GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Data Center Specification - Standard 8 Floors  – 1200m2/Floor Number of Racks: 1250 Racks Uptime TIER III Constructed Facility   Main Equipment supplied & installed by MEVN Number of Racks for phase 1: 280 Racks Precision Cooling  (IT cooling) 1700kW Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) 2N x 1500kVA (3000kVA) Commercial Air Conditioner VRF City Multi 210 HP   Site Location:  Dich Vong - Ha Noi

 

FPT Telecom Joint Stock Company (FPT Telecom) was established in 1997, originated from FPT Online Exchange (FOX) which was founded by four members with its first Intranet network in Vietnam called “Trí Tuệ Việt Nam” ("Vietnam Intellectual"). After 23 years of operation, FPT Telecom has become one of the leading telecommunications and Internet service providers in the region, accounting for more than 34% of the market share of data centers (Data Center) in Vietnam.

FPT Telecom has 04 Mega Tier III Data Centers, with a total area of ​​up to 4000m2, bandwidth connection with other ISPs greater than 500Gbps, and total international connection bandwidth up to 380Gbps, a route to China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore.

The emergence of new technologies in the field of information technology with cloud computing platforms brings great opportunities in providing information technology solutions, artificial intelligence, and intelligent control systems.

Gartner predicts that the growth of the global cloud computing industry in 2020 will be 17%, or $266 billion. In particular, the cloud architecture based on providing IaaS service infrastructure will be at $50 billion. Many organizations have transformed the use of applications to the cloud, most of which are foreign cloud services such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba.

“Digital transformation trend will continue growing fast in the Viet Nam and over the world. The demand to bring IT Systems, Software applications, etc. moving to the Cloud is growing. Therefore, we need to have Mega data centers, high standards, ensure system safety, data safety - security, and be able to compete with the big names like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon." – Mr. Hoàng Nam Tiến -FPT Telecom Chairman.

Indetificate the opportunity together with the desire to bring the Data Center infrastructure of FPT as well as Vietnam on the map of the world infrastructure, FPT decided to invest in two new second-generation data centers. Fornix data in Hanoi and data center in High Tech Park District 9 - HCMC.

FPT Fornix Data Center – Ha Noi

Fornix is ​​FPT Telecom's largest data center in 2020. The project is the first data center in Vietnam built according to Uptime Tier III Constructed Facility standard, ISO / IEC 9100/27001/50001 with a capacity of over 1250 racks.

 

CHALLENGES

Since the early days, the deployment of the 2nd generation data center has posed many challenges for FPT's team. Over the past decade, the Data Center system has grown continuously with the increasingly demanding requirements of customers. The challenge is how to ensure quality, operate stably, without interruption, while optimizing operating costs and ensure a competitive prices.

Besides, this is the first time FPT has built a Data Center according to the Uptime Tier III Constructed Facility standard. This is a strict certificate for Data Center. The certificate not only requires design by standards but also requires real assessment after the project is completed. To achieve this standard, FPT has set the criteria in the selection of installation equipment as follows:

1. Using high-efficiency equipment to reduce energy consumption.

Data center power consumption costs can reach more than 30 billion VND per year (corresponding to 1000KW load). Therefore, saving 2-3% of energy consumption also brings great significance for saving.

In Data Center infrastructure, electricity consumption is mostly in two groups: Information technology equipment group and infrastructure equipment group. In typical, infrastructure accounts for 40-50% of electricity consumption. Therefore, when energy management needs to focus on minimizing consumption costs of infrastructure equipment, mainly air-conditioning systems, and losses on UPS systems (accounting for more than 95% of the total electricity consumption of the infrastructure).

Performance devices that did not perform as promised would result in savings that were lower than expected and not worth the investment. According to FPT's team of experts, it is necessary to check and measure the actual performance and be verified by high reputable independent international registry organizations such as TUV, DNV, Green Lead ... before installing equipment into the data center.

2. Focus primarily on equipment’s quality and durability in Data Center harsh environment.

Data center should be operated 24/24 continuously, without interruption, without degradation of any service provided, including during repair, maintenance, or upgrading. Therefore, the equipment needs to have high durability and stable operation. With many years of experience, FPT understands very well that the operating environment has a significant impact on the product's durability. Especially with Vietnam's harsh climate, this factor should be taken into account for equipment’s operation.

3.New technology is needed but most prefer on stable operation - long product development life cycle from well-known brands

When building a new Data Center, low efficiency - old technology equipment should be avoided. However, for the latest technology, which is introduced for convenient and economical functions, it is necessary to check the stability of the equipment and the well-known manufacturer. Using devices with the latest technology may increase risks of the system stability, product life cycle, and product development strategy of the manufacturer. If the product has a short development life cycle - suddenly stops production without spare parts, the products will not be supported by upgrades and repairs. This makes the Data Center's stability expose many operational risks, increasing potential costs. Specifically, damaged products must be replaced before the normal depreciation period.

Therefore, FPT will prioritize the selection of equipment with advanced technology, long operating history, high popularity, and fast and high-quality support services in Vietnam.

4. Priority for equipment which simple repair & easy maintenance with clear comprehensive service cost

In the history of Data Center operations, the FPT team has encountered many cases where the introduced devices have technologies that help reduce maintenance or are designed to be simple to maintain. However, in actual implementation, this equipment requires complicated training, operators with specialized tools and software. Therefore, when these devices are damaged, they can be replaced at a very high cost, the long lead time for parts delivery complicated, availability of backup spare parts is not guaranteed. Some manufacture provides an unstable service-spare parts price list.

