If you think you’re well-informed about what’s healthy and what’s not, think again. This blog dives into a world of food fraud and industry deception—a world where the fine print is written in dollar signs rather than in truths about health. Here, you’ll find links, …
Ah, flying. The act of defying gravity while confined in a metal tube hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds. It’s a marvel of modern engineering and a source of both excitement and dread for travelers worldwide. But fear not, fellow wanderers, for I, your …
Guide to Japan: A Silly Sojourn Through the Land of the Rising Sun
Greetings, fellow explorers of the eccentric and aficionados of the absurd! Today, we embark on a ludicrously delightful journey to Japan, a country where the traditional meets the avant-garde with the grace of a tap-dancing sumo wrestler. So, strap on your silly walks and let’s dive into the wonderfully wacky world of the Land of the Rising Sun.
As we bid adieu to this uproariously nonsensical tour of Japan, remember that sometimes the best way to navigate life’s absurdities is to embrace them with a hearty laugh and a playful spirit. So, go forth, fellow travelers, and may your adventures be as joyously ludicrous as a skit from Monty Python’s legendary repertoire. Safe travels, and don’t forget to bring along your most preposterously large hat!
(“When most horses are retired.”) english Ergens in het noorden van Nederland, waar de wind de baas is over het weidse landschap, besloot een duo, even tijdloos als de designs in hun nostalgische woonkamer, om een caravan te scoren. Niet zomaar een caravan, maar een …
Ever wondered? Disks are packing more and more data into the same tiny real estate. Yet, as they cram more bits and bytes into every square inch, these disks are growing more vulnerable to an unexpected foe: noise. Turns out, today’s drives can be quite …
Imagine this: nestled in the heart of the Netherlands, a local government’s data center faces an unexpected adversary. Not fire, but the very system designed to protect against it—a stealthy, invisible force that spells doom for unsuspecting hard disks.
Enter the scene, the Inert Gas Fire Protection System—a knight in shining armor for electronics, or so it was thought. Picture a tranquil office disrupted by a calamity not of flames, but of air—silent but deadly (to hard drives, at least). Our protagonist, a set of 56 Netapp disks, stands unprepared for the chaos about to unfold.
The plot thickens as the insurance company, with brows furrowed, inquires, “How could mere gas wreak such havoc?” A tale of acoustic noise unfolds, a villain not of pressure, temperature, or chemical reactions, but of sound—a serenade of destruction for the digital age.
As the gas rushes from its pressurized lair, it screams through the data center, a banshee wail disturbing the peace of hard disk drives. This noise, akin to a sonic boom in the confined space of a data center, causes vibrations. These vibrations coax the delicate read/write heads of hard drives to dance erratically, skipping over the precise tracks they’re meant to follow—a microscopic ballet with catastrophic consequences.
But what of the Inert Gas Fire Suppression System itself? A concoction of Argon and Nitrogen, these gases are the unsung heroes of fire protection—silent guardians that smother flames without a hint of danger to electronics, hardware, or the humans amongst them. By reducing oxygen levels just enough to starve a fire but not enough to trouble breathing, these systems were thought to be the perfect solution since their debut in the mid-90s.
Stored like warriors in high-pressure cylinders, ready at a moment’s notice to defend against the fiery foe, they release their charge with such force that the data center itself must be designed to breathe—to prevent the buildup of pressure from turning rescue into ruin.
Yet, the tale takes a twist with the saga of ING Bank’s data center in Romania. A test of valor, a fire extinguishing trial meant to demonstrate strength, instead reveals a flaw. The silent protector’s shout of release sends vibrations coursing through the center, a tempest that leaves servers in silence, unavailable to the world.
The decibel level of this unexpected uproar? Beyond the reach of their equipment, over 130dB—a concert of chaos in the quiet world of data storage.
So, as we draw the curtain on this modern fable, let us remember: in the realm of technology, protectors must tread lightly, for their strength can be as destructive as the dangers they guard against. A lesson in humility, a whisper in the wind—sometimes, the gentlest approach ensures the safety of the treasures we hold dear.
Acoustic Nozzle Design for Fire Protection Application
An interesting paper about the matter can be found here
More reading on this matter
Siemens White Paper: Potential problems with computer hard disks when fire extinguishing systems are released
Provider WestHost was down for 6 days when a fire-suppression system test went terribly wrong
Was it caused by the inert accoustics, or by the the fire alarm siren (horn)?
Just when we thought our datacenter had seen it all—floods, power outages, and unexpected shutdowns—fate decided to throw us yet another curveball. This time, our adventure begins not with water, but with its absence, and the unwelcome heat it brought with it. On a day …
Oh, and we broke your door. Have a nice day! So begins our tale of technological turbulence and unexpected pyrotechnic performances in the least likely of places: nestled within the secure, usually uneventful confines of a data center, which, in a twist that might make …
About a year after the infamous water saga that had our datacenter swimming in unexpected ways, calm had finally returned. Or so we thought. With the resilience of seasoned IT warriors, we moved on to tie up the last few loose ends. Among these was integrating the emergency power generator with our newly renovated building—a task that sounds as straightforward as a Sunday morning.
Scheduled for, quite fittingly, a Sunday, a datacenter administrator and the installer were on deck to make the necessary adjustments. The moment of truth approached, the time to switch over the power sources. Our datacenter administrator, armed with experience and caution, suggested a sequence that started in the basement before moving to the switchboard near the UPS in the datacenter. The installer, however, convinced in his approach, insisted on reversing the order.
As fate would have it, just as we were enjoying the serenity of a car ride to a family gathering, our phones erupted with the kind of news that turns a calm day into a storm. A network manager, also present during the operation, reported in a tone that was a cocktail of surprise and panic: “The datacenter is down.”
“Down as in…?” we probed, hoping for a misunderstanding. “Down as in off. Completely off.” But what about the UPS? Shouldn’t the servers be running on battery power? The response was a grim confirmation of our fears. The installer’s reversal had led to the UPS providing precisely zero support to the servers.
For those even remotely familiar with virtualization, the domino effect of this mishap was clear: hundreds of servers were now orphaned in vCenter, and numerous databases had been abruptly severed. The result? A hastily made call to our awaiting family, apologizing for abandoning the feast they had prepared, and a marathon session that extended all Sunday and into Monday, all to bring the silent datacenter back to life.
This tale, while a testament to the unpredictability of technology, serves as a poignant reminder of the gap between expectation and reality in the IT world. It wasn’t just about a power switch; it was about every decision leading up to it and the chain reaction it triggered. A narrative not just of a datacenter gone silent, but of the resilience and dedication it takes to turn the lights—and the servers—back on.
In the serene aftermath of our datacenter’s unexpected baptism, confidence was high. The building had been rejuvenated, our equipment upgraded. Surely, we had weathered the worst. Yet, as fate would have it, Murphy wasn’t quite done with us. Tucked neatly in his pocket was another …