As more people rely on the digital world in their everyday lives, data centres are becoming more important. Data centres play an integral role to the digital efficiency of a business. Companies that use data centres will have less risk of down time and a reliable digital service.
Delays in transmitting digital data can have a negative impact on businesses. Businesses who rely on digital services for efficiency, or for a competitive advantage, should use data centres as a reliable backup for system failures.
In addition to traditional data centres, modular data centres are available. Modular data centres have the advantage of increasing data capacity at short notice wherever it’s needed. Prefabricated modular data centres can be delivered to any location needing more data capacity.
A converted container is portable and versatile, making it well suited for modular data centres.
What Is A Data Centre?
A data centre is a dedicated space used to house core IT and infrastructure computer systems. Many businesses will rely on digital systems and a centralised server to store and handle data.
If a server goes down, it can lead to loss of earnings. A data centre is one way that businesses can optimise digital performance and offer an emergency backup system.
How Can A Container Be Used For A Data Centre?
A shipping container can provide a fast, modular, and portable solution to creating a data centre. There are many advantages to using a shipping container for a data centre.
There is huge conversion potential with our units as they are incredibly versatile. They can be adapted to store IT equipment, creating a space for servers, data storage equipment, power supplies, and generators. The modular nature of a container offers quick and cost-effective data capacity expansion. You can even house cooling towers in adjacent container units for a completely modular data hub.
A shipping container is designed to be transported worldwide. With this in mind, a container data centre is easy to move and can be placed in a precise location where it’s needed. Containers are stackable, so you can scale up the data centre’s operating capacity when customer demand increases.
If your business has scaled up, a container can provide a cost-effective and fast way to build a data centre. Extending an existing bricks and mortar data centre can prove costly and take a long time, but a container eliminates these issues. A converted container is delivered onsite prefabricated. Once it’s connected to the relevant power, cooling and network connections, it’s ready to use.
If your data centre needs to be onsite, a portable container won’t take up any valuable floor space in your existing building. If the data centre needs to be in a different location to head office, a modular unit can be transported to almost any outdoor location. If an unexpected power outage happened at the head office, such as extreme weather or a terror attack, a modular data centre would continue to provide uninterrupted data capacity.
The Data Centre Conversion Process
With the help of a container conversion specialist, transforming a container into a data centre can be a stress-free job. Each container conversion is specified to meet the customer’s specific needs and the environment that the container will be in, but there are a few features that should be considered for every data centre.
The data centre must be fitted out with adequate electrical points for IT equipment, alarms, lighting and cooling systems. It’s also important to have circuit breakers inside the container to be able to handle the amount of power running through the system.
Heat regulation is another important consideration. The server must be at a cool temperature to enable it to work well. S Jones Containers can modify units to include specialist insulation, air conditioning and ventilation systems. These modifications ensure that the data centre remains climate-controlled and efficient.
Given the constant use of a data centre, and that the electrical equipment inside can produce a lot of heat, ensuring there is a safe means of escape in the event of fire is vital. Emergency lighting or a fire alarm system can easily be installed inside a container data centre, and is a simple way to offer safety measures inside the container in case of emergency.
Make sure you consider the security of the unit when designing your modular data centre. Break-ins could cause major damage to a data centre and create outages that you are trying to avoid.
It’s likely your container data centre will have a personnel door fitted for easy access which can be locked with a conventional padlock. To further improve security, fit a CISA container padlock to the cargo doors. We recommend the CISA lock is used in conjunction with our padlock shrouds, Contain-A-Lock® Padlock Protector, to further protect the data centre equipment.
If you need advice on using containers to build a modular data centre, please get in touch with our expert conversions team to discuss your requirements.
