How to Prepare Your Data Center for Hurricane Season 2024?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts an 85% chance that the Atlantic hurricane season in 2024 will be “above normal.” What exactly does that mean? NOAA’s projections suggest a range of 17 to 25 total named storms, with 8 to 13 of those expected to become hurricanes

Although we’re already midway through the season, this stormy news should still be a major concern for data center operators along the East Coast and around the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes pose one of the most serious threats to critical IT infrastructure, making it crucial for data centers to remain on high alert and be thoroughly prepared. Indeed, maintaining data centers’ functionality is essential year-round, but it is even more so during hurricane season to support the ongoing operations of crucial services like hospitals, fire departments, and government offices.

The Most Critical Challenges You’ll Face During Hurricane Season

Data centers face a range of challenges during hurricanes, with critical concerns emerging in three key areas. Here’s a brief look at these challenges and the risks they bring.

The Challenge: Data Protection & Backup

• The Risk: Data loss can occur during a hurricane due to power outages, hardware failures, or physical damage to the data center. If your data isn’t properly backed up, you risk losing critical information that could be unrecoverable, leading to severe operational delays and financial consequences.
• The Solution Approach: Follow the “3-2-1” rule: Have three copies of data on at least two different media types, with at least one copy off-site.

The Challenge: Systems Shutdown & Recovery

• The Risk: In a disaster, systems that are not properly backed up or configured are at high risk of failure, leading to extended downtime. This can make restoring operations more difficult and result in significant losses in productivity and revenue.
• The Solution Approach: Implement a robust “data center disaster recovery plan” that details protocols to minimize prolonged outages and facilitate systems’ restoration as quickly as possible.

The Challenge: Personnel Management

• The Risk: During a hurricane, your on-site personnel may need to remain at the facility for an extended time, potentially without outside assistance. Without proper preparation, this situation could lead to errors in managing the data center and pose safety risks for the employees.
• The Solution Approach: Prepare reservations of necessary supplies, tools, and training to allow locked-down teams to perform their duties effectively and safely under extreme conditions. 

Now, let’s dive deeper into practical steps and insights to help you maintain the full operation of your data center during a hurricane.

Two Critical Infrastructures for Hurricane Preparedness

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) 

The UPS system is the first line of defense against power interruptions, ensuring that your data center remains operational during outages. So, data center designers and operators must carefully choose their UPS configuration to meet both current and future needs. For instance, your data center team can install a UPS configuration of N, N+1, or even N+2 redundancy to provide another layer of reliability for highly critical loads. Advanced technologies in UPS systems include lithium-ion batteries, whose advantage lies in delivering long-lasting power in a small footprint, and integrated network cards that enable enhanced connectivity to software and services.

Cooling Systems 

Maintaining optimal operating temperatures within the data center is just as critical as reliable power during a hurricane. Even if the power remains on, a failure or disruption in the data cooling systems can quickly jeopardize the integrity and performance of your servers and hardware. During extreme weather events, it’s imperative that the cooling infrastructure continues to function flawlessly despite potential power fluctuations and air quality deterioration. To prepare for this challenge, it’s recommended to incorporate redundancy features into the cooling systems and evaluate cooling technologies that are well-suited for hurricane-prone environments, such as indirect evaporative cooling or liquid cooling solutions. Some cooling units, such as AIRSYS’ Unicool™ WPU, have an automatic restart feature after power outages to ensure quick system recovery. Planning ahead with these specialized cooling strategies can significantly enhance your data center’s resilience under the punishing conditions of a major storm.

Preventative Maintenance is Essential

Consistent maintenance is the backbone of data center reliability, especially during hurricane season. Regular inspections and servicing of critical components like generators, UPS systems, and cooling units help identify potential vulnerabilities that could lead to failures during extreme weather. Routine preventative maintenance should be scheduled throughout the year to ensure all systems run at peak performance, with extra care during hurricane season. 

In addition to ongoing maintenance, conducting dedicated audits as hurricane season approaches is vital. These audits should include comprehensive tests of all backup power systems, including generators’ fuel supplies and transfer switches’ integrity. Cooling systems should be stress-tested to handle extended periods of operation under load. Network failover systems must be verified for their ability to switch seamlessly during an outage. These audits ensure that all preventive measures are in place and functional, reducing the likelihood of a critical failure during a storm.

Your Hurricane Preparedness List

With the critical challenges and mitigation strategies outlined, it’s time to translate these insights into a more practical hurricane preparedness checklist. This detailed action plan will guide you through the essential steps to ensure your data center is ready for hurricane season 2024:

• Review and Update Emergency Plans: Revisit your data center’s emergency response plan, ensuring all staff members know their roles and responsibilities. Update contact lists and communication protocols.
• Audit and Test All Systems: Conduct a thorough audit of all generators, cooling units, and power systems. Perform simulated tests to ensure failover systems and backups function correctly under load.
• Verify Backups: While backups should be a routine aspect of your operations, this is the time to confirm that all critical data is backed up and stored securely offsite. Refer to the 3-2-1 rule discussed above.
• Implement Disaster Avoidance Software: Deploy and test disaster avoidance software that integrates with power management devices and allows monitoring and initiating activities remotely. This becomes valuable especially when physical access to the data center is unsafe or impossible.
• Stock Up: Ensure generator fuel tanks are full, and secure additional fuel deliveries. Stock up on backup batteries, spare parts, and other essential resources to maintain operations during prolonged outages.
• Secure the Physical Facility: Inspect the physical structure of your data center, including the roof, windows, and doors, to ensure they can withstand high winds and heavy rain. Consider installing storm shutters or reinforcing vulnerable areas.
• Prepare Your On-Site Teams: Stockpile essential supplies, such as food, water, protective gear, and sleeping accommodations for teams that may need to stay on-site. Ensure that communication lines and backup tools are readily available. Additionally, ensure all staff are thoroughly trained on the data center disaster recovery protocols and verify they can execute these procedures when necessary.

Safeguarding Your Data Center: A Call to Action

Data centers serve as the backbone of global connectivity, and in times of extreme weather events, this role becomes absolutely critical. This is why prioritizing preparedness for your data center will help safeguard your operations and ensure the continued functionality of your vital services during such challenging conditions.

For specialized support in optimizing your data center’s cooling and disaster readiness, AIRSYS is here to assist. As experts in data center cooling solutions, we can help you implement advanced technologies and strategies tailored to hurricane-prone environments. Contact us today to learn more about how we can enhance your data center’s preparedness and resilience.