Efficient use of energy in server rooms thanks to UPS systems
Cyber resilience in the server room was just one of the topics that Stefanie Gutleder, EPS Electric Power Systems GmbH, and Ralf Enderlin, Technical Division Manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Eaton Electric GmbH, talked about in the interview. In addition to the possible risk of a blackout in the course of the planned energy transition in Europe, the future of UPS systems, their features and the advantages of lithium-ion batteries were also discussed. The topic is always topical, as the recent storms in Europe and the associated power outages show.
We have just had a difficult Corona year with many restrictions. How do you estimate the impact of the crisis on the uninterruptible power supply market?
Business and service businesses are currently doing very well, because the Internet must continue to function despite the pandemic. Above all, service is an important issue, because a lot is invested in life-cycle replacement and batteries .
To what extent does the topic of blackout play a role in this?
It actually has an impact. While many large data centers are prepared for a blackout because they already have fail-safe A/B UPS systems and diesel generators, most small to medium-sized businesses don’t have this dual redundancy available. In the event of a prolonged power outage, such as a blackout, they would have no way of bridging the power outage for a longer period of time. Therefore, more is currently being invested in security through more available A/B UPS systems and redundancies.
What do you think, are we facing a blackout in Europe?
Not nationwide, but regionally, the danger is also present in Germany. We are working intensively on the energy transition, but I am not sure whether we have ensured the supply of electricity in such a way that the phase-out of nuclear power and the entry into renewable energies will work smoothly. Frankfurt, the data center city per se in Germany, is also reaching its limits. Yet this city is an Internet hub, also for Europe. Targeted cyber attacks, for example on the power supply of critical infrastructures, are also realistically conceivable.
Recently, there has been an increase in cases of cybercrime such as hacker attacks, cyber extortion or Theft of data. What do you recommend to data center operators?
Data center operators in particular have built up their own world in order not to allow access from outside. Our on-site service also usually does not have Internet access for their measuring equipment in the customer’s server room. But the issue is that you have to rethink the air conditioning and the UPS systems more and more as a precaution so that no failure happens. In many cases, this is only possible via remote monitoring. In the future, manufacturers must also be able to access their systems externally in order to be able to react quickly to tendencies of changes and warnings outside a permitted range. If you regularly implement updates on the fail-safe systems, you will also achieve secure access.
Conversely, this also means more responsibility for manufacturers and service providers.
Yes in any case. Eaton has already dealt with the topic with the new Gigabit network card, just like you at EPS do with your service customers. This gives us the opportunity to connect to the customer’s system with our devices and intervene if necessary, without exposing the customer to any danger.
You’re talking about managed service here.
Yes, we are talking about managed service: the manufacturer takes care of the security of the UPS system, and the customer can concentrate on his core business. This creates a win-win situation for all sides.
There is often talk of lithium-ion batteries, and Eaton has just launched a new UPS system with this battery. What can lithium-ion batteries do better? What role do they play in UPS systems?
The lithium-ion battery is already widely used in the automotive industry today. The advantage is that it doesn’t take up as much space and also has less weight. Their very good energy density also allows for more charging cycles than with a conventional lead-acid battery. In the future, UPS systems will not only be able to supply electricity in the event of a fault, but will also be able to participate in the energy supply themselves. Large battery systems located in data centers will be used more, for example, to participate in peak shaving, i.e. to compensate for load peaks. However, lithium-ion battery systems should not be underestimated either; you have to master them. If a fire occurs, this battery cannot simply be extinguished, but requires a lot of water to cool the system. For this reason, lithium-ion batteries have their own battery management system (BMS), which controls the charge and discharge itself if necessary.
What about the service? Can the operator service itself?
In the case of a lithium-ion battery, the BMS itself services. Of course, you can train your own technicians for this, or you can work with the manufacturers who know their own BMS inside out and also have experience.
In addition to new UPS models and battery technologies, the monitoring sector is also constantly evolving. What innovations can we expect in the near future?
We not only monitor with the UPS software, but we also control, i.e. we are already integrated into the virtual world. We remotely check the power quality in the data center, as well as the environmental conditions such as temperature, and can intervene today if necessary. A lot will happen in the monitoring area in the future. The pandemic in particular has shown that there is a need for remote monitoring in this area. Of course, customers have to become even more open to this. From the point of view of data protection, system security, and access rights alone, we manufacturers have many tasks to do. We want to give our customers and Ensure secure systems for IT managers and prevent hackers from accessing them in the first place.
Ralf, thank you very much for your time and the interview!
