Rittal is helping to brew something special

Belgium is famous as the birthplace of “French” fries and many excellent beers. The Alken-Maes brewery, which has been part of the Heineken Group since 2008, brews such internationally respected brands as Affligem, Desperados and Grimbergen. They know that time does not stand still and have invested in a new data centre at their Opwijk location. Their biggest challenge was the limited space in their historic building. The location had not housed a data centre before, so it was possible to think independently of the space involved. The solution was developed together with Simac ICT Belgium and Rittal Belgium.

A space-saving solution

A VX IT rack with an integrated liquid cooling unit (LCU), and a cooling output of 3 kW is used. Supplied in 3-kW and 6.5-kW output classes, this refrigerant-based rack cooling system is ideal for small IT applications. The solution’s key feature: it cools directly wherever the heat is generated. Direct connection to the rack permits efficient and cost-effective cooling, helping reduce carbon footprint. Another benefit for Alken-Maes was the combination of rack and LCU. This means that little space was needed in the server room. Thanks to the enclosure’s small size, the system can be used just about anywhere; it is 1,800 mm in height, has a depth of 1,000 mm and is 800 mm wide.

Safety has also been thought through

The rack system also houses the DET-AC III fire alarm and extinguishing system. This compact system with its smoke extraction system only takes up 1 U in the rack. The environmentally NOVEC™ 1230 extinguisher medium is used in the event of a fire. Moreover, the CMC III monitoring system checks external access and the rack’s humidity and temperature.