When Fire Suppression Systems Fail When addressing the threat of fire in a data center, the focus is typically on stopping fires that start inside the data center. However, this approach does not protect the data center from an equally serious threat to IT and information assets: fire anywhere else in the building. Once a fire has burned beyond the control of the all-too-often inadequate sprinkler system, the fire suppression system inside the data center will not save the day. In this era of almost total dependence upon our data centers, they are too important to leave open to the risk of fire. This point is asserted by Edward L. Fixen, P.E. in his article Avoid the Smell of Burning Data, when he states: "Due to significant financial losses that can follow business interruption, the importance of fire protection cannot be overemphasized. Data centers and information technology equipment—on which these businesses depend—are particularly vulnerable to the effects of fire." Clean agent fire suppression systems are a must-have component of any critical data center. Companies such as 3M, DuPont and Fike have developed excellent replacement products for Halon 1301. They are non-conductive, environmentally friendly and highly effective in extinguishing fires inside an enclosed space before they get out of control. But they can't save the servers if fire spreads from another part of the facility to the data center area. The conventional gypsum board or block construction will not keep the destructive heat (often over 1,800°F) from penetrating the data center walls and incinerating everything inside. In fact, unprotected cable entry points can conduct heat and flame through data center walls even faster. At that point the fire suppression system may discharge its extinguishing agent (assuming it is still functional), but that will not keep the external fire from wiping out the data center. As reported by John Brandon in his article Anatomy of a Data Center Fire, "Too often, a fire starts outside the data center and creeps into the server room, where the disaster escalates and becomes uncontrollable." The nature of the infrastructure required by high availability server rooms increases the risk of fire around the facility. Battery UPS systems, generators and high voltage transformers can ignite or even explode when things go wrong. In June of 2003 a Rackshack server co-location facility had a power transformer explode near the building, requiring eight fire trucks to extinguish the flames. Fortunately the transformer was far enough away to keep the flames from igniting the building. In another more destructive incident, the Data Haven data center was destroyed by a fire that started in the power generation area. Havenco sold its services as "offering the world's most secure data center in the world's first data haven." This managed hosting site offered a wide range of services, including eCommerce, financial transactions, B2B and email servers as well as data backups. The unusual company was based on an offshore platform that was an abandoned British World War II anti-aircraft base before it was claimed by an eccentric entrepreneur in 1966. This individual declared the small platform a sovereign nation and set up various business ventures over the years, including the server co-location business. A detailed description of the facility was featured in Wired magazine in 2000, click here for the story. The data center was destroyed by fire in 2006, resulting in the collapse of the hosting business. No data center-based fire suppression system could save it when the external fire burned out of control. As the value of information assets and the cost of IT infrastructure continue to rise, IT facility planners are looking for ways to mitigate the risk of catastrophic fires. That is why FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults has been installing an increasing number of server vaults in the last few years. FIRELOCK has been designing, manufacturing and installing fireproof vaults to protect information assets since 1985. These vaults have traditionally been used to protect magnetic media and other valuable information assets from the heat generated by catastrophic fires. The patented modular panel system utilizes ceramic fiber (a high temperature industrial insulating material) to keep the temperature inside the vault chamber below 125°F, the point at which data is destroyed. A double door assembly with automatic door closers is required to reach this Class 125 rating, along with specially insulated penetrations for data cables, coolant lines, and air ducting. This ability to protect the vault's contents from heat makes it an ideal solution for preserving critical IT infrastructure and the even more valuable information held within. Vaults are sized according to the clients' requirements, so they can fit inside existing structures or fit their internal space requirements for new construction projects. FIRELOCK vaults are expandable and can even be relocated as facility needs evolve. Organizations like Arthur Blank Company, Viega Corporation and the United States Air Force have had FIRELOCK install Class 125 vaults to protect their mission critical servers and other equipment. According to Hugh Smith, Vice President of FIRELOCK, "Technologies have evolved in the 22 years we have been protecting critical information, and our customers are finding server vaults are an excellent way to apply the fire protection capabilities of our data-rated vaults to preserve information assets and costly IT infrastructure." Server vaults are designed and constructed much like the media storage vaults FIRELOCK has installed all over the world, with a few modifications that meet the needs of data center planners. The specially insulated cable penetration assemblies use larger diameter conduit to accommodate the additional data and power cables needed in data centers. There are also more of these cable penetration assemblies than are required by media storage vaults. To service in-vault HVAC systems, coolant exchange lines can also be routed through these penetrations installed by FIRELOCK's crew in the location specified by the client. FIRELOCK's installers can also weld Uni-strut to the inside face of the vault's roof panels so mounting cable management systems and other components will be neat and efficient. In summary, a top-tier clean agent fire suppression system is a necessary element in any mission critical data center. In fact, almost every FIRELOCK vault installed today has some kind of fire suppression system and early warning fire detection system installed to guard against fire starting inside the vault chamber. However, this first line of defense inside the data center is ineffective as a last line of defense against external fires. Fortunately, as it is with most problems, there is a solution. (c)1999-2007 FIRELOCK, Inc. All rights reserved. FIRELOCK is a registered trademark of FIRELOCK, Inc.