When Deltalis was looking for a location for their new
data centre and collocation facility, one of the things at the top of the list
was the potential for making the facility as green as possible. What they found
was beyond anyone's expectations. The new Deltalis RadixCloud ended up
occupying space formerly used as the command-and-control centre of the Swiss
Air Force, buried deep in the granite rock of the Alps.
Not only is the site now on the short list as a
candidate for the Most Extreme DC Deployment 2012, but it also provides
Deltalis customers with unprecedented security in a facility that is
"ultra-green." Deltalis RadixCloud takes advantage of the mountain's
natural cooling and constant air temperature to maintain a facility where
heating and cooling requires almost no resources. This keeps the facility's power
and cooling energy needs at a minimum.
In order to make the former military space usable
Deltalis had to find a way to adapt to what was already there. Remodelling was
out of the question. To make it work they brought in Minkels to design and
build a modular system that works with the space they have. Minkels' modular
architecture was perfect for taking advantage of confined spaces, large
pillars, and narrow hallways. They were able to use the space extremely
efficiently through the use of custom-designed racks and containment systems.
In addition to minimal power needs, the site provides
military grade security and reliability for a data centre and collocation
facility that should be able to provide nearly 100% uptime for the foreseeable
future. The site will not be hampered by weather, it has self-contained backup
power for redundancy, and the physical structure itself is intimidating enough
to keep unwanted visitors away. This is a big score for Deltalis RadixCloud.
An Important Step
for Modularity
While building a data centre inside an ultra-secure
military installation is an impressive feat in itself, more important is the
fact that modular designs were used to build the systems. This is an important
step for the furtherance of modularity in the data centre environment.
Modular solutions make it easier for data centre and
colocation providers to make use of existing buildings rather than having to
buy land and build from the ground up. Re-purposing old manufacturing sites,
government buildings, and such could help contain costs of new data centre
expansion while increasing the speed by which companies do expand.
With less money needed for construction, companies can
further concentrate on green power and cooling as well. Not every new data
centre will be able to take advantage of the natural heating and cooling of the
Alps, but the possibilities for being much more energy-efficient are broadened
significantly with the addition of modular data solutions.
As for Deltalis and Minkels, representatives from both
companies will attend the DatacenterDynamics EMEA 2012 Awards in mid-December.
Perhaps they'll walk away with the award for the Most Extreme DC Deployment
2012...