New server room enhances Council's service delivery
"Professional, courteous, cost-effective and motivated – the Comms Room Services team delivered to time and budget. We now have a modern, safe and operationally reliable server room."

Andrew Grogan, Infrastructure and Networks Manager, Hounslow Borough Council

Challenge
Data centre uptime is a critical concern for any business, and it was becoming an issue for Hounslow Borough Council. Service failures and technical problems with infrastructure were increasing and the Council recognised that it was time to upgrade. It was essential that a modern, safe and operationally reliable server room was created – a server room which would eliminate unscheduled outages and failures and improve service to the public in areas such as Social Services.

Solution
External consultants were appointed to evaluate the options. An in-situ refurbishment of the data centre was recommended as most cost-effective and Comms Room Services was selected to design and deliver the project.

The server room and infrastructure was rebuilt over a period of four months. The raised floor was replaced and new structured cabling installed. The power infrastructure (UPS and generator set) and air conditioning systems were upgraded – both utilising N+1 solutions for added redundancy and guaranteed uptime. A green gas fire suppression system was introduced and the access control and CCTV system replaced and upgraded. In the event of fire, the environmental monitoring systems are designed to initiate a controlled shutdown and send situation updates to key staff via text alerts.

And, very importantly, the build was executed in a live environment. Most of the data cabinets were moved over weekends in a series of controlled outages. Some cabinets could not be moved, so were lifted while still live and work continued underneath. Old partition walls were replaced with a secure fire-rated structure.

Benefits
Hounslow Borough Council is now enjoying a vast operational improvement across its entire server network and related infrastructure with monitoring systems which advise of potential hazard situations and help with green targets. Business risk has been reduced and peace of mind, in terms of staff safety and security, has been increased. And, service to the public has been improved.