ISSUES AT OVH CLOUD
In this report, the fire service claimed that the OVH Cloud data centre did not have an automatic fire extinguishing system, as well as no universal circuit breaker, which caused it to take as much as three hours to shut down the power supply. In addition, there was a wooden ceiling, power lines were not insulated and there was a cooling system based on ‘free cooling’. This kind of system lowers the air temperature by using natural cool air or water instead of mechanical cooling. Turns out, this actually allowed the fire to get around even faster. As a result, the building went completely up in flames and surrounding data rooms also suffered massive damage. Over 130 customers have since signed up to a lawsuit. They claim that OVH Cloud failed to take responsibility and that they were inadequately compensated.
NIGHTMARE
According to Timo, the outlined scenario is a ‘nightmare’. An unavailability of Cloud services for business-critical applications has a huge impact. Besides the fact that the financial impact is of course huge, the impact can be even greater: as it can even put human lives at risk. At Fundaments, we are therefore very critical when we look at our data centres. Looking at our services, fire is one of the biggest risks when considering our information security policy. For this reason, all data centres in the supplier assessments are tested against strict requirements for continuity.
These requirements result in the fact that a Fundaments data centre must always have at least Tier3+ as its classification. What exactly does this mean?
WHAT IS A TIER3+ DATA CENTRE?
A Tier3+ data centre is currently the highest achievable class for a Dutch data centre. This is because in a data centre like this, everything has been thought of in terms of security, including guaranteed power supply, intrusion protection, water and fire detection and climate control.
All these components must be fully implemented. In terms of security, this means that a check is already done at the gate: an unregistered visitor must first go through a registration and authorisation procedure. Without approval from a person authorised by Fundaments, access cannot take place. In addition, it must be clear at all times who, when, where enters the data centre. Of course, this also needs to be monitored 24x7, which is why we always require local surveillance control with a manned access desk. In addition, multiple access factors are used, such as fingerprints, iris scans or hand scans.
But besides security, the crucial factors for the hardware to work properly must also be in place. Think of power. In addition to using at least two different power feeds, they should also be uniquely protected with UPS protection. This is, in order to provide stable power alongside absorbing power surges. Furthermore, sufficient generator capacity must also be available in case of power failure, supplied by diesel generators. Timo also recalls that one of the suppliers was also very keen on this: ‘In 2019, we had to deal with power outages in the Amsterdam region, which this particular data centre was not affected by, but did feel it was necessary to ask its supplier of diesel to deliver: a good test to see that this was secured even in times when there might be more demand. It is precisely this kind of ‘sharpness’ in service that we apply ourselves, but hence also expect from our suppliers.’
The last component within the data centre as far as quality is concerned is the climate. Of course cooling must be in order, in which we see that temperature should not necessarily be low, but above all stable. There is more: humidity must be measured properly and also stable. When this is well measured and controlled, the risk of the biggest nightmare, fire, is also well contained. In this, Fundaments' Tier3+ data centres use sensors that measure locally for air composition; when there are elevated levels in it that give indication of a short circuit or incipient fire, an onset of a catastrophe can be quickly detected and mitigated. In addition, extinguishing capability is also important; by working with argon gas, the oxygen level in a data room can be reduced very quickly, quickly extinguishing a fire. This measure is a last resort, but ensures that the infrastructure is not damaged.
As described, there are many components that determine the quality of a data centre. Fundaments adds its own quality to its list of requirements: the efficiency of a data centre, which is expressed in the PUE value (Power Usage Efficiency). This value indicates how much energy must be used to run the data centre. Unfortunately, operating Cloud is still a business that requires a lot of energy, so it certainly pays off to do everything possible to reduce the amount of energy required in this regard.
FUNDAMENTS' TIER3+ DATA CENTRES
Fundaments has an entirely Dutch platform, spread across seven data centre locations in both the East, Central and West of the Netherlands. These are all Tier3+ locations. We also find it extremely important that our customers can see with their own eyes for themselves how the extremely strict and rock-solid security is arranged. We therefore like to take our customers on a tour of one of our data centres. Would you like to take a look too? If so, register here.
Would you like to know more? Call 088 4227 227 or email info@fundaments.nl.
