Pay as you grow protected power

Scalability has been described as the holy grail of data centres. Hardware and software can be bought off the shelf, but what about electrical infrastructure? The author discusses some new developments. There are obvious attractions to a 'pay-as-you-grow' approach, where additional processing capacity could be purchased and deployed in tandem with the power system to support it. Now it is possible to do just that. American Power Conversion has developed a completely new approach to building the power infrastructure of data centres, using a scalable architecture which integrates uninterruptible power supplies with power distribution units and controls to create a series of modular building blocks that can be purchased and installed as and when they are needed. PowerStruXure simplifies the design, building and management of data centre infrastructure and offers both technical and financial benefits. It has been designed specifically to meet the very high power density requirements of modern internet server installations while optimising the use of space in the building and ensuring very high levels of system availability. One advantage of the modular approach is that it is very fast to install-often in hours instead of days, reducing costs and minimising the disruption of upgrades. The compact design also frees more space for IT cabinets, while its scalability optimises running costs.