< PreviousNew Guide from Siemon Provides Valuable Product and Infrastructure Design Advice for Next-Generation Data Centres Siemon has announced a new data centre application and product guide designed to provide data centre professionals with comprehensive guidance for selecting, designing and deploying business-critical IT infrastructure in the data centre. The rise of connected technologies and data volumes is driving change in the data centre. New data centre interconnect (DCI) technology, distributed cloud and full-mesh switch fabric architectures in highly virtualised environments result in the need for higher-density and more complex fibre links. Siemon’s guide highlights a range of specialised fibre solutions including high-density fibre enclosures and smaller diameter cables and assemblies that help manage these critical connections in tight data centre spaces. As transmission speeds migrate to 400/800G Ethernet, the guide also highlights recommendations on how to migrate to high-density fibre channels utilising existing infrastructure. 400 Gigabit applications have initially been deployed in cloud data centres for switch-to-switch uplinks. Examples are given of how 400G switch-to-switch links can be deployed using singlemode channels that support Base-8 MTP fibre trunks either with 8 fibre MTP jumpers or with MTP-LC Cassettes and LC fibre patch cords. A 400G switch could then be connected to 4x100G switches using the same Base-8 trunk and a breakout MTP-LC cord. Other examples include 100G switch-to- server downlinks and how they can support breakout to 4x25G channels using direct attach copper cable assemblies (DACs). Also showcased within the guide is Siemon’s comprehensive portfolio of data centre infrastructure solutions, including category 6A shielded copper cabling, pre-terminated and high-density fibre patching solutions, automated infrastructure management (AIM) for remote monitoring and real-time view of data centre connections as well as a new toolless fibre routing system for protecting and routing fibre cabling. Information about the company’s data centre design services completes the guide, plus details of its ecosystem of partners, including Arista and Cisco. Absolute Software Introduces Ransomware Response Amidst Growing Cyber Concerns Absolute Software has announced the launch of Absolute Ransomware Response, enabling customers to prepare and accelerate their endpoint recovery, in the face of the growing threat of ransomware attacks. The offering, part of Absolute Software’s Secure Endpoint product portfolio, will help organisations have the key capabilities and services needed to assess their ransomware preparedness and cyber resilience across endpoints. It also ensures that mission-critical security applications, such as anti-malware and device management tools, remain healthy and capable of self- healing. Should an attack occur, Absolute Ransomware Response can expedite the quarantine and recovery of devices. Absolute Ransomware Response has been developed to help protect businesses against the growing ransomware threat, which has surged since the accelerated adoption of a ‘work-from-anywhere’ operations model. This popular method of working has significantly expanded the potential ransomware attack and, in turn, has increased the need to extend preparedness and recovery efforts to end-user devices. Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that organisations would face a new ransomware recovery attack every 2 seconds by 2031, up from every 11 seconds in 2021. John Herrema, EVP of Product & Strategy at Absolute Software, said: “Ransomware is more prevalent, more sophisticated, and more capable of disruption than ever and organisations need to plan for ‘when’, not ‘if’ they are successfully attacked. “When a ransomware attack occurs, organisations are often forced to weigh the risks of cutting off all communication with an infected device - losing the ability to restore or recover it - or leaving the door open for re-infection. This new offering gives them the cyber resiliency needed to mitigate ransomware deployment techniques, restore and update tools critical to recovery and, if needed, hit the ‘kill switch’ – meaning they can wipe the device while still maintaining control so it can be recovered." Eric Hanselman, Principal Research Analyst at 451 Research, said: “The reality is that, while organisations are very concerned about the time to recover from ransomware attacks, they often solely focus on prevention tools, without planning for the worst-case scenario: falling victim to an attack. “By building a plan, improving the preparedness and simplifying the endpoint recovery process for their organisations, they can accelerate businesses’ ability to recover and resume operations.” www.networkseuropemagazine.com NEWS IN BRIEF 10ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) has announced that it has partnered with Schneider Electric and Iceotope, to jointly conduct an immersion liquid cooling proof-of-concept (POC) in Singapore. The