DARZ - WAGNER

OxyReduct®
FirExting® SILENT
Reference solution
Fire prevention and
soft flooding in
a data centre
Ta i l o r - m a d e f i r e
protection for
maximum-security
data centres
THE CUSTOMER
In a former vault building, DARZ GmbH operates a data
centre with what is likely to be the highest level of building
security in Germany.
Founded in 2010, DARZ GmbH
is a full service provider that
offers colocation/housing, managed services and data centre
solutions in an extraordinary
environment at its data centre
in Darmstadt. This is located
in the former vault building of
the Hessian State Bank and has
what is likely to be the highest
level of building security of any
data centre in Germany.
DARZ founder and Managing Director Sergey Mirochnik
with the German Data Centre Award 2015
Erected in the late 1980s, the
centrally located building with its
striking white facade housed the
Hessian State Bank’s gold and
a suitable, high-security infrastruc­
intersection-free fibreglass con­
cash reserves from 1988 to 2005.
ture”, explains DARZ founder
nection to Frankfurt furthermore
The building’s physical security
and Managing Director Sergey
enables the realisation of dual
is evident in its structure with
Mirochnik, clarifying: “Our concept
data centre solutions in accord­
metre-thick walls and bullet­
aims at avoiding risks before they
ance with the highest protective
proof tank windows as well as
arise. This also involves huge
category for banks and insurance
the design of the vault area as
costs. However, in these danger­
companies (Basel III, Luxembourg
a ‘building in a building’ able to
ous times, especially for data, we
regulation). DARZ GmbH sought
withstand explosions and earth­
believe that our customers value
to round out this IT landscape by
quakes. This provides optimum
our efforts and investments.”
constructing a high-grade data
basic structural protection. Follo­
centre infrastructure (TÜV Level
wing extension renovations, in
The site’s suitability as a colocation
III+/Tier 3+), true to its motto:
particular the installation of new,
data centre was also based on its
“Data is worth more than gold!”.
redundant building technology
location: Darmstadt is only about
From a green IT perspective, the
for use as a data centre, the new
30 kilometres from the world’s
overall concept, with its indirect
data centre with a total output of
largest internet exchange DE-CIX
free cooling, has already been
5.2 MW was put into operation by
in Frankfurt am Main and, with its
awarded the 2015 German Data
DARZ GmbH in July 2014.
technical university, three Fraun­
Centre Award in the “Overall En­
hofer Institutes, several localIT
ergy Efficiency in Data Centres”
Award-winning green IT data
associations and a city IT cluster
category.
centre with high availability
facility, an important place for the
We supplemented the building
ITC sector. The short distance
protection that we inherited with
with a both fully redundant and
Fire prevention concept customised
T H E R I S K A N A LY S I S
In today’s world, constant data availability and the
prevention of as much downtime as possible are vital
for companies.
If a company acts as a service
ware. A fire prevention concept
provider that offers data centre
was therefore required for the
capacities, as in the case with
high-security building in order to
DARZ GmbH, maintaining 24/7
minimise the internal risks. The
availability is essential to survival.
technical fire prevention solution
The company is not only respon­
should detect any outbreak of fire
sible for its own data but also,
at the earliest possible moment in
and in particular, for that of its
order to enable a rapid response.
customers. Accordingly, the
Optimum fire suppression methods
associated liability risks can be
should also prevent consequential
high. A full-service provider such
damages caused by the extin­
as DARZ GmbH which stores
guishing process itself.
customer-owned hardware in its
data centre is also responsible for
the physical safety of this hard­
THE PROTECTION OBJECTIVE
Certified maximum safety
All areas of the building had to
and the avoidance of conse-
be equipped with fire prevention
quential damage in the form
solutions, which take the various
of downtime and hardware
structural conditions into ac-
defects that could lead to
count.
data losses are of the utmost
importance.
■■ The safety level needed to be
approved by an expert from
■■ A suitable solution was
the Property Insurers Organi-
also required for the special
zation VdS in order to sup-
structure of the vault room
port DARZ’s sales team with
not usually found in normal
a credible guarantee promise.
buildings as it was not possible to create pressure relief
■■ Instant effectiveness of the
extinguishing equipment
surfaces for a gas extinguishing solution.
Great demands on fire prevention
THE SOLUTION
The energetically-optimised choice of cooling tech­
nology posed special challenges with regard to fire
prevention.
Gaseous extinguishing agents
was selected for the Darmstadt
which fight fires effectively without
data centre. In combination with
leaving residue are ideally suited
air sampling smoke detectors for
to the IT sector. When fed into the
highly sensitive fire detection and
extinguishing zone, the inert gas
supplementary point-type detectors,
nitrogen displaces oxygen until
fires can be detected and combat­
there is no longer enough of it to
ted at the earliest possible stage.
sustain a fire.
