UBS CRITICAL DATA CENTRE INFRASTRUCTURE

INTEGRATED POWER, COOLING, ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING & Protection

We were appointed by UBS Bank to deliver a comprehensive critical data centre infrastructure solution for its server room environment, taking the project from design and supply through to installation, commissioning, end-user training and ongoing preventative maintenance. Our scope covered the facility’s power, cooling, fire detection, monitoring, containment and physical infrastructure systems.

Our objective was to create a highly resilient and intelligently monitored environment capable of supporting mission-critical IT infrastructure. We delivered an integrated solution incorporating redundant precision cooling, redundant UPS power protection, a standby generator, electrical reticulation, VESDA early-warning smoke detection, underfloor leak detection, server racks and PDUs, cold aisle containment, and a Tridium-based Building Management System (BMS).

A key part of the project was bringing these systems together through a centralised monitoring platform. The Tridium BMS provides UBS with visibility across the server room environment and its critical infrastructure, including the UPS systems, generator, cooling units, VESDA system, leak detection and energy consumption data from the custom electrical panels.

Following successful implementation and commissioning, we continue to provide preventative maintenance for the installed infrastructure. This ongoing support helps maintain the reliability and performance of the systems and supports the continued operation of the critical environment.

The challenge

UBS needed a robust and resilient data centre infrastructure capable of maintaining stable environmental conditions and uninterrupted power for its critical IT systems. We needed to address the risks associated with power interruptions, equipment overheating, smoke or fire events, water ingress, and limited visibility across the various systems supporting the environment.

Redundancy was also an important consideration. The infrastructure needed to support continuous operation during equipment failure or planned maintenance, which meant that cooling, power protection and standby generation had to be designed with resilience in mind.

With multiple critical systems operating within the facility, UBS also required a centralised way to monitor equipment status, environmental conditions, alarms and energy consumption. Rather than operating these systems independently, we needed to bring them together into a coordinated infrastructure environment that could be monitored and managed from a single platform.

Our challenge was therefore to engineer an integrated solution that balanced resilience, visibility, environmental protection and maintainability, while providing UBS with the infrastructure needed to support its critical IT environment.

The Solution

We designed and implemented a fully integrated critical data centre infrastructure solution tailored to the operational requirements of the UBS server room:

• N+1 Vertiv precision downflow cooling, including precision cooling units, copper refrigerant piping, condensers, access floor stands, and network connectivity, providing resilient temperature and environmental control.
• VESDA aspirating smoke detection, providing early detection of potential fire conditions within the critical server room environment.
• Custom-designed electrical panels and complete electrical reticulation supporting the UPS systems, standby generator, rack PDUs, cooling equipment, VESDA system, and server room lighting.
• Vertiv UPS infrastructure, comprising one 80kVA UPS and one 60kVA UPS, providing protected power to critical IT infrastructure.
• 150kVA standby generator, providing backup power during utility supply interruptions.
• Tridium BMS, providing centralised monitoring of the server room and associated critical infrastructure, including UPS systems, generator, cooling units, VESDA, leak detection, and energy meters installed within the custom electrical panels.
• Underfloor leak detection, protecting critical IT infrastructure against water ingress and potential damage beneath the access floor.
• Eight Vertiv server racks with Vertiv PDUs, providing a standardised and professionally engineered equipment environment.
• Cold aisle containment, improving cooling efficiency by separating conditioned supply air from heated exhaust air and optimising airflow management within the server room.
• Energy monitoring, with electrical metering integrated into the BMS to provide visibility of power consumption across the relevant electrical infrastructure.
• Complete system commissioning and integration, ensuring the individual infrastructure systems operated together as a coordinated critical environment.
• End-user training, enabling UBS personnel to effectively monitor and manage the installed systems.
• Ongoing preventative maintenance, which we continue to provide to maintain system reliability and performance over the operational life of the infrastructure.

By integrating power, cooling, environmental protection, monitoring, and physical infrastructure, we created a centralised and resilient technology environment designed around the specific requirements of a critical server room.

Implementation

We managed the project through the complete technology lifecycle, from initial engineering and system design through to procurement, installation, configuration, commissioning, testing, and training.

The installation required careful coordination between the various infrastructure disciplines to ensure that the electrical, mechanical, monitoring, and IT-support systems were correctly integrated. We installed the precision cooling systems with the associated copper piping, condensers, and access floor infrastructure, while the electrical reticulation was engineered to support the UPS systems, generator, cooling equipment, rack PDUs, VESDA, and lighting.

We configured the Tridium BMS as the central monitoring platform, integrating the various critical systems and providing UBS with centralised visibility of operational status, alarms, environmental conditions, and energy consumption.

Rigorous commissioning and functional testing were undertaken to verify system operation and integration. This included testing the critical infrastructure, monitoring points, alarms, and system interfaces before handover and end-user training.

Following completion, we transitioned into an ongoing preventative maintenance role. We continue to provide proactive support designed to identify potential issues before they affect critical operations and to maintain the infrastructure in accordance with operational and manufacturer requirements.

Results & Impact

The completed installation provides UBS with:

• A resilient and integrated critical server room infrastructure.
• N+1 precision cooling designed to maintain stable environmental conditions and provide redundancy.
• Protected critical power through dedicated 80kVA and 60kVA Vertiv UPS systems.
• 150kVA standby generation to maintain power continuity during utility interruptions.
• Comprehensive electrical infrastructure supporting all critical server room services.
• Early-warning fire detection through a VESDA aspirating smoke detection system.
• Underfloor leak detection providing additional protection against water-related incidents.
• Improved airflow management and cooling efficiency through cold aisle containment.
• Centralised monitoring and management through the Tridium BMS platform.
• Integrated monitoring of UPS systems, generator, cooling units, VESDA, leak detection, and electrical energy meters.
• Improved visibility of energy consumption across the critical electrical infrastructure.
• A scalable infrastructure platform capable of supporting future operational requirements.
• Ongoing preventative maintenance by Coresol to support long-term system reliability and performance.

Conclusion

The UBS server room project demonstrates our ability to design and deliver integrated critical infrastructure solutions where power continuity, environmental stability, monitoring, and equipment protection are essential to business operations. Understanding the difference between a server room and a data centre is an important part of designing the right infrastructure for an organisation’s operational requirements. We explore this distinction in our article, Data Centre vs Server Room: What’s the Difference and Which Is Right for Your Business?

By bringing together Vertiv critical power and cooling technologies, standby generation, VESDA fire detection, leak detection, structured rack infrastructure, cold aisle containment, custom electrical systems, and a centralised Tridium BMS platform, we created a comprehensive infrastructure environment in which these systems work together as one.

This integration provides UBS with enhanced resilience, centralised operational visibility, improved environmental control, and greater protection of its critical IT infrastructure.

Our involvement also extends beyond project delivery. Through ongoing preventative maintenance, we continue to support the infrastructure and the systems that underpin UBS’s critical IT environment — helping to maintain their reliability, performance, and long-term operational continuity.

Multi-system Infrastructure Specialist. Orchestrating Complex Infrastructure.