KO your data center EPO
Here at AFCOM’s Data Center World show in Dallas, I went to a session on data center EPOs, which is short for Emergency Power Off. Basically it’s that big red button by the exit door in your data center that you should never, ever touch.
Better yet, don’t even put one in. Yes, you heard that right. The speaker, Richard Sawyer from EYP Misson Critical Facilities, said that some data centers don’t even need an EPO. It all relates to the difference between codes and standards as set out by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA). Codes you have to follow; standards, not so much.
So if you don’t have cables underneath a raised floor, have IT equipment cable boxes secured to your floor and don’t state that you’re following NFPA 75, you don’t need an EPO. Sawyer also went into how an EPO should be designed (think rotary switch instead of a button and with lots of horns and lights attached when you’re about to turn it) and what some are doing to try to change the federal codes around data center EPOs.
As part of his presentation, Sawyer talked about some of the disasters he has seen out there with data center EPOs. Among them: one EPO located directly behind a copy machine, so that if someone lifted the lid up, the button could get hit; another one had a Post-It Note attached that read, “Do Not Touch.” Sawyer relayed one story of a service technician who backed into an EPO while unpacking equipment in the data center. The cost: two mainframes, two minicomputers and 20 other servers failed; there was a two-hour outage; and the company ended up spending $100,000 to upgrade its EPO.
Tell us about your data center EPO disasters (or successes) in the comments section.
Posted: September 18th, 2007 under Data center physical infrastructure, Data center physical security, Data center user group news and info.
Mark,
Thanks for the note.
Could you please, elaborate, why NFPA75 mandates EPO, and what exactly the EPO is expected to do in the event of being activated?
With best regards… Saradhi.
Comment by Saradhi Motamarri — September 27, 2007 @ 12:38 am
Hi Saradhi. The main purpose for the EPO is so firefighters can immediately disconnect all power to a data center so they don’t have to worry about shock hazards from the IT equipment if there’s a fire in the facility.
Comment by Mark Fontecchio — September 27, 2007 @ 8:58 am
Hello everybody,
there is always a lot of discussion about what’s come first - human safety or uptime?? That’s right if EPO button - poorly designed guards a huge data centre of a hospital, and if accidentally activated, can cause more damage then good, so there is a time to evaluate its necessity. As a CE I have learned not to act too quick, and think about it - ‘’walk the problem’’.
We can all agree that we have to protect people that work on data centre floor. The only known to me design of EPO which allows all, both protection and uptime is the following:
1. EPO with normally open contacts and connection continuity monitoring. This design solves a problem with accidents caused by faults in wiring, cable breaks. EPO connected with flame retardant cable.
2. EPO with plexiglas cover, cover when lifted alerts data centre stuff, visually and with sound.
3. EPO which protects zone – a row or cube in data centre. Activation of fire extinguishing alarm in the specific zone, starts zone shutdown (all electrical sources, all air sources and load)
In this way we can do both, optimize human safety and limit downtime caused by faults related to EPO circuitry.
Comment by Hubert B. Kowalski — November 2, 2007 @ 2:57 am