4 ms·

Wow. I didn't expect to see so many so close to the water. They might be in high-rises though.

by rconti 2y ago

dylan604 2y ago
You could be in the basement of a high-rise though, so that's not quite as helpful. My dad was in commercial construction, and I got to visit several sites. One in particular had a basement with concrete islands dotting the floor. They were support for the computer racks to be raised so if the sprinklers were to open the racks would be above the flooding water. They however would not protect from 12'-15' storm surges
- mlyle 2y ago
  Getting all the equipment 24 inches off the floor saves you from a pretty big fraction of events. You can often mostly protect against fairly severe events with sump pumps and flood barriers, but some water almost always gets in. If nothing important is on the ground you'll often still be OK.
  - dylan604 2y ago
    For a datacenter that does not exist on a coastline susceptible to hurricanes, you might have a point. However, we're specifically discussing a cluster of datacenters near Tampa which just missed a direct hit from a very powerful hurricane that had a forecast of a storm surge of 12'-15'. The thing to remember about storm surge is the predicted height does not include the height of wind driven waves on top of that surge. So unless your data center racks are on the 3rd floor, you are screwed
    - mlyle 2y ago
      Yes, I am not saying that you can withstand any event. I have seen >3' of water next to a building with infrastructure in the ground level that were fine, though. Seepage barriers and sump pumps and elevating things a little bit can do more than you'd think. It's also worth noting that however high the storm surge is -- your infrastructure is probably at least a little above sea level.
- sitkack 2y ago
  Anything of value should be above the first floor. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/health/nyus-lab-rats-and-mice-die-in-flooding.html https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/healt...
- SoftTalker 2y ago
  They raise the floor not just to keep the racks above any water but also the air handlers typically blow chilled air under the floor to be delivered via perforated floor tiles to the "cold aisles" this saves having to run ductwork for cooling. Also they can run power, networking, and chilled water for any systems needing it, under the floor.

Wow. I didn't expect to see so many so close to the water. They might be in high-rises though.

by rconti 2y ago

Wow. I didn't expect to see so many so close to the water. They might be in high-rises though.

You could be in the basement of a high-rise though, so that's not quite as helpful. My dad was in commercial construction, and I got to visit several sites. One in particular had a basement with concrete islands dotting the floor. They were support for the computer racks to be raised so if the sprinklers were to open the racks would be above the flooding water. They however would not protect from 12'-15' storm surges

mlyle 2y ago
Getting all the equipment 24 inches off the floor saves you from a pretty big fraction of events. You can often mostly protect against fairly severe events with sump pumps and flood barriers, but some water almost always gets in. If nothing important is on the ground you'll often still be OK.
- dylan604 2y ago
  For a datacenter that does not exist on a coastline susceptible to hurricanes, you might have a point. However, we're specifically discussing a cluster of datacenters near Tampa which just missed a direct hit from a very powerful hurricane that had a forecast of a storm surge of 12'-15'. The thing to remember about storm surge is the predicted height does not include the height of wind driven waves on top of that surge. So unless your data center racks are on the 3rd floor, you are screwed
  - mlyle 2y ago
    Yes, I am not saying that you can withstand any event. I have seen >3' of water next to a building with infrastructure in the ground level that were fine, though. Seepage barriers and sump pumps and elevating things a little bit can do more than you'd think. It's also worth noting that however high the storm surge is -- your infrastructure is probably at least a little above sea level.
sitkack 2y ago
Anything of value should be above the first floor. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/health/nyus-lab-rats-and-mice-die-in-flooding.html https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/healt...
SoftTalker 2y ago
They raise the floor not just to keep the racks above any water but also the air handlers typically blow chilled air under the floor to be delivered via perforated floor tiles to the "cold aisles" this saves having to run ductwork for cooling. Also they can run power, networking, and chilled water for any systems needing it, under the floor.