Objective of the control system
The automation of the data center was designed to ensure three fundamental objectives:
- Continuous 24/7/365 availability of the digital infrastructure
- Precise environmental control in server rooms
- Energy optimization and operational efficiency
In a telecom operator's data center, any thermal deviation or electrical failure can cause network, cloud or telecommunications service interruptions, Therefore, all critical systems are integrated into one centralized monitoring platform (BMS/DCIM).
General architecture of the control system
The data center control system is structured in three levels of industrial architecture.
Level 1 – Sensors and field devices
Thousands of measuring points were installed to monitor the conditions of the data center in real time.
Among them:
Environmental sensors
- temperature in cold aisles
- temperature in hot aisles
- return temperature of air conditioning units
- temperature in the supply
- relative humidity
- differential pressure between aisles
Rack sensors
- upper rack temperature
- average temperature
- lower temperature
This allows detection thermal stratification or hot spots.
Electrical sensors
- status of connections
- UPS status
- status of generator sets
- current in electrical panels
- power per rack
- PDU status
Security states
- fire detection
- water detection in raised floors
- door opening
- rack alarms
Level 2 – Installation Controllers and PLCs
Critical systems connect to industrial controllers or PLCs that manage the control logic.
They typically include:
- PLC for climate control
- PLC power
- cold aisle controllers
- free-cooling controllers
The industrial protocols typically used are:
- Modbus TCP/IP
- BACnet IP
- SNMP (IT teams)
- Industrial Ethernet
These PLCs manage in real time:
- start-up of refrigeration units
- valve control
- EC fan control
- air flow regulation
Thermal monitoring of the data center
One of the most important elements of the system is the IT room temperature control.
Cold/hot aisle configuration
The racks are organized as follows:
- cold aisles (air propulsion)
- hot aisles (air return)
The control system normally maintains:
- target temperature: 22-24 °C
- tolerance: ±3 °C
Dynamic air control
The BMS automatically regulates:
- fan speed
- opening of gates
- cooling capacity
This is done by PID control algorithms based on:
- average hallway temperature
- thermal load
- rack occupancy
Cooling system integration
The data center integrates several cooling technologies connected to the control system.
1. CRAH / CRAC Units
Precision air conditioning units are connected to the BMS.
The system controls:
- pump temperature
- return temperature
- fan speed
- cold water valve opening
Each unit reports:
- alarms
- compressor status
- refrigerant pressure
- airflow
2. Cold water system
The data center has a cold storage facility that typically includes:
- chillers
- primary pumps
- secondary pumps
- exchangers
The control system manages:
- chiller sequencing
- water temperature control
- differential pressure control
The configuration ensures redundancy.
3. Free-cooling
Many modern data centers use free-cooling to reduce energy consumption.
The BMS decides automatically:
- when to use outdoor air
- when to activate chillers
- when to work in hybrid mode
Controlled variables:
- outside temperature
- outdoor humidity
- return temperature
This can reduce energy consumption up to 30-40 %.
Electrical monitoring
The system also integrates the power control of the data center.
Supervised systems
UPSs
It is monitored:
- burden
- battery status
- bypass
- autonomy
Generator sets
Controlled variables:
- fuel level
- oil pressure
- engine temperature
- automatic start status
Electrical panels
It is supervised:
- power per line
- current
- power factor
- phase imbalance
This allows detection overloads before a service outage occurs.
Centralized monitoring platform
All systems are integrated into one SCADA/BMS platform from which the status of the data center can be viewed.
The interface includes:
Room synopses
- rack heat map
- condition of air conditioners
- electrical status
Alarms
- critical alarms
- major alarms
- minor alarms
Historical
Data such as the following is recorded:
- temperature per rack
- energy consumption
- refrigeration performance
This allows for analysis predictive and energy optimization.
Alarm management and maintenance
The system includes automatic event management.
When an anomaly occurs:
- the BMS detects the deviation
- generates alarm
- sends notification to the Network Operations Center (NOC)
- event log
Examples:
- high temperature in rack
- fan failure
- loss of feeding
This allows rapid intervention before it affects the servers.
Integration with IT systems
The CPD also includes:
- SNMP monitoring of servers
- switch monitoring
- storage monitoring
This allows us to correlate:
- temperature
- consumption
- IT load
Benefits of implemented automation
Data center automation provides:
High availability
- continuous operation 24/7
energy efficiency
- cooling optimization
- use of free-cooling
predictive maintenance
- early fault detection
operational safety
- centralized control
All of this allows us to guarantee Thermal stability, energy efficiency and continuity of service in a critical telecommunications infrastructure.
