Data Foundry Blog - Data Centers

Is it me or is it too cold in here? Thanks to RF Code, we now know for sure.

Data Foundry recently installed state of the art thermal sensors from RF Code throughout Texas 1 to monitor and control the temperature within the data center raised floor.

The Data Foundry team is excited to share pictures and a complete video of the groundbreaking ceremony for our new 350,000 sq ft purpose-built Houston 2 Data Center.

On April 10th, Data Foundry staff and executives were joined by more than 100 esteemed guests for the two hour celebration. Upon arrival, guests were greeted by the Data Foundry team and an event space that showcased the capabilities of Houston 2. Distinguished speakers included Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Welcome Wilson Sr., Chairman of the GSL Welcome Group and Fred Welch, VP of Regional Development with the Greater Houston Partnership. The event concluded with a catered lunch by longtime Data Foundry client, Pappas Restaurants.

Colocation providers are eager to help you make the right choice in selecting a data center (hint – we all believe our data center is the right choice). Most colocation providers will supply you with a checklist to make sure you understand all of the features we think you should evaluate in order to make an informed decision. This is good stuff and actually quite useful!

In the end we are all trying to make sure your IT infrastructure will have a happy home in our data center. It’s like when your child leaves home for college; you want to make sure he/she will have everything needed to thrive – from a safe and secure roof over their head to a reasonable diet to roommates they can trust. We essentially want the same thing for your IT infrastructure while it is under our roof.

Let’s start by talking about why this is even a topic for discussion. It all comes down to the desire to have successful data center outsourcing initiatives – whether you are looking to completely outsource your data center operations or just pieces of them. Nobody goes into a project expecting failure yet there are plenty of stories about best efforts that went wrong, sometimes very wrong, like Texas Ousts IBM, Takes New IT Outsourcing Tack. To be fair, the majority of organizations looking to outsource all or part of their mission-critical infrastructure won’t have to deal with the scale and complexity of the state of Texas. Where, as we know, everything is bigger. However, I think you would agree that your IT infrastructure is no less important…to you!

Hurricane Sandy served as a stark reminder that we should always be prepared for the unexpected. Following this type of disaster, we are forced to reassess our understanding of how certain areas are affected by natural disasters. Red Cross, NOAA and NRC have developed a basic risk level for almost every part of the US. We commonly use the map below to illustrate how safe Austin, TX is for data center operations.

Texas 1 is designed to ensure continuous uptime and availability for your IT infrastructure. In our latest blog entry, we explore the costs of downtime.

Downed Power Lines

According to the Edison Electric Institute, the top five causes of power outages in the United States are:

1. Mother Nature – More than half of all power outages across the U.S. are caused by nature. High winds, lightning, ice and heavy rains can affect an aboveground power line directly or indirectly by causing trees or other debris to strike it. Overgrown vegetation can also short out aboveground equipment.
2. Automobile Accidents – Over five percent of all power outages are caused by a vehicle striking an electrical pole or transformer.
3. Wildlife – A smaller percentage of power outages is caused by animals coming in contact with the line or equipment, causing it to fail.
4. Construction – Whether new construction or maintenance, cranes and dig-ins are another major threat to the power supply.
5. Fire – Aboveground feeds are vulnerable to fire destroying equipment at any point along the line’s path.

When we started the process of designing Texas 1, we knew our customers expected a World-Class Data Center (WCDC). From the cooling, power and networking systems to the very ground on which Texas 1 sits, every detail was carefully considered when building this state-of-the-art facility. We consulted industry experts to ensure the highest quality product was produced….a World-Class Data Center.

Just prior to the start of last night’s Monday Night Football game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the country saw firsthand what happens when a utility transformer suddenly explodes. As the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers was set to start, a utility transformer supplying power to the stadium blew up causing a power outage and delayed the start of the game by 20 minutes.

What was witnessed last night is the reality of utility feeds. They fail. Sometimes spectacularly!

Had Candlestick Park been powered by a “True Dual Feed” like Data Foundry’s Texas 1 Data Center, last night’s game would have started without a hitch.

What is “True Dual Feed” power and is your data center configured in such a manner? Most data center operators will misuse the term “dual feed” when communicating the power configuration of their respective facilities. In reality, using the term “dual feed” does not always mean that the facility is receiving two independent power feeds from the utility company to the data center as it might imply. To help explain the typical power feed configurations, we have prepared a white paper that utilizes the following classification system;

• Class 1 – Single Feed
• Class 2 – Single Substation
• Class 3 – Dual Substations
• Class 4 – True Dual Feed

To find out if your data center is truly dual fed, learn The Truth about Dual Power Feeds by downloading a free copy of our white paper. Click here to download.

Now that construction is complete, we can focus on sharing all of the details that make Texas 1 customer-friendly. We’ve previously blogged about the consideration that went into protecting and managing your equipment: energy-efficient cooling system, top-of-the-line security and the dual power substations. Now, we want to share some things we’ve done for the convenience of you and your staff.