Data center colocation

ViaWest data centers go green, which makes dollars and cents

We all know how big business operates: Each and every quarter, the bottom line must be met. This pressure on businesses creates short-term thinking and investing, less  risk taking, and enormous scrutiny of capital expenditures. All of this leads many companies to be hesitant to make big changes, even when “going green” is all the rage.

Recently I was heartened to find a company that is not as bothered with the short-term motivations of publicly traded companies, and for which going green is a meaningful proposition. ViaWest operates 16 data centers in five states (Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Utah), and as a private company, it can afford to invest in the long-term benefits of going green in data centers.

On a recent visit to the company’s Hillsboro, Ore. data center (formerly Fortix, acquired in 2006), I learned how passionate its staff is about sustainable operations. Jim Linkous, the vice president and general manager for the company’s Oregon data center, and Casey Vanderbeek, senior sales engineer, were happy to tell me about some of the company’s achievements in this area, as well as some future plans. The Hillsboro facility has earned Portland General Electric’s Gold status for using wind power to start with, but ViaWest has a comprehensive green initiatives plan that goes beyond buying sustainable power.

• Utilizing clean, renewable, wind power energy programs (Colo. - Windsource; Ore. - CleanWind; Utah - Blue Sky)
• Deployment of high efficiency cooling units which have yielded in excess of 50% in total energy savings
• Preference toward clean chilled water systems for cooling over direct expansion systems
• Through geographic planning, ViaWest has maximized the use of free cooling/ambient air opportunities
• Regular Thermal analysis and reviews to ensure effective cooling throughout the data center facilities
• Specialized Hot/Cold aisle management & ducted air return to optimize, and reduce the need for additional cooling units
• Strict recycling programs at all ViaWest facilities - Approximately one ton of cardboard is recycled in every 90 day period
• Utilization of high efficiency lighting throughout all ViaWest facilities
• New construction and expansion projects that promote the use of recycled building materials
• Server Virtulization stragey to enable long-term efficiency and decrease the average deployment size by 20%

For lack of a better term, they have a holistic approach to sustainability that others should take note of. The company’s green strategy isn’t a gimmick; it is part of their overall business strategy, and it’s paying off.

Founded in 1999, the company has state-of-the-art managed hosting and colocation facilities and continues to grow. In 2006 the company received a $31 million infusion of debt financing. This allowed the company to acquire Fortix among others. This investment has paid off, with increases in outsourcing to data centers over the past few years. ViaWest exceeded industry market growth predictions in 2007 and Linkous expressed confidence in a continuation of that growth in the coming year, despite an economic downturn. In fact, the company has already leased a nearby building at the Hillsboro campus that is being prepared with power supplies for future expansion to meet current and future customer needs. This has been spurred by the increased demand for managed hosting and colocation throughout the industry.

Along with successful growth the company continues to focus on implementing sustainable initiatives that may cost more at the outset but that are better for the environment and the bottom line over the long term. As the facilities and equipment age out, the company is upgrading the cooling systems with new, more efficient technologies. Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Steve Prather shared an example in which cooling units in the company’s Cornell, Colo,. facility were replaced with cooling towers that are 53% more efficient. The company has also taken advantage of free cooling where it is geographically appropriate.

Prather emphasized that ViaWest does not take a one-size-fits-all approach in its green initiatives throughout 16 data centers. Rather it evaluates facilities individually and optimizes efficiencies based on a location’s unique characteristics.

This stands in contrast to the company’s otherwise streamlined approach to facility management. Linkous emphasized that in large part the data center operations side of the house has been successful because of the leadership of its COO and cofounder, Nancy Phillips, who has firmly established company “best practices.” Linkous and Vanderbeek shared that these guidelines enable the facilities to run similarly smoothly, regardless of locale. Their evidence that this model is successful is the relatively low annual churn rate of ViaWest customers (less than 1%).

Whether it’s recycling cardboard (1 ton per 90 days), using windpower, taking advantage of virtualization technologies, or conducting regular thermal analysis in existing facilities, if it saves energy and resources, ViaWest is willing to spend the money to make it happen, knowing it will pay off over time.

I think that data center managers should take a look and consider if going green still really seems so hard. And if you’re at one of the “big guys” that is focused on quarterly profits and you just want to scream, make some noise, use ViaWest as an example of what you could be doing differently. At SearchDataCenter.com we like to point out these examples of green initiatives done right, because we know you might need some ammunition when you go before your board or CIO and request capital expenditures to make improvements. As always, email us with your green data center success stories.

While explaining a few of the facility’s features, Vanderbeek said,“A lot of going green is so simple: placing chillers properly, doing hot-aisle and cold-aisle containment right.” It really can be that simple. And it really can pay off.

Cloud computing versus colocation: What’s the right fit?

What can the cloud do for you? That depends on your field of vision. At the 451 Group’s 3rd Annual Client Conference this week, I spoke with Antonio Piraino, a senior analyst of managed hosting at Tier1 Research, about the opportunities and disadvantages of cloud computing, managed hosting and data center colocation. Piraino said that companies’ view of these models is partly a function of size.  

