Comment by kryogen1c
12 days ago
> Data center science has... well improved since the earlier days
You say that, but...
> There was one day we knocked out windows and purchased box fans because servers were literally catching on fire
This happened to Equinix's CH1 datacenter in Chicago Jan24 (not the literal fire part). Took down Azure ExpressRoute.
Apparently it got too cold and the CRACs couldn't take it? I'm told they had all the doors and windows open trying to keep things cold enough, but alas. As the CRAC goes, so goes the servers
I’ve worked in CH1 for years now. The glycol in the chillers froze. Thats how cold it was!
It was also 115 degrees ambient temp inside CH1. Techs were dipping in and out 5-10 minutes at a time to avoid heat stroke
running European ISPs in summer we’d nick desk fans off the telco folks to cool down our walls of USR Sportsters, distracting them first with snarky remarks about ATM overhead
absolutely do not miss those days