Power for China's green Tech Megacity

Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau

When the Chinese government established the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 1980 and made foreign investment possible, the area, which formerly consisted of several fishing villages, began its rapid rise. Just 60,000 residents once lived, where 17.5 million people are now at home.
Shenzhen has many names – the "Silicon Valley of Hardware", "City of Innovations", "Technology Center of China", "City of Movement". In the past, the city has had to reinvent itself time and again. Once known as the workbench of the world, Shenzhen has now turned into one of the world’s most important high-tech hardware manufacture. Looking around, you can see the successes and aspirations at every corner in the city. And Shenzhen's power supply is no exception. Here, all public transportation – buses, cabs, sky trains are powered entirely by electricity. Generally, Shenzhen is a pioneer among major Chinese cities in terms of power supply and wants to be known as the green city. The radical conversion to electric propulsion is unique in the world.

Shenzhen's high demand for electricity

Compared to European cities, the megapolis has an enormous demand for electricity. With approximately 1,950 square kilometers, the area is around two and a half times larger than the entire city of Berlin. More than three million households are supplied with electricity around the clock every day. The Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau is responsible for this enormous task, and has been supplying power to the entire Shenzhen metropolitan area (with the exception of the Shekou district) for over 40 years.

Welcome to the Asian Silicon Valley of Hardware

One of the most vibrant metropolises in China, Shenzhen is considered the Silicon Valley of hardware. Around 80 % of all smartphones are manufactured in Shenzhen. It’s where tech giants like Apple, Huawei and Co. all produce their devices. Generally, the city seems to be the epicenter of inventions. As a pioneer for China, Shenzhen stands out for its extremely innovative developments and ways of thinking.

From fishing village to high-tech metropolis

More than 242 substations of 110 kVA are spread over the entire city area , the cumulative annual power supply by Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau is about 81 TWh. You can only imagine what an immense amount of electricity this is by taking a look at how much power European metropolises use. Berlin, for example, has an annual power consumption of about 13.5 TWh , which is about six times less than Shenzhen. Shenzhen's transmission lines spread across 4,621 km and therefore roughly cover the same distance as between Moscow and Lisbon.

More modern, quieter, easier to use

GuangZhou WeiDian Information Technology Co., Ltd. – an experienced technical integrator when it comes to KVM solutions – carried out the extensive upgrade of the existing KVM architecture. The main focus was to upgrade and modernize conference rooms, several power distribution centers, and a number of control rooms. Here, usability played a key role since the workstations were to become much more comfortable and, most importantly, quieter. One of the main challenges was to separate the control room staff from the extremely noisy, technical environment. KVM systems from G&D proved to be the perfect solution for safely and reliably storing the required computer equipment and operating it remotely in real time. The new KVM setup had to ensure that numerous machines could be switched in real time.

The solution: KVM

The main control room of the Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau has space for about ten employees. They monitor and control the remote computer technology, consisting of more than 500 powerful computers, around the clock. Therefore, all servers were moved to a technical area and connected to 20 KVM matrix systems from Guntermann & Drunck.

KVM peripheral modules extend and make computer signals available at the workstations in the control rooms. In addition, a multi-level top-down cascade ensures that additional servers can be integrated into the system. As a key advantage of this solution, all computer sources are now connected to a G&D matrix switch, extending the signals to the consoles. This allows employees to access all required computer technology from any controller station.

500

extender lines

20

KVM matrix switches

10

control desks

Focussing on operators

The Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau control room is operated 24/7. Therefore, it’s important that the new technology runs reliably in continuous operation and facilitates the work of the employees on site. In order to make their work as comfortable as possible, the implemented IP- Control-API connects computer sources to projection media and mobile touch panels using a network. Thus, each computer can access the desired large screen projection and operator screens – independent of any location. The control room workstations are equipped with several monitors, each of which is integrated into a different computer constellation. To make the dispatchers' work more pleasant, the TradeSwitch function has been integrated. It combines several console modules to a logical console, which can be operated with one keyboard and one mouse. The keyboard/mouse focus can be changed via hotkey and switched to the desired computer source.

KVM for better team work

The integrated push-get function makes collaborating of employees easier and more comfortable. It lets employees share the contents of their screens with their co-workers to collaborate on tasks. Users can move the screen contents of a target to – or get it from – the display of another console or a big screen.

Flexible KVM system solves lack of space

The client also wanted to keep the space occupied by racks relatively small despite the fact that they now needed to access even more servers than before. Therefore, a lean but highly flexible KVM infrastructure was designed to keep the connections between racks as short as possible.

YOU CAN ALWAYS RELY ON G&D

Stanly Wu , CEO GuangZhou WeiDian Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Since the system went live in the spring of 2020, it has been generating enthusiasm among both operators and the employees working with it. "We have integrated quite a number of G&D matrix systems and peripherals, and so far they have been absolutely reliable during live operation. You can always rely on G&D," says Stanly Wu, CEO of GuangZhou WeiDian Information Technology Co., Ltd. The Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau continues to grow, and we look forward to the innovations the city still has to offer.