Larger companies are wary of the cloud for its vagueness, Piraino said, while companies with limited resources are more receptive to the possibilities of this.  If your company has a generous supply of IT funding — an increasingly less likely possibility in this economic downturn — the cloud may be “good for your enterprise to play around with, but nothing more,” according to Dan Golding, also of Tier1 Research. Managed hosting appeals to companies that know which services they want and desire to receive them as directly as possible, Piraino said.   

Those with less funding and more flexibility, however, have more to gain from the evolving status of cloud computing. “The cloud is a developer’s dream,” said Piraino. “They can come up with any new application that a company might need, and then get Salesforce.com, Amazon EC2 [Elastic Compute Cloud] or Google App Engine  to host it. Everyone’s hoping that theirs will be the next application to gain mass popularity in the enterprise.” 

Colocation, Piraino said, suits companies that need to expand their physical hardware volume without losing their current level of administrative security. It involves a management company running the company’s software securely from anywhere in the world.  

Piraino ultimately doused the cloud exuberance with a reality check for companies of all sizes: “If you look at computing services as a car, cloud computing is like the rental car you pick up at the airport - not a good option for long-term use.” he said. “Managed hosting is better in that regard, more like a leased car. You know what you’re getting, and how much it will cost.” 

Tour of colocation company DataSite’s data center

Last night a bunch of us Data Center World conference attendees were able to tour a new colocation facility in Orlando that DataSite will be running. I was hoping to get it on video, but alas, the folks at DataSite shut me down for security reasons. Nonetheless it was an interesting tour and building.

The facility was initially built in 1984, and DataSite spent about $3.5 million to rehab it to current data center standards. It’s a big building – 130,000 square feet – with 85,000 square feet of 3-foot raised floor space.

Joe Soroka from Total Site Solutions, who has talked in the past about getting IT and facilities folks to get along, was one of the tour directors. Total Site has worked with DataSite on the upgrades and will be maintaining the facility. He showed us around the place, taking us into the room with the jet turbine generators that had mufflers as wide as giant sewer pipes.

For those generators DataSite has two 20,000-gallon fuel tanks, in which they have white kerosene. Why not diesel? Soroka said that during a hurricane, diesel can be virtually impossible to get a hold of because it all goes to the hospitals.

There are variable frequency drives (VFDs) on the chiller pumps to save energy, and connections so that any uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can be connected to any battery module in the separate battery room.

The building also has an old loop of pipe that was once used to water-cool the mainframes. DataSite is repurposing the pipe so that high-density customers have a liquid-cooling option.

The company is offering up to 5,000-square-foot cages and up to 50,000 square feet of dedicated space. Currently the raised floor space is empty except for some Liebert equipment scattered here and there. As for customers, one of the company representatives said DataSite was hoping the tour would generate some interest. So for now, there is plenty of space available.

Colo wagers on high-density

The idea for Power Loft, according to its president Jim Coakley, happened back in 2005, when he and EYP Mission Critical Facilities head Peter Gross were having some drinks. The idea was this: Focus a colocation company on high-density data center space.

That’s what Power Loft is doing today, aiming to scale his facilities up to 300 watts per square foot, which ends up being about 10kw/rack, according to Coakley.

Now the company is building a 200,000-square-foot facility in Manassas, Va. Coakley is hoping that construction, which started last year, will be done in the first quarter of 2009.

“We have not yet leased,” he said. “We’re still in the second phase of construction and activity looks good. I’m curious to see if we do get the high-density crowd like we were hoping. I’m pretty confident that we can operate more efficiently than anything I’ve ever been involved in.”

What’s the benefit for customers? Well, some want that level of high density to accommodate high-density equipment of their own, such as blade servers. Others simply want the ability to scale from 150 watts per square foot and go up from there, without having to rent out more floor space. That is something Power Loft is offering.

EYP, which Coakley has dealt with since about 2002, is assisting Power Loft with the design and construction, and will continue to do the same with future facilities. EYP is now a divisional company of Hewlett-Packard, having sold to them last year. Power Loft is one of the dozens of cases that HP is touting as new data center service customers for the company.

For its Manassas facility, all of the power and cooling infrastructure is on the first floor, and all the data center space is on the second floor. They’re also building a “power transmission backbone” that will be capable of expanding in AC or DC power. DC power has become a point of interest for some data centers because of the possibility of saving energy costs by eliminating some of the transfers between AC to DC and back again.

Power Loft has combined eight 20-ton CRACs into a single, massive, 160-ton air handler in the hopes of operating the cooling load more efficiently. The design is LEED-certified and includes a green roof — what Coakley called a “Chia Pet roof.” It also has vines on the outside of the building and will use waterside economizers to help save on power costs in the cooler months.

Coakley said that after Manassas, Power Loft hopes to expand to San Antonio, Colorado and Atlanta, and then possibly tackling the overseas market after that. Powerloft is using Total Site Solutions, a Columbia, Md.-based company, to maintain the data center facilities once they’re built.