Vallourec

Vallourec is a market leader for premium tubular solutions for the energy markets and industrial applications. The products and services are used for challenging oil and gas drillings, in power stations of the latest generation, for exceptional architectural projects as well as in efficient machines and systems. In Germany, the company has four factories, one of them in Mühlheim a. d. Ruhr. The mandrel mill train at this location is one of the most multifaceted systems within its field and an efficient IT-infrastructure is absolutely indispensable for both smooth production and operation. Norbert Jung, department manager platform management at Vallourec Deutschland GmbH, is aware of that: "We operate server rooms at each location, and they process all of the accruing data. Since our IT-environment has been growing since the 80s, we decided that it is time to build an entirely new data center." 

Vallourec contacted the proRZ, with headquarters in Wallmenroth, upon a recommendation. Only five months after the order, a turnkey ready data center of 260 m² was handed over. It is a room-in-room solution that was integrated into an existing IT-room without further ado and it is separated into two areas, each containing modern cooling solutions and a reliable fire safety concept. "ProRZ just gave us the best alternative. Since we tried to avoid structural changes of our building, we were convinced by this way very quickly!", explains the data center manager. Specialists installed a raised floor that does not only guarantee an overseeable and secure wiring but also an ideal cooling of the servers. 

"Our new cooling concept is not only characterized by more reliability but it also brings both economical and ecological advantages because it has a very high energy efficiency"

On top of that, specific air conditioning cells were installed, which contain water-cooled racks. In order to guarantee a highly efficient cooling of the integrated servers, the experts chose a functional principle which operates with an air-water recuperator. Heat, that is produced by the servers, gets deflected by cooling water instead of being emitted into the room. Separating these cells from the surrounding IT was an important step towards the following stage 3 TÜV-certification. Also, service technicians can have access for maintenance purposes without getting in touch with the IT. Hence, the requirements by the examination institute were met entirely. Moreover, there is a cold aisle containment in both areas which guarantees a systematical partition of the warm and cold zones, which leads to a better cooling capacity. "Our new cooling concept is not only characterized by more reliability but it also brings both economical and ecological advantages because it has a very high energy efficiency", says Norbert Jung. For the colder seasons there are also reciprocator chillers on the roof of the factory in Mühlheim which ensure a free cooling. 

Fire safety concept and access regulations protect the IT

The experts also considered the fire hazard within a data center. Hence, the entire room system is equipped with F90+ fire walls and an especially sensitive fire early warning system that constantly sucks in the air in the room to make sure that possible aerosols can be detected straight away. This ensures an early alerting. In the case of a fire, there is a fast and effective, automatic room extinguishing system. Thanks to an additional monitoring system, the EDV-team consisting of 6 people is notified as soon as there is any malfunction in the IT-room. "We also asked for an implementation of a function that sends an e-mail or text message at the exact time the door to the data center is opened", explains Norbert Jung when talking about the company's high demand on security, which is completed by a separate burglar alarm. Moreover, the room has an access control system that only gives access to authorized persons. And last but not least, yet another security mechanism is planned. It is supposed to ensure that the doors to the server room can only be opened if the entries to the vestibule are closed. This creates a kind of double door system which also ensures a higher level of security. 

Next to a few older server racks, which are already in the data center, there will also be new racks at Vallourec. The condition was that the relocation of the servers into the new IT-environment is interruption-free and during operation. The racks had been put onto stillages prior to the construction works. Hence, laying the raised floor did not cause any problems and the relocation of the data went very smoothly. During the relocation, proRZ installed a consistent cooling in the unfinished server room, which was made of a few cooling devices outside the building that supplied cold air for the emerging IT-environment. Norbert Jung says that the entire project implementation was positive

"All facets were well planned und flawlessly implemented. On top of that, questions and ideas were discussed during the weekly meetings and the employees responsible for the IT were always included."

"Furthermore," Jung says, "it was very important for us that we got a one-stop service and proRZ was able to offer this, which is why everything went so smoothly." Because of the successful cooperation there is another order for proRZ. In the near future, proRZ will supervise Vallourec during the upcoming TÜV-certification of the computer rooms in all German locations. 

ProRZ is an independent technical planning company that has an experienced team of architects, engineers, technicians and traders. Our comprehensive experience in IT and construction physics enables us to offer a vast amount of know-how for assessing, planning, building and operating a server room or data center. Our philosophy is defining individual solutions for each costumer and availability requirement. Our experts support the project in the areas of IT-availability, security and optimizing operating costs - neutrally and manufacturer independently. Our portfolio involves consulting, planning and realizing data centers, server rooms and IT-Outdoor data centers (IT-Containers) in all sizes. On top of that, we offer competent support for the upcoming certification of a data center or the sourcing of a new IT-infrastructure. With more than 1,000 references for the construction of server rooms and data centers we can provide both individual and standardized solutions that can even be delivered turn-key ready.