The worldwide data centre market is experiencing explosive year-on-year growth as our reliance on remote working, AI and the Internet of Things increases at a staggering rate. In addition, the changes to our working lives have meant that businesses and individuals need reliable access to data to allow them to embrace flexible ways of working. Therefore, as we become more reliant on remote or hybrid working models, it’s essential that data centres run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Data centre power outages can happen for various reasons such as weather conditions, network failures, human error and software issues. However, they can also occur due to power infrastructure problems created inside the data centre from either generator, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) or Power Distribution Unit (PDU) failures.
The International Data Corporation reports that energy consumption per server is growing by around 9% per year globally. Despite servers getting more compact to save installation space, their improved performance increases their energy requirement. As a result, energy consumption costs can be more than 50% of the total data centre operating expenses (OPEX). It’s therefore essential to invest in and manage each part of the critical infrastructure in the data centre to ensure energy efficiency and reliability.
Cable assemblies distribute power from the data centre’s UPS to the PDUs. These assemblies consist of a cable between one or two connector hoods. Inside the connector is an insert or multiple inserts where the conductors from the cable are terminated. The connector hoods then mate with a matching housing wired to the PDU and/or UPS.
When a cable assembly is designed and manufactured using automation, human error is massively reduced. If the same connections are handmade or field wired, the chance of error increases, potentially risking catastrophic issues either during the initial power up or during the operation of the data centre. This in turn can result in hours of expensive skilled labour spent troubleshooting as well as the downtime costs of the rack, PDU or entire data hall not functioning.
If designers hardwire the conductors inside the cable, a skilled electrician is needed to disconnect and reconnect the hard-wired PDU. Using cable assemblies means there is no need to hire an electrician and, since everything is pre-wired and pre-tested, wiring errors are virtually eliminated.
As energy costs can account for more than 50% of the total operating expenses of a data centre, one important ongoing challenge is to improve the energy efficiency of its infrastructure. To calculate the exact effect of power usage from connectors in data centres, HARTING has compared the power consumption of three different connector solutions in its independently accredited test laboratory. One of the connectors tested was the HARTING Han-Eco®. The other two were CEE (IEC 60309) plugs from different manufacturers.
The results showed that the Han-Eco® connector reduced power wastage by up to 50%, compared to the other two brands of IEC connectors, by using low-impedance contacts. These contacts reduce the power lost in connections and significantly improve the Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) of data centres.
Depending on the electricity price, which differs regionally and worldwide, different monetary gains can be realised. As an example, one hyperscale data centre with 15,000 racks can achieve annual power consumption savings of around £90,000. These calculations are based on the average EU industrial prices from 2020, so potential savings will be even more dramatic when we consider how much energy prices have increased over the past four years.
The Open Compute Project (OCP) is focused on the redesign of hardware technologies for IT infrastructure. The goal of the working group is to make data centres more efficient, more flexible and more quickly scalable, via an open exchange of ideas, specifications and other intellectual property to maximise innovation and reduce the complexity of technical components.
In a data centre, power shelves provide power to IT equipment. The Rack & Power Project Group within the OCP initiative is focused on standardising racks and making them easier to integrate into the data centre infrastructure. These designs, called the Open Rack, began worldwide installation at the beginning of 2023.
As a lead author and initial connector partner in the standardisation process, HARTING has now developed the third version of the Open Rack (ORV3), called the ORV3 OCP Input Power Connector. In line with the OCP’s goal of optimising efficiency in the construction and scaling of data centres, the Han® ORV3 enables a more compact design for the entire infrastructure thanks to its shallower rack system.
Connectivity technology is constantly being refined and developed, and new Smart Connectivity solutions are designed to improve safety, identify faults, and ensure systems within data centres are working efficiently.
One of the most important additional functions powered by Smart Connectivity is the signalling of the mating state. The mating state can indicate a range of different parameters, including if the connector is electrically connected and whether it is mechanically locked. It can also indicate if the connector is overloaded and monitor whether environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity are within the permitted range.
Connectors are currently identified by using electrical contacts as coding pins, with the control system determining which attachment is plugged in. However, this method has its limits, especially with large flexible systems.
The latest solution identifies the connector with the help of a bus system and microcontroller or alternatively via NFC (Near Field Communication). This gives each connector a unique ID which is assigned to the corresponding attachment or tool. As a result, even simple components such as lamps, door contacts or analogue sensors can be identified.
To learn more about HARTING and their range of connectors and cabling solutions for data centres, please visit https://www.harting.com/en-GB/data-centres or email salesuk@harting.com .