objectives of the POC are to explore this emerging technology, future-proof next-generation data centre builds, and reduce both power and water consumption. “STT GDC is excited to be partnering with Schneider Electric and Iceotope on this POC as we take concrete steps to reduce resource consumption as part of our sustainable data centre framework,” said Daniel Pointon, Group CTO, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Liquid cooling technology is no longer a niche implementation but rather a near-term technology that, when scaled, can enable data centres to manage higher power density, reduce energy consumption and yet maintain operational reliability. We look forward to working with Schneider Electric and Iceotope on this exciting technology.” The POC will leverage cooling specialist Iceotope’s chassis-level precision immersion technology which uses dielectric liquid as a heat transfer medium. The liquids used by Iceotope are touch-safe, non-conductive, non-toxic, non-flammable and non-ozone depleting. Using the dielectric fluid as a cooling medium instead of air provides higher thermal transfer capacity and improved efficiency. In addition, with the prospect of all-liquid cooled data centres in the future, this technology promises to reduce the reliance on some of the traditional energy-hungry components of the cooling ecosystem such as chillers and computer room air-conditioning (CRACs) units. “We are delighted to be able to share the capability of Iceotope’s chassis-level precision immersion cooling with STT GDC and its customers,” said David Craig, Iceotope’s Chief Executive Officer. “Together we are deploying a liquid-cooled solution that brings game- changing savings in the use of water, energy and space to enterprises driving towards net-zero." “We are looking forward to supporting STT GDC in their efforts to become an even more sustainable business and continuing to play a key role in mitigating climate change with our customers and partners,” said Michael Kurniawan Iskandar, Secure Power Business VP for Singapore, Malaysia & Brunei Cluster at Schneider Electric. “At Schneider Electric, we have a strong track record of supporting data centre operators with our best-in-class, dynamic cooling optimisation solutions that leverage cutting-edge technology such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. As an impact company that has always championed sustainability and pioneered green innovations, marrying our expertise with STT GDC’s ambitions was a natural fit,” he added. As one of the fastest-growing operators in the sector, STT GDC maintains a commitment to pushing the boundaries and driving innovations for the industry. This initiative by STT GDC comes in the wake of the unveiling of its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, which was developed in alignment with the objectives and framework set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), and based on a formal process of engagement, established concepts of long-term value creation, recognition of challenges, and adaptation to the specific nuances of the data centre sector. It includes a commitment for the entire Group to achieve carbon-neutral data centre operations by 2030. Today, across various countries and as a Group, 43% of STT GDC’s electricity consumption is already derived from zero-carbon renewable sources. ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Partners with Schneider Electric and Iceotope to Deliver an Innovative, Sustainable Liquid Cooling Proof of Concept www.networkseuropemagazine.com NEWS IN BRIEF 11 Nokia to Supply Data Centre Switching Portfolio for Microsoft’s Networks Nokia has announced it will provide its data centre switching solutions for Microsoft’s data centre facilities to support the bandwidth growth to Microsoft Azure as part of a multi-faceted deal. The deal expands the long-standing relationship between the companies, who have been working together to bring massively scaled, agile and highly resilient networking to the data centre environment. With the significant growth of cloud services and cloud computing and the move to 400GE, Nokia has been selected to supply its 7250 IXR chassis-based interconnect routers to support high-density 400GE applications in Microsoft’s ‘tier-2’ network architecture. Nokia will also be supplying fixed-form-factor platforms into other Microsoft network applications. This new agreement builds upon the companies’ collaboration as part of the open source SONiC initiative to develop chassis-based platforms focused on the requirements of high-capacity data centres.NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 12 Nebulon Adds Rapid Ransomware Recovery to Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and 2-Node Distributed Edge Deployments Nebulon has announced 4-minute ransomware recovery on Lenovo ThinkSystem rack server edge deployments. With this announcement, Nebulon provides enterprises with a Lenovo-based 2-server cluster alternative for their edge data centres with near-instant