Vertiv launches IT testing lab in Poland data centre

Vertiv today pulled back the curtains on its new laboratory for IT infrastructure, colocated in a data center in Poland.

According to the company, it has already implemented similar test environments in Customer Experience Centres around the world but this facility is the first of its kind in the Central and Eastern Europe region (CEE).

Vertiv will be using the lab to conduct research development projects and performance tests of power systems with variable load, in addition to tests of the information and communications technologies equipment operating in changing data center environments like air humidity and temperature.

Vertiv's laboratory will be fully equipped and available to clients in the CEE region on Atman data center campus in Warsaw.

The goal, the company says, is to discover new ways of reducing energy consumption.

This is based on research from Atman that purports the cost of electricity required to power a typical 100 metre company server room over 20 years to be at least €2.7 million, which means even a small increase in efficiency could have a significant impact.

The laboratory then, is to enable clients to test various scenarios of IT infrastructure operations and find cost-optimal solutions amidst the significant changes underway in the electricity market.

Statistics from Eurostat show that average energy prices in the European Union have increased almost 30 percent in the last decade alone, while Vertiv asserts experts have predicted wholesale energy prices will continue to rise in the coming years.

"A lot of variables affect the energy consumption in data centers and can't be tested without risking the interruption of access to data," says Vertiv country manager for the region of Poland and Baltics Bartłomiej Raab.

"By creating a test environment on the data center campus, we will be able to safely examine different settings of individual parameters and their impact on energy efficiency and provide feedback to our clients. The laboratory is open for our customers to conduct independent infrastructure tests.

As part of the project, both Atman and Vertiv have put together an extensive plan of tests that includes the verification of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and precision cooling systems operating under various testing conditions.

Clients will be able to utilise data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software to monito power and cooling equipment, develop optimal infrastructure configuration in various environmental conditions, and examine space use efficiency in the racks.

"During the tests, it is possible to examine the results of various scenarios and thus effectively optimise IT costs, minimising the need to introduce changes in the infrastructure even in the long-term perspective," says Atman product manager and project leader for the construction of the test laboratory Adam Dzielnicki.

"The launch of the laboratory gives clients detailed information on the conditions under which their digital resources will be stored and processed.