Data Center Cooling: Why Intelligent Cooling Is Security
6 min read
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Updated: April 2026
A data center outage isn’t an IT problem. It’s a business risk. Because the most common cause of unplanned downtime isn’t a cyberattack-it’s cooling system failure. Intelligently managed cooling systems with anomaly detection and predictive maintenance should therefore be a cornerstone of every data center security strategy. NEXAIRA.Systems from ebm-papst demonstrates what this looks like in practice.
Key takeaways
- 43 percent of all unplanned data center outages stem from power supply problems, with cooling failures as the second most common factor (Uptime Institute, Annual Outage Analysis, 2024).
- Average outage costs: $9,000 USD per minute for a Tier III data center (Uptime Institute, 2023).
- Predictive maintenance detects anomalies weeks in advance: Increased vibration, filter contamination, heat exchanger failures-caught before they become critical incidents.
- On-premise architecture: All operational data remains on the local network. No cloud requirement for sensitive infrastructure data.
- Up to 50 percent cooling energy savings-validated at a German data center operator (900 MWh, 240 metric tons of CO2 annually).
What is NEXAIRA.Systems? NEXAIRA.Systems is an AI-powered platform by ebm-papst for monitoring and optimizing cooling systems in data centers. The system creates a digital twin of cooling infrastructure, detects anomalies in real time, delivers predictive maintenance recommendations, and reduces cooling energy consumption by up to 50 percent-entirely on-premise, without disrupting IT operations.
Why Cooling Is a Security Issue
In traditional data center security, the focus is on firewalls, access controls, and data classification. Physical infrastructure appears in risk assessments, but rarely tops CISOs’ priority lists. That’s changing rapidly, as dependence on cooling grows exponentially with rising rack densities.
A single GPU rack for AI workloads now consumes 40 to 80 kW of power. A cooling failure lasting 15 minutes can trigger thermal throttling at these power densities; 30 minutes leads to automatic shutdowns; longer outages cause hardware damage. According to industry analyses, cooling-related outages typically extend beyond an hour-far exceeding the tolerance threshold of modern high-density racks.
For CISOs, this means cooling failure is an availability risk that belongs in business impact analysis. Prevention starts with sensor infrastructure, not emergency response plans.
The EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) adds pressure: from 2025 onward, all data centers exceeding 500 kW must report energy consumption annually. The NIS2 Directive expands the circle of reporting-obligated organizations to an estimated 30,000 German entities. Organizations that don’t systematically monitor physical infrastructure risk not only outages but also compliance violations with substantial penalties.
Anomaly Detection in Cooling Circuits
NEXAIRA.Systems from ebm-papst monitors all components of the cooling circuit in real time: fans, chillers, cooling towers, pumps, heat exchangers. The system creates a digital twin of the entire cooling infrastructure and continuously compares actual values against target values.
What this means in practice: A fan whose vibration frequency shifts by 0.3 Hz goes unnoticed by operations staff. The digital twin detects the deviation within hours and correlates it with other sensor data. Result: a maintenance recommendation three weeks before the fan fails-timed to align with the next scheduled maintenance window.
Filter contamination follows a similar pattern: pressure drop increases gradually, cooling capacity declines, adjacent modules compensate and increase their energy consumption. Without monitoring, this only becomes apparent when room temperature rises. With NEXAIRA.Systems, filter condition is reported proactively.
Data Stays Local – Why Data Center Operators Can’t Compromise on This
Cooling system data is infrastructure data. It reveals where vulnerabilities exist, how load is distributed, and when maintenance windows are scheduled. For an attacker, this represents valuable intelligence about a data center’s physical attack surface.
NEXAIRA.Systems therefore operates entirely on-premise. All sensor and operational data remains within the local network. Connectivity is established via MODBUS-RTU, Ethernet, or WiFi-within the data center network itself, not over the internet. An optional cloud connection for remote monitoring exists, but it’s not required for operation.
For operators subject to NIS2 reporting obligations: The on-premise architecture significantly simplifies documentation of technical and organizational measures. No data processing in third countries, no cloud provider dependency for critical infrastructure.