recovery capabilities. This solution occupies a 33% smaller physical footprint equating to a one- third cost reduction as compared to 3-node-minimum hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions, which can take hours or even days to fully recover from ransomware attacks. The edge data centre market is expected to grow from $7.2 billion in 2021 to $19.1 billion by 2026. The edge comes with an increased risk of both unwanted physical and network access to edge deployments. Beyond phishing and drive-by download scams, physical access is often more difficult to monitor across remote and distributed edge locations. A server can be infected with malware due to a reason as simple as a door or closet being left unlocked or ajar, for example. With ransomware, malware and wiper attacks on the rise, administrators are redoubling their efforts to secure the edge. Cyber resilience for infrastructure at the edge is a must-have. When the worst happens, it is critical for companies to have solutions in place that incorporate remotely controlled, rapid ransomware recovery. Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer the value, flexibility and efficiency to meet critical demands at the enterprise edge. With the announcement of Nebulon TimeJump for Lenovo rack servers, that value now also includes rapid cyber recovery and a 33% smaller footprint at the edge. Nebulon TimeJump is the first and only Lenovo server and storage solution offering complete ransomware recovery in less than four minutes, and it is available for small 2-server high- availability clusters, providing significant savings with a comparable level of availability versus 3-node minimum HCI solutions. “Data at the edge faces higher security risks and cost pressures than core data centre deployments,” said Nebulon CEO Siamak Nazari. “With Nebulon, enterprises can reduce costs while improving cyber resilience at the edge—and if attacked by ransomware, they can recover in under four minutes.” GTT Invests in 400G Upgrade of Global IP Network to Meet Demand for High-performance and Secure Internet-enabled Services GTT has announced the company is investing in a 400G upgrade to its global Tier 1 IP network. The upgrade addresses the continued double-digit increase in IP traffic and will result in improved scalability and higher-capacity options for GTT’s suite of enhanced internet and WAN services. The phased rollout will begin with global metropolitan city locations, eventually spanning GTT’s core IP switching and routing fabric connecting more than 260 cities on six continents. The initial phase of deployment is expected to complete in the second half of 2023. The network augmentation to 400G will be implemented at multiple network layers that include the core IP backbone and metro extensions as well as customer service nodes where demand dictates. GTT is deploying state-of-the-art IP networking technology provided by Juniper Networks, which can scale up and down for optimised WAN performance and enhanced efficiency across the core IP backbone. The global IP network upgrade includes telemetry functionality that enables the network to scale higher and converge faster, providing better performance and greater flexibility to run cloud applications. “The scalability and performance advantages of GTT’s global Tier 1 IP network is a cornerstone to what makes GTT stand out from the other managed network service providers,” commented Don MacNeil, GTT COO. “This comprehensive network upgrade to 400G demonstrates our commitment to providing customers with the most advanced internet networking platform so that they can realise maximum business benefits from managed SD-WAN as well as the full array of enhanced internet services that GTT offers, and it is among a number of key initiatives on our transformation roadmap that leverage the latest AI and digital technologies.” GTT’s global Tier 1 IP backbone is ranked among the largest in the industry and operates with more than 240Tbps of core capacity. Approximately 70% of GTT customer IP traffic remains on-net from edge to edge which provides enhanced control and security. The network is designed to route traffic on the shortest path possible, delivering low-latency performance and reliability. GTT was among the first large-scale Tier 1 internet service providers to implement RPKI, a route validation filtering technique for BGP sessions that ensures superior IP routing security. Five9 Extends EMEA Footprint with the Expansion of Data Centres in Frankfurt and Amsterdam Five9 has announced the general availability of two data centres located in Frankfurt and Amsterdam. The data centres serve Five9 customers in the European Union (EU), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, supporting the company’s international growth and the desire for European customers to maintain data residency. “We are excited to see the growing demand for our cloud contact centre solutions in Europe and the value our global data centre footprint brings to Five9 customers,” said Panos