Saturday, August 1, 2009

Waco Information Technology Gateway (ITG)

Clearview’s New Data Center in Waco Features the Next Level of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Services

The Waco Information Technology Gateway (ITG) is built to support recovery efforts

from natural and man-made disasters

Clearview Managed Services announced today the development of a unique, multi-purpose data center that will become a nearly fail-safe solution for client’s business continuity and disaster recovery programs.

Today, most data centers operate on a cold site recovery plan, which requires building a solution after a disaster. Clearview’s high availability approach has a recovery solution built-in. That means customers experience little to no downtime in the face of a disruption.

The Waco Information Technology Gateway (ITG) will re-purpose a Cold War nuclear fall-out shelter, providing physical security previously unmet in the commercially available data center market. Its Central Texas location is within a 100-mile radius from Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, and within 200 miles from Houston, allowing for true data replication between the Waco ITG and clients in those cities. In addition, the Waco location is easily accessible by car in the event that impacts the nation’s airways are disrupted.

The Waco ITG is located on a power grid separate from Texas’ major city systems, providing an advantage during potential blackouts and brownouts. It will incorporate dual transformer commercial power feeds and multi-carrier fiber availability for operating capacity and redundancy. The facility will feature a layered security protocol that includes biometrics, smart cards, DVR cameras and 24x7 personnel. Plans are also in the works to rapidly convert an 80-space parking lot to support mobile work-space recovery vehicles in the event employees are displaced from their daily work environments.

Clearview Partner Clay Hill notes, “The Waco ITG is a logical fit for business continuity and recovery. Learning lessons from disasters such as 911 and Katrina, we felt compelled to develop data centers that could withstand the physical, virtual and personnel disruptions that nationwide disasters create.”


Jay Looney, Clearview Partner, added, “Disaster recovery and business continuity are becoming more and more important to clients every day. We have developed a business unit specifically to focus on these important business issues, turning what otherwise might have been catastrophes into predictable, manageable continuity and recovery scenarios.”

Paul Kite Company teamed with Clearview as developers of the facility. Cody Campbell, Executive V.P. of New Development for Paul Kite Company, said, “We are thrilled about completing the Waco ITG project, and thrilled about our partnership with Clearview. This development is part of a broad, nationwide data-center development initiative for us. In this challenging economic time it is a testament to the effectiveness of our strategy and the proficiency of our team.”

About Clearview: Clearview Managed Services has been bringing clients improved IT strategy and outsourcing services since 1996. Through our multiple data centers, Clearview provides a redundant, reliable, scalable and practical suite of services that can be tailored to support clients’ needs from business and IT strategy to complete computing infrastructure. Clearview is headquartered in Dallas and has facilities throughout North America, Europe and Australia. http://www.cvglobal.com

Posted by Gary E. Weller at 8/01/2009 01:08:00 PM
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Underground Secure Data Center Operations

Technology based companies are building new data centers in old mines, caves, and bunkers to host computer equipment below the Earth's surface.

Underground Secure Data Center Operations have a upward trend.

Operations launched in inactive gypsum mines, caves, old abandoned coal mines, abandoned solid limestone mines, positioned deep below the bedrock mines, abandoned hydrogen bomb nuclear bunkers, bunkers deep underground and secure from disasters, both natural and man-made.

The facility have advantages over traditional data centers, such as increased security, lower cost, scalability and ideal environmental conditions. There economic model works, despite the proliferation of data center providers, thanks largely to the natural qualities inherent in the Underground Data Centers.

With 10,000, to to over a 1,000,000 square feet available, there is lots of space to be subdivided to accommodate the growth needs of clients. In addition, the Underground Data Centers has an unlimited supply of naturally cool, 50-degree air, providing the ideal temperature and humidity for computer equipment with minimal HVAC cost.

They are the most secure data centers in the world and unparalleled in terms of square footage, scalability and environmental control.

Yet, while the physical and cost benefits of being underground make them attractive, they have to also invested heavily in high-speed connectivity and redundant power and fiber systems to ensure there operations are not just secure, but also state-of-the-art.

There initially focused on providing disaster recovery solutions, and backup co-location services.

Clients lease space for their own servers, while other provides secure facilities, power and bandwidth. They offers redundant power sources and multiple high-speed Internet connections through OC connected to SONET ring linked to outside connectivity providers through redundant fiber cables.

