Fisher fortress ready for anything

Data centers packed with computer servers and network equipment that keep Web sites and business functions running are typically equipped with redundant systems to protect against power outages and other service interruptions.

"Everything went flawlessly," said Ed Doyne, director of customer development at 300,000-square-foot Fisher Plaza near Seattle Center, which hosts communications carriers, broadcasters and technology companies.

The facility, 40 percent of which is occupied by data centers, never lost power, though it did experience some flickers during the storm.

Doyne said uninterruptible power supplies — battery packs equipped with software and switches — ensured that any hiccups are filtered out of the system.

Fisher, like many other data centers, has several other systems in place.

"The first thing is we have a very robust feed from the city itself," he said. "We have more in-bound power sources than we would have at home or in a normal office building."

Should the city power fail, Fisher is equipped with generators to supply all its needs, plus redundant generators in case one goes down.

Another consideration in a data center is cooling.

"It doesn't do any good to keep the power on but lose the air conditioning," Doyne said. "If you lose cooling, than you're equipment is going to overheat and melt. Data centers can get hot in five minutes without cooling."

Fisher has two wells to supply its AC system with water in the event city water mains break during an earthquake.

"It's becoming more and more the norm that every business needs to do something like this," he said, adding that it's particularly important for companies that rely on data, such as law firms, insurance companies and health care providers.

Microsoft's Redmond campus had auxiliary power running in key areas. Employees were notified early Friday morning that power was out, so many worked remotely. Amazon.com, in the midst of the busy holiday shopping season, was not impacted by the storm, Drew Herdener, a spokesman, said via email. He said the company's systems are designed to account for inclement weather and outages.

"We understand that severe weather can occur at just about any time anywhere in the world, so we plan accordingly," Herdener said.