Kozanian, Five9 EVP of Cloud Operations. “The Frankfurt and Amsterdam data centres will help Five9 continue delivering the latest contact centre and customer experience innovations to both European customers and multinational companies with a presence in both the US and EMEA.” EXA Infrastructure to Provide Network Connectivity as London Stock Exchange Relocates Data Centre EXA Infrastructure has announced that it will provide low latency and ultra-low latency network connectivity to the London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) new colocation data centre. LSEG has moved its data centre from the City of London to a newly-built facility in London’s Docklands area, which will accommodate London Stock Exchange, Turquoise and Turquoise Europe trading and market data platforms. EXA Infrastructure is one of a handful of network connectivity providers with the Accredited Connectivity Partner status required to support connectivity to service subscribers on-site. EXA Infrastructure will provide on-network dark fibre, wavelength and Ethernet services to LSEG for use by all the co-located users of the data centre. Connectivity can also be extended beyond the colocation facility to other customer sites. EXA’s substantial terrestrial and sub-sea network across Europe and the North Atlantic is particularly suited to trading venue connectivity, with all major European and North American exchanges being on-network and diversely routed, and its Hibernia Express cable offering the lowest latency between London and New York at sub-59ms for a round trip. EXA is pleased to continue to be an Accredited Connectivity Partner at the new data centre facility supporting customers in connecting directly to the market and also supporting customers hosted within the data centre, with the minimum possible latency and maximum uptime to support their order routing activities and to access market data. “There can be few cases in which the quality and speed of a network is more important than when connecting to the London Stock Exchange, so the decision to entrust EXA Infrastructure as connectivity provider to the new data centre is the highest possible endorsement of our capabilities,” said Andrew Haynes, Executive Vice President Product and Technology, EXA Infrastructure. Bulk Data Centers Joins German Datacentre Association to Drive Cross-border Cooperation Bulk Data Centers has joined the German Datacentre Association (GDA). Bulk Data Centers is an industrial developer, owner and operator of data centres and data centre services across the Nordics, with a portfolio of assets, capabilities and partners to serve any data centre customer requirement in a fast, secure, cost- efficient and sustainable way. Established in 2018, the GDA promotes the interest and needs of data centre operators to policy makers, the media and broader society, with the aim of sustainably improving the framework conditions for data centre operators in Germany and promoting the growth of the industry and its perception in business, society and politics. The association is supported by leading research institutes, universities, local communities and a network of partners. Germany is the second-largest data centre colocation market in Europe and is expected to show an annual growth rate of 3.73%. Demand for colocation services has in part been driven by the strength of the German automotive industry which has embraced hi-tech solutions for process animation. “As a company, Bulk Data Centers is entirely in tune with GDA objectives to increase the sustainability of the data centre industry. For countries like Germany, which are starting to encounter capacity shortages in key colocation hubs, Bulk provides a low cost and low carbon solution for data centre workloads that can reside outside Germany while still delivering highly connected options with low latency to key markets.” said Gisle M Eckhoff, Executive Vice President at Bulk Data Centres. Bulk’s ultra-flexible offer includes colocation, white space and build-to-suit data centre solutions, and support for businesses to locate new and existing workloads, freeing up capacity in power restricted markets, which contributes to broader European carbon reduction plans. Its N01 Campus in Kristiansand, Norway, is located next to the largest transformer station in Europe with direct and redundant connections to multiple hydropower stations, supplying 100% renewable energy at one of the lowest costs globally. N01 campus is also directly connected to its DK01 Denmark site with low latency and scalable solutions just 100km by air from Germany. Infovista Launches Precision Drive Testing to Automate 5G Testing Infovista has announced Precision Drive Testing to bring an ML/AI data-driven approach and automation to network testing, significantly reducing the cost and time of 5G network testing. The patent-pending Precision Drive Testing leverages 5G network, service and customer data, and ML/AI techniques to increase the speed and accuracy of 5G testing process. “There’s a misconception