BORA, the innovative manufacturer of premium kitchen appliances needed a new data centre. It was looking for a sustainable, resource-friendly solution that naturally also combined excellent reliability and security with high uptime and operational capability and was scalable – all neatly and seamlessly blended into the Austrian company’s Niederndorf site.
Overview
- Project
- BORA
- Location
- Niederndorf, Austria
- Challenge
Existing data centre unable to cope with business growth
Sustainable and future-proof energy supply
- Solution
Build a new data centre at the Niederndorf site (Austria)
Use of existing water source for cold water supply to the data centre
Self-sufficient emergency cooling , using a chiller installed on the roof
Use of waste heat for heating the building
Tier 2 data centre with 99.749 percent operational uptime.
Redundancy and high system uptime are vital for us because BORA cannot afford any downtime or outages in the interests of its customers.
Just as strict as BORA is when it comes to the quality of its cooktop extractor systems, steam cooking and baking systems, refrigeration and freezing systems, the company has systematically and rigorously adopted and pursued a sustainable strategy in terms of technology and energy supply at all its locations. The company, whose existing data centre had reached its capacity limits, wanted a data centre that could grow with them, was highly robust and redundant with uninterrupted uptime, and was energy efficient. In Rittal, BORA found and opted for an experienced partner who was up to the challenge.
Combining two perfectly matched cooling technologies
The company headquarters on the banks of the Inn River is striking for its distinctive appearance and design. Lots of glass, wood and green roof areas, alongside attractive terraces and patios. The energy required to operate the building is supplied by photovoltaic systems and heat pumps. An in-house well provides cool water – everything is perfectly designed and coordinated. And so too is Rittal’s data centre architecture: the water from the well is used to cool the six racks in the new data centre. Several Liquid Cooling Packages (LCP) were installed for this purpose, each of which can dissipate up to 55 kW of heat per rack and are scalable in design. The fully optimised control system makes LCPs particularly energy-efficient. In winter, the heat that is generated is used to heat the building before the water is returned to the well, and the whole cycle starts again.
A Rittal chiller on the roof kicks in if the temperature in the racks gets too high. It achieves a higher cooling output, but also consumes more energy. Two conflicting requirements had to be reconciled and balanced. In tests and simulations, Rittal worked with all partners involved to calculate the optimum temperature range for this solution. The chiller can now seamlessly step in when there is no other option.
Room for growth thanks to cloud-first strategy
To guarantee that the IT infrastructure can grow with the company and still ensure uninterrupted uptime, Rittal, BORA and consultants from information and communication technology specialists Jarrath.com have developed a well-conceived and designed total solution. As BORA pursues a cloud-first strategy, there is always room for future growth. Rittal also separated the server and technical rooms. The technical room houses an uninterruptible power supply and a fire extinguishing system, ensuring maximum safety and operational uptime. Maintenance and emergency plans are also structured and in place, complying with Tier 2 requirements.