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CASE STUDY
Eaton responded to Amdocs’ tender with its own trusted
partner – Carter Sullivan, who specialises in the design,
manufacture and installation of complex UPS systems,
high-end data centre solutions and bespoke switchgear.
Working together, the two companies put forward a solution
using Eaton switchgear and UPS back-up. At the same time,
Carter Sullivan coordinated the fit out of the air conditioning
system throughout the data centre and a separate tender
for the office itself.
"The move was completed within the 90-day
timeframe, and the modern facility is now
operating successfully"
Mark Goulding, the customer manager for Amdocs at
Eaton: “We’ve had a long, successful relationship with
Eaton, so we knew they understood our capabilities.
Likewise, we’ve worked with Carter Sullivan on many builds
over the years and knew they’d be up to the task. It made
for a very positive and effective working relationship on
what was a challenging, short time-frame for a data centre
build.”
The perfect solution
In the first phase of the installation, Eaton and Carter
Sullivan implemented a complete power security
solution, based on Amdocs’ design, and built around
Eaton’s Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), switchgear,
transformers, and cold aisle containment. The solution
also factored in isolation transformers to ensure electrical
isolation for the system and prevent downstream issues from
the building’s 4-pole main circuit breaker.
For the UPS, Eaton first researched Amdocs predicted
data centre loads and proposed using its 93PM UPS range –
a simple, straightforward solution to their needs. According
to Mark Goulding at Eaton, the 120kw unit is ‘bang on their
requirement’ and the battery system is sized accordingly.
The 93PM UPS guarantees power supply for a defined
period to critical loads in the event of a power failure. The
unit also protects critical loads by filtering out power
fluctuations, such as voltage spikes, and providing
continuously high-quality power. The design of the 93PM
is based on online double conversion technology, which is
widely recognised as giving the best possible protection
because it guarantees a clean and reliable power supply
regardless of the quality of the grid. Energy loss with
the 93PM is minimal, compared to traditional double
conversion UPS devices, and it can achieve an efficiency
rating of 96.7%.
Once the power solutions had been installed, Eaton and
Carter Sullivan worked with Amdocs to design a system
that would make the data centre as energy efficient
as possible. This is based on Eaton’s Variable Module
Management System (VMMS), which increases efficiency
without compromising reliability. On the physical design,
the two companies came up with a concept of two rows
comprising 30 42U server cabinets sat in an open area,
coupled with a cold aisle containment to provide effective
airflow. This was a completely bespoke design that mixed
racks from various manufacturers into one solution, and
comprised a set of aisle doors with roof panels.
In the second phase of the installation, Eaton designed
and built a future-proof electrical panel that incorporates
all of Amdocs’ requirements for the building infrastructure,
IT, generator, and bypass facilities. It’s designed so that
Amdocs can avoid interrupting the operation of the data
centre during any future expansion. The panel is based
on the Eaton xEnergy LV Switch system, which is designed
to meet constantly increasing requirements, providing
optimum conditions for building infrastructure up to 5000 A.
As well as providing the hardware and software for the
power security solutions, Eaton also provides Amdocs with
ongoing remote monitoring and maintenance services.
In the event that there’s ever a power issue, Eaton would
have service personnel on-site in under four hours.
Around the world in 90 days
The move was completed within the 90-day time frame and
the modern facility is now operating successfully using the
new power management concept. What’s more, the concept
is spreading to other Amdocs sites, in fact, the company
plans to use the data centre design and infrastructure as a
model for the development of its other data centre projects
around the world.
The data centre is delivering immediate results and cost
savings. It has the lower PUE of any Amdocs data centre
worldwide. Looking ahead, Amdocs has recently installed a
second UPS for the B-side of the data centre and plans to
roll out this approach in its other data centres around the
world. n
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