Page 17 - Energize January 2022

NEWS

No time for operations to stop in data centres

Continuity of operations during power outages is critical in all sectors of business and has
become even more important in digitally driven environments like data centres

o organisation can afford to experience disruptions of power to a server is interrupted during its operation, the UPS will
services, especially businesses that depend on critical automatically run a systems-check on rebooting, prolonging startup
Naccess to cloud environments. There has been a significant and extending the systems to be offline.
increase in the utilisation of cloud computing during the global Legrand’s UPS products are divided into two categories - single-
Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in greater demand for storage space phase and three-phase units - with solutions that ensure optimum
and infrastructure - all of which is handled by data centres. performance in terms of power and backup time. Important systems
According to Legrand – global specialists in electrical and digital for use in data centres are Legrand’s conventional UPS Keor LP units,
building infrastructures – a reliable, uninterruptible power supply which are single-phase on-line double conversion VFI-SS-111 devices,
(UPS) system is essential in data centres, to ensure that electrical from 1 to 3 kVA, and Dakar DK Plus units, which are single-phase on-
power to equipment is never affected or interrupted and that data line double conversion VFI devices, from 1 to 10 kVA.
centres are fully operational during power outages. The Legrand design team has incorporated advanced
UPS systems also prevent power surges and provide a technologies into these new systems to optimise energy-efficiency
consistent, filtered power supply to avoid power lapses, thus and an intelligent battery charging system extends the system’s
protecting critical equipment. UPS devices also prevent data losses service life. In addition to significantly reducing UPS consumption
and maintain battery life of the system. and operating costs, these features also reduce the environmental
Legrand’s advanced UPS systems ensure continuity of service of impact of battery disposal.
essential electrical equipment in data centres, by providing reliable An important benefit of Legrand’s modular UPS systems is that
performance in terms of power and back up time, particularly the power supply is customised to exact requirements and can be
during electrical network disturbances - like power outages and modified at any time. Standard modules can be added to existing
loadshedding - that are increasingly common in South Africa. configurations to increase power or backup time. A range of
Individuals and businesses rely on the continuous operation of communications accessories has been designed for managing and
centralised, networked computers at data centres, to process, store configuring the UPS, as well as for remote control of the system.
and share large quantities of data at all times. Work that requires These devices include network interfaces for real time control of
intense hours of concentration is valuable for businesses and can the UPS and for managing numerous events that include no power,
result in direct financial losses if a PC or server suddenly fails under over-loads and by-pass problems. These network interfaces, with
a power loss, for example, design software and work programmes a 32-bit processor, do not require any external software. Other
that communicate via a server. accessories include sensors for monitoring ambient temperature
Legrand specialists advise that servers need to be powered and humidity, smoke detectors and fire safety controls, as well as
down, as a sudden, cold switch off may result in loss of data. If the air conditioning fault and intrusion detectors.
Communication and supervision software for accessing the
operating parameters of the UPS and for carrying out full diagnostics
and the configuration of specific functions, is also available.
Legrand’s online site configurator www.ups.legrand.com assists with
the selection of the correct UPS, by providing easy power selection
and calculation of the necessary back-up time required.
The Legrand team offers a technical advisory service to ensure
that the volt-ampere (VA) rating of the selected UPS device is
compatible with the total load of the equipment and accessories
that need to be protected at the data centre.
In addition to UPS systems for data centres, the company also
offers carefully designed solutions for offices, shopping centres
(especially cash registers), hospitals, medical centres and hotels.
Other applications are in factories and warehouses, as well as
airports, rail and ship transport.
Legrand also offers UPS systems suitable for home offices,
which are gaining popularity during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Contact Internal Sales, Legrand SA, Phone 011 444 7971,
legrand.south-africa@legrand.co.za, www.legrand.co.za

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