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They did not have a fire suppression system, only smoke detection. So yeah, they missed something.

by rgj 6y ago

iagovar 6y ago
Where did you get this?
- rgj 6y ago
  https://www.ovh.com/world/us/about-us/datacenters.xml https://www.ovh.com/world/us/about-us/datacenters.xml
  - draugadrotten 6y ago
    They say different here: "The rooms are also equipped with state of the art fire detection and extinction systems." https://www.ovh.com/world/solutions/centres-de-donnees.xml https://www.ovh.com/world/solutions/centres-de-donnees.xml and here "Every data center room is fitted with a fire detection and extinction system, as well as fire doors. OVHcloud complies with the APSAD R4 rule for the installation of mobile and portable fire extinguishers and has the N4 certificate of conformity for all our data centers." https://us.ovhcloud.com/about/company/security https://us.ovhcloud.com/about/company/security
    - sofixa 6y ago
      That's for its North America DCs, not European ones.
kuschku 6y ago
Which is understandable, as Halon based fire suppression systems have been illegal for quite some time :/
- weeeeelp 6y ago
  There are non-Halon systems, using agents such as FM-200. Those are not as toxic and do not destroy the ozone layer.
lorenzhs 6y ago
There are photos of the fire suppression system in one of their data centres in this (French) forum thread: https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-incendie https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-inc.... They have sprinklers, with the reasoning being that the burning racks' data is gone anyway if there's a fire, and at least sprinklers don't accidentally kill the technicians.
- Faaak 6y ago
  Sprinklers are only present in OVH Canada datacenter ! There are no sprinklers in Europe ones.
  - mwcampbell 6y ago
    Given that they're headquartered in Europe and most popular there, why is the satellite location better? Is it because the Canadian data center is newer, because Canada has stronger regulations in this area, or something else? Also, does anyone know how the OVH US data centers compare?
    - sofixa 6y ago
      According to a 2013 forum post by the now CEO of Scaleway, a competitor of OVH, it's due to North American building regulations that basically force you into sprinklers and stuff for insurance reasons. Source in French: https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-incendie/msg80633/#msg80633 https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-inc...
- 35fbe7d3d5b9 6y ago
  > They have sprinklers, with the reasoning being that the burning racks' data is gone anyway if there's a fire I think the real problem, per that post, is this: >> They are simple sprinklers that spray with water. It has nothing to do with very high pressure misting systems, where water evaporates instantly, and which save servers. Here, it's watering, and all the servers are dead. It's designed like that. Astonishing, isn't it? >> Obviously, they rely above all on humans to extinguish a possible fire, unlike all conventional data centers. (all thanks to Google Translate) This strikes me as a terrible safety system because even if a human managed to detect the fire, they have to make a big call: is the risk of flooding the facility and destroying a ton of gear worth putting out a fire? By the time the human decides "yes, it is", it may well be too late for the sprinklers. > and at least sprinklers don't accidentally kill the technicians. Not a real risk with modern 1:1 argon:nitrogen systems – the goal is to pump in inert gases and reduce oxygen content to around 13%, a point where the fire is suppressed and people can survive. You wouldn't want to be in a room breathing 13% oxygen for a long time, but it won't kill you. All in all, it looks like this was a "normal accident"[1] for a hosting company that aggressively competes on price. The data center was therefore built with less expensive safeties and carried a higher risk of catastrophic failure. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents
AdamJacobMuller 6y ago
> They did not have a fire suppression system I find it very hard to believe that that would pass code anywhere in the US/EU or most of the world. They may not have had sprinklers but that doesn't mean there isn't fire suppression.
- sofixa 6y ago
  According to a forum post discussing the building of said DC, with photos and such, there's no visible fire suppression system: https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-incendie/msg80633/#msg80633 https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-inc...
  - AdamJacobMuller 6y ago
    The floors are plywood and it's built with wood frame construction. I retract all my prior surprise that this place burned down.

