In the vibrant suburb of Pitipana, just a
stone's throw away from the bustling city of Colombo, lies the nerve center of
Sri Lanka's digital landscape—the SLT Data Center. Embarking on a recent field
visit to this facility was like stepping into the nation's technological
infrastructure. It has opened a 500-rack, The new Data Centre in Pitipana is
constructed as a 3 storied building spanning an area of 2 Acres. The new DC
also provides competent infrastructure for the requirements of Enterprise
Customers Disaster Recovery (DR).
Why does it locate on Pitipana?
Choosing the right location for a data
center involves various factors. The geographic location must balance proximity
to users with considerations for natural disaster risks. Without any flood risk
is the main fact they consider the Pitipana. Accessibility via robust
transportation infrastructure is crucial for equipment delivery and
maintenance. Basically, they consider Four Lane Roads as transport facilities. The
Data Centre is 8.4 km from the nearest expressway exit. Arriving directly from
the Bandaranaike International Airport, investors or business travelers can
reach the Data Center via the expressway in as little as 45 minutes. Power
availability and reliability, including redundancy measures, play a pivotal
role in uninterrupted operations. Total 2.5MW power consumed by Data center. Climate
considerations impact cooling requirements, with an eye on energy efficiency to
minimize environmental impact.
Tier III data center
SLTMobitel, the proud pioneer of data
center services in the country, introduces state-of-the-art facilities that
align with global standards. With certifications including Uptime Data Center
Tier, Green Gold, ISO 27001 for information security, and ISO 9001 for Quality
Management System, SLTMobitel ensures excellence in its data center offerings.
Your IT workload will be co-located with purpose in a Tier III data center,
reflecting our commitment to providing top-tier services.
Data centers are classified into tiers
based on the Uptime Institute's Tier Classification System, which is widely
recognized in the industry. The system provides a standardized method for
evaluating and classifying data center infrastructure based on its reliability,
redundancy, and availability. The tiers range from Tier I to Tier IV, with each
tier representing a level of resilience and fault tolerance.
Tier I: Basic Capacity
Availability: 99.671%
Tier I data centers have a basic level of
infrastructure with minimal redundancy. They are susceptible to disruptions for
planned maintenance or unexpected events.
Tier II: Redundant Capacity Components
Availability: 99.741%
Tier II data centers have increased
redundancy compared to Tier I, providing some fault tolerance. They include
redundant components for key systems, allowing for maintenance without
downtime.
Tier III: Concurrently Maintainable
Availability: 99.982%
Tier III data centers have multiple,
independent distribution paths for power and cooling, ensuring that equipment
maintenance can be performed without disrupting operations. They offer a higher
level of fault tolerance.
Tier IV: Fault Tolerance
Availability: 99.995%
Tier IV data centers provide the highest
level of reliability and fault tolerance. They have redundant components and
systems, and they can withstand a single point of failure without affecting
operations. Tier IV facilities are designed to handle the most critical and
sensitive operations.
These tiers are not just about reliability;
they also have implications for the design, construction, and operational
procedures of a data center. The higher the tier, the more resilient the data
center is to disruptions and the more costly it is to build and maintain. SLTMobitel
stands out as a leading provider dedicated to meeting the highest industry
standards. The commitment to excellence is evident in the meticulous care taken
with your IT workload, ensuring it is strategically co-located within a Tier
III data center. This designation signifies a facility designed for optimal
reliability, featuring redundant systems and multiple distribution paths to
guarantee operational continuity.
Carrier Neutral Data Center
A Carrier Neutral Data Center (CNDC)
represents a cutting-edge approach to data infrastructure, offering businesses
the freedom to select from a variety of telecommunications carriers without any
exclusive affiliations. Recently SLT has provided this service to Dialog and
Lankacom.
This model fosters a competitive
environment within the facility, encouraging multiple carriers to co-locate
their network equipment. The result is a diverse eco-system where clients can
choose the telecommunications providers that best align with their connectivity
requirements in terms of bandwidth, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
Within a Carrier Neutral Data Center,
clients benefit from the flexibility to establish direct connections with
various carriers, internet service providers (ISPs), content delivery networks
(CDNs), and other network service providers. The competitive landscape within a
Carrier Neutral Data Center often translates into cost savings for clients.
3+1 redundant UPS system by Schneider Electric
The 3+1 redundant UPS system by Schneider
Electric stands as a pinnacle of reliability and high availability in power
management solutions. In this configuration, three active UPS modules operate
in parallel, collectively supporting the critical load, while an additional
fourth module stands ready as a redundant unit. This design ensures seamless
continuity in the face of module failure or maintenance requirements,
minimizing the risk of power interruptions and fortifying overall system
reliability.
N equals the amount of capacity required to
power or cool the data center facility at full IT load. A design of N means the
facility was designed only to account for the facility at full load and zero
redundancy has been added. If the facility is at full load and there is a
component failure or required maintenance, mission critical applications would
suffer. N is the same as non-redundant.
If N equals the amount needed to run the
data center facility N+1 provides minimal reliability by adding a component to
support a single failure or requirement of that component. Imagine you're
hosting a virtual meeting, and you anticipate having 50 participants. Applying
the N+1 principle here would mean preparing for an additional participant, just
in case more people join the meeting. So, "N" in this scenario
represents the expected number of participants (50), and the additional
participant is the " +1". Therefore, you set up the virtual meeting
for N+1 or 51 participants, ensuring that you're well-prepared for any
unexpected increase in attendance.
