1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,960 In this lesson, 2 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:03,630 we're going to discuss fire suppression systems. 3 00:00:03,630 --> 00:00:04,680 Now, in a data center, 4 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:05,513 we usually have 5 00:00:05,513 --> 00:00:08,250 a built-in fire suppression system that's installed. 6 00:00:08,250 --> 00:00:11,100 This can include wet pipe systems, pre-action systems, 7 00:00:11,100 --> 00:00:13,290 or special suppression systems. 8 00:00:13,290 --> 00:00:15,840 Now, first, we have wet pipe systems. 9 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:16,890 A wet pipe system 10 00:00:16,890 --> 00:00:19,410 is the most basic type of fire suppression system, 11 00:00:19,410 --> 00:00:21,990 and it involves using a sprinkler system and pipes 12 00:00:21,990 --> 00:00:24,660 that always contain water inside of those pipes. 13 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:26,400 Whenever a fire alarm goes off, 14 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,260 the valve at the end of the pipes is going to open 15 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:30,090 and the water will be released. 16 00:00:30,090 --> 00:00:32,070 For example, a traditional office building, 17 00:00:32,070 --> 00:00:33,300 or even in some homes, 18 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:35,520 you're going to see these wet pipe systems. 19 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:36,960 Now, if you look around your office tomorrow 20 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,090 and you see a small sprinkler sticking out of the ceiling 21 00:00:39,090 --> 00:00:40,950 with a red glass bulb inside of it, 22 00:00:40,950 --> 00:00:43,980 that is usually going to be a wet pipe system. 23 00:00:43,980 --> 00:00:46,080 Now, the problem is that if that pipe leaks 24 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,480 or that little glass bulb is broken by accident, 25 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:50,010 water will come rushing out 26 00:00:50,010 --> 00:00:52,020 and it will damage your servers and network gear 27 00:00:52,020 --> 00:00:54,900 that are located inside of the room underneath them. 28 00:00:54,900 --> 00:00:58,350 In general, my advice is to avoid using a wet pipe system 29 00:00:58,350 --> 00:01:00,150 in and around your data centers, 30 00:01:00,150 --> 00:01:01,170 even if you are going to use them 31 00:01:01,170 --> 00:01:03,450 for the rest of your office environment. 32 00:01:03,450 --> 00:01:05,940 Now, if you are going to use a wet pipe system, though, 33 00:01:05,940 --> 00:01:07,290 I recommend that you opt to use 34 00:01:07,290 --> 00:01:09,510 our second type of fire suppression system, 35 00:01:09,510 --> 00:01:12,060 which is known as a pre-action system. 36 00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:14,580 Now, a pre-action system helps to minimize the risk 37 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:16,080 of accidental releases 38 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,240 if you're going to be using a wet pipe system. 39 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:19,650 With a pre-action system, 40 00:01:19,650 --> 00:01:21,180 both a detector actuation 41 00:01:21,180 --> 00:01:23,040 like a smoke detector and sprinkler 42 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:24,330 must both be tripped 43 00:01:24,330 --> 00:01:26,490 prior to the water being released. 44 00:01:26,490 --> 00:01:28,470 And this is almost like two-factor authentication 45 00:01:28,470 --> 00:01:30,000 for your fire system. 46 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,370 Again, though, using water in a data center, 47 00:01:32,370 --> 00:01:34,050 even with a pre-action system, 48 00:01:34,050 --> 00:01:36,270 is not usually going to be the best idea. 49 00:01:36,270 --> 00:01:39,150 So instead, I recommend we look at our third area, 50 00:01:39,150 --> 00:01:41,910 which is known as a special suppression system. 51 00:01:41,910 --> 00:01:43,740 Now, special suppression systems 52 00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:45,690 usually are going to utilize a clean agent 53 00:01:45,690 --> 00:01:47,550 as part of its suppression system. 54 00:01:47,550 --> 00:01:50,190 A clean agent is either a halocarbon agent 55 00:01:50,190 --> 00:01:51,810 or an inert gas. 56 00:01:51,810 --> 00:01:54,090 When the agent or the inert gas is released, 57 00:01:54,090 --> 00:01:56,010 it's going to displace the oxygen in the room 58 00:01:56,010 --> 00:01:57,660 with the agent or inert gas, 59 00:01:57,660 --> 00:01:59,760 and this in turn is going to suffocate the fire 60 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,830 because there's no more oxygen there. 61 00:02:01,830 --> 00:02:02,670 Now, there is a danger 62 00:02:02,670 --> 00:02:04,950 with using a special suppression system like this 63 00:02:04,950 --> 00:02:06,960 because if there's people in your data center, 64 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,479 they're going to be suffocated along with that fire 65 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:11,550 whenever you release the clean agent. 66 00:02:11,550 --> 00:02:13,530 For this reason, any data center 67 00:02:13,530 --> 00:02:15,750 that's going to use a clean agent-based system 68 00:02:15,750 --> 00:02:17,520 must be equipped with an alarm 69 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,170 that announces whenever the clean agent 70 00:02:19,170 --> 00:02:20,790 is going to be released. 71 00:02:20,790 --> 00:02:22,320 Additionally, that data center 72 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,300 has to have supplemental oxygen available 73 00:02:24,300 --> 00:02:25,710 for use by any personnel 74 00:02:25,710 --> 00:02:27,660 who may be working in the data center, 75 00:02:27,660 --> 00:02:30,060 just in case a clean agent is going to be released 76 00:02:30,060 --> 00:02:31,650 while they're in that room. 77 00:02:31,650 --> 00:02:34,260 So, remember, when it comes to fire suppression, 78 00:02:34,260 --> 00:02:35,730 you need to design your data center 79 00:02:35,730 --> 00:02:37,290 with a clean agent system 80 00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:38,670 to prevent damaging your equipment 81 00:02:38,670 --> 00:02:41,640 with water from a wet pipe or pre-action system. 82 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:43,080 While we hope that we're never going to have to use 83 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:44,670 our fire suppression systems, 84 00:02:44,670 --> 00:02:46,800 it's always a good idea to have them installed properly 85 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:47,820 by a professional 86 00:02:47,820 --> 00:02:49,140 and inspected annually 87 00:02:49,140 --> 00:02:50,550 to ensure that they're ready to be used 88 00:02:50,550 --> 00:02:52,050 in case a fire does break out 89 00:02:52,050 --> 00:02:53,553 in any of our data centers.