They did not have a fire suppression system, only smoke detection. So yeah, they missed something.

by rgj 6y ago

They did not have a fire suppression system, only smoke detection. So yeah, they missed something.

iagovar 6y ago

Where did you get this?

rgj 6y ago
https://www.ovh.com/world/us/about-us/datacenters.xml https://www.ovh.com/world/us/about-us/datacenters.xml
- draugadrotten 6y ago
  They say different here: "The rooms are also equipped with state of the art fire detection and extinction systems." https://www.ovh.com/world/solutions/centres-de-donnees.xml https://www.ovh.com/world/solutions/centres-de-donnees.xml and here "Every data center room is fitted with a fire detection and extinction system, as well as fire doors. OVHcloud complies with the APSAD R4 rule for the installation of mobile and portable fire extinguishers and has the N4 certificate of conformity for all our data centers." https://us.ovhcloud.com/about/company/security https://us.ovhcloud.com/about/company/security
  - sofixa 6y ago
    That's for its North America DCs, not European ones.

kuschku 6y ago

Which is understandable, as Halon based fire suppression systems have been illegal for quite some time :/

weeeeelp 6y ago
There are non-Halon systems, using agents such as FM-200. Those are not as toxic and do not destroy the ozone layer.

lorenzhs 6y ago

There are photos of the fire suppression system in one of their data centres in this (French) forum thread: https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-incendie https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-inc.... They have sprinklers, with the reasoning being that the burning racks' data is gone anyway if there's a fire, and at least sprinklers don't accidentally kill the technicians.

Faaak 6y ago
Sprinklers are only present in OVH Canada datacenter ! There are no sprinklers in Europe ones.
- mwcampbell 6y ago
  Given that they're headquartered in Europe and most popular there, why is the satellite location better? Is it because the Canadian data center is newer, because Canada has stronger regulations in this area, or something else? Also, does anyone know how the OVH US data centers compare?
  - sofixa 6y ago
    According to a 2013 forum post by the now CEO of Scaleway, a competitor of OVH, it's due to North American building regulations that basically force you into sprinklers and stuff for insurance reasons. Source in French: https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-incendie/msg80633/#msg80633 https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-inc...
35fbe7d3d5b9 6y ago
> They have sprinklers, with the reasoning being that the burning racks' data is gone anyway if there's a fire I think the real problem, per that post, is this: >> They are simple sprinklers that spray with water. It has nothing to do with very high pressure misting systems, where water evaporates instantly, and which save servers. Here, it's watering, and all the servers are dead. It's designed like that. Astonishing, isn't it? >> Obviously, they rely above all on humans to extinguish a possible fire, unlike all conventional data centers. (all thanks to Google Translate) This strikes me as a terrible safety system because even if a human managed to detect the fire, they have to make a big call: is the risk of flooding the facility and destroying a ton of gear worth putting out a fire? By the time the human decides "yes, it is", it may well be too late for the sprinklers. > and at least sprinklers don't accidentally kill the technicians. Not a real risk with modern 1:1 argon:nitrogen systems – the goal is to pump in inert gases and reduce oxygen content to around 13%, a point where the fire is suppressed and people can survive. You wouldn't want to be in a room breathing 13% oxygen for a long time, but it won't kill you. All in all, it looks like this was a "normal accident"[1] for a hosting company that aggressively competes on price. The data center was therefore built with less expensive safeties and carried a higher risk of catastrophic failure. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_Accidents

AdamJacobMuller 6y ago

> They did not have a fire suppression system I find it very hard to believe that that would pass code anywhere in the US/EU or most of the world. They may not have had sprinklers but that doesn't mean there isn't fire suppression.

sofixa 6y ago
According to a forum post discussing the building of said DC, with photos and such, there's no visible fire suppression system: https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-incendie/msg80633/#msg80633 https://lafibre.info/ovh-datacenter/ovh-et-la-protection-inc...
- AdamJacobMuller 6y ago
  The floors are plywood and it's built with wood frame construction. I retract all my prior surprise that this place burned down.