05 December 2018
The 120m2 facility is said to provide the high levels of resilience expected in the NHS.
Secure I.T. Environments (SITE) has completed a new 120m² data centre at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Part of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, the largest health organisation in Wales, Wrexham Maelor provides a full range of hospital services for around 676,000 people.
The new data centre has an internal footprint of 12x10 metres and is designed to meet the Class 2 requirements defined in BSEN 50600 parts one and two.
SITE says it provides the level of resilience expected from a primary data centre in an NHS setting, with multiple independent infrastructure paths, redundant cooling and dual power sources.
This includes the installation of UPS systems and batteries derived from separate A&B power supply streams.
The facility houses: 16 x 19-inch cabinets providing 672 U spaces; raised access flooring; cold aisle containment; overhead power supply system; Novec fire suppression and VESDA detection system; DCIM environmental monitoring of the room and infrastructure; access control; and CCTV.
It also provides a connection into the existing building management systems.
SITE says maintenance and component upgrades can also take place in the live environment through the use of infrastructure pathways and other redundant hardware.
The company will be providing full maintenance and support services for the next three years.
SITE adds that one of the most challenging aspects of the project was the location of the data centre, which is at the heart of one of the business parts of the hospital site.
Despite this placing limitations on construction traffic, deliveries and access, the company said it worked in partnership with the hospital’s construction contractor, and completed the project both on time in 12 weeks and in budget.
Sion Jones, head of ICT at the health board, says: “Our data centres play a critical role in the running of our hospitals, supporting our wide-ranging clinical and business activities.
“It is strategically essential that we maintain fit-for-purpose data centre facilities to host the many and varied systems that exist in a modern NHS ICT infrastructure.”
