Data Centers have become instrumental in the current digital economy. From online banking and cloud computing to healthcare systems and eCommerce sites, virtually every industry will be relying on unbroken processing of data in order to operate successfully. If a system goes down for a few seconds, the loss of data, revenue loss , and damage to a company’s reputation may occur. As a result, solutions for backup power for data centers are necessary to maintain operational continuity.
Many institutions have found that they can save money by using rental-based solutions for backup power, rather than building out permanent infrastructure to address their temporary (short-term, or emergency) power requirements.
Why Data Centers Need Reliable Backup Power
Data centers run 24/7 and support mission-critical applications. Unique aspects of their operations create a distinctive profile of power usage:
- High-density server racks
- Continuous cooling systems
- Network infrastructure
- Security systems
- Monitoring systems
Any form of power fluctuation, outage, or voltage instability can interfere with all of these components, which ultimately leads to degraded performance or failure of sensitive equipment. Having reliable backup systems will allow for an uninterrupted transition from the electric grid to backup generator power during an electric grid outage or during scheduled system maintenance.
What is Data Center Backup Power Rental?
Data center backup power rental are the temporary provisioning of high-capacity tree UPS (Uninterrupted Power Systems) and other power generation equipment that is used to ensure access to electricity for data centers. The benefits associated with backup rentals include:
- Immediate power availability in case of an electricity outage
- Voltage regulation
- Protection from power surges
- Load balancing
- Backup redundancy/failover for emergency operations
Backup rental solutions are appropriate to use when upgrading existing infrastructure, performing maintenance shutdowns of existing operations, performing DR (disaster recovery) planning, or in response to an unexpected power failure.
When to Use Backup Power Rental Solutions?
Infrastructure Expansion
When data centers expand, they require upgrades to their permanent systems. For example, if an organization is adding new server racks at a data center, the data center will require building a new facility to house the new server racks; however, the current operating data center may require that new systems be manufactured and installed prior to the installation and testing of the new server racks. The solution, therefore, is to rent the additional operational backup until permanent upgrades can be completed.
Disaster Recovery Planning
As we have seen with recent natural disasters or instability in the electric grid, accidents happen; therefore, a DRC (disaster recovery) plan must be developed to mitigate any actual business interruptions from developing, such as loss of data.
Rental solutions provide an extra level of protection in emergency situations.
When Equipment Fails
If a UPS system fails, a rental system will allow you to replace or supplement it quickly, reducing downtime.
For projects with short durations
There is usually a requirement for scalable backup power in temporary data centers or mobile data centers without having to make a long, term commitment.
Capital Power Backup and similar companies help clients implement structured and dependable temporary solutions that are in line with their functional requirements.
The Key Components of a Rental Backup Power System
A properly planned data center backup power rental solution usually includes:
High Capacity UPS Systems
The purpose of a UPS system is to provide immediate backup during an outage and to protect against issues caused by voltage irregularities.
Batteries
New battery systems are designed to provide backup for critical loads for extended or sustained periods.
Power Distribution Units (PDU)
PDUs distribute power from UPS systems to server racks and overall infrastructure in an efficient way by ensuring that the power is balanced across all of the racks as well as to the entire data center.
Generators
Generators are often used in conjunction with UPS systems to provide backup power for the long term during prolonged outages.
Monitoring Systems
With the use of real-time monitoring of the performance metrics of your backup power systems, you can prevent overload or failure of your systems.
The Benefits of Data Center Backup Power Rental
Continuous Operation
Rental systems will minimize downtime during maintenance or unanticipated failures and will provide continuous service delivery.
Financial Flexibility
Organizations can better manage their budgets with rental solutions offering the opportunity to utilize rental solutions instead of an upfront large capital expense.
Rapid Deployment
Organizations require rapid solutions to respond in an emergency situation. Rental vendors have the ability to quickly install and configure a rental system.
Scalability
As your demand for power is increased or decreased, you can scale your rental solution to match your current requirements.
Assistance for Professionals
Those providing professional services will have access to 24 hours a day, seven days a week monitoring of technical issues and help from technical support so that their systems can perform successfully at any time.
Organizations that use data to fuel their business can also depend on backup providers such as Capital Power Backup, who will provide structured rental solutions to help meet your high-volume customer needs.
Technical Considerations for the Data Centre
Below are some of the things to consider when evaluating rental options:
- TI load capacity
- Information Technology redundancy needs (N-plus-one and twice-redundant configurations)
- Expectation of run time,
- Cooling requirements (in kilowatts) of cooling equipment
- Place to install the equipment required.
Whether there is a reasonable chance that the proposed solution will meet industry standards of safety.
Through the performance of a complete load study, it is possible to ensure that the equipment you select will meet the infrastructure requirements of your business and meet any additional needs with no chance of adding an additional load, and no chance of being unable to support an additional load.
The Role of Redundancy in Data Centers
Redundancy is a significant part of ensuring uptime. Most data centre businesses will have developed a classification of their facilities based on the number of Tier levels of fault tolerance of their data center. During an upgrade or maintenance to a facility, rental solutions can assist in maintaining redundancy. If more than one power pathway has been configured to the backup solution, then if one is being worked on, the other will continue to provide uninterrupted power to the equipment.
How Rental Solutions Mitigate Risk
When it comes to downtime, the cost to your organization varies depending upon the industry; but in some cases, just one day of downtime can equal over $1M of lost revenue. The primary use of rental solutions will help decrease your risk during:
- Hardware Failure
- Power Grid Instability
- Natural Disasters
- Human Error
- Unexpected Increase in Load
By including temporary backup systems into your risk management plan, you will improve your organization’s resiliency and service reliability for the end user.
Emerging Trends of Backup Power Solutions
As companies are becoming increasingly reliant on cloud computing solutions and utilizing artificial intelligence more, demand for reliable, affordable and sustainable data centres will continue to grow exponentially; therefore, here are some of the more prevalent emerging trends:
- Integration of Lithium Ion Batteries
- Implementation of Smart Monitoring, and Diagnostic from a Distance,
- Implementation of Modular & Containerized Power Systems
- Implementation of Methods to Optimize Energy
- Sharing Renewable Energy Solutions with Backup Power
These trends will result in rental solutions being much more effective for addressing today's and tomorrow's varying needs for digital infrastructures.
Conclusion
In terms of protecting an organization’s equipment and entire IT operations, utilizing reliable and professional rental backup power solutions will in some fashion provide the longest period possible to ensure that there is no loss of digital business transactions and protect digital sensitive data.
When combined with companies such as Capital Power Backup, your organization can create useful, reliable, and flexible backup strategies for your data center.
In an economy where digital continuity will have an upward or downward impact on a company's performance, continued investment in a redundant, scalable and reliable backup solution for power will be mandatory.
When you provide your organization with a stable, uninterrupted power supply today, you are helping to ensure the organization’s productivity and long-term success for the future of the organization.