Background
Sunspeed was engaged by a data centre partner to manage the discovery of potential vulnerabilities in rack power infrastructure for a large transportation customer. Ahead of a fixed-wire test, the customer wanted to ensure they would not face any outages to business-critical systems which would bring impact on service users and incur significant cost.
Our team worked with our partner to develop an RFP which was selected by the customer on strength of the proposition, and the ability to co-ordinate works and ensure timely resolution prior to the testing date.
The Requirement
The customer environment included over 150 x racks all running business critical applications. The racks were densely populated with complex cable infrastructure, meaning a hands-off detailed visual survey was required.
The Solution
Over 3 days on-site, Sunspeed conducted a Rack Vulnerability Assessment, a detailed survey of rack power infrastructure as-well as copper & fibre cabling, design, installation and general environment and security.
We conducted a comprehensive survey, assessing and grading risk against our matrix with a red-amber-green system and recording detail about the presentation of the issue as-well as location information. The assessment is developed from extensive experience in data centre environments, and presents a range of insights into common but overlooked issues that either directly cause, or cascade into, outages.
Sunspeed discovered several issues requiring immediate attention, including: improper installation of resilient power supplies, issues in load balancing, and lack of protection for single-powered devices.
Whilst power infrastructure was the main focus, Sunspeed also discovered vulnerabilities in security, rack configuration, equipment deployment, and minor health & safety and cabling concerns.
Our findings were presented in an easy-to-consume report, and a technical workshop was delivered to support the customer in developing a remediation strategy.
The Outcome
Sunspeed’s solution enabled the end customer to undergo the fixed wire testing without experiencing outages, issues were discovered that after further analysis had shown to have had a high likelihood of causing disruption to critical applications.
The assessment supported ongoing physical infrastructure management operations, including the development and implementation of standards and change processes.
Our data centre partner is keen to implement further instances of the RVA for customers with large estates as it supported them drive value to their customers through proactive engagement.
DISCOVER HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU
Sunspeed has been providing IT services for over 30 years. We are industry leaders in transformation projects such as Data Centre Relocations, and provide a comprehensive package of services to deliver you control of your physical IT infrastructure. Reach out today to discover how we can support you:
