T 4.2 Failure of internal supply networks

Buildings normally house a number of supply and disposal networks that therefore serve as a foundation for all business processes in an organisation, including its IT. The failure of supply networks such as:

• electrical power,
• telephone, and
• cooling

can adversely affect a number of tasks. However, such a failure can also immediately cause disruptions to IT operations. In contrast, failures in the following systems:

• Heating and ventilation,
• water,
• fire-fighting water supply,
• waste water,
• pneumatic tube mail,
• gas,
• alarm and control systems (intrusion, fire, building management),
• intercom systems

may only cause disruptions after a certain delay under some circumstances.

The networks are mutually dependent to varying degrees, which means that operational disruptions in any of the individual networks will also affect the other networks.

Examples:

• A power failure will not only have a direct impact on the IT, but also on all other networks and systems equipped with electrically operated monitoring and control technology. There may even be electric lifting pumps installed in the sewage pipes under certain circumstances.
• A failure of the water supply may eventually affect the operation of air conditioning systems.
• A long lasting power failure led to the total failure of several storage systems in the backup computer centre of a hosting service provider. The storage systems failed because the air conditioning system was not connected to the emergency power supply (EPS) and because adequate remote monitoring capabilities for the supply technology were not installed in the computer centre. The IT systems continued to operate due to the EPS, but without any air conditioning. Several hundred hard disks were totally destroyed and needed to be replaced.