[AusNOG] [AUSNog] : Re Data Centre Fire Suppression Safety

[Matthew Moyle-Croft]

CO2 is popular in some markets - eg. Japan still. I’ve talked to operators there and they seem pretty confident in it. 

Halon is definitely a thing for certain tasks - my Dad at one point was responsible (well, people who reported to him were) for an irreplaceable historic collection and they valued protecting over anything. I recall you had to be careful about signing in and out and carry a kit and you had a minute to get out when the alarm went off.

10% oxygen is about summit of Denali (20kft) - it’s not something most of us deal with, but you can survive for a bit. (Obviously not quite the same as the gas is more dense than at 20kft etc).

MMC

> On 13 Dec 2018, at 8:21 pm, Alan Maher <alanmaher at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Co2 was the original choice for fire problems in early data centres.
> Then....... they found a few problems.
> Number one problem was that Co2 was so cold it not only put put the fire, but it completely
> destroyed all the circuit boards. They cracked and so did the computers.
> Plan B was Halon, and we all know how that worked.
> Illegal now, but probably the guys in Antarctica may have hit the wrong button.
> On 13/12/2018 6:17 PM, Matt Perkins wrote:
>> Depends on the fire system. If it’s co2 like in some high power environments it can be quite dangerous but most other agents are relatively harmless.   I can’t think of a good reason why a data Center would use co2. Most environments with co2 suppression also have leak detectors and alarms. 
>> 
>> Matt
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
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>> 
>> On 13 Dec 2018, at 11:00 am, Chris Ford <chris.ford at inaboxgroup.com.au <mailto:chris.ford at inaboxgroup.com.au>> wrote:
>> 
>>> As a university cadet working for IBM in the late 80s I remember getting inducted into the Westpac data centres and getting a long explanation of what to do when the halon system went off – where the breathing gear was, where the exits were, to basically just drop everything and run.
>>>  
>>> Have been inducted into a few DCs in the last 3 years and can’t remember that being part of the induction at all – although given I already knew it I may have just glossed over that part.
>>>  
>>> --
>>> Chris Ford
>>> Chief Technology Officer
>>>  
>>> INABOX GROUP
>>> m 0401 988 844 e chris.ford at inaboxgroup.com.au <mailto:chris.ford at inaboxgroup.com.au>
>>> t 02 8275 6871 w www.inaboxgroup.com.au <http://www.inaboxgroup.com.au/>
>>>  
>>> From: AusNOG <ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net <mailto:ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net>> On Behalf Of Paul Wilkins
>>> Sent: Thursday, 13 December 2018 10:53 AM
>>> To: AusNOG at lists.ausnog.net <mailto:AusNOG at lists.ausnog.net>
>>> Subject: [AusNOG] [AUSNog] : Re Data Centre Fire Suppression Safety
>>>  
>>> Every data centre has a fire suppression system. We're not used to thinking of this as a hazardous environment, but consequent to two techs being found dead working on a fire suppression system in Antarctica <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/12/antarctica-two-technicians-dead-mcmurdo-station-ross-island>, I find myself wondering yet again, why there aren't more stringent controls around the fire suppression systems in data centres: viz - when you enter a data centre, how confident can you be you're not going to be quietly asphyxiated?
>>> 
>>> Kind regards
>>> 
>>> Paul Wilkins
>>> 
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