Transportable modular data centres and containerised solutions are used in a variety of industries. Darren Pearce, managing director at critical power specialist Powertecnique, explains how its new products, DataShelter and PowerShelter, differ from other containerised solutions
The Powertecnique Shelter range was developed as result of working with the military in Iraq and Afghanistan and with the oil and gas industries where portable power and data solutions are needed to operate in harsh environments. In order to help bring the products to the UK market, we commissioned a short Knowledge Transfer Partnership (sKTP) with the University of Portsmouth in order to identify new markets which could potentially use the product and then develop it to best serve them.
The Shelter range takes the five basic elements of data centres and splits them between two packages. The first is DataShelter which offers server racks, UPS (uninterruptible power supplies) and cooling equipment. Both the cooling solution and the UPS are built to incorporate an N+1 level of redundancy. The second container, PowerShelter, then contains all the necessary switchgear and a backup generator.
Customisable solutions
There are plenty of options for customising the DataShelter unit, including security systems, remote monitoring and various door lock solutions. The standard unit is based around a standard 30ft ISO container. We also provide 10ft wide containers to provide greater internal dimensions.
We size DataShelter units in kilowatts per rack (for UPS and cooling) and the lowest in the range is around 2-3kW with only one or two servers running per rack. However our DataShelter can go up to 20-25kW per rack and our engineers are working on a solution to get it up to 50kW per rack.
Data centres
DataShelter enables us to give customers a mobile working data centre. We often recommend modular UPS units in data centres as multiple units can be added to form a larger cabinet; in fact with this arrangement it can be simpler to achieve N+1 redundancy by simply adding another module, providing greater energy efficiencies against a more typical N+1 redundant legacy UPS system. Since UPS systems are more efficient when nearing full capacity, modular UPS enables the user to increase the size of the UPS (number of modules) in line with the load requirement and thus efficiency is kept high. As modular UPS units also allow for modules to be” hot swapped” out, maintenance down time can be drastically reduced.
The containerised solutions, feature added capabilities with remote monitoring and a DCIM (data centre infrastructure management) solution which has significant functionality. It can even remotely turn off one network port if needed, and completely control the environment in the data centre, this includes a PUE footprint dashboard to measure its effectiveness, is able to tell you exactly what temperature everything is inside the data centre, can check alarms, and control security – it creates a visible window into the DataShelter.
Against the elements
Because of how DataShelter and PowerShelter came to be created, we have proven that the units work in incredibly harsh environments abroad. We are now bringing them to companies in the UK so that they can have more flexible IT & power solutions anywhere.
No job is too tough; we’re always happy to meet any challenge and talk through a solution if someone doesn’t know exactly what they want, it’s important that you get it right and we’re here to help.
Data Shelter Showcase
The DataShelter will be showcased on site at the Powertecnique headquarters in Fareham, Hampshire for two weeks starting 6 January 2014. We are inviting customers and interested parties to attend free of charge. Please call our marketing department on 01489 560 700 or e-mail [email protected] to book your place today.”
To find out more about Powertecnique and its DataShelter solutions visit www.powertecnique.com