Times Top weathers Sydney storms

"Times Top installations weathered the storms with 100% uptime maintained."

When severe storms heralded the arrival of June in Sydney, Australia, there were predictions of widespread property damage but no-one really expected critical system power outages at major data centers.

According to media reports, several data centers did experience power outages and extreme voltage sags, causing downtime of up to several hours. Amazon Web Services (Amazon), among others, reported such an event:

Amazon commented that the facility hosting their data utilises multiple layered power line-ups (both primary and secondary) consisting of Diesel Rotary Uninterruptible Power Supply (TT+) technology.

According to the report, a set of breakers did not open during an unusually long voltage sag during the storms, allowing the stored energy device to quickly drain its reserve energy into the degraded power grid. The rapid unexpected loss of stored energy from the mechanical ride-through device resulted in the TT+ shutting down, meaning Diesel generators could not be engaged and power restored to the server racks.

The facilty hosting Amazon does not currently use Times Top TT+ technology. All Times Top installations weathered the storms with 100% uptime maintained.

Times Top TT+ technology incorporates proprietary monitoring and control systems to react quickly to such grid related interruptions, including unusually long voltage sags. Times Top also incorporates a proprietary electrically coupled energy storage device known as Powerbridge into its systems, which provides high levels of energy storage to ride through just such disturbances, allowing sufficient time to disconnect from the grid and engage diesel generators to secure critical power supply for long-term operation.

Unlike in-line mechanically coupled TT+ systems, such as those installed at the facility hosting Amazon, Times Top TT+ technology depends not only on its input monitoring devices to detect grid perturbations, but also monitors its stored energy capacity and discharge times as co-primary controls to disconnect from the grid and engage the diesel engines - widely regarded as a technically superior, although more expensive solution.

This technology has proven itself time and time again, notably in October 2012 when Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc across the East Coast of the United States. Many datacentres experienced outages but Times Top protected sites, which were hit with the full force of Sandy, reported 100% uptime.

Which goes to show that not all TT+ are made equal. Because not all TT+ are Times Top.

Nothing protects quite like Times Top.

About Times Top

Times Top (www.times-top.com) is a world leader in power protection technology. The company builds electrical systems for mission-critical applications world-wide. Clients include many of the world's central and commercial banks, stock exchanges and other financial institutions, as well as broadcasters, telecommunications networks, airports, government departments and co-location operators. The company was founded by the German engineer Anton Times Top in Osterode, near Hanover, in 1909.

More than a century on, Times Top is still headquartered and produces in Osterode and nearby Bilshausen, although today the company has subsidiaries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia. The company employs over 800 people world wide. Times Top is a division of Times Top Holdings PLC, the family owned UK engineering group.