that 5G makes drive testing redundant, but the reality is that although enhanced from LTE, the ‘minimisation of drive testing’ feature in 5G still only works if users are in the geographic area that needs testing. Drive testing will still be needed to complement the gaps of MDT in testing, at least until 5G is fully autonomous,” said Dr Irina Cotanis, Technology Director, Network Testing at Infovista. “But such is the complexity of 5G networks and the proliferation of device types that traditional drive testing processes are not fit-for-purpose. Operators can’t afford for their highly qualified RF engineers to be driving around manually testing; it’s time to automate and make the cloud do the heavy lifting. Precision Drive Testing transforms the drive testing process from being engineering-driven to AI/ML data-driven, from manual to autonomous and from something very few can do to something that can be done by anyone.” NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 13 Do you have news to share? Do you have a product to promote, a company partnership to announce or a new recruit to introduce? Contact editor@networkseuropemagazine.comDistributed Database Company Expands Cockroach Labs, the company behind the cloud-native distributed SQL database CockroachDB, has announced its expansion plans into EMEA with a new office as part of its international growth strategy. Located in The City, the London office will serve as the company’s EMEA headquarters. This follows Cockroach Labs’ latest funding and significant valuation reflecting its accelerated growth and the massive opportunity for the company to become a leader in the emerging cloud database-as-a-service market. Outside of its London HQ, Cockroach Labs is also planning on setting up regional offices in other parts of Europe in the next year. Cockroach Labs has made strategic sales, marketing and customer success hires in the region, with about 160% growth in headcount across EMEA in the last year. The company hired Gareth Whiting as its Vice President of Sales, EMEA. Whiting is responsible for driving significant growth and profitability in EMEA, executing the overall sales strategy, and growing the team, both by size and geographical coverage. As organisations transition to a cloud-first IT philosophy, they are increasingly relying on CockroachDB to build the next generation of applications. With its cloud-native distributed SQL architecture, CockroachDB has become the transactional database of choice for innovative companies and category leaders in EMEA including THG, Form3, ConverseNow, Clowd9, epiFi, Lush, Optimal Systems, Salto and more. The company expects significant growth from the EMEA market and has plans for the region to become a sizable part of the business by the end of the year. “The huge uptick in online shopping over the last two years combined with the seasonal nature of retail requires scalability and availability 100% of the time,” said Andrew Bickerton, Principal DBA, at THG. “As a leader in e-commerce, our end-to-end technology platform powers our business as we scale globally. CockroachDB provided us with an elastic, resilient database that could accommodate millions, even billions, of global transactions per minute.” While European organisations have embraced the cloud, according to Accenture, the biggest pain point is the complexity of business and operational change. First, there’s the fragmentation and data sovereignty that are unique to the region. Second, there’s data trust. CockroachDB was built to eliminate these complexities. By keeping data close to customers through its geo-partitioning feature, CockroachDB reduces latency, helps to mitigate compliance risks, and improves database performance, enabling organisations to deliver peak performance for regional and global deployments alike. Excel Networking Copper Cables all UKCA Certified Excel Networking has now certified all of its copper cabling to meet UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed), way ahead of the 2023 deadline. The UKCA marking came into effect from 1st January 2021 because of the UK leaving the EU. All products entering the UK market will need to carry this marking from 1st January 2023, where previously the CE mark was used. Neil Payne, Excel Product Manager commented, “The Excel cable will carry both the UKCA and CE markings since the cable is sold in both Europe and the UK. The UKCA marking has no effect on the CPR classification, in fact, it adds to the validity of the cable’s classification, as all cables are subject to a secondary test in the UK to verify the cable's CPR classification.” Payne continued, “Having the UKCA in place so early gives our customers further assurance of the legal compliance and reliability when specifying and installing Excel cables, knowing that the correct certification is in place, particularly when bidding for projects in coming weeks where deployment runs into 2023.” Payne concluded, “Our ‘Declaration of Performance’ certificates for each product will include both the