It was these factors of uncertainty that led to equipment disruption. If the interruption time is prolonged too long, exceeding the permitted standards will cause the Data Center infrastructure of FPT to fall into a dangerous state, which can drop the load at any time.

FPT Fornix Data Center – Ha Noi at night time

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION

With 100 years of experience in the field of providing high-quality and reliable products, Mitsubishi Electric, one of the leading companies in the world in the manufacture and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in the energy system and electrical systems, industrial automation systems, information and communication systems, electronic equipment, and home appliances.

Understanding FPT's expectations, Mitsubishi Electric has come up with a tailor-made solution that satisfies FPT's expectations for stability, performance, and operating costs for the FPT Fornix data center.

“With this project, we aim to provide a complete solution for the data center building. Not only UPS devices, Data Center dedicated IT cooling system but also VRF City Multi central air conditioning system, providing the comfort for people working in the building. Products are the quintessence of Mitsubishi Electric technology with durable quality and stable operation - confirmed by decades of providing for the global market ”- Mr. Pham Phan Anh - Data Center Solutions Specialist Mitsubishi Electric Vietnam.

UPS System and IT Cooling in FPT Fornix

Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) – High efficiency with durable – stable operation

The heart of the Data Center Fornix system is the UPS system with a capacity of 1500kVA 2N, model 9950A of Mitsubishi Electric. UPS systems provide 24/24 uninterrupted power to all server equipment and operating applications. Any interruption of the Data Center system even a few seconds will lead to a loss of up to several billion VND, affecting the reputation not only for FPT but also impact customer business.

Mitsubishi Electric provides UPS with a 2N redundant structure with a 02 group of 03 parallel UPS clusters, with a capacity of 500KVA. When an interruption occurs in any one group, the system remains operating normally without affecting the load. UPS efficiency in online mode up to 96% in segment UPS with top performance in the world. What makes Mitsubishi Electric's UPS stand out is that when the load is down to about 20%, the UPS is still over 94% efficient. While, with some other competitor products, the efficiency is only below 85%.

Mitsubishi Electric Viet Nam Technical Engineer tests UPS at FPT Fornix Data Center

IT Cooling System – High efficiency in Viet Nam environment

Accompanying the UPS system is an IT cooling (precision air-conditioning) system with 17 unit clusters, each unit capacity up to 100kW. The system is designed with an underfloor fan architecture and precision cooling mechanism dedicated to Data Center. The system will operate 24/24 to maintain the ideal temperature and humidity for server equipment, application software operating regardless of the outdoor temperature up to 45oC. Mitsubishi Electric IT Cooling with an EER of over 4.0 which 30% higher than other competitor products of the same type, has an EER of only 2.8 - 3.5.

“In the past, we have faced a situation of reducing cooling capacity of IT Cooling systems. In prolonged hot conditions, local server heat leads to customer complaints. FPT team had to create many solutions such as spraying water to cool the hot condenser unit of Precision Cooling or moving the condenser unit to locations away from the sun, even installing new air conditioners. However, the most fundamental solution that needs to be ensured in the future is that the air-conditioning system must have high efficiency, ensure sufficient capacity in hot sunny situations above 40oC”- Mr. Phung Manh Ha, Project Director FPT Data Center.

Precision Cooling Unit installed inside FPT Data center (IT Cooling Indoor Unit)

Outdoor Aircooled Condenser for Precision Cooling (IT Cooling Outdoor Unit)

Commercial Air Conditioning VRF City Multi – Energy-saving, quiet and comfortable

To provide a comfortable environment for customers and employees working at Fornix FPT, Mitsubishi Electric has provided a commercial air conditioning system for the building. Including 4 VRF outdoor units with capacity from 28HP to 56HP and 42 indoor units. The central air conditioning system is equipped with a high-efficiency inverter compressor developed by Mitsubishi Electric. As a result, the system operates with 30-40% lower energy costs than conventional cooling systems. Besides, the entire air-conditioning system is connected to the central control room, increasing the ability to monitor and control in a unified way for the building manager.

 

Indoor Unit – Commercial Air Conditioning VRF in FPT Fornix Office space

VRF Outdoor Unit on the rooftop of  FPT Fornix

Also, when the air conditioning system operates during high outdoor temperatures > 40oC, it will decrease capacity and affect the life of the device. However, Mitsubishi Electric's VRF City Multi system can operate even when the base outdoor temperature is up to 52oC, no other systems cannot meet. This technology helping the system maintain optimal and stable operating conditions.

“The energy cost for the HVAC system can account for more than 40% - 60% of the building's electrical cost. It is important to consider very carefully the selection of the appropriate capacity for the building, the saving energy target must be balanced with the utilities provided to the building. It is not because of the need to save energy, but to sacrifice utility and convenience of customers, increasing the risk of damaging the equipment that needs cooling”- Mr. Tran Duc Dung- Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioning system expert.

 

CONCLUSION 

For maintenance and warranty support service, Mitsubishi Electric has provided an onsite spare parts policy which delivery Mitsubishi spare parts stocked at FPT Data Center. This advantage will provide fast delivery of spare parts. Besides, the list of replacement spare parts and consumable material at reasonable prices is clearly to help customers peace in mind about the quality service of Mitsubishi Electric Group.

“We recognize that Mitsubishi Electric has done an excellent job in the Data Center field. The company provides full backup spare parts, located at the site with a long-term warranty and high-quality maintenance process, clear and consistent policy”- Mr. Phung Manh Ha, Project Director of FPT Data Center.