple power grids first and foremost, then they have battery backup, then diesel generators.

They also have contracts with diesel fuel providers in case of outages to start bringing in fuel on a regular basis to keep the generators running.
 
Much of it I think would depend on the provider. I know several that I have visited have two commercial power sources, UPS and generators if need be. These were bigger companies who could afford it and believe me when I say they get the cost back. Many of their customers would not tollerate any extended outages because of power.

Chris
 
Normally the UPS power kicks in right away which uses its battery power to keep all the servers online, and this stays on until the datacenter (assuming it has all this equipment) gets its generator running whereupon the power is restored and the UPS begins re-charging and servers running normal.

Thats the theory, but I rarely see it happen like that (generators get neglected, UPS don't start properly/at all, power outages are horrible.
 
The datacenter that my ex-husband used to service ran drills every so often (this was government stuff) where they shut off power and tested the power back ups. The scarier side of the safety equipement was the halogen fire surpressants of course.

So what is the point in having these systems if you don't maintain them? Is there any way to be sure that the center you are using is current and maintaining the equipment?
 
Without going to the facility (not allowed unless you're colo-ing or dedicated with some providers), no. You just have to trust the host. We use BurstNET, and they've been around for 18 years, I trust them to look after their gear.
 
Power outages are always going to be a serious problem, and sadly I still don't think any sort of fool-proof solution has been implemented yet, but I do feel most hosts are still handling it better than they used to.

They at least seem more prepared for the worst to happen, so that's good to see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Supporters

Back
Top