UKCA and CE information and the product labels will also clearly show the markings. Products with the UKCA certification markings will start to enter our stocks over the next quarter. We encourage our customers to check the UKCA certification status of any other cables they are installing, as the date at which this becomes a legal requirement is fast approaching.” EXA Infrastructure Boosts Network Capacity with First New Fibre Link Between UK and France in 20 Years EXA Infrastructure has announced the commissioning of a new fibre optic network link between London and Paris that is now the most direct route, and the first under the English Channel for 20 years. The new route will offer greater capacity, resiliency and the lowest latency digital infrastructure connecting the two financial and data centre hubs, with a data round trip taking less than 5.5ms. The single fibre pair link will run over Crosslake Fibre’s new 550km CrossChannel cable from the data centre hub of Slough, through London and then directly to Paris via the shortest route possible, including sub-sea between Brighton and Veules-Les- Roses, France. This enables lower operating costs due to fewer amplification sites and a reduced risk of outages. It forms an integral part of the most critical digital network routes in western Europe that carry traffic between the economic hubs of Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris. “This new link will boost network capacity significantly, and bring the ability to carry data over more diverse routes between the UK and mainland Europe as we continue to broaden our geographic coverage to lead our sector. It will also become a critical part of the chain that connects European digital infrastructure with North America over transatlantic sub-sea cables,” said Ciaran Delaney, Chief Operating Officer, EXA Infrastructure. NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 14Cradlepoint Extends Cellular Intelligence Capabilities to Bolster Visibility Into 5G Cell Towers Cradlepoint has announced additional Cellular Intelligence capabilities that provide extended visibility into enterprise LTE and 5G Wireless WAN deployments. As part of its NetCloud Service, Cradlepoint has expanded Wireless WAN visibility to include cell tower location with service provider details for each connected router or adapter. These unique insights are now integrated into a single pane of glass to ease deployments and ongoing troubleshooting of the Wireless WAN. Announced in February 2022, Cradlepoint’s Cellular Intelligence is a collection of software features that allow administrators with distributed Wireless WANs to visualise, optimise and troubleshoot cellular connections, data plans and traffic flow. Integration between NetCloud and connectivity management platforms, such as Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator, and other SIM aggregation platforms provides visibility into the SIMs and data plans, with the ability to perform SIM management functions (activations, deactivations, data plan adjustments and more) in seconds. “As enterprise 5G adoption rates accelerate, organisations will need increased data and resource visibility to maintain a consistent and positive quality of experience,” said Paul J Hughes, Research Director, Future of Connectedness, IDC. “Cradlepoint’s Cellular Intelligence initiative brings together what used to only be available to enterprise IT teams through three separate tools — connectivity management portals, cell tower mapping tools and cellular router management systems — into a single, integrated pane of glass. With visibility to the SIMs, data plans, cellular routers and now, cell towers, enterprise IT teams will have the information they require for successful Wireless WAN deployments.” This new feature within NetCloud GeoView allows IT teams to visualise where their cell tower is located in proximity to their Cradlepoint cellular modem on a map, enabling optimal placement of the modem for enhanced performance. IT teams will also have valuable cell tower insights at their fingertips, including the supported service provider, service type and active band(s) — all without having to use external cell mapping tools. Additionally, for routers and modems that are not GPS-enabled, or not able to acquire a GPS signal, the location of the serving cell tower can be used to provide the approximate location of any Cradlepoint router or modem, regardless of where it is located. This accelerates network troubleshooting and improves asset tracking, especially in IoT deployments. NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 15 With more intermittent renewable energy generation on the world’s power networks, and fossil fuel supplies experiencing major disruptions, distributed power reserves are becoming increasingly important to maintain grid stability and keep the power on 24/7. To support this transition, ABB is launching PowerExchanger, an innovative feature for its UPS products, which allows battery reserves to provide ancillary services