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CenterPoint Plans Chicago Colo Center
CenterPoint Properties has announced that it is breaking ground on a 62,000-square-foot colocation data center at the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago. The build-to-suit facility, called the Cyber Continuity Center is expected to open in the spring of 2007.
The facility is the latest in a series of announcements of new data center projects in the Chicago market. The new facility will be engineered to meet Tier III classification on the Uptime Institute's facility standards for data centers. Cyber Continuity Center will contain two separate areas managed and operated by a technical support team. One space will house multiple server racks for lease by businesses requiring data storage support, while the second section will offer "micro-suites" which function as private data centers.
"Cyber Continuity Center will be Chicagoland’s most secure co-location data center, catering to a broad range of information sensitive companies," said Charles Foster, Cyber Continuity Center’s managing partner. "We are excited to work with CenterPoint Properties at the DuPage National Technology Park. It provides a great opportunity to bring an innovative technology product to market and deliver premier data storage and disaster recovery services to our infrastructure-intensive client base."
September 29, 2006
Power Crisis Busts Out of the Data Center
It looks like the power and cooling crisis has escaped the data center and is fast emerging as a front-of-mind challenge for C-level executives at technology companies. That's the take from analysts and journalists, anyway, as seen in this week's cover story in Information Week, which punctuates its point by curing on the cover. In addition to the usual discussion of liquid cooling at the rack level, the article examines technologies that focus on cooling the processor. "The (hot spot) problem is getting worse as tightly packed racks of servers raise temperatures ever higher, sending the industry scrambling to avoid a meltdown," the story notes. Then there's the new report from Gartner urging CIOs to "wake up to IT's energy crisis." Energy costs "could rise to more than 50 percent in the next few years. The bottom line is that the cost of power on this scale would be difficult to manage simply as a budget increase and most CIOs would struggle to justify the situation to company board members," says Gartner research VP Rakesh Kumar.
Gartner hasn't been right about everything, but if you need a second opinion about the rising cost of power and cooling, Equinix provided it with its Sept. 18 announcement earlier this week that it has dramatically increased the power and cooling requirements for its new Chicago data center. Equipment is getting more expensive as well, as Caterpillar, Cummins, Liebert and APC can attest with their recent price hikes.
What's it all mean? If you're in data center management and struggling with hot spots, it could be an opportunity to broaden/deepen the dialogue about the current challenges, what lies ahead and how to plan for it and pay for it.
Posted by Rich Miller 
September 29, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
September 28, 2006
Switch and Data Files Plans for IPO
Colocation provider Switch & Data Inc. has filed for an initial public offering in which it hopes to raise up to $150 million. The company plans to trade on the NASDAQ market under the symbol SDXC, and said it intends to use the proceeds of the IPO to pay down part all or part of its $140 million in long-term debt, it said in its filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Switch and Data operates a network of neutral colocation facilities, with 34 data centers in 23 markets serving more than 800 customers. Switch and Data’s PAIX provides peering and Internet exchange services.
The company has a history of substantial losses, and has lost $12.4 million in the first six months of 2006 on $54 million in revenue, compared to a loss of $15.2 million and revenue of $52 million in the year-ago period. We're currently having a look at the SEC filing and will follow-up with additional details.
Posted by Rich Miller September 28, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
September 27, 2006
Akamai to Speed Delivery of Podcast Ads
Podcasting ad network Kiptronic will use Akamai's global content delivery network to accelerate the delivery of its publishers' audio and video podcasts over the Internet.
Kiptronic enables podcast publishers to select targeted advertisements and sponsorships to run with their podcasts, while providing advertisers with access to targeted, niche audiences through podcasts. Its network features nearly 600 podcasts representing 17 million monthly downloads, with 150 advertisers.
"Content producers demand a network that delivers their programming with the speed and reliability end users require to maintain their interest," said Jonathan Cobb, founder and chief executive of Kiptronic. "By leveraging Akamai's established global network, Kiptronic has solved one of the most significant problems facing multimedia publishers - integrating new technologies with existing investments."
Posted by Rich Miller September 27, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
NY State Data Center Bound for Utica?
The New York State Legislature has approved $99 million in funding for a new data center to consolidate its far-flung systems. The facility could mean 200 jobs with an average $50,000 a year annual salary for its destination community. The state is currently considerng six sites in the Utica area, according to local media.
The SUNY Board of Trustees approved the sale of 21 acres Tuesday for a data center candidate site at the SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, moving the the college near the front of the pack of competing sites. "We are committed to putting it in the Utica area," Jason Brown, a spokesman for Gov. George Pataki, told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "(The Office of General Services) will further analyze that site, and if it will pass all of their standards, then that will be the one we will go with."
Posted by Rich Miller September 27, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
Managing UPS in the Data Center
ServerWatch/Hardware Today has an overview of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in the data center, offering a big-picture introduction as well as examining the major players in the field. The story approaches the issue primarily through interviews with vendors, but covers a lot of territory and will be a worthwhile read if you're trying to stay current on the latest trends in power management.
