By Aaron Oddy, Sales Engineer at Centiel UK
In a Tier III data centre, the UPS systems must be concurrently maintainable without any disruption to the critical load. To achieve this, a separate UPS-backed A and B stream is necessary. If, for whatever reason, either A or B stream becomes unavailable, the unaffected power path will have the capacity and infrastructure to support the total load. It’s a UPS configuration designed to maximise availability and uptime to the critical load.
As a Swiss manufacturer, Centiel is regularly involved in supplying UPS systems to suit this configuration within data centres. However, for the client, it may not always be as simple as supplying a ‘like for like’ replacement or replicating a design from a previous facility. There are lots of variables that can dictate the choice of product or manufacturer, so discussing what options are available will help in making the right informed choice.
Take, for example, that you have a Tier III data centre with an A and B stream. You may be running some legacy end-of-life UPS equipment on stream A and relatively new equipment on stream B. So, do you replace the equipment on both A and B streams to keep the equipment and manufacturer consistent, or do you just replace the legacy equipment? Which route offers more cost savings and alternative options?
There are pros and cons to both. You may choose to stick with a manufacturer based on previous experience, to replace all your equipment. While this may provide some considerable comfort, you may question whether this is the best value in both CapEx and OpEx for the business. You may also be considering the accessibility of this equipment or support should it no longer be available in the future. Where does that leave you as an operating facility? Using a second manufacturer on the same site could solve the issue of putting all your eggs in one basket.
Using two different UPS manufacturers in this way could be seen as an additional layer of resilience to the facility by mitigating risk in the supply chain and services. Replacing just the legacy equipment will help to lower the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by reducing the cost of new hardware and reducing the running cost with higher efficiencies. In this scenario, you could say that you are making good use of your existing equipment working alongside the new equipment with a robust supply and support structure.
There are no issues with running completely different UPS systems on true alternative A and B streams. They don’t need to be compatible as they operate on independent power paths. Centiel is starting to see some of the most forward-thinking data centres that require the highest levels of availability adopting this strategy because it increases the resilience, not only to the equipment that supports them but the companies they work with too.
A further advantage of adopting this method is the ability to compare two alternative UPS systems in a live scenario. This could be a beneficial exercise to evaluate the performance of two different UPS systems from two different manufacturers. Particularly when it comes to their energy efficiency, performance, ease of installation, technical support and maintenance, even down to small details like the amount of noise they make or even how they physically look. It can provide valuable insight and help with informed decision-making for future UPS system lifecycle replacements.
Working with alternative manufacturers may only be the right choice for some data centres and primarily when reviewing the replacement of legacy equipment. For new data centre builds, for example, the decision to stay with a single manufacturer maybe more advantageous, for example, the commonality of equipment for users, the flexibility of equipment to be redeployed, the warranty period, and possibly a more cost-effective maintenance plan with the same provider. However, for certain scenarios with their existing infrastructure, it may be a possible solution! Centiel’s role as trusted advisors is always to give the best recommendations to its clients.
At Centiel, the company’s experienced team is always available to discuss and help evaluate the best approach to UPS design, installation and management to suit any facility’s critical power protection needs. Centiel’s leading-edge technology, backed-up with its comprehensive maintenance contracts carried out by experienced engineering teams ensure its clients’ power has the very best protection at all times over the long-term.
