Hundreds of thousands of data centers and server rooms are in multi-tenanted buildings across the US and elsewhere. Within them, critical computer servers and telecommunications equipment are regularly damaged by water dripping – and sometimes cascading – through ceilings from leaking or burst pipes on the floors above.
And worse: In storm-prone areas, it is only too frequent for roof-damage to allow water to come flooding in (even when the roof is several floors up) – causing widespread destruction of the server equipment and disruption to businesses.
An invention called the Turtle Shell server shield – effectively a massive umbrella for data center servers and telecoms racks – is already protecting thousands of servers around the US and as far afield as Norway and Pakistan.
Completely innovative, the Turtle Shell server shield has just been granted US patent number 8,413,385 in recognition of its uniqueness.
Glenn Mahoney, president at Turtle Shell Industries, and his team have been developing the product for four years – with considerable success.
Said Mahoney, “We’ve been called to many disaster sites where storms and pipe bursts have sent water cascading through the ceiling and right through $millions-worth of server and telecoms equipment – not only interrupting vital business operations but in most cases damaging the equipment beyond repair. It’s a highly distressing sight to see”.
“In one such situation – a major cable operator’s network center in New York – thousands of customers were offline because of the water damage. While the center was being rebuilt, the operator asked us to fit Turtle Shells, as one of several new disaster precautions. Less than two years later torrential storms hit again but even the newly reinforced roof gave way and water came cascading through again. However this time, the unique Turtle Shell ‘umbrellas’ kept the water out of the electronics and the equipment kept on working. With $millions worth of equipment saved to carry on earning revenue.”
You can see an amazing video of both the first and the second storm damage as this NYC data center is struck in 2008 and 2010 at ‘Turtle Shell in action’ here: http://turt.co/dcme14.
Turtle Shells are made from a very strong polycarbonate and shaped like a sideways “(“ extended over the full length of each suite or racks.
They can be installed over, under and around all manner of cables, conduits and support rods or brackets. Once installed Turtle Shells are total watertight. They can also be fitted with flexible curtains which can be operated manually or automatically to ensure that water doesn’t splash into the front and rear of racks.
“We’ve seen a 300 percent raise in sales since October,” said Mahoney. “As people on the East coast are recovering from super storm Sandy they are thinking seriously about how to build-in extra disaster protection. And Turtle Shells are proving to be the ideal solution not just for data centers, but telecoms and cable operators, hospitals, schools, universities and Government sites too.”
For further information on Turtle Shells and advice on how to protect your sensitive equipment from damage by falling water and debris visit turtleshellproducts.com
(Note: Turtle Shell Products is a client of Turtle Consulting Group, but the companies are not related. GREAT NAME THOUGH!)