to the grid, reducing costly downtime and cutting energy and operating costs. UPS equipment is used to provide back-up power in the case of a grid supply failure, and it can also eliminate brownouts, over-voltages and electrical noise. The UPS’ back-up power is drawn from its energy storage capacity, which often goes unused. With PowerExchanger fitted to new or existing ABB UPS systems, these batteries can be used to help the grid respond quickly to unexpected imbalances between power generation and demand, to reduce costly outages. By using PowerExchanger to join markets for grid ancillary services, Fast Frequency Response (FRF) operators, for example, can now generate a new revenue stream, which lowers the cost of operating this capital-intensive equipment. Ideal for Low and Medium Voltage data centres, PowerExchanger ensures a minimum energy reserve is retained by the UPS battery, so in the event of a complete grid outage, the critical load will always be protected. PowerExchanger can also deliver additional financial and performance benefits, thanks to peak shaving. When peak-time energy comes at a premium, PowerExchanger enables on-site UPS energy reserves to cover consumption peaks and keep costs low. “Against the global backdrop of rising energy prices and supply uncertainty, our customers are under increasing pressure to optimise the use of installed assets PowerExchanger Integrates Renewables and Stabilises the Grid to Keep the Power on 24/7 and improve efficiencies – all while supporting the transition to renewable energy,” said Paolo Catapane, UPS Product Manager for ABB. “A powerful way to do this is to harness the untapped potential of the energy storage held within a UPS, which is what our new PowerExchanger can do. It provides demand response functionality, helping to stabilise the grid while generating a healthy revenue for operators and lowering operating costs, making it ideal for use in mission-critical facilities such as data centres.” ABB’s new PowerExchanger is now available as a feature for ABB’s mid to high-power UPS solutions and is quick and easy to retrofit on existing systems. Share your news! Send your press releases or announcements to: editor@networkseuropemagazine.comEd Ansett, Founder and Chairman of i3 Solutions Group The real embodied carbon cost of a data centre carbon cost www.networkseuropemagazine.com 16According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the carbon cost of building is rising. The UNEP Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) global status report highlighted two concerning trends: Firstly, ‘CO2 emissions from the building sector are the highest ever recorded…’, and secondly, ‘new GlobalABC tracker finds sector is losing momentum toward decarbonisation.’ Embodied carbon costs are predominantly incurred at the construction stage of a building project. However, these costs can go further than simply the carbon price of materials. While it is true that not all buildings are the same in embodied carbon terms, almost all the emissions created at the beginning of the building lifecycle are unable to be reduced over time. As this is often the case in data centres, it is incumbent on us to consider the best ways for the sector to identify and evaluate the real embodied carbon cost of infrastructure-dense and energy- intensive buildings. Technical environments and energy-intensive buildings such as data centres can differ greatly from other forms of commercial real estate such as offices, warehouses and retail developments. Let’s take for example a new build 50MW data centre facility. In order to meet its design objective, it’s going to require a great deal more power and cooling infrastructure plant and equipment to function compared to other forms of buildings. Embodied carbon in data centres Whatever the building type, embodied carbon comprises all emissions not attributed to operations, in addition to the use of energy and water in its day to day running. It’s a long list that can include emissions associated with resource extraction, manufacturing and transportation, as well as those created during the installation of materials and components used to construct the built environment. Embodied carbon also includes the lifecycle emissions from the ongoing use of all of the above. This includes maintenance, repair and replacements, end-of-life activities such as decommissioning and demolition, transportation, waste processing and disposal. These lifecycle emissions have to be considered when accounting for the total carbon cost. The complexity of mission-critical facilities makes it more important than ever to have a comprehensive process to address all the sources of embodied carbon emissions, early in the design and equipment procurement stage. Only by early and detailed assessment can operators be informed of the best actions that can contribute to immediate embodied carbon reductions. Calculating whole life carbon The boundaries that measure the embodied carbon and emissions of a building at different