How to Survive Lightning Strikes in Data Center Facilities

Nature has some highly dangerous and destructive weapons in its arsenal. IT facility managers should always keep an eye out for lethal threats from nature of which lightning is perhaps one of the more harmful ones.

Lightning strikes are not an uncommon event today and any electronic device that stands in its path would be damaged beyond use. And unfortunately, there is no exception for heavy duty IT infrastructure such as data centers.

You can soften the impact of a lightning strike on a data center or prevent your facility from being affected by such a natural force. Wondering how? Well the following tips will show you how:

Keep away from popular lightning spots.

Even though lightning is unpredictable you can easily identify places that are frequently prone to lightning with assistance from an established weather center. Leave out those places when it comes to choosing locations for your data center facility.

Use lightning protection systems.

It is nearly impossible to prevent damages from heavy lightning strikes but popular lightning protection systems and proper facility grounding can take away a considerable portion of the impact from the spot thereby preventing big damages.

Back up your power system.

It is not just the electronic gadgetry inside your facility that is vulnerable to heavy lightning strikes, but your power lines as well! They could get damaged, thus rendering your facility powerless. Hence it is wise to properly back up your power system. Refrain from using a single line to power everything because if it gets struck, you will be left with no other option!

Thus an unavoidable natural catastrophe can be tamed to an extent so that your data center infrastructure wouldn’t be damaged beyond use.

For those of you whose core competency is not related to IT infrastructure management, such solutions can drain time and money. This is where you can join the long list of satisfied customers at Life Line data centers. Our data center facilities are designed to provide unparalleled connectivity to your business models and thwart all possible threats, both natural and manmade, without causing any downtime. For more information, feel free to visit our website.

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.