Guidance or standard re installation of suppression systems in data centre??

[Messy]

Is there any guidance, RA methodolgy or accepted standard regarding the installation of suppression systems in data centres?

I am trying to put a business case together to persuade the management of a large data centre (supplied with only extinguishers) to consider changing from "We will live with the risk" attitude (although frankly, they do not understand the risk) to a more pragmatic approach. The type of system is not important at this time. It is required for business continuity reasons and not life safety.

I assume that the insurance industry or maybe some kind of IT trade group/association may have some kind of guidance or policy, but I have been unable to unearth such information from Google

I really would appreciate any assistance on this one

Thanks

[Mr. P]

Oxygen reducing system is good. depending on premises design and how built etc.

[Mike Buckley]

To a great extent it will depend on the type of business the data center is used for.

If the data center is purely for the business that owns it then it is very much up to them whether they wish to take the risk, all you can do is refer to the business continuity  issues and explain the actual value of the asset they have. Bear in mind that the actual cost of the equipment is minimal compared to the value of the data held, even if only based on the person hours used to get the data into the system. As an experiment you could isolate the top brass from their computers for a few days and let them see what happens.

If the business is using the data center to sort other people's data then you need to think about the sales pitch of how secure the center is and all the provisions to ensure the customers data is safe and always available.

[Tom Sutton]

Have you checked out BS 6266 : 2011 the descriptor says,

Descriptors   Fire safety, Fire safety in buildings, Electronic equipment and components, Electrical installations, Computer hardware, Data processing, Data processing equipment, Communication equipment, Equipment housing facilities, Computers, Risk assessment, Structural fire protection, Fire spread prevention, Fire resistance, Fire risks, Fire tests, Firefighting equipment, Fire detectors, Air-conditioning systems.

http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030189448

[Messy]

Thank you for the replies.

Trust me, for this business, this is a significantly important and high value data centre in terms of the amount of critical data stored and the massively expensive infrastructure that supports it.

Thanks Tom, The British standard is a very useful starting point for putting together the business case.

If anyone else has any pointers I would be much obliged

Thanks

[Dinnertime Dave]

Oxygen reducing system is good. depending on premises design and how built etc.

I agree, I have seen this used in a international banking centre.

[Tom Sutton]

Fire at Southampton Uni commuter research building some time ago may help with you arguments.

http://www.computerweekly.com/photostory/2240109849/Photos-Fire-at-University-of-Southampton-data-recovery/8/Melted-internal-components-University-of-Southampton-fire-data-recovery#contentCompress

[Messy]

I have been involved in two projects to install Hypoxic Air systems. I agree, if you can achieve the necessary compartment leakage rate and overcome staff fears of working in a reduced oxygen environment - its a terrific system with lots of advantages - especially when installing at a site with limited space for plant.

But do be prepared for huge consumption of power (to excessive levels) to feed these hungry compressors - much more than was envisaged. It is the costs associated with power consumption of HA system (versus cylinder replacement costs of a gas system and maintenance costs of a water mist system) that will make me very reluctant to recommend such equipment in future projects unless its a last resort.


Tom - thanks for the link

[wee brian]

Better still, get a duplicate server on another site.

[wedgie911]

Something to consider.

http://www.datacenterjournal.com/it/inert-gas-data-center-fire-protection-and-hard-disk-drive-damage/