Let's consider a scenario where a
manufacturing facility has a total energy demand of 800 megawatts (MW), and
each power generator can handle 400 MW. Following the N+1 redundancy principle,
the facility would require two power generators of 400 MW each (N=800 MW,
N+1=1,200 MW). This redundancy ensures that even if one generator is undergoing
maintenance, the facility can still meet its energy demand using the remaining
operational generator, maintaining an uninterrupted power supply of 800 MW.
Schneider Electric's modular UPS system
excels in adaptability, with independent modules for easy scalability and
simplified maintenance. Automatic bypass features enhance reliability, ensuring
uninterrupted power to critical loads. Advanced monitoring and remote
management offer real-time insights and control for proactive maintenance.
Emphasizing energy efficiency through Eco Mode, Schneider Electric's 3+1
redundant UPS system provides reliable backup power, safeguarding critical
operations from unforeseen disruptions.
Empowered by water-cooled chiller system.
This device removes heat from a load and transfers it to the environment using a refrigeration system. This heat transfer device is the preferable cooling machine in power plants and other large-scale facilities. It is simply a system consisting of ethylene + water or water reservoir and circulation components. The cooling fluid is circulated from the reservoir to the equipment undercooling. There are also air-cooled chillers, which disperse heat-using fans.
Water cooled chiller systems have a cooling tower, thus they feature higher efficiency than air-cooled chillers. Water cooled chiller is more efficient because it condenses depending on the ambient temperature bulb temperature, which is lower than the ambient dry bulb temperature. The lower a chiller condenses, the more efficient it is. This system has several essential components including:
- Cooling towers
- Condenser water pumps
- Make-up water pumps
- Chillers
- TES reservoirs
What are the benefits of a water-cooled
chiller? These chillers also feature higher efficiency and last longer than the
mentioned alternative. Those who would like the equipment to be placed indoors
may find the water-cooled machine desirable. the Water-Cooled Chiller is ensuring
the reliability, efficiency, and sustainability of a modern data center. Its
role in managing heat, optimizing energy consumption, and providing a scalable
and reliable cooling solution highlights its indispensability in the design and
operation of contemporary data centers.
SLT Data Center HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) Systems
As I walked through the rows of racks in
the data center, I noticed two types of aisles – one receiving cool air and the
other expelling hot air from the IT equipment. Traditionally, the strategy was
to let the air flow without any containment, assuming that pushing cool air up
through the raised floor would reach the racks before mixing with the hot air.
However, as the heat generated by each rack increased, this uncontained
approach became inefficient. Before diving into more effective solutions, let's
first explore the concept of raised floors.
In larger data centers using air-cooled
systems, raised floors are commonly used. Cold air is sent to the underfloor
space and then supplied to IT equipment through tiny holes in specific floor
tiles. This cold air flows through the perforated tiles, enters the servers,
picks up heat, and rises above the servers. The HVAC units draw the warmed air
back into the cooling system, ensuring a consistent airflow pattern as server
racks all face the same direction.
Proper air management in data centers
requires keeping cold and hot air from mixing. It's essential that cold supply
air enters IT equipment without mixing with hot exhaust, and that heat is
efficiently returned to the cooling system without mixing with cold air. This
involves delivering cold supply air in one passage and removing warm return air
in another. Server racks are strategically arranged so that cool air flows
through them, absorbing heat before being discharged into the hot aisle. Warm
air from the hot aisle is drawn back to the cooling unit, transferring heat
from IT equipment to the cooling coil.
Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)
Cisco ACI, short for Application Centric
Infrastructure, is a game-changer for managing SLT data center. It simplifies
things and beefs up security by taking a centralized and application-focused
approach. This means businesses can use automation and set policies to run IT
operations smoothly and speed up their digital transformation. Now, let's dive
into the nitty-gritty of measuring the return on investment (ROI) when
organizations decide to roll out Cisco ACI.
Cisco ACI is that it gives you a total view
of your data center network. That includes everything from the physical and
virtual infrastructure to applications and services. This big-picture view
helps organizations simplify how they run their networks, cut down on
complexity, and boost their ability to adapt quickly. Cisco ACI also brings in
a new way of handling networks through policies. This lets organizations set
and enforce rules across the whole network, ensuring that applications perform
consistently and stay secure, no matter where they're running.
One more cool thing about Cisco ACI is that
it plays nice with multi-cloud setups. So, if an organization uses different
cloud services, Cisco ACI lets them apply the same rules and security controls
everywhere. This is a big deal because it keeps things consistent across
various cloud platforms. Now, let's talk about the return on investment (ROI).
When you put Cisco ACI into action, the benefits go beyond just working more
efficiently. It actually helps cut down on operational costs, speeds up how
fast applications get up and running, and boosts overall productivity. Since
Cisco ACI offers a comprehensive and unified way to manage networks, it helps
organizations make the most out of their IT investments.
The SLT Data Center stands as a testament
to the pivotal role it plays in shaping the digital landscape of Sri Lanka. As
the gateway to the nation's data-driven future, the facility serves as the
backbone for telecommunications, connecting millions of users and businesses
with seamless precision. My journey into the heart of this technological hub
promised to shed light on the complexities of data management and the
innovations driving Sri Lanka's digital evolution.
The visit to SLT Data Center in Pitipana has explained the critical role such facilities play in steering a nation towards a digitally progressive future. The marriage of cutting-edge technology, environmental awareness, and unwavering security measures emphasizes the center's commitment to quality. As I step out of the Data center, I carry with me a new understanding of the unseen forces that keep our digital world in motion. The SLT Data Center stands not just as a technological powerhouse but as a symbol of Sri Lanka's readiness to embrace and shape the digital future.
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