Australian datacentre powerhouse, NEXTDC, opened its flagship S1 facility to much fanfare yesterday after already contracting 27 per cent utilisation to some of Australia biggest companies.
Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, officially opened the $150 million, five-storey Macquarie Park centre which will provide 11.5 megawatts of power to some 5600sqm, home to its major enterprise and government customers.
From today customers will begin moving their own racks of equipment into the first of four data halls, each representing 25 per cent of the total floor space.
It is expected to hold approximately 2800 racks at a density of 2kW per square metre.
Foundation customers include Telstra, Optus, Dimension Data, Vocus, AAPT, Watchguard, Baracuda, ASE, Mirvac, Pacnet, Tasmanet, NEC, Sunadata, Tech.Cloud, Thomas Duryea Consulting, SAGE-AU, Skydrop, Pipe Networks, Somerville, Australia Post, Net Max IT Solutions and more.
NEXTDC chief executive, Craig Scroggie, wouldn't reveal the break-up of the data hall utilisation, but placed a strong emphasis on the security of shared space and the sustainability of the centre in the event of power failure.
“In the event of the power outage our diesel generators will take over the operation,” he said. “There are currently three but ultimately there will be 13.”
The centre holds 110,000 litres of diesel to allow it to run for 24 hours without electricity.
Each diesel engine is a Perkins V12 continuous-rated diesel engine coupled via a centrifugal clutch that drives the 1.67MVA Uniblock generator.
They consume approximately 400 litres of diesel per hour when running at full load.
The centre also has an agreement with a preferred contractor that mandates refuelling within four hours when requested.
There are stringent security checks upon entry and exit which include finger print identification and access through “gunnebo” doors reminiscent of Star Trek, which weigh the occupant.
Communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull said he was awestruck by the centre’s 'magnificence'.
“It’s an exciting time in our history,” he said. “It’s a time of accelerating disruptive technologies the likes of which we have never seen before.”
“We are determined to drive a Cloud-first digital platform.”
Each data hall will have 22 computer-run room air conditioning units, which are located in a service corridor surrounding the hall.
The centre will operate at 22 degrees Celsius, with a variation allowance of two degrees.
Chairman Ted Pretty praised founder Bevan Slattery for the conception of the project, while thanking NSW Government for providing a smooth approvals process.
"While he has probably been a supplier, competitor or even an annoyance to some of you, the reality of it is we need more Bevans in the country," Pretty said.
Pretty said the pent up demand reflected the strength of industry.
“Demand for data centres will continue to grow,” he said.
“S1 is going to be significant in the Australian Cloud landscape. If you are not in S1 then you are not going to be in the Cloud in the way you want to be.”
