“Never trust anyone over 30.” That Counterculture catchphrase urged young people in the 1960s to question authority and challenge old ideas that had outlived their usefulness. And it sums up how FusionStorm views the traditional data center today.
Based on 35-year-old technology, the traditional data center is more disco than hip-hop, more gas guzzler than hybrid. Its raised-floor cooling system dates from the mainframe era, and its power infrastructure cannot meet the demands of today’s high-density computing environment.
“Data centers haven’t changed much over the past 35 years,” said Vince Conroy, CTO, FusionStorm. “Legacy designs have cold air pumped up through grated tiles in the floor. Computer room air conditioning units are located within the data center and use chilled water as a coolant. Hot air and cold air mix within the same space. Power densities are typically 150 watts per square foot, and cages of equipment utilize maybe 40 percent of the available data center space.
“It’s not that you can’t deliver the power. It’s that you can’t cool the space. The traditional cooling systems are not effective in today’s high-density computing environments.”
Cool Work
FusionStorm is partnering with Switch Communications to provide an array of data center services from Switch’s revolutionary new SUPERNAP Data Center. Switch took a fresh look at the requirements of today’s computing environments, with blade servers, high-density storage and other power-hungry systems. Thanks to a total rethinking of data center cooling, the SUPERNAP delivers 1,500 watts of power per square foot. Cold air is delivered from plenums located at the top of the space, and a smart louver system controls the flow of air on a rack-by-rack basis.
“As any high school physics student knows, cold air does not rise. So when you deliver cold air from grates in the floor, the equipment in the top half of the rack runs five to 10 degrees hotter than the equipment in the bottom of the rack because the cold air doesn’t make it to the top,” said Conroy. “Delivering air from the top cools the rack more evenly.”
Switch also developed a system called Thermal Separate Compartment in Facility (TScif). The TScif is a self-contained module of 20 cabinets that are installed in a hot aisle/cold aisle configuration, and the hot aisle is enclosed so that the air being exhausted from the equipment goes up through a plenum into a dropped ceiling and out to the air handlers.
“The hot air doesn’t mix with the cold air in the open space of the data center, increasing the efficiency of the cooling systems and giving you the power density you need — 20kW per cabinet or more,” Conroy said. “That enables you to use 100 percent of the space that you’re purchasing, and makes the equipment more reliable because the distribution of cold air is more consistent. More efficient cooling also means you use less energy.”
Switch installed its custom-designed air handlers outside of the building so they don’t take up space on the data center floor. The air handlers use a combination of chilled water and DX fluid, and can use the outside air to cool the hot air being re-circulated from the equipment. The computer-controlled system is finely tuned to the operating conditions within the data center and the environment.
As a result, the SUPERNAP allows customers to pack equipment more tightly and thus buy less space than they would in most data centers. It also enables them to take advantage of next-generation technologies that consume more power.
“We had a customer come to us and ask for 20 racks worth of space in the data center. And I said, ‘OK, but let’s talk through what you really need.’ We looked at the equipment list, the power consumed, and we found that while the customer would need 20 racks in most data centers, they only needed eight cabinets at Switch because of the higher power densities,” Conroy said. “You save money on space, cabling and the number of racks you need. It also gives you the ability to upgrade to blade servers and high-density storage devices that consume more power. That’s a big deal for customers — it protects against obsolescence.”
A Little Help from Your Friends
The facility is located in Las Vegas, Nev., one of the most disaster-safe locations in the U.S. Power is a little less expensive there than in other areas of the country, and state legislation requires Las Vegas to have 25 percent of its power coming from renewable energy by 2025. Switch stands behind its 100-percent-uptime guarantee. The SUPERNAP features three separate internal power grids (N+2 x 3) that are interlocked such that human error cannot take down the power infrastructure.
The SUPERNAP also offers unparalleled connectivity. Customers have access within the facility to more than 26 communications carriers, including most of the nation’s top tier-one providers. This gives customers extremely competitive pricing and many choices, whether they need Internet bandwidth or dedicated network connectivity.
“Customers gain a lot of carrier options because the SUPERNAP is in such high demand,” Conroy said. “And thanks to Switch’s buying power and numerous carrier relationships, customers can save a lot of money compared to their current providers. It’s not uncommon for customers to save 30 percent or more — in some cases a lot more.”
Switch takes security very seriously from both a physical and an operational point of view. The SUPERNAP is one of the most secure commercial facilities anywhere, hosting equipment for the government and other highly secure institutions.
“Switch has implemented all the typical security elements, including man traps, biometric access control, key card access control and ubiquitous video surveillance. But Switch also employs its own armed security staff with military and security experience and extensive training,” Conroy said. “As you tour the facility you get a sense of ‘helpful intimidation,’ as I like to say — the security team is very courteous but they take their jobs very seriously.”
Get Onto Our Cloud
As a full-service solution provider, FusionStorm can provide a wide variety of data center services out of the SUPERNAP facility designed to match the exact needs of customers — including high-density co-location services, 24x7 managed services and fully-outsourced managed hosting/cloud computing and storage services. FusionStorm has implemented its own cloud infrastructure within the SUPERNAP in order to provide customers with on-demand, fully outsourced services.
“We are all about giving customers choices. If a customer wants all the benefits of the SUPERNAP in terms of security and capacity but doesn’t want to buy gear, own the infrastructure and manage IT operations, FusionStorm can provide managed hosting or cloud services. We can host services for Windows, Linux and Unix, Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL databases, and almost any application that a customer might want to run,” said Conroy.
Switch threw out the old rules and created a facility optimized for the needs of high-density computing, high-capacity network connectivity and maximum security. It provides the perfect complement to FusionStorm’s comprehensive suite of co-location services, managed services and cloud computing offerings.
“This truly is a state-of-the-art data center that provides the highest-density power, the best connectivity and the best security of any facility anywhere in the world,” Conroy said. “And FusionStorm has partnered with Switch to be able to deliver an array of data center services for customers within this facility.”
“Switch Communications knows that C-level executives are interested in the ‘total cost of ownership’ model,” said Chris Donnelly, chief marketing officer, Switch Communications. “All companies we talk to on a daily basis are trying to understand how the changes in technology affect operational efficiencies and the bottom line. FusionStorm is an ideal partner for Switch because their commitment to excellence for managed services mirrors ours for colocation and network services. Together we present an unbeatable total cost of ownership solution.”