WAGNER’s protection concepts
As a natural component of the air
goes one step further
we breathe (78% vol.), nitrogen is
in order to effectively and reliably
non-toxic and has a density similar
extinguish a fire within the short­
to that of air. It is also simple and
est time possible, gas extinguish­
compact to store in extinguishing
ing systems have to flood the area
cylinders and can be distributed
to be protected with extinguishing
quickly and homogenously around
gas under high pressure. As a
the room without residues when
result, conventional nitrogen ex­
used for extinguishing purposes.
tinguishing systems used to cre­
ate sound pressure levels of over
In view of all of these reasons, a
130 db(A) when the gas rapidly
nitrogen-based FirExting® gas ex­
rushed through the extinguishing
tinguishing system from WAGNER
nozzles, causing vibrations and
G 310025
Air sampling smoke detector
Special sound absorbers are attached to the extinguishing nozzles
therefore serious damage to hard
flooding is a further special feature.
DARZ’s high requirements in
disks. The indirect damage from
Flow regulators were attached to
terms of IT security as the design
this is often much worse than the
the extinguishing agent cylinders
enables the high-security building
fire damage itself – not only in the
in order to minimise pressure
envelope to remain as intact as
form of temporary server failures,
spikes at the start of the extin­
possible.
but also due to data damage or
guishing process.
Special protection in the
even loss.
S 303006
S 315002
The soft flooding device also con­
vault room
Silent extinguishing system
siderably reduces the size of the
What distinguishes DARZ from
protects sensitive IT equipment
pressure-release vents needed.
all other data centre buildings
WAGNER solved this problem
This means that a single on-site
in Germany is the vault room.
in the server areas of the DARZ
F90 conduit system can provide
In line with its original purpose,
data centre by developing special
pressure relief for all extinguishing
the room is hermetically sealed
sound absorbers (FirExting® SILENT
zones on the first basement floor
from the outside. The pressure
with VdS device approval) which
of the DARZ. Only one opening to
relief holes required to use a gas
are attached to the extinguishing
the outdoors is therefore needed
extinguishing system would be
nozzles and reduce the sound
for all the pressure relief on the
associated with a huge amount
pressure to approx. 98 dB(A). Soft
first basement floor. This meets
of cost and effort. Instead, active
The nitrogen required for extinguishing
purposes is stored in a cylinder bank and
fed into the data centre at a low pressure
using a soft flooding device if necessary.
fire prevention through oxygen
“What is good for one is not
reduction is used.
permissible for another.”
Receiving the VdS certificate as
WAGNER’s OxyReduct® system
quickly as possible was an impor­
generates nitrogen from the air
tant goal for DARZ GmbH, and
in the room and the ventilation
one which was easily achieved
system feeds it into the protected
thanks to WAGNER’s solution.
area, where it continuously
According to the client Miroch­
reduces the amount of oxygen
nik, WAGNER’s expertise played
in the vault to create a heavily
a major part in this as: “The
fire-retardant atmosphere. The
main challenge is meeting all
O2 level of 15.9% vol. is below
the requirements of the different
the ignition threshold of typical IT
committees such as the VdS but
materials, so a fire can no longer
also the fire brigade, construction
develop or spread.
authorities and TÜV.”
Flow regulators were attached to the extinguishing agent
cylinders in order to minimise pressure spikes at the start of
the extinguishing process.
E X A M P L E S Y S T E M I N T H E D ATA C E N T R E
4
2
3
4
1
6
5
1
Air sampling smoke detector
4
Alarm indicator
2
Point-type detector
5
Extinguishing cylinder bank (nitrogen) as a soft flooding option
3
Extinguishing nozzles with silent sound
absorbers
6
Extinguishing control panel
Innovative engineering solutions
To protect the former vault room, the OxyReduct® fire prevention system feeds in nitrogen via the ventilation system to reduce the oxygen level
and create a fire-retardant atmosphere.
Summary
centre infrastructure as well as
The unique construction material
the energy-efficient management
used for the data centre made
of the facility as a whole. By
DARZ special, even for WAGNER’s
working with strong partners, we
project manager. Frankfurt branch
were able to build one of Europe’s
manager Michael Leibner recalls:
most environmentally friendly data
“We had never before worked
centres.
with special bulletproof concrete.
The holes we had to make in this
extremely hard material were a
real stress test for all the equip­
ment we used. We also had to
proceed with extreme caution.
Remaining on schedule under
these conditions was definitely a
challenge.”
Managing Director Sergey
Mirochnik stressed the impor­
tance of the interaction between
all the trades in the data centre:
“We placed great value on the
efficiency of all individual com­
ponents throughout the data
LY
F
E
EV
TECTION
FIRE PR
DE
HAZARD
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
FI
RE
SU PPRESSI
Headquarters
Sales International
WAGNER Group GmbH
Headquarters
Schleswigstraße 1–5
D-30853 Langenhagen
Germany
Phone +49 511 97383 0
info@wagner.de
WAGNER sets standards for innovative and comprehensive solutions in fire
protection: with TITANUS® for very early fire detection, FirExting® for fire-extinguishing, with OxyReduct® to actively prevent fires from breaking out and
VisuLAN® for hazard management. For more information visit www.wagner.eu.
ON
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© WAGNER Group GmbH. Subject to technical changes without notice. Art. no. 68-30-1295. Last revised 08/15.
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