Underground Data Centers company augments there core services to include disaster recovery solutions, call centers, NOC, wireless connectivity and more.

Strategic partnering with international, and national information technology company, enable them to offer technology solutions ranging from system design and implementation to the sale of software and equipment.

The natural qualities of the Underground Data Centers allow them to offer the best of both worlds premier services and security at highly competitive rates.

Underground Data Centers were established starting in 1990's but really came into there own after September 11 attacks in 2001 when there founders realized the former mines, and bunker offered optimal conditions for a data center. The mines, and bunkers offered superior environmental conditions for electronic equipment, almost invulnerable security and they located near power grids.

Adam Couture, a Mass.-based analyst for Gartner Inc. said Underground Data Centers could find a niche serving businesses that want to reduce vulnerability to any future attacks. Some Underground Data Centers fact sheet said that the Underground Data Center would protect the data center from a cruise missile explosion or plane crash.

Every company after September 11 attacks in 2001 are all going back and re-evaluating their business-continuity plans, This doesn't say everybody's changing them, but everybody's going back and revisiting them in the wake of what happened and the Underground Data Center may be just that.

Comparison chart: Underground data centers

Five facilities compared
Name InfoBunker, LLC The Bunker Montgomery Westland Cavern Technologies Iron Mountain The Underground
Location Des Moines, Iowa* Dover, UK Montgomery, Tex. Lenexa, Kan. Butler County, Penn.*
In business since 2006 1999 2007 2007 Opened by National Storage in 1954. Acquired by Iron Mountain 1998.
Security /access control Biometric; keypad; pan, tilt and zoom cameras; door event and camera logging CCTV, dogs, guards, fence Gated, with access control card, biometrics and a 24x7 security guard Security guard, biometric scan, smart card access and motion detection alarms 24-hour armed guards, visitor escorts, magnetometer, x-ray scanner, closed-circuit television, badge access and other physical and electronic measures for securing the mine's perimeter and vaults
Distance underground (feet) 50 100 60 125 220
Ceiling height in data center space (feet) 16 12 to 50 10 16 to 18 15 (10 feet from raised floor to dropped ceiling)
Original use Military communications bunker Royal Air Force military bunker Private bunker designed to survive a nuclear attack. Complex built in 1982 by Louis Kung (Nephew of Madam Chang Kai Shek) as a residence and headquarters for his oil company, including a secret, 40,000 square foot nuclear fallout shelter. The office building uses bulletproof glass on the first floor and reception area and 3-inch concrete walls with fold-down steel gun ports to protect the bunker 60 feet below. Limestone mine originally developed by an asphalt company that used the materials in road pavement Limestone mine
Total data center space (square feet) 34,000 50,000 28,000 plus 90,000 of office space in a hardened, above-ground building. 40,000 60,000
Total space in facility 65,000 60,000 28,000 3 million 145 acres developed; 1,000 acres total
Data center clients include Insurance company, telephone company, teaching hospital, financial services, e-commerce, security
monitoring/surveillance, veterinary, county government		 Banking, mission critical Web applications, online trading NASA/T-Systems, Aker Solutions, Continental Airlines, Houston Chronicle, Express Jet Healthcare, insurance, universities, technology, manufacturing, professional services Marriott International Inc., Iron Mountain, three U.S. government agencies
Number of hosted primary or backup data centers 2 50+ 13 26 5
Services offered Leased data center space, disaster recovery space, wholesale bandwidth Fully managed platforms, partly managed platforms, co-location Disaster recovery/business continuity, co-location and managed services Data center space leasing, design, construction and management Data center leasing, design, construction and maintenance services
Distance from nearest large city Des Moines, about 45 miles* Canterbury, 10 miles; London, 60 miles Houston, 40 miles Kansas City, 15 miles Pittsburgh, 55 miles
Location of cooling system, includng cooling towers Underground Underground Above and below ground. All cooling towers above ground in secure facility. Air cooled systems located underground. Cooling towers located outside
 Chillers located above ground to take advantage of "free cooling." Pumps located underground.
Location of generators and fuel tanks Underground Above ground and below ground Two below ground, four above ground. All fuel tanks buried topside. Underground Underground
*Declined to cite exact location/disatance for security reasons.