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How a Data Center Works
Data Center Chapter 01.01.



It is the brain of a company and the place where the most critical processes are run. Find out why
data centers are necessary and looking at SAPs data center in St. Leon-Rot as an example
what they contain, and how they are operated.

Large-scale computer systems have been around for a while, and many people are already familiar with the
term data center. In the 1940s, computers were so large that individual rooms had to be specially set aside
to house them. Even the steady miniaturization of the computer did not initially change this arrangement
because the functional scope increased to such an extent that the systems still required the same amount of
space. Even today, with individual PCs being much more powerful than any mainframe system from those
days, every large-scale operation has complex IT infrastructures with a substantial amount of hardware
and they are still housed in properly outfitted rooms. Depending on their size, these are referred to as server
rooms or data centers.

Data centers are commonly run by large companies or government agencies. However, they are also
increasingly used to provide a fast-growing cloud solution service for private and business applications.
The basic characteristics are the same regardless of the size of the data because every companys success
invariably depends on smooth software operations and those have to be safeguarded.

Computers, of course, require electricity, as well as protection from theft and the accidental or intentional
manipulation of hardware. Put simply, one has to safeguard data centers against external influences and
provide them with sufficient cooling. After all, there is a lot of powerful hardware sitting in one place.


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In addition to these hard factors, one must also take into consideration organizational measures, such as
periodic backups that ensure operability. As a rule, the more extensive and critical the hardware and
software become, the more time and effort are required to provide optimal protection.

For that reason, a data center preferably consists of a well-constructed, sturdy building that houses servers,
storage devices, cables, and a connection to the Internet. In addition, the center also has a large amount of
equipment associated with supplying power and cooling, and often automatic fire extinguishing systems.

An indicator of the security level is provided by the tier rating as defined by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI).

From the outset, SAP designed its data center to exceed Tier 4 requirements. The key to success lies in the
robust design of every individual component and especially in the redundancy of all critical components. This
ensures that SAP can count on its brain at any time, and so can all SAP customers that use cloud
applications running in the data center.


POWER SUPPLY

The data center is connected to two
separate grid sectors operated by the
local utility company. If one sector
were to fail, then the second one will
ensure that power is still supplied.

In addition, the data center has 13
diesel generators, which are housed in
a separate building. Together, they
can produce a total of 29 megawatts,
an output that is sufficient to cover the
data centers electricity demand in an
emergency. The diesel motors are
configured for continuous operations
and are always in a preheated state
so that they can be started up quickly
in the event of an incident. It only takes an outage in just one of the external grid sectors to automatically
actuate the generators.

Both the local utility company and the diesel generators deliver electricity with a voltage of 20 kilovolts (kV),
which is then transformed in the data center to 220 or 380 volts.
Within the data center, block batteries ensure that all operating applications can run for 15 minutes. This
backup system makes it possible to provide power from the time a utility company experiences a total
blackout to the time that the diesel generators start up.

The uninterruptible power supply (UPS) also ensures that the quality remains constant. It compensates for
voltage and frequency fluctuations and thereby effectively protects sensitive computer electronic
components and systems.

A redundantly designed power supply system is another feature of the data center. This enables one to
perform repairs on one network, for example, without having to turn off servers, databases, or electrical
equipment.

Several servers or storage units have multiple, redundant power supply units, which transform the supply
voltage from the two grid sectors to the operating voltage. This ensures that a failure of one or two power
supply units does not cause any problems.


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COOLING


All electronic components and
especially the processors generate
heat when in operation. If it is not
dissipated, the processors
efficiency decreases, in extreme
cases, to the point that the
component could fail. Therefore,
cooling a data center is essential,
and because of the concentrated
computing power, the costs to do
so are considerable.

For this reason, servers are
installed in racks, which basically
resemble specially standardized
shelves. They are laid out so that
two rows of racks face each other,
thereby creating an aisle from
which the front side of the server is
accessible. The aisles are covered above and closed off at the ends by doors. Cool air set to a temperature
of 24 to 26C is blown in through holes in the floor, flows through the racks, and dissipates the heat emitted
by the servers.

Generally, a server room will contain several such enclosed server rows. The warm air from the server
room is removed by the air-conditioning system. Yet, even the air-conditioning system has to dissipate the
heat. When the outside temperature is below 12 to 13C, outside air can be used to effectively cool the heat
absorbed by the air-conditioning systems.

At higher outside temperatures, the air-conditioning systems are cooled with water, made possible by six
turbo-cooling units. They are not all used to cool the data center, given that some are used as reserve units.
Should a cooling system fail, the time until the backup unit is operational must be covered. To that end,
300,000 liters of ice-cold water (4C) are available to absorb the heat from the air-conditioning systems
during this period.

To top it off, the turbo-cooling units also have to dissipate heat. There are 18 heat exchangers on the data
centers roof for this purpose, which release hot air into the environment.

At outside temperatures above 26C, the heat exchangers are sprinkled with water in order to make heat
dissipation more effective through evaporative cooling. The large amounts of water consumed in the summer
are covered by waterworks allocated to the data center. The municipal water supply system provides a
reserve supply in this case and acts as a failsafe.



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CONTROLLED ACCESS
Access to the data center is only allowed for a limited number of authorized individuals. Entry is only possible
through single-person access and mantrap systems. Freight can be brought into the data center using a
special freight lock.


Technicians can access rooms for facilities maintenance with
batches via separate entrances.










Maintenance staff for computer hardware has to get authorized
with a biometrical scan to enter the server rooms.