I was once told by a datacenter operator that this is due to the pressure change when they pump the gas in and that we should plan on replacing all HDDs should the fire alarm go off.
...and I think it was Argon...
...and I think it was Argon...
It was indeed Argon, not Halon, and the pressure issues that broke HDDs.
Looks like Siemens did an investigation and tested various parameters (pressure, noise, vibration) independently.
They point towards noise, not pressure. Really interesting as I am _sure_ I was told it is pressure. But that might be 100% wrong!
https://virz.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2015-White-Paper-...
The feeling of anti-sound is quite distinctive.
On the top floor of the building a tip-over failure replacing an argon bottle broke the valve off the end and emptied the compressed lot of Argon in short order.
Argon being colourless, ordourless, heavier than air = whole building "anti-suffocation" evacuation. But no fire problem!