4 ms·

Did anyone else think of the scene in Sunshine where Chris Evans gets stuck under the computer that's being lowered into fluid and freezes to death? The mechan

Did anyone else think of the scene in Sunshine where Chris Evans gets stuck under the computer that's being lowered into fluid and freezes to death? The mechanism for making "the hot aisle" temporarily habitable fails, you get stuck on/in something and can't get out in time.... Life imitates art.

cperciva 15y ago
I think you're overstating the dangers a bit. A hot aisle might be uncomfortable and not a place you'd want to spend many hours, but it isn't going to kill you quickly. If by some series of amazing coincidences you managed to get stuck in one with no way to call for help, you could just start unplugging servers until someone came to investigate and rescue you.
- mmmooo 15y ago
  speaking as someone who has been inside a "hot" datacenter of a few thousand servers (after a failed ac system which didn't trip the alarms for a few hours), uncomfortable does not really begin to cover it. The extremely dry, hot air was quiet difficult to breathe, and being inside for more then a couple of minutes at a time was pretty much impossible. Definitely not the same experience as sitting in a hot aisle. It has been a number of years, but I believe the thermometers read close to 100F at the time.
  - dennisgorelik 15y ago
    If I'm not mistaken, humans can live in 100F dry air non-stop (with enough water to drink, of course). 100F is about human body temperature. Could it be that hot datacenters have some poisonous gases evaporated into the air?
  - jonhohle 15y ago
    I wouldnt be worried about more than a few minutes. Millions of people live in climates where it gets above 100F for a significant part of the year. I used to go for hour long runs over lunch in Phoenix during the summer. Typically 100-107F. Dry/arid is actually preferable to humid ("yeah, but it's a dry heat").
    - mmmooo 15y ago
      I'm not saying that 100+F degree air is not livable, just relaying non-medical personal experience. I'm not doubting there were other factors, other then the heat, but it was more then just unpleasant. I've been to arizona in the summer (though I'll admit, I didn't go for long runs), but being inside that datacenter was considerably worse. Could have been the shock/drastic temperature difference though, I suppose.
- gmaslov 15y ago
  Of course, in "hot" data centers today the environment is no more dangerous than a nice sauna, but this development makes me imagine what it might progress to in 10 or 20 years. This is the first small step across that threshold between "comfortable for humans" and "comfortable for machines" in data centers, and the first such step is usually the hardest one. If it's more efficient to run the servers in an even hotter environment, or in one that's less-habitable in some other way, you can probably expect it to happen, now that the baseline technology and ideas are here. Not that I'm trying to seriously forecast anything, or have any special knowledge of data center design; this is just a pleasant exercise in near-future sci-fi.
  - bengl3rt 15y ago
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeJ0LLsr3sM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeJ0LLsr3sM Chris Evans in Sunshine dies as he gets stuck under a computer tower which is being lowered back into its freezing cold fluid.
- cd34 15y ago
  Years ago a data center outside DC in Silicon Alley had an A/C failure. Our equipment was reporting temps of 140F on intake. We were allowed 10 minutes in, one person doing work, another observer, both required to have squirt water bottles and a two-way radio. We were instructed not to carry anything and to use a cart. We were told not to remove equipment that weighed more than a few pounds. I pulled 10 drives so we could run them to another data center as a 'just in case'. The guy I was with passed out about 60' from the door. The air temp outside was ~72F and they had portable hurricane fans blowing air into the data center. In that ten minutes, I drank 32 ounces of water. I remember that because I went to pick him up, kicked my water bottle by accident and it fell over because it was empty. He spent 30 minutes in an ambulance, about three hours in a hospital from 10 minutes exposure. It took me about two hours to recover to the point where I felt I could eat. Don't lose respect for heat. :)
