Water Versus Gas-Based Data Center Fire Suppression

Water versus gas-based data center fire suppression
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Water versus gas-based data center fire suppression Article

Matt Stansberry, News Editor Published: 9 May 2006 E-mail Print A AA AAA LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Share This Reprints
No one believes it could happen to them -- a fire in the data center. But all it takes is a malfunctioning power supply or an improperly maintained AC unit and your job and your data center is literally up in smoke. Belts disintegrate, components burn out, and the only thing between you and disaster is your fire suppression system. At the recent Data Center Decisions conference in New York, panelists and attendees weighed in on the best methods for fire suppression in the data center -- sprinklers versus clean agent, a fire suppressing gas. The consensus was equally mixed -- both approaches had pros and cons. But follow-up discussions with fire suppression experts determined one method is not enough to keep your facility safe and equipment functioning. You need both. Bob Opkins, senior safety representative at JM Family Enterprises Inc., is responsible for data center fire suppression at the Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based automotive services company. He uses clean agent with sprinklers as a backup. "The dry system acts a lot quicker than water. It's activated by smoke," Opkins said. "The sprinklers are activated by heat. It kicks on when the dry system doesn't work." It's obvious, IT pros don't want water on their equipment. But Opkins said about seven years ago, experts determined that if you cleaned up the water right away, the equipment would be fine. But most people wouldn't want to take the chance. Bob Burkland, president of Orion, Mich.-based Healey Fire Protection Inc., agreed. Sprinklers save foundations and outer walls, but not contents. "That's a false sense of security when a data center manager looks up and sees only sprinklers. When those go off, you've got a whole lot of problems," Burkland said. "If you've ever seen a sprinkler discharge that has been installed for a while, it's not clean water. It's sewer water." So what are your options for fire suppression in the data center? Water-based sprinklers There are two kinds of water-based systems, wet pipe and dry pipe. Wet pipe has water in the pipes at all times, while dry pipe only has water in the system when the valve is released. Preaction is an approach that combines dry-pipe water suppression with smoke detection. According to fire suppression expert Lance Harry, business development manager at Clifton, N.J.-based Kidde Fenwal Protection Systems, the upshot of water-based systems is familiarity. "Local authorities are very familiar with those systems, and it's easier for local inspectors or fire marshals to sign off on them," Harry said. "People understand that water is a good fire suppressant. It's a known element." Also, cost is an issue, since it's generally the least expensive option. What's the downside? Water and servers don't mix. Though there are products available to shield the cabinets from water.
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But Harry warned, "If you have a fire in a cabinet, you wouldn't want to shield it." Waterless agents Halon, a chemical suppressant, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, was banned in 1987 as an ozone depleting substance. Today, Halon systems are grandfathered in. You couldn't buy a new Halon system, but existing systems are legal in the U.S., and they can be recharged, although it is getting harder. Many manufacturers are no longer supporting Halon systems and the cost of maintaining and recharging Halon systems is getting harder to predict, according to Harry. "I would recommend replacing a Halon system today, or start budgeting for it," Harry said. "You don't want to replace a $100,000 system. But what if you have a discharge and can't recharge it? Then you have to replace [the Halon system]. You want to be able to do it on your own terms." Today, the most common waterless agent used is a gas called FM200. For more information: Things to consider when planning a data center move to an older building Asset management -- It's different in the data center The major pro of FM200 is that it's safe. People can be in the room when it goes off and it's totally benign to electronic equipment, according to Harry. Also, nothing can get inside and around components like a gas. The downside to FM200 is cost. It's more expensive than a sprinkler system and a little more expensive than Halon. Also, it doesn't have a totally clean environmental profile. While FM200 does not deplete the ozone, it is a greenhouse gas producer that contributes to global warming. Regardless of the system, data center managers need to have some kind of plan in place, and should test discharge sequences, batteries, pull testing and the rest of the system, according to National Fire Protection Association code and the local fire department. According to Burkland, the loss history in the data center space is very good, meaning the risk of fire is fairly low. But many fires aren't reported and that can lead to a false sense of security. "What is your downtime worth?" Burkland asked. "What's going to happen to you if you're down a minute, an hour or a week?" Let us know what you think about the story; e-mail: Matt Stansberry, News Editor Related Topics: Data center physical security and fire suppression, VIEW ALL TOPICS
Dig Deeper People who read this also read... Data center design and infrastructure classroom 101 quiz Fire suppression systems and your data center disaster recovery plan How Moore's Law is clearing the way for Hyper-V 3.0 Seven steps to data center fire planning What is data center in a box? - Definition from Whatis.com
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Fire Sprinkler Head GuardSprinkler Cage Protectors In Stock - Same Day Shippingwww.BulkIndustries.com Cloud Tech Misting SystemOdour control,Dust control,mosquito control,Humidifiers,Misting Systemwww.cloudtec.in News Latest Headlines Facebook Open Compute Project a role model for data centers 'Big data' shops eye cheaper foursocket Intel Xeon servers Why Zynga moved from public cloud to hybrid cloud View All News Data Center Topics Topics
Data center systems management
IT process automation, data center automation, Server hardware monitoring, Application performance management, Configuration and change management tools, Data center capacity planning
Data center design and facilities
Data center design and construction, Data center energy efficiency, Data center backup power and power distribution, Data center cooling, Data center network cabling, Data center physical security and fire suppression
IBM System z and mainframe systems
Mainframe computer hardware, Mainframe jobs, Mainframe operating systems and management, Mainframe security and disaster recovery, Mainframe migration projects, Mainframe Linux, IBM System z
Data center server hardware and OSes
Linux servers, Microsoft Windows Server in the enterprise, x86 commodity rackmount servers, Unix servers, Blade servers, Server hardware packaging, recycling, e-waste, iSeries - data center, Data center systems concerns for value-added resellers (VARs)
Data center operations and best practices
Data center budget considerations, IT Compliance: SOX and HIPAA in the data center, IT Governance: ITIL, ITSM, COBIT, Managing data center outsourcing services, vendors, Data center standards and metrics
Data center hosted services
Data center outsourcing, colocation and cloud, Services in the cloud
Page 9 of 12
Data center jobs, professional development
Data center storage
Storage concerns in the data center, Storage hardware in the data center, Storage management in the data center
Server virtualization tips and trends
Data center server virtualization, Systems management for virtual servers

Data center disaster recovery
Data center networking
Network cabling, Network management strategies for the data center

Data Center Issues in the Channel
Storage Virtualization Hot Topics Data Center Strategies for the CIO Data center server hardware and OSes Data center design and facilities Data center systems management Tutorials Advice & Tutorials Mainframe utilities and terminology guide Data center energy efficiency guide Virtual Data Center E-zine Open source systems management tools slideshow: Special skills to use open source systems management Data center disaster recovery planning ITSM best practices and change management Virtualized data centers: A resource library Technology Dictionary Find definitions and links to technical resources Powered by WhatIs.com Expert Advice Tips Optimize data center virtualization with strategic capacity planning Changes to z/OS 1.13 help Java adoption and boost mainframe capacity Using overhead cables to tidy your data center: Ask the Expert podcast View All Tips
Answers Converting CPU hours to MIPS: Mainframe capacity planning process FM-200 systems: What data center managers need to know
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Which MQ Queue is related with which CICS transaction? View All Answers Ask a Question Get help from our technical community Powered by ITKnowledgeExchange.com Vendor Content Featured Transforming Your IT Infrastructure into a Next-Generation Data Center
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