Update from UKFast
Please find below an update on yesterday's issue from our Critical Power Director, explaining our return to mains power:
We have been running successfully on our back up generators since 10.48am 12th December 2017.
We have 12,250 litres of fuel which equates to a run time of 49 hours, with tankers on standby who are able to deliver with immediate effect.
At this time we await confirmation of a time to re-energise the power network to MaNOC 5,6 & 7. The cable has been fixed by Electricity North West. We understand this will more than likely be later today.
To return to mains power we will be doing this in a controlled manner. The UKFast data centre is currently locked onto generator power so when ENW switch the power back on we will prove it’s working perfectly before starting the process to switch over back to mains. This mitigates any risk of the power coming on intermittently or incorrectly.
Once ENW confirm to UKFast the electric supply is energised we will then check the electricity supply is present at our transformer and check the electricity for phase rotation to ensure the supply is electrically correct. Even though ENW should have proved this themselves we will double check it before proceeding to the next step.
Once we are happy that the supply is stable and correct we will activate our automatic power change-over system. The automatic change-over system will also monitor the power for 5 minutes and then initiate the automated return to mains power. This is called a proving period.
At this point the generator's bus-coupler main breaker will open, removing generator power from the system. The UPS which is constantly in operation will automatically support the technical load for around 10 seconds while the mains electricity power circuit breaker is closed and reconnected to the power systems.
The UPS battery system also supports the mains change-over for a further 2 minutes as the UPS slowly transfers from battery power to mains power. This is called a "walk in" procedure and removes the risk of the UPS seeing huge power demands and creates a smooth transition. There is no break in power to the technical load during the walk in period.
During the walk in period the air-conditioning will stop for a moment and restart and also perform a walk in procedure to ensure no stress is placed on the power network. This takes around 1-2 minutes as the CRAC units stop and restart.
During this period the generators continue to run should they be required. Once the transfer is complete the generators run on for a further 3 minutes then shut down and go back into standby mode.
Return to mains power is then complete should there be any issue during the transfer period we can automatically switch back to generator power.
On site managing the process we have the UKFast Electrical Team and Ingram Generator Service Partners.
It's not uncommon to lose power in the UK. In the last 12 months we have performed this exercise twice after losing power to the area. Both times the systems have switched over perfectly. This is one of the reasons we run an N 1 environment.
We prove the start signal on a weekly basis which fires up the generators and the UPS tests itself every day at 8am. We are the only data centre that we are aware of to hold the NICEIC accreditation meaning we are a fully licensed electrical contractor and can manage and maintain our data centres without the need for external contractors.
Unfortunately we do not have an exact time when the supply will be reconnected, however we are on standby and working closely with ENW who indicate it will probably be late afternoon or early evening.
Yours sincerely
Miles Allen Critical Power Director
Biting the hand that feeds IT
