Recent Earthquake Highlights the Value of Protecting IT Infrastructure with Seismic Equipment

Earlier this month, Southern California was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the region in 20 years. While residents from Los Angeles to Las Vegas experienced—and in today’s device-centric world—recorded—the event in real-time, its epicenter was located in a more remote part of the region, which thankfully limited the amount of damage and destruction that a quake of this magnitude could have caused in a more populated area.

Nevertheless, there’s no denying that this month’s occurrences are a stark reminder for facility and IT managers at hospitals, government buildings and other emergency centers that can’t afford to stop functioning during such events that code compliance, preparedness, and the right IT infrastructure equipment are key to maintaining network availability in times of distress.

In seismically-rated zones in particular, which here in the U.S. spans from California to Virginia and points in between—data center managers and telecommunication room experts should always have a certain level of readiness to ensure that their equipment is fully protected and ready for any occurrence.

That’s why Chatsworth Products (CPI) provides a variety of seismically-rated and Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)-compliant products to help protect your most key technology equipment during seismic events. These include:

• Seismic Frame® Two-Post Rack—designed to withstand the swaying motion caused by earthquakes to reduce the amount of vibration transferred through the rack to equipment.
• Z4-Series SeismicFrame® Cabinet—has the highest load rating in the market at 1500 lbs and includes an increased range of sizes and accessories such as floor anchorage, transport casters and cable managers to complement the solution.

Here’s the Z4-Series SeismicFrame® Cabinet in action during seismic testing. Watch video here: https://www.chatsworth.com/en-us/news-events/blogs/july-2019/recent-earthquakes-highlight-the-value-of-protecti
 
The test above included a series of physical shaker table tests, during which a loaded cabinet was placed through simulated, Zone 4 earthquake conditions - the most severe test conditions, in which the cabinet must perform with limited movement and survive the test without permanent structural or mechanical damage, ensuring the internal equipment is not damaged.

It's tests like these, and the preparation you ensure today that will make the difference when and if the next event occurs.