  - cpeterso 15y ago
    You guys deserve hazard pay. :)
  - dennisgorelik 15y ago
    Saunas have 70C - 100C temperature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna You had only 60C (140F). Fainting after just 10 minutes in 60C is too fast. BTW, most likely reason your friend spent time in ambulance and hospital is because your employer wanted to be on the safe side, not because your friend really needed it.
    - cd34 15y ago
      I'm reasonably sure the air temp wasn't 140F in the data center, but, he had Heat Stroke or Hyperthermia. He did collapse and I remember calling for help on the radio when I saw him go down. In the space of about 10 seconds when he said he was feeling weak, he went from looking flushed to pale as a ghost and bam, he was on the ground. He was wheeled off in a stretcher and I remember sitting in the back of the ambulance with him. After 30 minutes, he was still not feeling well and reluctantly accepted the hospital visit. He and I were business partners and this was one of our management contracts. It was ultimately his decision with my strong recommendation to go to the hospital since he was still weak. The paramedics offered ten more minutes on site, but, he opted for the hospital. We were young and dumb, now I'm not so young. Faced with the same situation today, I doubt I would do it again and I certainly wouldn't force an employee to do it.
nakkiel 15y ago
I used to work at the CSTJF in Pau, France which is one of Total's biggest cluster (if not the biggest). Their data-center was ranked 91 in the top-100 at the time. In the event of a fire, they have (had?) a system that would release a gaz in the data-center that would "eat" oxygen so that the said fire would die. Obviously any living creatures trapped in the data-center would die as well. The evacuation time before release was perhaps something like 30 to 60 seconds (I can't remember that). Just enough to drop anything and reach one of the safe corridor where no gaz is released.
- cd34 15y ago
  Halon 1301 is the gas that used to be used which was banned in the 90s. Most inert gas fire suppression systems use HFCs or Ketones now and have a ten minute hold time. They work by displacing the oxygen and reducing it to <10% which is not enough to support flame - or life. In '86, I was in a data center that had expanded to take up 70% more space. During the expansion, emergency lighting hadn't been put up. During expansion, a 470 volt three-phase line had been put in, the insulation had been stripped off while they were pulling it through the conduit. As it heated up, gas or vapors from the melted insulation built up and the 1/4" thick conduit was ripped open with roughly an 8" hole and an explosion people on the first floor heard (computer room was in the basement). One of the operators panicked, tripped over the anti static carpet, ripped the Fire Suppression box off the wall and pulled the Halon. He stumbled out the automatic sliding glass doors and hit the EPO leaving the data center completely dark with me about 120' from the door in pitch black. I had walked those corridors between the drives hundreds of times, but, had difficulty finding the path. Time was running out, so, I stood on one of the minicomputers, moved one of the drop ceiling tiles and stuck my head into the return air plenum and the Halon went off. It was noisy, sort of a giant whoosh with a low rumble and a very odd smell. I don't know how long I stood there, but, it wasn't more than a few minutes before a flashlight was shining on me with a Fireman in full gear. After that, we had emergency lighting and oxygen tanks throughout and the Halon system was upgraded. When the tanks were refilled, they did the math and noticed that the amount of Halon we had wasn't enough for the expanded data center and probably wouldn't have extinguished a fire. Most humorous moment - seeing firemen walk through the data center with axes in hand looking for fire.