points in the construction and operating lifecycle are: Cradle to Gate; Cradle to Site; Cradle to Use and Cradle to Grave carbon calculations. ‘Cradle’ is referenced as the earth or ground from which raw materials are extracted. For data centres, these levels of infrastructure are equipment-related, additional and important considerations. In embodied carbon terms, they are categorised under Scope 3 of the GHG Protocol Standards - also referred to as Value-Chain emissions. Much of the Scope 3 emissions are produced by upstream activities that include construction materials. It is especially important for data centres that they also include the carbon cost for ongoing maintenance and replacement of the facility's plant and equipment. That brings us to the whole of life calculations which combines embodied and operational carbon. Combining embodied and operational emissions to analyse the entire lifecycle of a building throughout its useful life and beyond, is the Whole Life Carbon approach. It ensures that the embodied carbon (CO2e emissions) together with embodied carbon of materials, components and construction activities, are calculated and available to allow comparison between different design and construction approaches. Data centre sustainability is more than simply operational efficiency The efforts to improve efficiency and reduce energy use – as measured through improvements in PUE – have slowed operational carbon emissions, even as demand and scale of facilities have surged. But reducing operational energy of the facility is measured over time and such reductions can not be accounted for until five, 10, or even 30 years into the future. However, as embodied carbon is mostly spent up- front as the building is constructed, there is, therefore, a compelling reason to include embodied carbon within all analyses and data centre design decisions. A ‘Whole Life’ carbon approach that considers the Embodied and the Operational emissions can provide the opportunity to contribute positively to global goals to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases – and save financial costs. Global emissions from new build projects are at record levels. Consequently, construction is moving further away from, not closer to, net- zero buildings. With the current focus very much on the carbon footprint of facility operations, a new white paper presents the case for taking a Whole Life Carbon approach when assessing data centre carbon impact. carbon cost www.networkseuropemagazine.com 17We all strive to minimise the impact and improve the sustainability of our business operations. Being a sustainable company means taking steps to produce products with minimum waste and maximum recyclability. There are many step-by-step approaches and best practices that can help achieve this. However, being truly sustainable also means continuously rethinking processes and supply chains – and that requires a very different approach for each company. Following established guidelines, while also critically examining existing ways of working in order to reduce carbon emissions, gives the most lasting results. We could compare this to losing weight: you can exercise more or change your diet. But doing both of these things is the fastest, most effective way to reach your goals. Let’s take a closer look at the elements of our business that affect CO 2 emissions. Distance to customers More efficient production processes and machinery obviously ensure much better performance with regard to CO 2 emissions, for example. However, your distance to the customers and markets you serve is equally, if not more, important. Producing or assembling locally not only improves delivery speed but might even reduce carbon emissions to a greater extent than small changes to your production process. First time right A product could be produced in a process optimised for low carbon emissions, but if it needs to be sent back due to failure or incompatibility, the gains from that process are lost. Delivering ‘first time right products’, means there are no recalls, so no waste from products, packaging or additional transports. That not only means rigidly adhering to manufacturing and testing protocols but also carefully examining plans, architecture proposals and installation processes with customers, to ensure every component is fit for purpose and meets every specification. ‘First time right’ refers to both product and supply quality: if you ship exactly what’s needed exactly when it’s needed, using the most appropriate shipping methods, and without wasting space, you’ll improve overall CO 2 performance. An introspective look at carbon reduction Michiel Panders, R&M General Manager Europe Being a sustainable company means taking steps to produce products with minimum waste and maximum recyclability. Michiel Panders, R&M General Manager Europe takes a look at the elements of our business that affect CO 2 emissions. carbon reductions www.networkseuropemagazine.com 18ook at carbon reductions www.networkseuropemagazine.com 19Next >