Posted by Rich Miller September 27, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
Telehouse Beefs Up NYC Power Infrastructure
Telehouse America will expand the power capacity and infrastructure of its Broadway Center colo facility at the 25 Broadway carrier hotel in Manhattan. The upgrades, which will be compelted by December 2006, will make the facility more reliable and increase its power capacity by 20 percent. "As metro New York's power distribution grows more uncertain yearly, the changes at 25B will insure that clients and NYIIX members will have dependable, secure power availability," Telehouse said.
Telehouse said it will add four new UPS units to 25 Broadway's existing UPS setup. In this setup - known as an N+1 configuration - if a UPS unit exhibits a power load distribution failure, the load will transfer to its UPS mate without interruption.
Telehouse said the UPS upgrades were motivated by New York area power outages over the summer. "An extremely hot summer severely tested New York's power generation and distribution," said Masahiro Furuya, president and CEO of TELEHOUSE America. "Our clients expect us to be their safeguard in these situations. This upgrade insures that we will meet our clients' reliability expectations for years to come."
Posted by Rich Miller September 27, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
September 26, 2006
As UK Colo Prices Rise, Telehouse Expands
Telehouse International Corp of Europe Ltd is planning a significant increase in its capacity in the UK, adding 26% to its current space through a new build or a conversion, the company said. Telehouse is preparing to announce new capacity or more than 8,000 square meters.
Telehouse is one of a number of European colo providers that have been acquiring assets from other players and/or announcing extensions to their existing infrastructure or new builds this year in the UK, according to Computer Business Review. As in the US, prices have been firming up, and telehouse said its prices are rising to the point whre they are comparable with Telecity's going rate of $1,045 per rack per month. More price increases are likely, as TeleCityRedbus CEO Mike Tobin said he believes 800 pounds ($1,520) a month is achievable.
Posted by Rich Miller September 26, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
Google Pushes for Energy Efficient PCs
Google is calling on the computer industry to create a simpler and more efficient power supply standard that it says will save billions of kilowatt-hours of energy annually, according to the New York Times. In a white paper being presented today at the Intel Developer Forum, two leading data center designers at Google will call for a shift from multivoltage power supplies to a single 12-volt standard. Although voltage conversion would still take place on the PC motherboard, the simpler design of the new power supply would make it easier to achieve higher overall efficiencies.
The Google proposal is similar in its intent to an existing effort by the electric utility industry to offer computer makers financial incentives for designing more efficient power supplies for personal computers.
Posted by Rich Miller September 26, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
September 25, 2006
Cummins Raises Generator Prices
Cummins Power Generation has announced price increases for its commercial generators, with prices of EPA Tier 3-certified generator sets rising by up to 10 percent while prices of EPA Tier 2-certified generator sets up 7 percent. The company said prices have been raised due to market conditions and the rising cost of raw materials, as well as additional technology required to meet lower emissions levels mandated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as of January 1.
"These adjustments are part of Cummins’ strategic response to market conditions," said Tony Satterthwaite, Vice President of the Commercial Generator Set Business at Cummins. "With even more stringent EPA emissions regulations coming, we will continue to reinvest in our leading technology and operations to serve our customers well."
Posted by Rich Miller September 25, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
Digital Realty Trust Plans Stock Sale
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. plans to sell at least 8 million shares of its common stock in a public offering, with an option for the underwriters to purchase another 1.2 million shares. The sale would raise at least $246 million at DLR's current share price. The company will use half the proceeds from the sale to buy back limited partner units from GI Partners, the predecessor to Digital Realty. The remainder will be used to pay down the company's unsecured credit facility.
Digital Realty said it continues to shop for potential acqusiitons, and intends to borrow additional amounts under its revolving credit facility as needed to fund acquisitions and build out the company's redevelopment space and for general corporate purposes. Merrill Lynch & Co. and Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking will serve as joint managers for the offering.
Posted by Rich Miller September 25, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter
MORE STORIES FROM THIS MONTH:
- CenterPoint Plans Chicago Colo Center
- Power Crisis Busts Out of the Data Center
- Switch and Data Files Plans for IPO
- Akamai to Speed Delivery of Podcast Ads
- NY State Data Center Bound for Utica?
- Managing UPS in the Data Center
- Telehouse Beefs Up NYC Power Infrastructure
- As UK Colo Prices Rise, Telehouse Expands
- Google Pushes for Energy Efficient PCs
- Cummins Raises Generator Prices
- Digital Realty Trust Plans Stock Sale
- APC Lays Off 330 Employees
- Citigroup Eyes Austin for Huge Texas Data Center
- Federated Consolidates, Cuts 290 Jobs
- 1Up Gaming Network Moves to 365 Main
- APC Honored By CIOs, Information Week 500
- Switch & Data Expands Services to Limelight
- DataPipe Expands Data Center Network
- McGraw-Hill Plans $100M NJ Data Center
- Equinix Lines Up Expansion Financing
- NYT: Laser Chip Could Be Revolutionary
- Media Buzz as Google Occupies 111 Eighth Ave.
- Bandwidth Growth Surges as Prices Stabilize
- EVE Online: 30,000 Users on One Server Shard