Retrofit: Protecting Existing Systems
Integration into existing cooling systems happens during live operation. That’s not a given-many monitoring solutions require downtime for sensor installation. NEXAIRA.Systems leverages existing BMS interfaces and adds sensors where gaps exist.
The digital twin calibrates itself during live operation. After a learning phase of just a few weeks, the system understands the operational characteristics of every component and begins real-time optimization. The transition happens gradually. The operator maintains full control over all cooling parameters at all times and can intervene manually if needed.
From a security perspective, this matters: phased integration minimizes the risk of misconfiguration. Every optimization measure is validated against historical operating data before it goes live. Unintended interference with cooling performance due to faulty algorithms is ruled out. The system operates on one principle: optimize yes, risk no.
Connectivity is deliberately broad: MODBUS-RTU, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and NFC. This makes it possible to integrate older legacy systems that weren’t designed for IoT monitoring. For those looking to modernize hardware down the line, ebm-papst’s AxiBlade.Perform fans offer components with native NEXAIRA integration.
A cooling failure in a high-density data center isn’t a comfort issue. At 40 kW per rack, air temperature reaches critical levels within 10 minutes. Prevention through continuous monitoring is the only reliable strategy.
ebm-papst, NEXAIRA.Systems Product Documentation
What This Means for Data Center Security Strategy
The convergence of physical and digital security is no longer theoretical in data centers. Organizations taking NIS2 reporting obligations seriously must monitor physical infrastructure with the same rigor as network perimeters. Cooling systems with real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and on-premises data processing are a concrete building block for this approach.
NEXAIRA.Systems from ebm-papst addresses three requirements simultaneously: availability through predictive maintenance, efficiency through up to 50 percent cooling energy savings, and compliance through documentable technical and organizational measures (TOM) via local data processing. For critical infrastructure operators, this is not a nice-to-have-it’s a cornerstone of holistic security architecture.
Specifically, we recommend three steps for integrating this into your security strategy: First, include cooling system failure as a distinct risk scenario in your business impact analysis with defined RPO/RTO values. Second, implement real-time monitoring of cooling infrastructure as a technical control within your ISMS. Third, regularly review anomaly thresholds and maintenance intervals as part of your continuous improvement process under ISO 27001. NEXAIRA.Systems provides the technical foundation and data basis for all three steps.
For data centers already running ebm-papst hardware, onboarding is particularly seamless: AxiBlade.Perform fans communicate natively with NEXAIRA and deliver additional telemetry data. Heterogeneous environments with components from multiple vendors are also fully integrated via open protocols.
Learn more about NEXAIRA.Systems and intelligent cooling system monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does NEXAIRA.Systems work technically?
The system creates a digital twin of the entire cooling circuit in the Grey Space. Real-time data is captured via sensors and BMS integration, then processed by an AI-powered Cooling Supply Optimizer. This continuously calculates the most energy-efficient operating parameters for each component and adaptively adjusts setpoints based on load, weather conditions, and operational status.
Which protocols does the system support?
MODBUS-RTU, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and NFC. This enables integration of legacy installations not originally designed for IoT monitoring. Cloud-to-cloud connectivity is optional.
Is NEXAIRA.Systems relevant for NIS2 compliance?
For operators of critical infrastructure (KRITIS, NIS2 Annex I/II), documented monitoring of cooling infrastructure can be recognized as a technical and organizational measure (TOM) under Article 21 of NIS2. The on-premise architecture simplifies compliance documentation.
What happens if NEXAIRA fails?
The existing building management system takes over using the last configured setpoints. NEXAIRA.Systems is an optimization overlay, not a replacement for core controls. Cooling continues in all cases.
Which standards and regulations does the system address?
Documented cooling infrastructure monitoring can be applied as a measure under NIS2 Article 21, ISO 27001 Annex A.11 (physical security), and EN 50600 (data center infrastructure). The on-premise architecture also meets GDPR requirements for data localization.
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