cperciva 15y ago

I think you're overstating the dangers a bit. A hot aisle might be uncomfortable and not a place you'd want to spend many hours, but it isn't going to kill you quickly. If by some series of amazing coincidences you managed to get stuck in one with no way to call for help, you could just start unplugging servers until someone came to investigate and rescue you.

mmmooo 15y ago
speaking as someone who has been inside a "hot" datacenter of a few thousand servers (after a failed ac system which didn't trip the alarms for a few hours), uncomfortable does not really begin to cover it. The extremely dry, hot air was quiet difficult to breathe, and being inside for more then a couple of minutes at a time was pretty much impossible. Definitely not the same experience as sitting in a hot aisle. It has been a number of years, but I believe the thermometers read close to 100F at the time.
- dennisgorelik 15y ago
  If I'm not mistaken, humans can live in 100F dry air non-stop (with enough water to drink, of course). 100F is about human body temperature. Could it be that hot datacenters have some poisonous gases evaporated into the air?
- jonhohle 15y ago
  I wouldnt be worried about more than a few minutes. Millions of people live in climates where it gets above 100F for a significant part of the year. I used to go for hour long runs over lunch in Phoenix during the summer. Typically 100-107F. Dry/arid is actually preferable to humid ("yeah, but it's a dry heat").
  - mmmooo 15y ago
    I'm not saying that 100+F degree air is not livable, just relaying non-medical personal experience. I'm not doubting there were other factors, other then the heat, but it was more then just unpleasant. I've been to arizona in the summer (though I'll admit, I didn't go for long runs), but being inside that datacenter was considerably worse. Could have been the shock/drastic temperature difference though, I suppose.
gmaslov 15y ago
Of course, in "hot" data centers today the environment is no more dangerous than a nice sauna, but this development makes me imagine what it might progress to in 10 or 20 years. This is the first small step across that threshold between "comfortable for humans" and "comfortable for machines" in data centers, and the first such step is usually the hardest one. If it's more efficient to run the servers in an even hotter environment, or in one that's less-habitable in some other way, you can probably expect it to happen, now that the baseline technology and ideas are here. Not that I'm trying to seriously forecast anything, or have any special knowledge of data center design; this is just a pleasant exercise in near-future sci-fi.
- bengl3rt 15y ago
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeJ0LLsr3sM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeJ0LLsr3sM Chris Evans in Sunshine dies as he gets stuck under a computer tower which is being lowered back into its freezing cold fluid.
cd34 15y ago
Years ago a data center outside DC in Silicon Alley had an A/C failure. Our equipment was reporting temps of 140F on intake. We were allowed 10 minutes in, one person doing work, another observer, both required to have squirt water bottles and a two-way radio. We were instructed not to carry anything and to use a cart. We were told not to remove equipment that weighed more than a few pounds. I pulled 10 drives so we could run them to another data center as a 'just in case'. The guy I was with passed out about 60' from the door. The air temp outside was ~72F and they had portable hurricane fans blowing air into the data center. In that ten minutes, I drank 32 ounces of water. I remember that because I went to pick him up, kicked my water bottle by accident and it fell over because it was empty. He spent 30 minutes in an ambulance, about three hours in a hospital from 10 minutes exposure. It took me about two hours to recover to the point where I felt I could eat. Don't lose respect for heat. :)
- cpeterso 15y ago
  You guys deserve hazard pay. :)
- dennisgorelik 15y ago
  Saunas have 70C - 100C temperature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna You had only 60C (140F). Fainting after just 10 minutes in 60C is too fast. BTW, most likely reason your friend spent time in ambulance and hospital is because your employer wanted to be on the safe side, not because your friend really needed it.
  - cd34 15y ago
    I'm reasonably sure the air temp wasn't 140F in the data center, but, he had Heat Stroke or Hyperthermia. He did collapse and I remember calling for help on the radio when I saw him go down. In the space of about 10 seconds when he said he was feeling weak, he went from looking flushed to pale as a ghost and bam, he was on the ground. He was wheeled off in a stretcher and I remember sitting in the back of the ambulance with him. After 30 minutes, he was still not feeling well and reluctantly accepted the hospital visit. He and I were business partners and this was one of our management contracts. It was ultimately his decision with my strong recommendation to go to the hospital since he was still weak. The paramedics offered ten more minutes on site, but, he opted for the hospital. We were young and dumb, now I'm not so young. Faced with the same situation today, I doubt I would do it again and I certainly wouldn't force an employee to do it.

nakkiel 15y ago

I used to work at the CSTJF in Pau, France which is one of Total's biggest cluster (if not the biggest). Their data-center was ranked 91 in the top-100 at the time. In the event of a fire, they have (had?) a system that would release a gaz in the data-center that would "eat" oxygen so that the said fire would die. Obviously any living creatures trapped in the data-center would die as well. The evacuation time before release was perhaps something like 30 to 60 seconds (I can't remember that). Just enough to drop anything and reach one of the safe corridor where no gaz is released.

cd34 15y ago
Halon 1301 is the gas that used to be used which was banned in the 90s. Most inert gas fire suppression systems use HFCs or Ketones now and have a ten minute hold time. They work by displacing the oxygen and reducing it to <10% which is not enough to support flame - or life. In '86, I was in a data center that had expanded to take up 70% more space. During the expansion, emergency lighting hadn't been put up. During expansion, a 470 volt three-phase line had been put in, the insulation had been stripped off while they were pulling it through the conduit. As it heated up, gas or vapors from the melted insulation built up and the 1/4" thick conduit was ripped open with roughly an 8" hole and an explosion people on the first floor heard (computer room was in the basement). One of the operators panicked, tripped over the anti static carpet, ripped the Fire Suppression box off the wall and pulled the Halon. He stumbled out the automatic sliding glass doors and hit the EPO leaving the data center completely dark with me about 120' from the door in pitch black. I had walked those corridors between the drives hundreds of times, but, had difficulty finding the path. Time was running out, so, I stood on one of the minicomputers, moved one of the drop ceiling tiles and stuck my head into the return air plenum and the Halon went off. It was noisy, sort of a giant whoosh with a low rumble and a very odd smell. I don't know how long I stood there, but, it wasn't more than a few minutes before a flashlight was shining on me with a Fireman in full gear. After that, we had emergency lighting and oxygen tanks throughout and the Halon system was upgraded. When the tanks were refilled, they did the math and noticed that the amount of Halon we had wasn't enough for the expanded data center and probably wouldn't have extinguished a fire. Most humorous moment - seeing firemen walk through the data center with axes in hand looking for fire.