State-of-the-art portable data centre to control Christchurch power network

A portable computer facility custom-built in Germany has arrived at the Orion site in
Christchurch to house sensitive computer systems crucial to the operation and control of the
city’s electricity network.

The leading-edge data centre, built to stringent earthquake standards, wa s urgently needed
to protect Orion’s sophisticated suite of network control and monitoring equipment which is
still operating from the company’s earthquake damaged building in the CBD. The main
computer room in Orion’s Manchester Street building partially sunk after the February 22
earthquake, however its vital computer systems have kept functioning and have not failed
during subsequent aftershocks.

Orion now operates from an undamaged building on its site within the cordoned-off CBD red
zone, and its backup computer facilities are also located in a secure area onsite. Shortly after
the February q uak e the company began an international search for a robust and portable
solution to protect its critical IT equipment – including a new ‘smart grid’ network
management system.

German IT infrastructure provider Rittal was chosen to manufacture a customised facility for
Orion – a secure outdoor data centre which is the only one of its kind in Australasia. Four
months on, the 15-tonne, 10x3 metre data centre container has arrived in Christchurch and is
now being commissioned at Orion’s site.

Orion Senior System Engineer Neville Digby says many Australasian utility companies ar e following the project with interest. Orion has become a test case for installing a robust portable technology solution in the wake of a natural disaster, which can easily move if the company needs to relocate to a new site.

“Commissioning this facility in the next couple of weeks will be a major milestone for Orion
and Rittal, and is key to the network’s recovery after the earthquakes. Rittal is nearing the
end of a huge amount of work to get the data centre ready for operation here – they
responded to our urgent request quickly and fast-tracked the manufacturing of the unit to
deliver us a solution that fully meets our needs,” Mr Digby says.

The data centre was unloaded early Sunday morning at the Lyttelton Port of Christchurch,
which suffered earthquake damage but has resumed operations to ensure the safe flow of
commodities and goods through the port and assist in the Christchurch rebuild.
Key features of the data centre container include an integrated free cooling plant, specialised
computer power systems and a fire suppressant system.