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Yesterday (22/08/2010) we successfully tested and failed-over the Sheffield Data Centre to backup generator power.

The culmination of over a years planning, and many hundreds of man-hours to implement a N+1 power system without downtime or service interruption was finally completed just after 1pm yesterday. Utility power was disconnected, the Automatic Transfer Switchgear started the generator, waited until it had stabilised, and then automatically threw the switches transferring the feed.

Testing over the last three weeks, including a battery of fresh testing yesterday ahead of the fail-over included auto start/stop, continuity, voltage & frequency, load testing, UPS testing, engine servicing etc…

The failover was repeated twice and we had the building totally generator powered for 15 minutes before switching back to utility (mains) power.  The system is now set to automatic so in the (unlikely) event of a power cut we’ll fail-over to generator without human intervention.

Regular testing will ensure we’re always ready!

We did video the failover and take some stills, they’re in the process of being editited and we’ll put some images up on the blog soon.

The Sheffield Data Centre is now an N+1 power facility.

Just a quick update to say all the planned weekend works to cable and connect power to the generator charging system were successful with no service outages.

Ongoing works this week include installing a power usage meter and the emergncy stop breaker to the Automatic Transfer Switchgear. All non-service affecting.

Once the electrical works are complete we’ll post some pics!

Cabling works for our standby generator are finally underway, and should be completed over the weekend.

We have plans to connect the Automatic Transfer Switchgear to the generator TODAY (06/08/2010), and connect & test the power to the auto-start system over the weekend.

Next week we’ll run a series of tests of the auto-start system, transfer controllers, and the generator iteself (without switching supplies), with a view to a full failover test toward the end of August.

Later than originally planned – delays have been caused by human resources (lack of people time!!), weather, ongoing client projects, and other data centre engineering works.  We’d like to thank everyone who’s showed us their support and kept a keen interest in our expansion!

All client and core equipment is protected by UPS anyway, but the generator will add an extra layer of redundancy should there be an extended power outage.

Regards,
Stuart.

www.sheffielddatacentre.com

At 05:30 this morning a huge crane lifted our generator from it’s storage place nearby to the concrete pad and secure compound at the back of the Sheffield Data Centre.  It took a little time to plan, execute, beat the weather, and generally organise the lift – but it’s done and will be connected to the Automatic Transfer Switch shortly!

Not a great pic below, but it was practically dark when taken – the generator being lowered to it’s base:

Flying Generator

More pics and info will be available soon!